Jennyfur Greeneyes - Tyrnabay's First Privateer
When the Great Strife ended, the victorious armies of the Gods of Consent had driven their defeated foes into a sparsely occupied region far from the established kingdoms of the world - and there they left the defeated survivors to fend for themselves. From these dregs rose the Kingdom of Tyrnabay. In its earliest days, though, Tyrnabay was a kingdom only in the eyes of those who dwelt there. The rest of the world Gaave the land little thought, and in fact developed the practice of exiling their biggest troublemakers to the shores of the land they had all but forgotten.
One of those exiles was a young Felisean female, convicted of stealing food for the third time at the age of 14 and sentenced to exile. This penniless street urchin would one day become one of the most feared sea captains on all the seas of Cartyrion. She would be the person that set the entire Kingdom of Tyrnabay on its path to becoming the home of sea pirates that, to this day, menaces the seas. This is the tale of Jennyfur Greeneyes, Felisean Exile and first Admiral of the Tyrnabay Fleet.
Jennyfur Greeneyes was born in the port city of Baron's Point in the kingdom of Felisea. She was the firstborn in her litter of four; her mother would bear two more litters giving her seven more siblings. Her parentts were destitute, however; and died when Jennyfur was only 11 years old.
With little choice, Jennyfur was left to try and provide for herself, her seven younger brothers, and three younger sisters. This often meant stealing food to keep them from starving, and Jennyfur quickly learned that the best place to do this was at the docks, where the disappearance of a few items of food here and there from the supplies being loaded on many merchant ships would go unnoticed.
Mostly unnoticed, that is. At the age of 12, she was caught stealing for the first time. The magistrate took pity on her family situation and released her. When she was caught a second time a year later, officials again showed some compassion and permitted her to make compensation by working on the docks until her salary could compensate for the stolen goods. But she was warned that she would not be so fortunate if caught a third time.
The third time came shortly after her fourteenth birthday. This time, she was sentenced to deportation - a penalty that had become popular in the past fifty years or so not only in Felisea, but in the neighboring First Kingdom of Humanity, as well as the Grand Duchies on the opposite side of the Inner Sea. As she awaited her deportation, she learned her littermate brother managed to get the rest of her siblings out of the city and into the wild forests of Felisea when officials made it known that the youngest would be taken away and placed in orphanages. It would be many years before she would hear any more of her siblings.
Name
Jennyfur Greeneyes
Parentage
Felisean
Title
Lord Admiral of the Tyrnabay Fleet
Date of Birth
08 Time of V'nbarrgh's Greataxe, 537CR
Date of Death
14 Time of Thirar's Carrack, 602CR (Age: 65)
The deportation journey was difficult. Crammed into the hold of a ship in chains along with about thirty other prisoners of varying parentages, she was the smallest and youngest of the lot. Fortunately, a full-Orc brigand who called himself K'laash decided he liked Jennyfur and acted as her protector during the hard voyage.
Upon arriving at a point where the Tyrnabay coast was barely visible over the horizon, two decrepit ships boats were lowered into the water as the exiles were brought up on deck. As they were unchained, they were one-by-one unceremoniously dumped over the side of the ship without regard for whether they could swim or not. Fortunately for Jennyfur, K'laash was in the water first, and he made sure she made it to one of the boats. With the last of the exiles on the boats, oars were tossed down, and the prison ship sailed away. The boat holding Jennyfur and K'laash made it to shore, but the other boat crashed onto coral reefs and broke apart. Jennyfur never learned how many - if any at all - of that lot survited.
The ragtag exiles made their way north along the coast to the city of Mist Bay. A city populated primarily with exiles such as themselves, this was a rough, effectively lawless city run by small gangs that spent an inordinate amount of time killing each other. Jennyfur eventually found work as a tavern wench, and managed to keep herself out of the way of any significant threats to herself. Using this position, she quickly was able to learn who the "important people" were in Mist Bay.
At first, her campaign to do something took the form of occasional snide remarks made while serving some of the "important people" in the tavern. City officials, but especially merchants, would hear comments about how sheepish Tyrnabay was, to let foreign ships sail up to their coasts and dump off their societal refuse.
Finally, one day, a richly dressed young noble found his way into the tavern where Jennyfur worked. It was a quiet day, and Jennyfur was feeling ornery. The combination gave her several chances to make remarks about how ridiculous it was for the rulers of this kingdom to believe they were important when they couldn't even defend their coasts. After a few such remarks, the noble called Jennyfur over and confronted her. He commented about the commoner's tendency to complain without understanding the true difficulties of ruling a nation. When Jennyfur chuckled at this, he sternly asked her what she would do about the problems she was so frequently complaining about.
