The Lore of The Legends of the Sea
Legends and lore abound
Avast ye, and come aboard for The Lore of Legends of the Sea! Here we’ll be looking deep into the fresh ink left by Umbra and seeing what secrets we can gleam.
It’s the first content update of the new year and the ongoing story continues to build with the re-appearance of Duke, the arrival of new character Umbra, and the Masked Stranger ramping up their fortifications.
For those curious about past Lore Updates, check out:
-The Lore of Smuggler’s Fortune
-The Lore of The Fort of the Damned
-The Lore of Seabound Soul
-The Lore of Festival of Giving
Return of Duke
The hearty adventure-loving Duke is back in taverns everywhere! But… he seems a little worse for wear.
Asking him about the Note left behind on the bar prompts a very worrying response from him; it seems he didn’t leave it behind, or maybe he forgot about it?
Is he really fine? If he didn’t leave the Note, who did? A likely suspect would be the currently missing Stitcher Jim. What does Jim have to gain from faking the Note?
Duke does however mention that seeking out Larinna, the Head Bilge Rat, wouldn’t be a bad idea at all. It’s possible he may still try to track down her location.
He remains aware of the situation happening in the Sea of Thieves, with the Tomes and rituals, and the looming potential for the return of Flameheart at any time. When asking him about this, he mentions ‘the Heart of Fire’, the supposed place where Flameheart resides. Never before have we heard of such a place, if it even is a place. Knowing that Flameheart is currently a spirit, is it somewhere between realms like the Sea of the Damned? Could it be an island engulfed in the Devil’s Shroud that Duke somehow managed to reach? We have too many questions about what this ‘Heart of Fire’ could be, but the image Duke paints of it is that of a deadly lair. How did Duke find out about this place? How did he get there? From his banged up appearance either the journey or the location took it’s toll on him, so what was he hoping to do or find?
Overall, just what happened to Duke over the past two months? What will his next move be?
Fortifications at The Reaper’s Hideout
Major construction has begun at The Reaper’s Hideout, gone is the merriment of the Christmas-tree-mast and now a more ominous air pervades the island. What appears to be fort walls have been erected haphazardly around the perimeter and a makeshift tent now covers a transformed central pit where the Masked Stranger awaits.
This location is fast becoming unrecognisable to when we first started seeing activity taking place here. An eerie red light now emanates from beneath the wooden planks of where the dig-site used to be. The inclusion of towers, cover, and cannons have made this place that much more dangerous to visit. More shipwrecks are being dredged up and broken down to be used as materials in the construction of what many believe to be a Fort or Stronghold.
A curiosity oddity found on the island is that skulls appear to be being ground down into a fine powder or dust. Is there any reason for this? Typically bone meal is used as a fertiliser for plants and animals. Could the Masked Stranger be looking to grow something? Or is it more likely that there is some strange alchemical or magical reason behind the grinding down of the bones?
Around the pit which the Masked Stranger stands in the middle of are the original stones that were first unearthed. Now the four behind the Masked Stranger and the one in front of them are etched with runes. These runes do not correspond with anything we currently are aware of in the Skeleton language, when cross-referencing them with the information gained from the Journal for the Tall Tale Revenge of the Morningstar.
The Reaper’s Bounty Chest
Speaking to Duke and to the Masked Stranger you can find out that there are certain treasure items that you can hand over to the Masked Stranger for no reputation but boosted amounts of gold. In particular, Duke no longer handles the Reaper’s Chests, instead now only the Masked Stranger will accept them, alongside the new Reaper’s Bounty Chest that has begun appearing around the Seas.
The Reaper’s Bounty Chest is distinguished from the Reaper’s Chest by it’s golden top and skeleton runes etched into it’s surface.
What is in these Chests is a mystery, but they sell for the mighty high price of 25,000 gold, so it would be a fair assumption that they contain something of incredible value. The only other treasure item that has ever sold that high is the incredibly elusive Box of Wondrous Secrets… The runes read ‘Skull’ and ‘Gold’ which very well could be a clue about what lies within. Does this have some kind of relation to the Gold Hoarder?
Words from the Masked Stranger
Talking to the Masked Stranger still doesn’t give us any answers for anything involving them, Stitcher Jim, or the Reaper’s Hideout, as they remain cryptic and short with their responses.
They mention that they have an investor, which is why they are offering double gold to all pirates who bring them the treasures they demand. This just raises the question of who their investor may be. As well as why they appear interested in creating conflict among the pirates of the Sea of Thieves.
Two guesses as to the identity of the ‘Investor’ could be that they are either Flameheart trying to rally together followers or tributes, or it could be that the Masked Stranger is in contact with the Grand Maritime Union. The Grand Maritime Union have come up here and there in conversation with some of the Seas populace, and it comes across that they are keen to establish a foothold within the Sea of Thieves.
