Proclamation of Victory:
I Captain Maximillian Zeus have finished my 30 straight hour voyage on the Ferry of the Damned.
I now claim the Title and Pirate Legend: The Damned Rider of the Ferry
Here is my mixer stream of the voyage. I'm not sure what happened where mixer though it would be a good idea to record only a zoom in of 1/4 of my screen. Fortunately those in my stream could see me.
The Mark Made on The World of Sea of Thieves:
So going into this challenge I knew that nothing might come of it but I did so with the hope to make my mark on the game. Rare gave me hope for an idea with this quote from Joe Neate (Rare Executive Producer):
"...As we look to grow Sea Of Thieves beyond launch, we have clear plans for how we want to grow and evolve the experience, but we also want to listen to community feedback about what they’re most keen to see. We want to continue to give players new goals to achieve, new rewards to earn, and enrich the game experience and the world."
I got to thinking what large task could be recognized by Rare and in some way evolve the experience. I know that it is stretching the wording and intent but that's what I was going for.
So If I got to pick what Rare would change the experience of the game because of my voyage it would be this:
Rare would add two Pirate Legends to the game:
-
The Dead Men's Party:
Requirement: Keep the dead company for 6.66 cumulative hours. That cumulative time only counts while there are two souls or more on the Ferry at one time. So bring some friends or make some as you party of the Ferry of the Damned!
Reward: Ghostly musical instruments to be played on the Ferry and a bone version of the Xylophone called the Xylobone. -
The Damned Rider of the Ferry:
Requirement: Keep the dead company for 30 cumulative hours. That cumulative time counts every second you are on the Ferry.
Reward: The title of Damned Rider of the Ferry, an exclusive song called the Song of the Dead, and your character model would turn ghostly under a full moon in the overworld.
In-Game Story/Lore of My Voyage
Gather weary travelers as I tell ye th' tale of
The Damned Rider of the Ferry and The Song of the Dead.
~CHAPTER 1: THE CURSED CREWS OF VORPAL ISLE
There once was a Pirate Captain, tall and handsome, who sailed on this Sea in search of a way to make his mark and claim himself a Pirate Legend. He sought fame and glory, not of battle and conquest but of exploration and proving legends real.
One dark night when the moon was full and shining overhead this Pirate was exploring an uncharted isle he named Vorpal. This Pirate had been fighting skeletons since nightfall, an unsettling amount of corpses for such a small island. He reasoned that a battle must of been a waged here long ago and that these souls were all trapped to eternal conflict with each other.
He thought to himself mayhaps there be lost treasures to be found from these dead crews.
When the moon reached its peak overhead the moon shimmered an unearthly green and all the skeletons on the isle were resurrected to fight again. The lone Pirate figured this would be his death but fortune was on his side as something peculiar began to happen. The skeletons on the isle completely surrounded him but made no efforts to attack him. He then heard from a battle cry from his left side and behind him, as he turned toward these sounds he was face to face with two skeleton captains with drawn swords.
At once the battle began, with no way to leave the circle of skeletons the Pirate fought with all he had. Eventually he gained the upper hand and felled one of the captains. As the captain fell all the skeletons on the isle rattled briefly as if they are waiting for something to happen. But with little time to think about that the Pirate had to continue this fight for his life. With the battle seemingly never ending he finally was able to put the finishing blow in the skeleton captain. However something caught the Pirate off guard, it had looked like at the very last moment that skeleton captain put down its guard and allowed the strike to hit.
After taking a moment to catch his breath he saw something remarkable the skeletons around him were all rattling and they we all dropping their weapons. Suddenly there was that unearthly green light encompassing the isle. Then all around him a song filled the air, a hauntingly beautiful song that etched its way into the Pirate's soul. Calling to him, seeking him out. It was intoxicating. Restful and soul wrenching. He had never heard such a song before.