Jennyfur promptly sat down across from the startled noble and replied, "Well now, I thought none o' ye would ever ask."
Two days later, four liveried guards appeared at the tavern and insisted Jennyfur accompany them. Wondering what she was being arrested for, she followed in trepidation. She was then loaded into a carriage and driven out of the city. When the carriage arrived at a large estate, she was shown inside and shown a seat at a large table in an empty, but beautifully appointed room.
She waited for what seemed like hours - but was only about ten minutes - before the young noble appeared alongside another two folk: an elderly man and woman even more richly dressed than the younger noble.
"I'm told you have plans for securing the coasts of Tyrnabay. As Count of this region, its defense falls to me, so I'm interested to hear what you have in mind."
Jennyfur, figuring at this point she had nothing to lose, began explaining her thoughts. Locate exiles with knowledge of ships and the sea, then give them ships to patrol the coasts. As incentive, let them take spoils from those ships instead of simply driving them off. After all, the other kingdoms treat Tyrnabay as if you were at war with them. You might as well treat them the same way.
The Count considered this. His first concern was that such a fleet of brigants would be impossible to control. Jennyfur countered that, first of all, there was little on Tyrnabay's own ships worth stealing, and second, for the right percentage, the mercenary brigands would stay in line. He then explained that he personally owned three ships currently docked in Mist Bay. They were in need of repair, but if Jennyfur could find crews to make them ready for sea, he would give her a chance to prove herself. The Countess, at this point, spoke up and added with authority, "After all, you will be in charge."
Jennyfur was taken aback by this. She knew that females were not nearly as subservient in Tyrnaby as in the kingdoms around the Inner Sea, but this was far beyond her immediate expecations. She swallowed hard - visibly - and accepted the challenge.
Jennyfur immediately began recruiting her three crews. She knew who to go to first: there happened to be two merchant sea captains that had been exiled for some scandal or another. They would have a chance to get some revenge on the system that separated them from their families and friends - and they would be the best judges of who else to recruit. There was one other that she sought out: she asked K'raash if he would serve as her first officer. When he looked at her with a quizzical expression, she replied, "Har, we're in the navy now!" K'raash agreed.
Three ships were hastily refit and re-crewed. At the same time, a series of signal tower lookouts were hastily erected along the coast for some two hundred miles south of Mistbay. When the day finally came that the signal fires alerted to a ship on the horizon, the three set sail. It took the better part of that day for the "fleet" to catch sight of the deportation ship flying the Elvenpass Duchy flag. Rigged for coastal speed, and not the rigors of the open sea, the fleet was able to overtake the ship. in truth, the Elvenpass Captain wasn't really trying to run - he had no idea what was about to happen.
The three ships boxed in their "captive" deporataion ship, and Captain Jennyfur Greeneyes and First Officer K'raash boarded the ship, along with forty others armed with cutlasses. Jennyfur ordered the deportees to be brought up from the hold and unchained. In the meantime, the captain of the deportation ship and all his officers were placed in chains and transferred to Jennyfur's flagship. She then addressed the deportees and remaining common crew. Any of these who wished to return home would be permitted to - sailing home the smallest of Jennyfur's three ships as she was claiming the larger, more seaworthy deportation ship as a prize. Deportees who wished to return home would be armed to ensure they made the trip in freedom and had control of their own return. Any - crew or deportee - who wished to remain in Tyrnabay would be welcomed as new citizens.
About half the crew, and four of the deportees wished to return. They were transferred to their new ship with sufficient provisions, and sent on their way. A letter was sent with them explaining that the officers would be released in two years time - after they had served their time for crimes against Tyrnaby sovereignty and citizenry. The new Tyrnabaay Navy sailed home triumphantly, where they were met at the docks by a surprised, but jubilant Count.
Within two years, fourteen new ships were comissioned and Tyrnaby had the beginnings of an actual Navy. Jennyfur Greeneyes was given the title of Admiral of the Tyrnabay Fleet by the king himself. And nobody complained when Jennyfur suggested that in addition to dealing with deportation ships - which had all but disappeared entirely - the Navy should start dealing with other "enemy ships" found in the waters it controlled.
Thus began the traditions that would see Tyrnabay grow into the organized "Kingdom of Pirates" that is known today. And at its roots can be found Jennyfur Greeneyes, a young exiled street urchin.
