The Pirate Confederacy of Mykx was a coalition of gnollish pirate fleets based in the heart of the Ruined Sea, on the island of Ilzin Mykx. The name of the confederation and its home island is derived from the name of its founding captain, Mykx. First employed by the Viakkoca navy, Mykx led a mutiny in the early 16th century, outmaneuvering the Viakkoca fleet and escaping to Aelantir with her closest supporters.
Upon their arrival, the pirates immediately set about leeching off of the immense wealth flowing into Aelantir. In the early days, their targets were mostly disorganized and unescorted colonial ships, without any large navies to protect them. As their infamy began to spread, gnolls of all stripes made the oceanic crossing themselves to get in on the riches. Unfortunately, the easy pickings did not last forever. Large-scale colonial investment into Aelantir from Cannor brought along with it fully equipped and well-trained navies, which made the pirates’ lives much more difficult.
Beginnings of a State[]
The practically anarchic pirate society of the early days had to be reformed, and the aging Captain Mykx had just the solution to impose order. A “pirate code” was drafted, which acted simultaneously as a commitment to come to the aid of other observing ships, a contractual agreement between captain and crew, and a rough set of laws regarding conduct on- and off-ship. Furthermore, the code established the position of the “Grand Captain” who would be responsible for enforcing the stipulations of the code, and for coordinating larger operations between pirates. Naturally, any who did not agree to the code were considered free game, and were quickly hunted down.
What emerged was something that could roughly be identified as a state. The new level of organization was able to give the pirates of Mykx just the edge they needed to stay competitive in the rapidly changing environment of colonial Aelantir. As the population of the pirates’ claimed territory grew, they became particularly infamous for the development and production of an extremely powerful hallucinogen known as “Demon’s Blood.” Even after the end of Mykx, the drug has continued to plague black markets to this day.
The Battle of Ilzin Mykx[]
To fuel their growing fleets and ramp up the dangerous manufacture of Demon’s Blood, the gnolls began to take slaves from the cities and ships that they raided. Though it may have been a massive boon to their domestic economy, the expansion of slavery to include non-orcs was a bridge too far for their enemies. In 1604, the pirates of Mykx conducted a slave raid on an outlying Saamirsi settlement that appeared undefended. Little did they know, they were playing right into a trap. As soon as the first pillagers made landfall, soldiers hiding in the village buildings rushed out to meet them, while a detachment of the Saamirsi fleet emerged from behind the island. Their forces split in two, the pirates were quickly dispatched, and their ships seized. Now equipped with a wealth of secret maps and correspondence, Saamiršes launched a campaign to systematically destroy every last gnollish pirate cove.
Backed into a corner, the grand captain summoned the full might of the Mykx fleet to defend Ilzin Mykx. When the Saamirsi finally reached the island, a great host of pirates awaited them. What followed was one of the most destructive naval engagements of the 17th century, as naval order soon dissolved into brutal ship-to-ship combat, lost in the smoke of battle. There would be no decisive victory for either side as the sun set on the Ruined Sea, so the battle continued, lit by the burning wreckage of destroyed ships. Finally, when the sun rose on the next day, a victorious Saamirsi fleet remained to greet it. What few Mykxic ships survived scattered to the winds (which proved to be a significant recruitment opportunity for the other pirate republics of the Ruined Sea). The battle may not have marked the end of piracy in the Ruined Sea, but Mykx was no more.