“Wake up…I said WAKE UP!” A swift and vicious kick to the stomach woke Teucrium from his dreams. He vomited what little he had in his stomach, falling face first in the pool of bile, with both hands and feet bound. “Have you enjoyed our hospitality? How many days has it been? Five, six… you lose count out here sometimes… But that doesn’t matter much in your case.” Teucrium’s captor stepped closer before placing her foot upon the back of his head and pressing it into the filthy floorboards.

“I was wondering if you were already dead… and that simply would not do. For the things you and people like you have done, an example must be made… Well, you’ll find out soon enough. Pick him up!” Teucrium was unable to raise his head to see who was speaking, only that the speaker was young, probably just having entered adulthood. All he was able to witness was a flash of red as the men on either side lifted him, dragging his limp starving form up towards the deck. The glare of the morning sun forcing his eyes shut.

Waiting there upon the deck of his former flagship were all their captives, mainly women and children, with a few men, mainly slave cargo and those who they had captured on previous raids. The last stand of the captain of the merchant ship and his men had thoroughly enraged the pirates, to the point where killing the captain and the deckhands would not be enough. Their desire for revenge had to be slaked with the blood of the people on board, the men, other than the imprisoned slaves were killed, with only the women and young girls being left alive as an outlet for the men’s lust.

Father’s, husbands, brothers, all were killed without mercy, a rare event these days. As the sale of slaves, no matter the age or condition was good business, yet blood was spilled to placate the men. Now the survivors of those events were lined up across from Teucrium and the remaining survivors of his crew, at most twenty men. A significant reduction from the hundred twenty-man crew he once commanded, all were in a similar state of starvation, the signs of the beatings clear on their faces.

Standing between the pirates and the survivors were the beastly warriors, their fur and hide armor resembling that of the Galians to the north. Yet their skin tone resembled those from the central islands, their language also had more in common with the islanders than the wildmen of the north. At their head was a woman, the same handsome woman who had burst into Teucrium’s cabin almost a week prior, and the commander of the flotilla. Her blazing red hair flowing down past her shoulders appeared to glow in the midday sun.

“These men behind me committed unspeakable atrocities upon all of you here. Your loved ones were taken, some of you had taken your lives in shame within these few days we have remained at sea. Those of you who stand before me today made a different choice, you chose to live… and that is the first step towards strength.” The flame haired woman had her soldiers bring forth weapons, daggers, short swords, spears, anything with a blade that was simple to use. These weapons were placed before the survivors, then the soldiers stepped back and to the side, opening a path towards the prisoners who remained bound.

“Pick up the weapons that lay before you, free yourselves from the shackles which bind. Use their blood, the blood of your oppressors cast away the shame that THEY visited upon YOU!” In her heightened emotional state, the woman stomped her foot into the deck of the ship with such force that the wood splintered and cracked. The prisoners who witnessed this could not help but draw in a deep breath, imagining their heads as the boards.

“Which one of you is willing to step forward? … Which one of you is willing to throw off your chains? …. Which one of you is willing to be reborn? To cast away your old life.” At first none of the women or former slaves reached for the weapons at their feet, appearing somewhat afraid, hesitant. Until one finally did, a young girl, signs of self-harm were clear upon her exposed skin, she could not have been older than eleven or twelve years, and yet she had suffered under the pirate captain Teucrium.

Yet she was the first, all eyes were upon her in that moment, survivors, liberators, and prisoners, in her hand a dagger. Teucrium kept his head low, his eyes never once glancing upwards, it was no surprise when the dainty pair of feet materialized before him. The girl spoke not a word, instead speaking volumes with her actions, hesitating for a single instant before finally deciding on her course.

She thrust her hand out, taking firm hold of the man’s grime covered mat of hair, pulling his head all the way back to expose his neck. Yet when he opened his eyes to look into the sky, thinking that she was about to slit his throat, she instead thrust her blade into his left eye, just enough to puncture the eye itself.

The man screamed in pain, flopping left and right trying desperately to escape the pain, blood running down his face from the socket where his eye once used to be. Yet the girl cared not for his pain, in fact she appeared to take pleasure in it, no longer was she the victim, her hands trembled in excitement.

To assist the girl the fiery haired woman called forth some of her men who held the squirming pirate captain in place, soon enough he was left completely blind as the girl took his remaining eye. Little by little she incrementally took pieces and parts of the man, not enough to kill, just enough to cause immense pain. Soon she had reached the final target, and with one fluid swipe she separated the man from the body, Teucrium screamed loader than any time before. His manhood was gone, the pain causing his body to go into convulsions. Yet the girl was finished, her revenge sated, the broken body of the former pirate captain Teucrium was tossed into the wide-open sea.

This action appeared to finally open the floodgates, as half of the remaining survivors grasped a weapon and rushed towards their former captors. What ensued was a bloody affair, the women met upon the remaining pirates every punishment that they could imagine. The lucky ones died quickly, a thrust to the heart perhaps, whereas the unlucky ones were kept alive for half an hour. By the end of it all the deck of the ship ran red with blood, already the sharks had come to feast, as the many bodies floated nearby.

“We will make port by tomorrow upon the island of Kyrnos. For those of you who picked up those blades and showed your resolve, there are two choices ahead of you… One you may find passage on any ship once we reach Port Ealar and return home, wherever that may be… Or two you may join my ranks, if you have nowhere to return to or do not wish to return, you may join us, the Balearii clan. These are the options I offer you.” The fiery haired woman presented a slight smile to the blood-soaked men and women, emphasizing option two.

Upon completing her conversation, she turned to the second group, those who did not participate in the execution. “You all will be safely delivered to Port Ealar, my clan shall provide you with funds so that you may find passage back home. You can remain within Port Ealar if you so desire, but you will not be offered citizenship, and you will not receive any benefits. We do not have room for those lacking spine within our ranks. Do as you please but attempt to take anything from the hold that we consider our legitimately acquired plunder, and my men will not hesitate to cut you down.” Having said her piece the woman made to leave her eyes only briefly drifting over to the slaves, the ones that had been slaves before the pirate attack.

It would take longer to help those men and women regain their humanity; they would be taken in as slaves for now. Other than the few slaves who managed to unleash their pent-up aggression upon the pirates, the rest would be considered slaves, but treated as wards. Perhaps over time they could be freed, and their talents used towards more productive work. A consideration for another time.