Once he was known as Tadhg MacMhuircheartaich, a name so hard to pronounce that when it came time to abandon his dreams and go into hiding, he called himself Rambullion instead.

Once, he was young and ambitious and so full of vicious pirate vigor, he could have ripped a Crown galleon in two with his bare hands. Back then, the world was his for the taking, a feast of loot and adventure, the Seven Seas his chest to plunder.

Rambullion had a knack for being in the right place at the right time. When the first pang of age tickled his bones, he joined other mighty pirates in a grand dream: a haven where all were equal and free, built on stolen coin and honest work. A pirate’s paradise.

The dream was short lived, however. The Crown came to take what they said was theirs by right. Rambullion fought alongside the greats, the Averies and O’Malley’s, even Blackbeard, the arrogant bastard. In the end, the harbor fell, and they all ended up either dead or scattered to the winds.

For many years, he vanished, until one day, a man called Rambullion appeared behind the counter of an unassuming tavern as if he’d always been there. Old and grizzled, with a scar on his cranium so big, it seemed his head had been cracked by a cannon ball. When asked about it, he woud tell a new story every time.

Nobody recognized him, and that was all the better. If the Crown found out who he was, he would be hung on the spot. But as Rambullion, he could hang back, observe, and keep the old dream alive until an opportunity came his way. He studied the pirates passing through his tavern—scoundrels, thieves and scallywags, and whoever else the devils dragged in on a particular day. Few of them had the spark, but he could wait.

So, when the tides of fate brought a group of famous pirates to his tavern one day, was it pure chance, or was it destiny? And when all of them were taken in by Amara the pirate hunter moments later, why not raise a fuss so they’d take him in as well?

After all, Rambullion had a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

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If you've missed previous entries in our Legends Before the Storm series, you can get caught up here:

• Honorata, The Adventurer
  
• Scarlet, The Fearless
  
• Kanja, The Gambler
  
• Teach, The Brute

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Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was the last of the old guard. Those around him have fallen victim to the Crown, pirate hunters, or even their own crews. He had survived through sheer brutality, vigilance, and force of will.

Teach was not the monster depicted in horror stories (although he himself had cultivated that reputation). Once, he had been a mentor to his men, an ally to his friends, a man who believed in honor among thieves.

But years of betrayal, battles and the endless fight for survival in the shadow of the Crown eroded the man he’d once been. Teach lost all faith in the idea of pirates sailing under a unified flag. He came to believe that pirates instead needed a King, ruling them with an iron fist.
Better to reign in Hell…

He became a cynical brute, terrorizing, looting, and drinking his days away. His old discipline faltered, replaced by indulgence and recklessness.

On a particularly bad day, he went on a rum-fueled rampage in an infamous pirate tavern he frequented. Smashing tables and mocking the other pirates, he bellowed at everyone across the room, asking for a fight. No one dared to challenge the old savage.

Teach slurred insults at everyone paying attention, including the dashing officer of the Crown who had just entered the room. In response, a rifle stock smashed into his head, knocking him out cold.

Next thing he knew, the pirate legend found himself imprisoned—sore, humiliated, and nursing a terrible hangover. Was this the end of the mighty Blackbeard? Or was there a way for him to reclaim that old strength, rekindle the old fire within him, and build his empire on the burning remains of his enemies?

Fueled by a fresh dose of anger, Teach joined a group of fellow prisoners to forge an escape plan. He was just in time to see the grizzled tavernkeep with the scar on his scalp produce a gunpowder bomb from a hidden pocket.

---

If you've missed previous entries in our Legends Before the Storm series, you can get caught up here:

• Honorata, The Adventurer
  
• Scarlet, The Fearless
  
• Kanja, The Gambler

---

You can find us on Discord[discord.com], Twitter[x.com], Facebook[www.facebook.com], Instagram[www.instagram.com], Threads[www.threads.com], Bluesky[bsky.app], Reddit, TikTok[www.tiktok.com], and YouTube for discussions, updates, and feedback.