Editing Astral Sea Freebooters (section)

== Party Members ==

=== [[Astral Sea Freebooters: Chaedi|Chaedi Aeriel Ausilia]]  ===
<i>(Elf, Avenger, Unaligned)</i>

The graceful but taciturn elf woman's lack of emotion belies the
intensity within her soul.  A simple temple guard in a backwater elf
domain, her life was changed forever when the Illithid Empire set its
sights on conquering her people.  After seeing the Illithids defeat
and capture the goddess of her temple, Chaedi decided not to throw her
life away in a pointless fight and volunteered as a willing thrall of
the Illithids.  In an unholy experiment, they implanted in her a
fragment of the divinity of her goddess, turning her into a living
weapon.  As an assassin, she hunted down and slaughtered hundreds of
her master's enemies, the followers of her deity.

Chaedi began to be plagued by terrifying dreams sent by her goddess that
increased her power even as it robbed her of the will to serve her
evil masters.  Perhaps sensing this, the Illithids began to send her
on harder and harder missions in the hopes of removing the threat, but
this only honed her skills.  At last, during a hunt across the Astral
Sea for the last priest of her order, she broke free from the
influence of her masters.  Sparing her target for the first and only
time, she declared a vendetta against the Illithid and began to hunt
them down without mercy.

She hopes that by destroying those that ordered her to destroy, she
can find redemption for the blood on her hands.

=== [[Astral Sea Freebooters: Samhain|Samhain]] ===
<i>(Eladrin, Wizard, Unaligned)</i>

Samhain grew up between freeport and skull island on any ship that he could hitch/sneak a ride. When he was old enough to be a  cabin boy, he found his home on ship The Flying Hydra.  Captain "kid" (a halfing pirate) ran a tight ship with a misfit crew of degenerates and criminals.

The captain one day handed Samhain a book and told him "Knowledge is the ultimate power in the whole astral sea."  Little did he know that he just handed Samhain a recently dead wizard's spellbook and little did Samhain know that his true share went back into the captain's pocket.

So Samhain studied, hard, for over the next few years. Being labeled a rogue arcanist helped him move up the ranks to become the captain's right-hand man. 

That is about when their piracy got noticed by  The Varian Confederation. It wasn't the raiding of small communities, the plundering of local ships, or even housing lesser criminals that got their attention. It was Raiding a Confederation ship and holding it's captain ransom ( The ship was The S.S. Armageddon, one of the largest Varian battle ships they have. The captain, who is still alive, is the Notorious Capt. Franicis "Bulldog" Valleymen). The Varian Confederation blew the Flying Hydra out of the astral sea and into the bowels of  pandemonium. Very few crew members survived the attack and Captain Kid betrayed his own crew to flee. 

Samhain was blamed for putting the Varian Confederation in harms way (as they snuck out of Hegemony territory) and they gave him a one way ticket express trip to Carceri (no trial and no paper trial).


[[Image:EdwinToken.png|frame|<center>Edwin Cocalas</center>]]

=== [[Astral Sea Freebooters: Edwin|Edwin Cocalas]] ===
<i>(Human, Sorcerer, Unaligned)</i>

A strong-willed man of innate arcane power, Edwin Cocalas clawed his
way up from a bastard's nothing in the coldest remotes of Earth to
command the largest independent merchant pirate fleet in Earth's
history.  His service in the Dark War on the side of the First Empire
of Man made him a widely recognized hero, a magnet for the disaffected
in the aftermath of the Emperor's assassination.  His fleet grew as he
traded and raided throughout the splintered Empire, while keeping the
other Powers from gobbling it up.  He earned a reputation for
single-minded ruthlessness toward his enemies and generous unconcern
for his allies as he played the game of power along the coasts of
Earth.

This path to power culminated in an all-out invasion of the former
Empire.  Edwin Cocalas' arcane power swept the mundane armies from before his
devoted mob in a blitzkrieg that left him in complete control of a
large chunk of the Imperial lands.  He was preparing to press his
advantage to subsume the continent when agents of the  Varian
Confederation appeared and whisked him away to prevent what they saw
as a catastrophic destabilization of Earth's natural progression.
They intended to banish the sorcerer to Carceri, but once again Edwin
rose up against his intended fate.

With his new ship and allies, Edwin Cocalas intends to replicate his
heroic accomplishments writ large on the canvas of the Astral Sea.

=== Ronaldo Summerfall ===
<i>(Half-Elf, Bard, Unaligned)</i><br>
(alias Ronaldo the Shiv, Ronaldo Silvertongue, Lord Summerfall, Ronny "Two Tone", The Ambassador, etc.)

