Many
legends begin their stories with humble beginnings...but not Zufar. The fact of the matter was, Zufar was indeed born a prince, a prodigy of a far away land...and it was said that his destiny, his birthright was to rule...and as such, from such a young age he had it all, wealth, power, luxury beyond dreams. In his youth, he had the finest tutors of all the lands, servants at his beckon call, his own harem... even an army at his command...all as a mere child...and what a child he was...his intellect and skill had blossomed at such an early age, which only serve to reinforce the prophecies of his birthright...but more importantly, it inflated the child’s massive ego even further.
Zufar, as a child, was a far cry to the man he is today. The child prince, his arrogance was borderline cruel, seeing himself as gif given by the gods upon his kingdom, and that all those lesser than him should bow to his majesty. It did not help that he was spoiled, or that he was truly considered to be the one that would be destined to rule...that all of the realm would be his and his alone, he embraced what he thought was his future role like a child with a new toy; abusing and misusing every facility given to him. It was said that the child prince would order his soldiers into battle on a whim for his own personal entertainment, ordering and watching his armies from the safety and luxury of the rear lines. Do not be mistaken, he was a very intelligent strategist, but he could care less if a unit had gotten whipped out to the last man. No remorse, no sympathy.
All may bow to the child prince, for he’s destiny was to rule...and it was this arrogance that would be his downfall.
It had happened during just what had appeared to be just another battle against some desert tribe or another...but Zufar was betrayed by those among his ranks...turned upon their former master, taking the loyalsits by suprise...slaying them to the last man...and the child prince was captured...his enemies sethed at the sight of him...but instead of being ransomed back to his people, he was given a different fate by his captives...one that they saw would put this brat in his place...so he was sold off into slavery, as nothing more than another mere human...stripped of the luxeries of his former life and bounded to potentially an life time of servitude...if he was lucky.
But that was where they were wrong...for perhaps the profiles contained some truths...for mere chains could not hold the ambitions of Zufar el-Hassan.
Zufar was truly a remarkable individual, even at such a young age, and while he had been previously spoiled by the easy life, his entrance was first marred by hardship...sold off to one of many within a slaver fleet...and it would have been worse had he not had someone looking out for him. She was...a mentor, in many aspects...someone who rescued him, even protected him...not because he was the chosen one...but because it was...her creed...her purpose...perhaps had it not been for her, Zufar would have still been in shackles...but it was because of her, he was able to adapt to his surroundings...and began to take control once more.
A mere year passed before Zufar found himself freed from his bondage, leading a slave revolt upon the slaver’s ship, they took their former masters by utter surprise and gained control of the ship...but not without a price. Zudar's mentored had been wounded in striking a blow against the vicious captain, finished off by the boy...and she lay dying in his arms...he cried...for the first time as long as he could remember...he cried for another individual...but now he was shedding tears...amongst the chaos...but it was to end as a victory...for while they lost their comrades...they have gained their freedom...and Zufar had inherited a new cause...and this was where the legend all started.
But it was never easy at the beginning, for the great Zufar el-Hassan did not win victory after victory upon his own self-liberation. In fact, the early days upon the seas saw as many defeats as victories, with the crew escaping by the skins of their teeth for being recaptured back into slavery. But above all, it was the lessons of leadership, as now his people were not born to serve him, but served out of their own villican.
And they needed a leader, not a ruler.
It was not to say any of this was easily learned, and more than once Zufar found himself almost overthrown as the captain of his ship. Fear nor terror would coax these people into obeying, slave or not, they had they’re freedom...no, these people needed to be inspired into action. Camaradiare would be the key, and it was a skill that the former child prince had to learn...he learn to listen as much as he talked...protrude confidence in the face of hesitation...and the fiction that he took upon himself...he shared it with his crew...so that they too shared a common goal...a cause greater than any individual greed, a cause to bind them like glue.
Even than, victory was never assured in those early days. They would always find someway of pulling through, of getting away just to sail another day. It was said that the crew under Zufar had gone through five or so ships, as the crew ran their vessel ragged, and on the urge of every individual vessel destruction, they’d hurl headlong into the enemy and board with Zufar at the head...into the melee they hurled themselves, life or death, there was no concept of surrender...sometimes they’d even be outnumbered, but somehow they’d pull through...capture the ship and repurpose it for themselves. But ever battle a new lesson was won, experience and wisdom would be gained come victory or defeat. As time passed, the crew of Zufar el-Hassan would gain some notoriety as a pirate crew, sailing to and fore, winning victories, taking names, freeing the chains that once shackled them.