Stitcher Jim’s absence is touched upon incredibly briefly by the Masked Stranger, simply stating that ‘his role will be fulfilled soon’.
A Brief History of the Forts
Recently revealed by the official Sea of Thieves social media accounts is some fresh background information about the many Fort and Stronghold locations found across the Seas.
The implication here is that if the Reaper’s Hideout is becoming a Fort or Fort-like location, as many are suspecting by the way it is being built up, are Stitcher Jim and the Masked Stranger in contact with Captain Flameheart or working from some of his old orders?
This also gives new context to these places and the characters who are found dwelling there, most notably the three recently introduced Skeleton Lords, the Mutinous Helmsman, the Two-faced Scoundrel, and the Duchess. Are these in reality high-ranking skellies who fervently follow Captain Flameheart? Perhaps they were part of his crew when his ship The Burning Blade brought terror to the waves.
Umbra and the Legends of the Sea
The seas have a new inhabitant by the name of Umbra. Umbra has taken up residence on the Lagoon of Whispers, which is an aptly fitting place for her. She is a scribe, a cartographer, a tattooist, and a collector of stories. Since finding herself again in the Sea of Thieves she has sought out stories about the players and the world and made note of them.
As previously mentioned, this is not her first time in the Sea of Thieves. During the launch period of the game there was an ARG called the Quest for the Golden Bananas. In the story Blind Bob managed to swipe the Golden Bananas from the place Captain Bronzebeard hid them. When Bronzebeard found this out and took Blind Bob prisoner he demanded the location of the Golden Bananas, however Blind Bob never responded with a straight answer, instead speaking in riddle and rhyme. Captain Bronzebeard sought out Umbra as she was a member of the Scribes, a group of cartographers who knew all about the hidden corners of the Sea of Thieves. Once captured, she was forced to decipher the meanings behind the jumbling nonsense of Blind Bob. Eventually, she managed to escape her captors during a storm one night, washing up on an island, the very same island where Blind Bob stashed the Golden Bananas. As she tried to recall his ramblings, this gave players of the ARG the clues to decipher and deduce the whereabouts of the Golden Bananas.
The players who won the Quest for the Golden Bananas ARG were Herr Crew, and they actually have a specific line exclusive to them that can be accessed when talking to Umbra.
Whilst the majority of the commendations under the Legends of the Sea banner are references to feats and deeds done by players, the ten named Legends of the Sea are to do with the events and lore that have taken place on the Sea of Thieves since launch. A sort of recap, if you will. This is especially good for newer players to Sea of Thieves who may not know the context for certain things, or the directions that the over-arching narrative has been taken.
Legends of the Sea I
This tome recaps the events of the Hungering Deep, where players used Merrick’s magical shanty and woke the first Megalodon, the Hungering One
Legends of the Sea II
This tome recaps the events of Cursed Sails, where an enraged weaponsmith by the name of Wanda had transformed into the skeletal Captain Warsmith and waged war upon the Outposts. It even briefly touches on the origin of why Salty is now apparently cursed to forever be an undead parrot
Legends of the Sea III
This tome recaps the events that led to the discovery of the Devil’s Roar region, and what fate awaited for the Forsaken Shores Alliance, an Alliance that sought out new and unexplored lands
Legends of the Sea IV
This tome is about the Festival of the Damned event
Legends of the Sea V
This tome gives a little bit of extra context to The Shrouded Spoils event, an event that introduced fog and numerous types of Megalodons to the world
Legends of the Sea VI
This tome serves as a sort of spoiler as it talks about the ultimate end goal of the Shores of Gold Tall Tales campaign introduced in The Anniversary Update
Legends of the Sea VII
This tome goes over the Black Powder Stashes event, which established Duke getting more connections with the Trading Companies and beyond
Legends of the Sea VIII
This tome speaks about the Dark Relics that Duke had pirates retrieving for the Order of Souls after a great number were stolen
Legends of the Sea IX
This tome recaps the events of Smuggler’s Fortune, as well as briefly touching on the introduction and appearance of the Pirate Emporium
Legends of the Sea X
This currently final tome of the set is about the Fort of the Damned
And there you have it, all the lore tidbits freshly inked for you to admire. Umbra’s observations into old events give a slightly different take on them, and in some cases maybe prompts us to question our understanding of what happened. Especially for something like Fort of the Damned. The culprit of the rituals at Old Boot Fort and Shipwreck Bay remains unidentified, and were they trying to contact Graymarrow at all?
The activity at the Reaper’s Hideout should give us all pause for concern of what is being built right under our noses.
And just what is that ‘Heart of Fire’ Duke was so focused on?