Then to his shock and fear the skeletons all around him emitted a strange light and he saw that their souls were visibly separating from their bodies and walking down into the water. It was mesmerizing and he wanted to follow them and sing that song...for eternity.. Before he new it he was standing at the shore line, one step from the water but he was stopped by a force on his shoulders. With tears in his eyes he turned his head toward whatever was stopping him. He saw that it was the souls of the two Pirate captains holding him back. One of them said to him "Thank you for freeing us but it not yet be yer time." The Pirate asked of the souls "At least tell me what is this song". And as the Pirate captains' souls walked into the water they spoke in unison "The Song of the Dead".
Then with the dead gone day broke through the night by way of sunrise. Before the Pirate collapsed out of exhaustion he saw that fabled green flash of sunrise and had a horrid realization that he could not remember how the song sounded.
~CHAPTER 2: THE ORDER OF SOULS
Since that night our hero was in search of any information of the Song of the Dead but to no avail. Only dead ends and rumors until he heard from a shady woman in a purple tent that there is an organization that may be able to help him in his quest. She said that if he were to join the Order of Souls and help their cause they would be willing to find and share such information. He agreed and asked what he must do. She told him to bring them the cursed skulls of Pirates long dead.
He asked for a number, how many would he need to pay their price? She said 12 to prove your worth to the Order, 13 more as compensation for their efforts to get the information and the cursed skull of a Pirate Lord as payment for the information. He asked how would he be able to tell what these skulls looked like and where to find them. She gave him a scroll showing what these skulls looked like and how much they were worth to the Order.
Now i'll skip this minute details on this but lets just say that the drawing of the Pirate Lord cursed skull looked mighty familiar and it was worth a lot to the Order. So our Pirate set off to gather this bounty of cursed skulls. His first stop? The Isle of Vorpal.
Upon reaching Vorpal isle the Pirate went to his battle site for all the cursed skulls that should be there. To his surprise of all the skulls only two were cursed, the captains' skulls. Since he saw the souls of the skeletons go free he figured that these cursed skulls were more along the lines of skulls that have magic or residual magic left over in them. However that's not what was important, turns out that both of the skulls were from Pirate Lords. He realized he could probably pay off the price with just these two skulls but the Pirate needed to check one thing before he did. If both crews of these Pirate Lords were on this isle where were the ships? They were probably sunk near this isle.
After swimming around the isle to check if he could spot the sunken shipwrecks he finally found them. All with their treasures untouched. It took all day but the Pirate was able to transfer two Pirate Lords worth of gold onto his ship. He figured he was one of the richest men on the Sea but he had plans for that gold.
Over the next few months he paid to have word spread that there was a benefactor seeking any and all cursed skulls and would pay higher than the Order of Souls for them. As time passed his fortune was depleting fast but his skull count was immense. There were even some fools that didn't know the worth of the skulls they sold him and were heavily ripped off. Eventually his fortune could no longer be called a fortune and decided it was time to go pay the Order for their information.
~CHAPTER 3: PAYING THE PIPER
The Pirate tracked down that lady in the purple tent and brought to her a bag full of cursed skulls. He said to her "Getting all of these was murder since there has been a mad hunt on the Sea for cursed skulls. I don't have a Pirate Lord skull but I figured it would be opportunistic to see if you would accept this exchange since we both know that your Order is hurting for skulls." She gave a nasty look and said "fine" as she took the bag. "Incidentally" she said "I have the information you seek."
She told the Pirate that there is a legend of a song that only the dead and those chosen by the dead can hear. A song that no mortal alive has heard and there is only one way to hear the song for yourself which is to entertain the dead. The legend speaks of a Pirate who long ago died before her time but refused to come back to the sea of the living. When the bell tolled for her return from the Ferry of the Damned she decided to stay and keep the dead company. While there is not much in legend about her time on the Ferry it has been said that upon her 30th hour or so the souls of the damned sang to her a song that she could never forget.
