Luciano Catena was a Prince of Luccini and descendant, as his name suggests, of the divine twins Lucan and Luccina. He was also the mercenary general who in 1501 IC recaptured Sartosa from Corsairs of Araby.[1a]
History[]
Luciano's army fought Emir Abd al Wazaq, and his Arabyan Corsairs, driving them back into their stronghold in the city of Sartosa and forced them to surrender after a long and extremely bloody siege. Luciano allowed Al Wazaq to escape to Araby in return for leaving behind his considerable stash of treasure, mostly art looted from Tilea. Al Wazaq also had to surrender to his enormous harem which in his desperation he had trained to defend him as his personal bodyguard. These were promptly recruited by the Tileans as a mercenary regiment! The rest of the surviving Corsairs were allowed to stay and were hired by Luciano to serve in his fleet. This was one of the earliest occasions on which mercenaries from Araby were hired by a Tilean general.[1a]
Luciano and his heirs ruled Sartosa as a principality for a time. During this period the city was rebuilt and its defences made strong. It soon became a base for the mercenary fleet of the Princes of Luccini. However, this brief period of stability was not to last. There were now many mercenary contingents occupying strongholds on various parts of the island, and some in different fortress towers within the city itself. Rebellions against the Prince became more frequent and Sartosa became increasingly difficult to control. The Prince's rule over the island finally came to an end when the mercenary flotilla of galleys based on Sartosa mutinied. Then the island rapidly fell into anarchy as the mercenary bands set upon each other. Most of the mercenaries on the island took to piracy, pillaging Tilean shipping and anything else sailing the Tilean Sea. This proved much more lucrative than hiring themselves out to fight, since the chances of survival were greater as were the potential riches. The various mercenary bands occupying the island stopped fighting each other with their usual intensity and began to cooperate in their piratical schemes. The raids on ships and shores around the Tilean Sea brought in hordes of captives and hostages who were never ransomed. These augmented the swelling population of Sartosa until it became a notoriously rough and lively den of pirates.[1a]
Eventually it became the custom to elect a 'Pirate Prince' of Sartosa. This is a rather grandiose title for one who does not really rule, but just settles disputes over loot with rough justice. Many such Princes have come and gone in the centuries up to the present time. Most have come to a very sticky end one way or another! The longest lasting has been the present notorious Pirate Princess of Sartosa, no doubt because her reputation for being ten times more cruel than any of her predecessors is no exaggeration![1a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Dogs of War (5th)
- 1a: pg. 85
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Up in Arms (RPG)
- 2a: pg. 57