One of those exiles was a young Felisean female, convicted of stealing food for the third time at the age of 14 and sentenced to exile. This penniless street urchin would one day become one of the most feared sea captains on all the seas of Cartyrion. She would be the person that set the entire Kingdom of Tyrnabay on its path to becoming the home of sea pirates that, to this day, menaces the seas. This is the tale of Jennyfur Greeneyes, Felisean Exile and first Admiral of the Tyrnabay Fleet.
Early Life and Exile
Jennyfur Greeneyes was born in the port city of Baron's Point in the kingdom of Felisea. She was the firstborn in her litter of four; her mother would bear two more litters giving her seven more siblings. Her parentts were destitute, however; and died when Jennyfur was only 11 years old.
With little choice, Jennyfur was left to try and provide for herself, her seven younger brothers, and three younger sisters. This often meant stealing food to keep them from starving, and Jennyfur quickly learned that the best place to do this was at the docks, where the disappearance of a few items of food here and there from the supplies being loaded on many merchant ships would go unnoticed.
Mostly unnoticed, that is. At the age of 12, she was caught stealing for the first time. The magistrate took pity on her family situation and released her. When she was caught a second time a year later, officials again showed some compassion and permitted her to make compensation by working on the docks until her salary could compensate for the stolen goods. But she was warned that she would not be so fortunate if caught a third time.
The third time came shortly after her fourteenth birthday. This time, she was sentenced to deportation - a penalty that had become popular in the past fifty years or so not only in Felisea, but in the neighboring First Kingdom of Humanity, as well as the Grand Duchies on the opposite side of the Inner Sea. As she awaited her deportation, she learned her littermate brother managed to get the rest of her siblings out of the city and into the wild forests of Felisea when officials made it known that the youngest would be taken away and placed in orphanages. It would be many years before she would hear any more of her siblings.
The deportation journey was difficult. Crammed into the hold of a ship in chains along with about thirty other prisoners of varying parentages, she was the smallest and youngest of the lot. Fortunately, a full-Orc brigand who called himself K'laash decided he liked Jennyfur and acted as her protector during the hard voyage.
Upon arriving at a point where the Tyrnabay coast was barely visible over the horizon, two decrepit ships boats were lowered into the water as the exiles were brought up on deck. As they were unchained, they were one-by-one unceremoniously dumped over the side of the ship without regard for whether they could swim or not. Fortunately for Jennyfur, K'laash was in the water first, and he made sure she made it to one of the boats. With the last of the exiles on the boats, oars were tossed down, and the prison ship sailed away. The boat holding Jennyfur and K'laash made it to shore, but the other boat crashed onto coral reefs and broke apart. Jennyfur never learned how many - if any at all - of that lot survited.
The ragtag exiles made their way north along the coast to the city of Mist Bay. A city populated primarily with exiles such as themselves, this was a rough, effectively lawless city run by small gangs that spent an inordinate amount of time killing each other. Jennyfur eventually found work as a tavern wench, and managed to keep herself out of the way of any significant threats to herself. Using this position, she quickly was able to learn who the "important people" were in Mist Bay.
Jennyfur's Plan
Jennyfur was never one to leave a bad situation to correct itself. And now, she saw several bad situations that needed addressing. In addition to ensuring her own personal safety and survival, she found herself despising the cruelty of the deportation system. Surprising even to herself, she also found herself upset with the fact that her new kingdom - Tyrnabay - was sheepish enough to allow the rest of the world to disrespect it as they did.At first, her campaign to do something took the form of occasional snide remarks made while serving some of the "important people" in the tavern. City officials, but especially merchants, would hear comments about how sheepish Tyrnabay was, to let foreign ships sail up to their coasts and dump off their societal refuse.
Finally, one day, a richly dressed young noble found his way into the tavern where Jennyfur worked. It was a quiet day, and Jennyfur was feeling ornery. The combination gave her several chances to make remarks about how ridiculous it was for the rulers of this kingdom to believe they were important when they couldn't even defend their coasts. After a few such remarks, the noble called Jennyfur over and confronted her. He commented about the commoner's tendency to complain without understanding the true difficulties of ruling a nation. When Jennyfur chuckled at this, he sternly asked her what she would do about the problems she was so frequently complaining about.
Jennyfur promptly sat down across from the startled noble and replied, "Well now, I thought none o' ye would ever ask."
