Burnt Saffron

Burnt Saffron

(Ship)

Class

Galley

Keel

150 ft.

Beam

30 ft.

Propulsion

160 oars, 80 squares of sails (two masts)

Armament

12 light ballistae, catapult

Captain(s)

Captain Farzam Khorsheed

Crew

Helmsman Jarva Ellasdotter, Marine Commander Wedu Tibebe, Slavemaster Gristlefang, 56 slavers, 200 rowers

Images of Burnt Saffron

Source: Ships of the Inner Sea, pg(s). 9

The black-hulled galley ship Burnt Saffron is one of the most feared slave galleys in Katapeshi waters. It is said that its crew kill more sailors than they imprison. The ship has a beam of 30 feet and stretches nearly 150 feet from bow to stern, and features three full decks with two masts flying square sails of burnished yellow.

Several flotillas have attempted to hunt down and sink the Burnt Saffron. Those fortunate few able to observe the galley up close and live to tell of it say that its hull as well as its masts and oars are blackened by fire rather than paint or pitch. The renowned slave galley is captained by the greedy Captain Farzam Khorsheed, a former pirate who turned to the Okeno slave trade.

History

The ship, originally a slave galley named the White Dawn, was built at Stonespine Island in 4671 AR and captained by Khorsheed. Its hull was pearl-white with sails of bright yellow. In its first three years the White Dawn captured a large number of ships.

In 4674 AR, the ship departed from the Thuvian port city of Merab en route to Okeno with a hold full of slaves. A terrible storm smashed its masts and broke its oars, and Gray Corsairs' ships found the slave galley adrift on the waves. They freed the still-chained slaves and set the crippled ship on fire. It is said that Khorsheed called upon Asmodeus, god of slavery, to help him. No one knows the deal he struck with the Prince of Lies, but the White Dawn emerged from the sinking ashes as the Burnt Saffron. Together, the ship and its captain represent a divine force of slavery in the Inner Sea.