Tessa Fairwind

Tessa Fairwind

(Person)

Aliases

Mistress of Quent

Titles

Hurricane Queen of the Shackles
Captain
Mistress of Quent (formerly)
Pirate lord

Alignment

Chaotic neutral

Ancestry/Species

Aiuvarin

Class

Bard 10 / Duelist 3

Gender

Female

Homeland

Port Peril, Shackles

Deity

Calistria

Organization

Shackles Pirates
Pirate Council

Images of Tessa Fairwind

Source: The Inner Sea World Guide, pg(s). 171 (1E)
Legends, pg(s). 108–109 (2E)

Tessa Fairwind is one of the most popular members of the Pirate Council of the Shackles, and its fourteenth Hurricane Queen. Power-hungry and greedy, she commands one of the largest fleets in the Shackles. She is well known for taking on dangerously reckless raids that seem doomed to failure, yet somehow always snatching victory against all odds.

As the Hurricane Queen, she rules Port Peril, the largest of the Shackles' ports, and is captain of the sloop Luck of the Draw.

Background

Early life

Fairwind was born at sea, to a human merchant sailor and an elven priest of the Pleasure Salon of Calistria in Absalom.

Fairwind spent her childhood with her mother aboard numerous ships and in various ports on the Inner Sea, and she grew up with sea shanties and fabulous tales of adventures. Her career in piracy began when she burgled a smuggler's hidden stash with a yacht stolen in Cassomir before being captured by guards and returned to her mother.

Fairwind descended into delinquency thereafter, leading her mother to sign her into the crew of a friend, Captain Karise, whose ship traveled the High Seas. Fairwind quickly grew to become a quality sailor under her tutelage.

Piracy career

However, her rebellious nature could not be quelled. At age 15, she captured a Thuvian pleasure barge on the Junira river as part of a dare and led guards on a days-long chase until she scuttled the ship and escaped, ending up with a bounty on her head. Three years later, Tessa left the Inner Sea for the Arcadian Ocean. On the way, she raided Chelaxian liners near Khari and Rahadoumi ships and villages before arriving in the Shackles.

Finding the Shackles to her liking, Tessa began making her name by targeting Chelaxian merchant vessels. By age 20, her string of successes had quadrupled her bounty, and she had built a fortune of her own.

The Chelaxian Navy finally captured her at age 23 after a trap damaged her ship and knocked her overboard, and she served two years of hard labor at a prison camp in the Menador Mountains until she managed to escape.

Upon her return to the Shackles, she re-established her reputation and quickly rose to become a member of the Pirate Council, putting her into conflict with local pirates. Her skulduggery and treachery eventually made her a powerful Free Captain with a large fleet and the important port city of Quent under her control.

Ascent to Hurricane Queen

She labored to expose traitors to the then-Hurricane King Kerdak Bonefist, but in 4715 AR he was overthrown during an invasion of the Chelaxian Navy, which was repelled in large part by Fairwind's leadership. Fairwind was chosen to be his replacement, and she reluctantly accepted despite her aversions to the politics and paperwork it entailed.

As Hurricane Queen, she is widely viewed as bold but reckless, and by some irresponsible and unworthy of the role despite her successes. She spends much of her time and effort either raiding Cheliax or purging Chelaxian spies from Free Captains' crews, and she has cost the Chelaxian Navy many ships who have attempted to capture her Luck of the Draw.

Relationships

Fairwind is both ruthless and conniving, willing to use her beauty and reputation to extract revenge against her foes, but is also friendly and loyal to friends and allies. She has taken many lovers since becoming a pirate captain, though she rarely keeps any of them for long, choosing instead to love "quickly and lightly" after suffering a broken heart.

While she believes she took sufficient revenge against the person who jilted her, their identity remains unknown. rumors suggest the Vidric naval leader Shimali Manux caused that broken heart, and Fairwind has little patience for those who bring up such claims around her. Others believe the person responsible is Vidric councilor Avarneus, whom Fairwind claims betrayed her and is the subject of a bounty she placed for his capture.

She shows little public affection for the Firebrands, particularly the Sapphire Butterfly, despite frequently working alongside each other—particularly against a common foe in Cheliax.

Fairwind maintains a friendship with Toba the Tempest, a tengu captain who once served on her ship as a jinx eater and now leads his own crew. Her foes include Inexia dis Galazario, a Chelaxian criminal who captured the Helper's Dance in a mutiny and has since publicly issued challenges to Fairwind backed by the sinking of two of Fairwind's allies' ships.

Religion

Fairwind worships Calistria, though she engages more in the Savored Sting's hedonism than in pursuits of revenge or intrigue.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

Tessa Fairwind is mentioned in the following works:

WorkThis entity is best represented by this wikipage.	ReleaseThe release date or a partial release date.
Salt of the Ocean	1 August 2024

Preceded by Kerdak Bonefist

14th Hurricane Queen of the Free Captains Tessa Fairwind 4715 AR—

Succeeded by none; current