The Abaddon

X Worldbuilders:

GM James R

The Abaddon (or formally The Day of Abaddon) was a catastrophe that occurred in the Snobbite Regality in 8 PR which resulted in the deaths of over 30 children.

Background

The Snobbite culture revolves primarily around the open seas, and children get their sea legs as early as 3 years old. By the time they are teenagers, they are expected to be able to do small tasks, such as rigging and swabbing. The exceptionally talented children learn to captain and drive ships at that age, and most Snobbite sailors have all the skills needed for the high seas by young adulthood.

Most of the education in becoming a sea-loving Snobbite involves taking trips out onto Dragon Turtle Bay and taking lessons in real waters. Drake Prakseesin and his wife Morella were both sailing teachers, and often volunteered to teach lessons appropriate to the age group of their daughter Kaia, which let them spend more time with their child while also teaching her and her peers important lessons.

The Incident

On the day of the incident, both Morella and Drake were present on a training ship called The Abaddon alongside a class of students, including their own daughter. After the day's lessons were over, it was Morella's idea to impress the kids with a special maneuver known as a Smuggler's Turn, or a Bootleg Turn. While Drake was uneasy with the idea, the kids won him over with their excitement.

As Morella took the wheel, the ship, still in the middle of the bay, began to spin in a very tight 180 degree turn, which required the ship to lean over 45 degrees into the turn. However, Morella had not properly considered the bay's currents that day, and as the ship reached it's deepest lean, a rush of water slipped under the hull, pushing the ship completely onto its side.

The children and their tutors fell into the water first, unable to hang on as the deck became vertical. Drake's intuition told him to dive the second he hit the water, a lesson you only learn after falling off a few ships first. As the ship fell sideways and onto the children, the forces at hand tore the planks, boards, and posts asunder, sending massive splintering chunks of the port into the pool of children.

Drake survived, staying submerged and swimming to a safe distance. His wife, who had done something similar, had injured herself trying to save their daughter before diving herself. When the chaos had cleared, the bay was littered with bodies, and Drake and Morella were left with the body of their own daughter, who had drowned while Morella tried to carry her to safety underwater.

Aftermath

After the incident, the name Prakseesin was became infamous, and the name "Abaddon" meaning "place of Destruction", originally the name of the sailing ship, was now used to refer to the disaster at sea.

Drake and Morella

After the two teachers were picked up by a passing trade vessel, explanations were demanded by the families of the children. Drake took the fall for his wife, explaining the incident in detail and claiming that it was all his fault. Drake's punishment was softened from a death penalty as he too had lost his own child. Instead, Drake would spend some time behind bars, and ultimately be banished from the city of Nawfar. Drake boarded a ship for what he thought was the last time, on his way to No Man's Kingdom in 10 PR, beginning the quest that would lead to him becoming an OathWielder.

Drake would have to face The Abaddon head on again when one of the victim's father's, a sailor named Saqiram Al-hamdan, confronted Drake near the town of Mek, where he told Drake's new team mates of Drake's dark backstory. The relationship between Drake and his team would never be the same after that point, as Drake continued to keep up the lie that it was his fault, and not Morella's.

Kaia

Unknown to Drake and Morella, Kaia (and Morella) were members of the cursed bloodline that was plaguing the realm at that time. Kaia would recover while her parents were in custody, and understanding the Drake and Morella were not burned at the stake ONLY because they too were victims of Abaddon, Kaia and her grandfather (Drake's dad) formulated a plan to escape to Galik across the ocean to keep either of her parents from getting the death penalty.