Ronaldo Summerfall never knew his parents, only the orphanage where he grew up. Shortly after he learned to talk he was swindling everyone he met, from the teachers to his classmates. It was not long before he had a reputation for being able to talk anyone into anything, and it did not take the Varian Confederation long to recognize this. They saw him as the perfect tool to bend nations to their will, and that he did. Summerfall resolved countless conflicts for the Confederation, though many of the higher ranking officials began to doubt his abilities. Many even began to consider that all of his work had been an elaborate scam, that several of the conflicts he halped resolve had been aranged by Summerfall himself. Still, his results spoke volumes, and they gave him a ship, along with orders to patrol the Astral Sea, and several spies in his patrol.

As it turns out, the Confederation's concerns were well founded, as Summerfall's true motives soon became clear. A short sending message was the only warning they received, with just enough time to divert a patrol to stop him. Confederation agents stormed Summerfall's ship as he was signing over two "worlds" to the Illithid Empire, in return for an alleged "peace" between the two parties. The Illithids involved in the illegal treaty were all slaughtered, and Summerfall was taken into custody.

Since Ronaldo Summerfall's deception was discovered, he has been connected to dozens of other crimes. He is currently recognized as one of the most notorious con men of his day, and has been sentenced to life imprisonment. There are some who believe that this sentence will not stop him from furthering his sinister plans.

=== Leonan Scrat ===
<i>(Shifter, Warder, Unaligned)</i><br>

Born bearing the spirit marks of his chieftain ancestors, Leonan was destined to become the leader and champion of his tribe.  Leonan channeled the spirits in defense of his Shifter tribe against any and all threats that came anywhere near his island chain on Archipelego.  Chief Leonan slayed the great behemoth from the depths, defeated the dangerous shark men of the east, and forced the Thunder Storm spirit to bow before him. 

Then came the strangers.  A small ship landed on Leonan’s island home.  It was one of the sleeker, faster ships he’d only heard stories off, something called a spelljammer.  It carried a motley crew of many races he’d never seen before.  They requested refuge, saying they’d ran out of supplies on a long journey and would be on their way within a few days, if they could be given a safe harbor.  Having no prior relations with these types of men, but sensing a certain primal kinship with these Freebooters, Leonan welcomed them with open arms.

Later that evening, another ship approached the island, though this one wrapped in a strange aura of foreboding.   The ship breached the shoreline, and waves of men came pouring out from it, though of mixed races, they all wore the same uniform.  Thinking this some kind of assault against the tribe, Leonan mustered the men of the tribe and led them in an attempt to repel the invaders.  The invaders commanded powerful spirits and fought with disciplined skill.  Even with the help of his own Freebooter allies, Leonan and his braves were defeated.

Leonan was dragged in chains before the chief of the invaders, "Captain Elliot Sandhearst" and was found guilty of crimes against the Confederation, including but not limited to "Treason, Espionage, Piracy, and Disrupting the Natural Order."  Leonan's people were, one by one, forced to renounce their beloved chief.  Those who defied Captain Sandhearst were put to death.  Leonan begged his people to renounce him, so that they would live on, but many did not.

Leonan himself was sentenced to eternal imprisonment, and placed aboard the prison ship for transport to Carceri.

=== William Cash ===
<i>(Human, Fighter, Unaligned)</i><br>
(alias Iron Bill)

William Cash was born to a poor earth family. He was the fifth son of the family. The youngest. And the others never let him forget it. At nights William used to look into the sky and dream of being among the stars. When William was about 15 his parents decided to move the family out of the squalor they lived in for so long and move to the country to farm. All his brothers supported their decision. But William decided that this was not the life for him. One night, men came down from the stars, and William took the opportunity to run away. 

William stowed away aboard the Spelljammer to Freeport. Once there he thrived on the motion of the city. He learned to adapt to any situation and move with the flow of people, causing just enough disturbance for himself to profit from. But again William became restless. He longed for a life of adventure.
 
He decided that the quickest way to that life was to serve with the Varian Confederation.

He and another street rat (Elliot) quickly climbed the ranks, becoming fast rivals and eventually were put in charge of their own Spelljammers. William was notorious for breaking the rules. In his world, the ends justify the means. He was ready to break out. William went back to Freeport and gave his men leave for a few days. When they returned the ship was gone. William had rounded up all the scoundrels that felt as he did and set off.
 
The life was lucrative, until his old friend Elliot was given orders to deal with a menace. A pirate named "Iron Bill". Apparently he recieved the name because nobody had ever seen him bleed. "Prove them wrong" was all the captain was told.   Elliot caught up with William on the Archipelego, where William was repairing his ship and enjoying the hospitality of a tribe of noble island savages.  The rest, as they say, is history.

As William was transferred from Elliot's ship onto the prison ship Relentless in shackles, he gazed at the stars. Vowing to not die in captivity, but in the skies . . . .