Greetings travelar, I am Jarod Stormyseas, Captain of The Loki. I am a pirate shapeshifter.

Let me tell you my tale.

I had spent my life on the seas. My father was a fisherman, and since I was old enough to sit still in the boat, he had taken me out with him. As I grew older, the tales of the sailors in the tavern my mother ran enthralled me. The older I got, the more my mind became set. I wanted to be a sailor.

Finally my chance came. I ship came limping into port. It had been through a bad storm and lost a number of it's crew. Including the cabin boy. I informed my parents that I was leaving. Although they weren't happy about it, they knew that I had been wanting this for years. They still had my sister Lucy, and sent me on my way with their blessings.

I was nine at the time. For the next fifteen years, I sailed the high seas, rising in rank as the years passed. Then, at the age of twenty-four, I was given the rank of Captain.

The pride I felt was huge. Then, the captains of all the ships that I had ever worked on, plus many other captains gave me a gift. An unamed ship. A ship all mine. To say that I was speechless was an understatement. It would seem that the ship had been ordered and paid for by a captain, but before he could name it, he died fighting pirates. And now it was mine.

I instantly knew what to call her. The Loki. Because although Shellith was my Goddess, being a sailor, I knew that I had been blessed by Thorith as well. She was duly named and floated. She was a beauty to behold.

Her maiden voyage was back to my home village. They had not seen me in years, and had only received a few letters from me. It was only fair that they should hear about my rise from me in person.

The welcome I recieved when I returned home was all that anyone could ask for. The joy in my parents faces made all the years I had been away from them worthwhile.

I stayed with my family for nearly a week, but then it was time to leave. My sister asked if I could take her to the village of Snowcap, as she was to go into training as a cleric. Happy not to have to part with her for another few days, I was more than happy. Being only a new captain, I did not yet have any deadlines to keep.

We were two days into the five day journey when a storm hit us. I had been in many storms before, but there was something different about this one. It wasn't any fiecer, or had higher waves, there was just a feel to it that made me uncomfortable.

By the time that the storm finally blew over, I knew that we were way off course. We had been blown to far to the west. We were close to the Darklords castle, and I wanted nothing to do with anything on the continent.

I went below to take some much needed rest. I had not slept at all throughout the whole storm. I was woken a few hours later by the sound of screaming. As my sister was the only female on board, I knew that it could be noone but her.

I raced into her cabin and was brought to a standstill by the scene in front of me. There was a man standing there, hands around Lucy's throat, staring at me. Behind him, a dark and foreboding prescence. From tales told by sailors, I knew that the man was none other than Lavasida.

I didn't know what he wanted with me or my sister. A voice echoed around the room, and after a few seconds, I realised that it came from the darkness behind Lava.

"Jarod, I have heard tales that you are one of the better captains on the seas, even though you are also the youngest. I have need of a brave and daring captain. You now work for me."

I shook my head in denial, my voice not working.

"I had a feeling that you would feel that way. That is why I have decided to take your sister with me. As long as you obey, she will live. The minute that you turn against me, she will die a slow death."

At these words, Lava tightened his hands around Lucy's throat, her face turning red as she strained to draw a breath.

With an evil chuckle, they all dissapeared, leaving me alone in the empty cabin. Tears ran silently down my face. The dark prescence could have been none other than Nelgath. He would be true to his words. I had no choice but to obey everything that he told me.

I never returned to my home village after that. I recieved many a letter from my parents and friends, but never returned a single one of them. Better for them to think that I was dead then to know how I had betrayed them.

It was not for a number of years, till after I had met Sirene Mistweaver, that I had a chance to redeem myself and save my sister. But that my friends, is another story altogether.