But...the legend of Zufar el-Hassan and his Redeemers truly began with their grand escape from the depths of the Cerak Ar’Thur...and set the Black Bay on fire.
It began when the crew arrived at Cerak and having to abandon their previous ship upon the shores of the Black Bay. This was a territory that none of the crew had wanted to be, luckily they’re identities had yet to be discovered. But they needed a way out...and they were not planning to bargain with any slavers. So, it was decided upon council, the plan was to be set into motion...a plan that took a few days of preparation and patience...that even if it were to fail, would at least be one hell of a way to go. The plan revolved around “The Magnificent Enslaver”, one of the bigger ships in the docks at the time and incident was the flagship of the slaver fleet Zufar was sold to. On one particular night, Zufar and his crew went on what some may call a bit of a rampage; racing among the docks, breaking open cages and freeing slaves aboard the various slaver ships, instructing them into the water and for the “The Magnificent Enslaver”, where a team lead by Zufar had boarded and dispatched of it’s sleeping crew. Those among Zufar’s on the docks would then set the ships ablaze, and race to the next ship where
Time was against them, but they were able to start a chain reaction that lite docks of Cerak ablaze. With the crew now abroad and Zufar at the helm, the ship was ordered forward, now on the run from those still in the docks. Had it not been for some non-prirate individuals with them that day, they may have been capsized by the Black Fortress. But it seems the gods were on their side that day, as a freak fog suddenly rolled into the bay, obscuring the view of all, and allowing the hijacked ship to slip away amidst the chaos.
It was said by one of the crew members present during the escape, that while they were sailing for their lives, he caught a glimpse of their dear captain. Zufar, at the helm, in a moment of reprieve, had gazed upon the mountain overlooking the Black Bay. No doubt looking at the Black Fortress...but whereas most men who gazed upon the protectorate of Cerak would want to look away, Zufar maintained his eyes upon the Forretress...a wicked grin, one that was signature to him, was affixed to his face...one that belonged to a man whom had just spat in the face of death...and this particular sailor swore that when he looked up, he saw someone...standing there...
Now it could not be overstated that Zufar and his crew managed to escape by quite literally a mouse's fart, and had it not been for the sudden freak of a fog that rolled in,. This was also by no means a crippling blow upon Cerak At’Thul’s defensive capabilities by any stretch of the imagination, but Zafar's escape certainly did a lot of damage to the “locals”; some say the damages reached the seven digit marks. It is for this reason that neither Zufar or his Redeemers are not ever welcomed back to Cerak Ar’Thur; while Cerak is home to the most nafaouris of individuals, Zufar had in one fell swoop wronged so many of Cerak’s denizens that he had effectively become a wanted criminal among criminals. Not an easy feat.
Indeed Zufar made his escape from the Black Bay, but he was yet out of troubled waters. Obviously, those whose vessels hadn’t been put to the torch quickly pursed after Zufar was a vengeance. For days, Zufar and his crew managed to evade and outmaneuver their purses, fighting back when they could and running when they couldn’t. The “Magnificent Enslaver”(as it was still called at the time) was chased all the way down to the Spear, disappearing into a storm South of the Spear.
Now of course, this isn’t the first instance of ships escaping into the storm, but with little evidence that they survived, well...a lot of pirate and slaves had to cut their losses. So life went back to normal kind of...yet people started noticing that slaver ships kind of disappeared, with increasing frequency, and while at first no one really gave a damn(cause everyone thought “not my problem”), when the first pirates came back after surviving one of these disappearances, they described a man that was. It was the bastard Zufar, he was still alive! And he was flying the...Velvet colors? Yet the colors of the ship were the least of some people’s concerns...as a lot of slavers wished he had remained “dead”. But it wasn't just him this time, oh no; more ships had also been raiding the slave routes, nearly all were flying the Velvet flag. Word soon began to spread of this band, the Velvet Redeemers, and who was at the head of these? That bastard Zufar!
No doubt, perhaps this was where Zufar began to catch on among the whispers in the taverns, upon sailors, and even among slaves themselves. Most slavers and pirates despised Zufar, whom seemed to actively target their way of life, taking from the riches and cargo that they had rightfully stole. And this is where the story continues, as over the course of years and dozens of adventures. To this day Zufar still sails the high seas, his one defined goal is not merely to get rich, but to free those many still in bondage. Perhaps all along this was the destiny that had been foretold about Zufar, that he indeed was “ruling”...or rather...leading his new people...
