Immurk

Immurk the Invincible was the legendary first great pirate lord of the Sea of Fallen Stars, who lived during the 12th century DR. He captained a Sembian warship called the Sea-Scorpion.

Activities
As he began his piratical career, he recruited the disaffected sailors of various nations around the Inner Sea, promising them plunder for their loyalty.

Although he and his pirates plagued much of the coast of the Sea of Fallen Stars, also known as the Inner Sea, he had a number of positive contributions to the people of that region. Immurk and his pirates were the first ships to transport gold and silver from the nations of Unther, Mulhorand and Chessenta to the Forest Country, opening trade lines between central Faerûn and the east.

History
According to legend, Immurk's first great crime was when he stole the new crown for the coronation of King Palaghard I of Cormyr in the Year of Long Shadows, 1164 DR. The crime was so audacious that Palaghard believed that no one could be so brave, and that the Procampan master jewelers who'd crafted it must be cheating him instead. He mustered his armies and nearly declared war on Procampur before being corrected. Immurk's role was eventually revealed and the crown recovered.

The coastal nations of the Inner Sea responded in earnest by commissioning a fleet of sleek, fast-sailing warships designed by shipwrights from Amn and Tethyr. These efforts were taken in vain however, as they had neither consistent work force nor protection by sabotage and raids from Immurk's crews.

Immurk and his pirates managed to evade, or otherwise best nine attempts by the various navies of the Inner Sea to bring him to justice. He was largely aided by his group of spies and informants, known as Immurk's Band, that sowed dissent and distracted naval forces from his raids.

In 1182 DR, Immurk, and the crown prince Talryn, of Lyrabar, formed a settlement on Dragonisle, a haven which would come to be known as Immurk's Hold. This sanctuary for pirates and sailors helped foster a better lifestyle for nautical crews in the Inner Sea, improving both their working conditions and their pay.

At some point, Immurk recruited the mage Seldzen of Procampur to develop the spell named for him, Immurk's distraction.

Immurk finally met his end in 1201 DR, when sailing his ship through a tight passage filled with hazardous reefs near Sembia. As a sudden change of winds threatened to upturn the Sea-Scorpion and leave its crew to the mercy of nearby land-dwellers, Immurk hurried his crew with expertise captaining to navigate through the danger and emerge unscathed. The final act of the skilled pirate came at the cost of his life, as he slumped over, dead from a heart attack.

Legacy
An unintended legacy of Immurk the Invincible's death was the power vacuum it created among the pirates of the Inner Sea. The Pirate Wars were a series inter-pirate naval battles and voracious raids on the region's coastal nations. These conflicts culminated in the Battle of the Fallen on Eleint 11, 1209 DR between the pirates sailing under Urdogen and fleets of Cormyr, Sembia, Impiltur and the Vilhon Reach.