Varek Bloodtide

Once a decorated naval officer in the fleet of the Astral Dominion, Varek was betrayed by his own command after uncovering a secret about the king's forbidden dealings with the Shadow Traders. Branded a traitor and sentenced to execution, he escaped with the help of a prison ship mutiny he himself incited, slaughtering the guards with nothing but a rusted anchor chain.

From that moment forward, Varek shed his surname and took on the name Bloodtide, in honor of the massacre he left behind in the reef-red waters of his escape. He became a pirate captain feared not just for his brutality, but for his tactical brilliance. Varek commands the Obsidian Wyrm, a ship said to be reinforced with hull planks taken from cursed wrecks and stitched with shadowed iron.

Legends say his beard turned ashen from the fire magic used against him at sea, magic he now wears proudly as a scorched brand across his face. Though cold and calculating, he harbors a fierce loyalty to only one: his wife and equal in infamy, Scarlet Maelra.