Raketomi
Born to one of the few
Horarian families whose living was not toed to the sea, Raketomi’s younger
days were spent working on the family farm. Raketomi’s family grew the few
crops that could be grown on the islands as well as some of the citrus
fruits the isles were knows for.
Raketomi made the frequent trips into the city with his father where they
would sell their crops to the shipping merchants. What they could not sell
to the merchants, they would sell in the local market. On these trips,
Raketomi would spend hours looking out across the water and at the ships in
the harbor. When he was old enough to know the difference between the ships
(about age 5), many of Raketomi’s fantasies centered around being a pirate
captain. That is until, during one trip to the city, he witnessed a battle
between ships.
It seems that a pirate ship and its crew were trying to trying to leave the
harbor and another ship, a Corsair ship he would later learn, had other
ideas. The pirate ship looked bigger and had more sails than the Corsair
ship and, with the wind in its favor, looked like it would easily evade
capture. At the last second, the pirate ship changed course to bring it
alongside the Corsair vessel. The pirate ship loosed a barrage of cannon
fire at the smaller ship and the Corsair returned in kind. What happened
next would be indelibly etched in Raketomi’s mind forever. From where he
watched, Raketomi could see the damage the Corsair ship suffered, several
holes in the side of the ship and much of the rigging torn away. But when
the Corsair returned fire, the side of the pirate ship seemed to
disintegrate. A huge section of the pirate ship was just gone. From deck to
waterline, there was nothing. The pirate crew, such that was left, was
captured and the cargo that had been stolen by the pirates was returned.
When the Corsair docked, Raketomi, along with many others, ran down to the
dock to congratulate the Corsair Captain. To Raketomi, he was a giant of a
man, loud and boisterous. He told those gathered about the battle and how
his well trained crew of pirate hunters was able to cripple the pirate ship
in one pass.
From that day forward all Raketomi wanted to be was a Corsair captain. When
he was old enough, Raketomi left the farm to seek his fortune on the seas.
Unfortunately, Raketomi's
adventures did not last long. While sailing aboard the Vigilant Seas,
the ship was caught in a hurricane and he drowned.
