Tessa Fairwind is one of the leading Free Captains in
The Shackles. She is the most feared duelist in the area, wielding a rapier
and dagger to deadly effect. Many expect her to be the next Hurricane King (or Queen in her case) but she has
always disavowed interest in the role. Those that believe her protestations instead wonder aloud if eventually she might advance
one of her many proteges or lovers to that position.
Tessa, so the rumours say, is the daughter of a northern father (who she never knew) and a Thuvian mother who was herself a formidable
sailor, a mate or captain on several small smuggling boats. As soon as Tessa was old enough to climb the rigging she accompanied her mother on her voyages and remembers the time fondly. When she was thirteen, however, they ran foul
of the Rahadoum Navy and Tess was temporarily enslaved although the period of enslavement varies according
to who is telling the story. It may well have been for only a few hours and in any case ended with Tessa escaping
and one by one assassinating the whole command structure of her captor's vessel.
With a price on her head but with already a reputation she joined the local pirates and by the age of fifteen she
was captaining her own ship. Her activities, however, enraged the Rahadoum Admiral and his all out effort to capture
her ended with Tessa fleeing south to the The Shackles. There her charm and ruthlessness quickly led her to
becoming a Free Captain and after a time she won the port of Quent in a card game
(the previous owner of the port, a sore loser, was skewered by Tessa's rapier soon afterwards).
Tessa has continued her feud with slavers and Rahadoum slavers in particular. She even goes so far as attacking
other Free Captains if she believes their ships are carrying slaves. As a result she has many enemies on the
Pirate Council although most of them know better than to be too vocal about their grudges. On the other hand
many of the younger pirate captains see her as an icon. This trend has annoyed the Hurricane King who has
instructed his allies to make life difficult for would be applicants for a place on the Council.