Pirates of the Long Night [Grimdark Fantasy Epic]

In 1716, far out into the Caribbean, an evil power is about to awaken. The English privateer vesselLivelyhas just pulled off a daring attack against the Spanish vesselNuestra Señora de la Purificación, and has done so with the help of the pirate vesselHazard, captained by John "The Ladyman" Laurier. The odds seemed impossible, and their crews doubted them, but they've pulled off what no one thought possible--the defeat of a Spanish galleon amidst a storm! But after their victory, the sun sets...and it doesn't rise again.

A cosmic horror may be upon them. The stars appear to have shifted, two alien moons occasionally appear in the night sky, and strange things move beneath the water. Fighting panicking crews, both Laurier and his friend, Benjamin "Devil's Son" Vhingfrith, must keep their wits about them as they seek to understand this cosmic phenomenon and reach Port Royal. If it's even still there.

This story includes action, adventure, exploration, detailed battle sequences and descriptions of sea tactics, and both ship and island politics, amid a shifting landscape that involves historical events altered by an extreme cosmic phenomenon. There are Lovecraftian creatures, secret cults, discussions about religion and its views on what this cosmic event may foretell. There will also be graphic violence and some romance (two of the main MCs are bisexual, but they try and keep that a secret). But make no mistake, this is already a gruesome, grim topic when you decide to include actual pirates, their lifestyles, and their tactics, which I intend to go into detail about. The "Golden Age of Piracy" is one of my favorite topics to research and you will occasionally see historical figures in this story. Pirates were complex people with complex relationships and opinions on government and faith. Many escaped slaves became pirates themselves, even captains of their own ships. Our world was forever reshaped by the "Golden Age of Piracy," and I intend to explore how those changes might've been even more bizarre had there been a bizarre cosmic event on this scale.

If you came for detailed descriptions of sailing, life as a pirate and privateer, politics concerning cosmic horrors, and epic battles, I think you've come to the right place.

Finally, while we will bounce around between lots of character over time, the mains are John Laurier and Benjamin Vhingfrith. Laurier is a white man of privilege who, because of his sexual orientation being discovered, was driven away from his home out of shame and desperation. Benjamin is a half-Black man whose white father raised him to be a businessman, sailor and privateer, and fights to earn respect in the only place that will even marginally give it to him--the near-lawless territories of the Caribbean.