Fang Sea Corsairs

The Saetra Confederacy are known for one thing, their naval prowess and dependence. It is also very well known that they were once a ragtag band of pirate lords that formed a militarist nation. Many people have forgiven their ancestors for their pirate ways, considering the Confederacy now take aims to keep the waters safe from the pirates of new age, ensuring vital transport, fishing, and mercantile vessels were safe. However, old habits...tend to die hard.

Enter, the Fang Sea Corsairs. The Corsairs are an elite naval **** held in satellite power by the Confederacy, supported by the various Governor-Admirals. While they are part of the Confederacy's military, they are held at arms length, ready to be cut off should anything happen to them. And that is because the Corsairs are privateers.

The Corsairs enjoy their life being safe from the reaches of the only real naval power in the Empire, while also being allowed to hit non-vital ships and plunder as they wish. They got their own lands they are allowed to inhabit, notably the isolated island chain within the Sea of Fangs (named for its abundance of giant sea monsters) near the western end of the Saetra Island Chain which the original Corsairs came from.

There are whispers from the many conspirators throughout the Empire, especially the Sultanate whose vessels often ended up attacked, that the Confederacy are sponsoring the Corsairs. But there is no way to ever prove this. Corsairs swear to the god of eternal promises, Enzageo, to die before they ever betray their countrymen, least they be denied the paradise of eternal sailing. It is believed that those who break their promises will instead be chained in the soul crushing deeps of the afterlife's eternal sea and drown for all eternity with no hope of unconsciousness or **** to save them from the torment.

And while the entirety of the Confederacy are a superstitious lot, thank to their origins as pirates, the Corsairs are even more superstitious. But the idea of voodoo and dark magics are the farthest from their minds. In truth, the original pantheon carried over from the age of piracy carries power. As such, they absolutely venerate Sylvese, the queen of the pantheon...the lady of love, lust, luck, adventure, and freedom. And every Corsair sign up in hopes of attaining her attention and blessings with their adherence to the old pirate ways.

And while no modern day sailor would ever allow a woman on their vessel (unless they were a cruise vessel or captained by a female merchant), Corsairs make an acceptance. They won't accept any woman into their ranks, but a certain group of women that only show up when Sylvese is in power of the pantheon. The Consorts.

The Corsairs act like a typical pirate gang. There is a commanding Admiral overlooking the whole gang. Below them are Captains who command each vessel within the gang. Below the Captains are the first mates who help discipline the crew and are prepared to be acting-Captains should anything happen to the Captain of the vessel. Then there are Commanders who take charge of different groups among the vessel. These can be the buccaneer brigade who do all the land-based operations, the cannoneers who operate the cannons, the raiders who board enemy vessels, the provisioneers who forage or raid for supplies, and the shipwrights who do the maintenance work on the vessels and keep them running.

They have a rite of passage that they strictly adhere to, it is a bit of a ritual. For the new male members, they go through a week of endurance testing. With this, they run the new initiates ragged until they are exhausted and end each night by beating the hell of the recruits. They don't do so until bones are broken, but just to bruise and batter the recruit. If the recruit cries out in pain, they are disqualified. Then they must do a job to raid a vessel on their own to ensure they are capable of doing the job. They are not allowed to raid any vessel belonging to the Confederacy or fishermen vessels. After that, they serve three years as the lowest wrung of shipwrights, swabbies...and they must clean the worst parts of the ship. Afterwards, they'll be tested to see where their talents lie in the working body of the vessel and be put there.

For Consorts, their tasks are much more simple. Considering that Consorts are considered to be blessed by Sylvese herself, the initiation is a lot more...carnal, in nature. To simply put, a Consort will be used mostly as a reward to special members of the vessel they sign on with. For a month or so a Consort can be expected to entertain dozens, or even hundreds, of men during that time frame. If she does not run away after being the ship's whore, she gets to choose her own position on the ship as she deems fit. Consorts typically have better chances of achieving higher ranks within the Corsairs and a lot of officer positions are taken up by Consorts.

Corsairs typically wind up as some of the most wanted men in the entire Empire. And while the Confederacy put up a front of trying to hunt them down, they really don't do anything against them. Most Corsairs who get killed or captured are done by another kingdom's military, or independent mercenaries/contractors who do a job against them.

It's a life of danger and adventure, where the next day might just be your last. And a Corsair wouldn't have it any other way.