Pirates are cooler than ninjas.

Once upon a time, there was a little boy, approximately six years of age, wandering the shores of Darkvane Beach. His name was William Redbird. William collected shells and seaweed to make necklaces. He sold his necklaces at the market on Svendays. People frequently purchased his home-crafted jewelry, because of its unique appearance ans because he claimed the owner would be protected from all danger. The story he told his customers was of beast-men called Berserkers. They were terrible creatures, with long, sharp fangs and horns sprouting out of their ears. He said the monsters ate the skulls of their victims and carved out the hearts to wear. William told the people that Berserkers were repelled by seaweed and seashells. Many believed the boy, but the gypsy queen of Frith knew he was lying. She did not make a mockery of young William. However, she did summon the Berserkers to Frith, telling them she would have payment for them to murder the lying boy. The following day, the nasty creatures arrived in Frith, decked in seaweed and sea shells around their necks. The leader, Thorgillian Maxima, ordered his army to raid the city, to take prisoner of any human who tried to stop them, and to search specifically for a young William Redbird, by order of queen Alicea. In the meantime, he would go meet with the queen and collect their reward. The monsters were off, then, stealing whatever they could. Many of them forgot to search for William; they would suffer greatly for this later. The town of Frith was turned upside down, windows were shattered, fires burned homes to the ground, and mutilated bodies were everywhere. William, who had been hiding the entire time in a warm pool of sea water, was terrified. He knew these Berserkers were looking for him. He knew his time was coming to an end. He realized, after a moment of reflection, that he needed to save his town from further destruction. If he shouted at the creatures that he was William Redbird, perhaps they would leave Frith. Alas, he could not give himself to these monsters. He was a coward, and he was ashamed. He stood up several times, and immediately lowered himself into the water again. All of a sudden, there was a terrible sound, more awful than the sound of a ship being dragged to the depths of the sea by the Krakken, more terrifying than the sound of a lion dying slowly and agonizingly, more painful than the sound of a mother who has just lost her son to war. It was queen Alicea, crying out in anger. She was screeching William's name. He could not ignore this call; he had to go. Slowly, he pulled himself out of the warm water, and faced the Berserkers. They smirked at him. He kept his head down, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. The Berserkers were terribly impatient. One of them, a large creature named Rotha scooped William up and carried him to meet the queen. When the two arrived, queen Alicea had been tied up and knocked unconscious. Thorgillian sent his warrior out, and said to William, "You are a liar, William Redbird. For this reason, you will come with me, work on my ship. You will be my slave boy. Forever." Thorgillian smiled cruelly at him. The child tried to be brave, to face his fate. He had made a mistake, and now he would suffer the consequences. He would spend the rest of his life on a cursed ship with awful creatures. They were going to beat him, he knew it. He was terrified, but he tried to conceal this weakness. "We'll be taking your queen, too. You'll have some company, at least," Thorgillian said. And so the Berserkers took their plunder and loaded it onto the ship. The captives were taken below deck, stripped and given rags, and chained. William sat in the corner of the dark room, crying silently. How had his life taken such an awful turn?
-to be continued.-