The Ferry of the Damned

Within the Sea of Thieves lie many dangers. Pirates, both dead and alive, sharks, krakens, snakes and
all kinds of other things. Sooner or later, a pirate will succumb to one of these dangers (or get drunk,
fall off the ship and drown). The afterlife in the Sea of Thieves consists of a vast, ghostly sea known
as The Sea of the Damned, made up of the souls of the dead. Looking into the water, you can see
faces that are neither wholly mer nor human, blending together. Eerie sounds whisper sibilantly across
the icy waters, seeming to say Rest in Peace and other eerie phrases. On these waters sail a ghostly
ship called “The Ferry of the Damned”. The Ferry is a galleon with a skeletal hippocampus for a
figurehead that makes no sound of rigging or sails flapping as it ghosts across the icy waters. The
passage to the lower decks is shut, chained closed, confining the lost souls to the upper decks. The
cannon are also chained in place, a precaution that seems to have been brought about by the apparent
theft of one of the cannons. The masts are broken, snapped and gouged but still upright, suspended by
a magical force. Where a regular galleon has the grating in the deck, the Ferry has a large floating
brazier, surrounded with an ethereal fire seemingly made from ghostly outstretched hands. The
lanterns on this ship are extinguished, slowly pouring wisps of smoke, their function being taken by
the long, red, melting candles on the railing of the ship. The Ferry is captained by a silent, bearded
ghost, called The Ferryman by all. He pilots the ship, turning the wheel without a sound and is
impassive to the visitors he gets, steadfastly ignoring them. The crew on this ship are also ghosts,
gaunt and bloodless ghosts that have chosen to sail for eternity rather than be at rest. This ship rescues
souls fresh from the land of the living, saving them from death. Where an ordinary ship has the door
to the captain’s quarters, the Ferry has a doored archway, framed by skeletal creatures in hoods,
holding up the lintel. One of these has a bell, which tolls a sepulchral knell when the Ferryman
decides you have spent long enough aboard his vessel. At the sound of the bell, the door to the cabin
bursts open, broken pieces floating in mid-air. Instead of a cabin, there is a swirling light that draws
you in, transporting you back to the land of the living. Then, you wake up back aboard ship, feeling as
though you have just had the worst dream ever but are none the worse for your trip. There are many
theories about why the Ferryman does this, some saying he is cursed, being magically forced to do so,
others saying he works to repay a debt. For whatever reason he does it, he is deeply appreciated by all
who sail the Sea of Thieves. That being said, no one pushes their luck too much, as one day, he may
not be there to rescue you from the icy waters of the Sea of the Damned. It is known that he wasn’t
there always as there aren’t still pirates from the first golden age sailing the seas in search of long-lost
treasure troves. The only ones we have are the Pirate Lord and his crew, made ghosts after death
through the power of a medallion with The Reapers Mark engraved upon it. He lives on, mentoring
budding legends and setting them tasks. The skulls collected from the skeleton captains make the
same eerie whispering noise that the Sea of the Damned does, showing that the souls of the crew are
now at rest. Oddly enough, the skeletons have managed to raid the Ferry of the Damned before, with
Captain Flameheart stealing the cannon that is missing from the Ferry to mount on his ship “The
Burning Blade”. In the middle of the map is a large rock formation, an arch of stone with a spike
surmounting it. Deep in the waters below the arch, pirates have reported catching a glimpse of the
Ferry before drowning at the extreme depth they swum to and visiting it in person. However, pirates
love a good yarn and will sacrifice detail for the sake of making the story more interesting so anything
they say can and should be taken with a pinch of salt. Whatever, however and whyever, the Ferry still
sails the Sea of the Damned, rescuing lost souls from its icy grip.

Venator Animarum, Master of the Order