A Bold Idea
The young catfolk tavern wench began to explain her solution. The rest of Cartyrion, she began, provided the very answer every time a deportation ship appeared off the coast. With the right backing and support, the very "dregs of society" that were being cast off into Tyrnabay could become its strong right arm. Jennyfur has been quietly amassing a list of exiled folk such as herself along with their capabilities. There were a surprising number of folk with experience on ships at sea. She did not provide this list to the noble; but she hinted that the resources were simply waiting to be tapped. Jennyfur had every intention of improving her own lot by this unveiling of her plans, there was no chance the noble would simply take her ideas and claim them for his own. The young man listened intently as Jennyfur painted her picture of a stronger Tyrnabay in very broad strokes. He then finished his wine and departed.Two days later, four liveried guards appeared at the tavern and insisted Jennyfur accompany them. Wondering what she was being arrested for, she followed in trepidation. She was then loaded into a carriage and driven out of the city. When the carriage arrived at a large estate, she was shown inside and shown a seat at a large table in an empty, but beautifully appointed room.
She waited for what seemed like hours - but was only about ten minutes - before the young noble appeared alongside another two folk: an elderly man and woman even more richly dressed than the younger noble.
"I'm told you have plans for securing the coasts of Tyrnabay. As Count of this region, its defense falls to me, so I'm interested to hear what you have in mind."
Jennyfur, figuring at this point she had nothing to lose, began explaining her thoughts. Locate exiles with knowledge of ships and the sea, then give them ships to patrol the coasts. As incentive, let them take spoils from those ships instead of simply driving them off. After all, the other kingdoms treat Tyrnabay as if you were at war with them. You might as well treat them the same way.
The Count considered this. His first concern was that such a fleet of brigants would be impossible to control. Jennyfur countered that, first of all, there was little on Tyrnabay's own ships worth stealing, and second, for the right percentage, the mercenary brigands would stay in line. He then explained that he personally owned three ships currently docked in Mist Bay. They were in need of repair, but if Jennyfur could find crews to make them ready for sea, he would give her a chance to prove herself. The Countess, at this point, spoke up and added with authority, "After all, you will be in charge."
Jennyfur was taken aback by this. She knew that females were not nearly as subservient in Tyrnaby as in the kingdoms around the Inner Sea, but this was far beyond her immediate expecations. She swallowed hard - visibly - and accepted the challenge.
Captain Greeneyes
Three ships were hastily refit and re-crewed. At the same time, a series of signal tower lookouts were hastily erected along the coast for some two hundred miles south of Mistbay. When the day finally came that the signal fires alerted to a ship on the horizon, the three set sail. It took the better part of that day for the "fleet" to catch sight of the deportation ship flying the Elvenpass Duchy flag. Rigged for coastal speed, and not the rigors of the open sea, the fleet was able to overtake the ship. in truth, the Elvenpass Captain wasn't really trying to run - he had no idea what was about to happen.
The three ships boxed in their "captive" deporataion ship, and Captain Jennyfur Greeneyes and First Officer K'raash boarded the ship, along with forty others armed with cutlasses. Jennyfur ordered the deportees to be brought up from the hold and unchained. In the meantime, the captain of the deportation ship and all his officers were placed in chains and transferred to Jennyfur's flagship. She then addressed the deportees and remaining common crew. Any of these who wished to return home would be permitted to - sailing home the smallest of Jennyfur's three ships as she was claiming the larger, more seaworthy deportation ship as a prize. Deportees who wished to return home would be armed to ensure they made the trip in freedom and had control of their own return. Any - crew or deportee - who wished to remain in Tyrnabay would be welcomed as new citizens.
About half the crew, and four of the deportees wished to return. They were transferred to their new ship with sufficient provisions, and sent on their way. A letter was sent with them explaining that the officers would be released in two years time - after they had served their time for crimes against Tyrnaby sovereignty and citizenry. The new Tyrnabaay Navy sailed home triumphantly, where they were met at the docks by a surprised, but jubilant Count.
Within two years, fourteen new ships were comissioned and Tyrnaby had the beginnings of an actual Navy. Jennyfur Greeneyes was given the title of Admiral of the Tyrnabay Fleet by the king himself. And nobody complained when Jennyfur suggested that in addition to dealing with deportation ships - which had all but disappeared entirely - the Navy should start dealing with other "enemy ships" found in the waters it controlled.
Thus began the traditions that would see Tyrnabay grow into the organized "Kingdom of Pirates" that is known today. And at its roots can be found Jennyfur Greeneyes, a young exiled street urchin.
I liked her already from the article I read before this one, but now I love her. The story of her siblings taking care of each other really resonated with me, as my grandmother and her siblings had to do something similar in 1930s Boston after their parents both died young. The bit with the count and countess was also great. Well done!
Thanks for the notes of encouragement! And my apologies that it took so long to respond! Hope your summercamp went well.
Laurels & Loot is a new, lightweight TTRPG rules system that hearkens back to the early days.
It did! And no worries about the delay in replying. I just hope the comments brought a smile to your face when you read them!