Relic of the Drowned Crown

Captain Maren Drake's crew has dredged up a relic the Empire will kill to reclaim, and rumors are already spreading through the tide-slicked ports. With Imperial hunters close behind and the line between salvage and piracy vanishing, Maren must outwit rivals and stay alive long enough to sell the prize, and keep her crew breathing.

Captain Maren Drake grips the soaked railing as her ship, the Tide's Fool, lurches in the dawn swell. Salt spray stings her eyes while Kesh hauls a dripping crate onto the deck, iron bands hissing where relic-magic leaks through the cracks. Before Maren can speak, her lookout, Finn, drops from the rigging and thrusts a battered spyglass at her.

"Sails, starboard, Imperial colors."

Boots thud behind her as the crew tightens ranks, eyes flicking between the relic and the gray line of warships on the horizon. Maren shouts,

"Stow it below! Move!"

The crate vanishes into the hold as cannons glint in the rising sun. She wipes her brow, heart hammering, and barks orders to set course for the nearest reef-shadowed port, every instinct screaming that they're already too late.

The Broken Tides is a storm-scattered seascape where remnants of a drowned civilization rise from the waves, drawing opportunists and empires alike. Pirate crews, merchant guilds, and the iron-fisted Imperial Navy vie for sunken treasures. The seas are as treacherous as the alliances forged atop them.

The Broken Tides stretch across a seemingly endless ocean, pockmarked by the jagged remnants of an ancient, sunken empire. Ruined spires and shattered amphitheaters, crusted with coral and barnacles, break the surface like the bones of giants. The climate is turbulent: tempests sweep through with little warning, and fogs can swallow ships whole. Scattered among the ruins are floating settlements, ramshackle shantytowns lashed to pillars of ancient stone, ruled by merchant guilds or pirate captains. The Imperial Navy, with their black-keeled dreadnoughts, patrols the open waters and imposes harsh salvage laws, branding unauthorized relic hunters as pirates. Independent salvage captains, like Maren Drake, skirt the line between legality and outlawry, buying safety with forged papers and shrewd deals. Magic lingers in the ruins; relics can warp the tides or call spectral sea-creatures, but such power draws the Empire's relentless interest. Daily life is dictated by the sea: crews barter in floating markets, brawl over salvage rights, and share rumors of lost wonders in the dark corners of taverns. The greatest treasures lie below, tempting the bold and the desperate alike.