"Did she forget the Song of the Dead when she left the Ferry of the Damned?" asked our Pirate. The lady in the purple tent gave a small smile and said "No." With this the Pirate asked these questions:
- How exactly does one entertain the dead?
- Does it matter in what way I get to the Ferry?
- What happened to the Pirate who heard the song on the Ferry?
- What else do I need to know if I wish to try my hand at learning the Song of the Dead?
The lady in the tent gave a vicious smile and said "My dear Pirate, that's four more questions that need payment. How about 50 more skulls for all four questions?" He said "Fine and oh how much for a sloop I don't have much money to buy another and I need a new one." She laughed and said "A ship? We are not shipwrights but I suppose anything can be procured at the right price. So how about another 30 skulls and it will be done. But as you said it will be murder getting more of those skulls, good luck."
With a quick turn to walk away towards his ship he gave a knowing smile and simply said "Deal." In a matter of minutes he came back with two chests and said "The price is now paid. Tell me what I want to know."
She laughed and said "I knew it! I don't know how you could of afforded the prices you were buying those skulls for but I figured it was you. Here is what you want to know:"
- To entertain the dead you must simply be on the Ferry but it does help to be interesting. Especially since you want to learn the Song of the Dead you should sing for the dead.
- Again, be interesting I would recommend doing something bold for your death.
- It is said that she went on to form the Order of Souls her death is unrecorded.
- Lastly what you need to know is that
4.1) Madness will creep up on you before you realize it and you may find yourself walking straight out the portal back to the sea of the living.
4.2) Furthermore the 30 hours or so you need to last will seem like 30 years before you are through.
4.3) Since the understanding of time is finicky on the Ferry of the Damned you may find yourself 30 years into the future after leaving the Ferry.
4.4) You must remember when anyone dies on this Sea coming back from death is not guaranteed. In your quest to find the song you may be dooming yourself.
Once she was done the Pirate thanked her and asked about his new ship. She told him to take hers as she will send word for the Order to come retrieve her and the skulls.
He sailed away with his mighty collection of skulls on his new ship, stopped by a merchant ship to trade for barrels of gunpowder and set off towards his death. With time to spare until his desired location of death he started making a new pirate outfit using cursed skulls as part of its design. Making sure to use at least a part of each skull he made a coat, hat, vest, shoes, and sword of skulls. All said and done the ethereal light emitting from that outfit was mighty spooky.
Finally it was time, the sea waters started turning red and his ship started to creak under the stress of the waves. Once the ship started to take in water he lit a fuse, chained himself to his ship's wheel, and started to play music. Then with a large boom the deck erupted into splinters and the ship began to submerge. Down, down, down into the depths below.
Upon opening his eyes he sees a familiar sight, The Ferry of the Damned. He looked around to his bearings and he said. "So it begins."
~CHAPTER 4: THE 30 HOUR VOYAGE ON THE FERRY OF THE DAMNED
The first hours passed easy enough for the Pirate. Between singing for the other souls that pass by on the Ferry, testing his acrobatics while running and jumping from one side of the ship to the other, and to counting the candles on the ship the Pirate figured the 30 hours would not be so hard.
Many souls were amused with his antics and songs but all eventually left him to return back to the world above. He was alone and even for a spirit he felt cold. Was it five or six hours that had passed so far? For some reason he couldn't tell, surly it hasn't been ten hours yet. It sure felt like it though.
The Pirate looked out across the Sea of the Damned and to his amusement a pair of skeleton sharks were chasing a skeleton turtle. Just when the sharks were about to eat the turtle a ghostly tentacle shot out of the Sea and dragged all three down into the depths. For a brief moment the Pirate was sure he saw the ghost of a kraken.
"sing to us" said a whisper.
Unnerved but still willing the Pirate began to sing the lament of Davy Jones.
♫ Cruel and cold like winds on the sea
Will you ever return to me... ♫
The Pirate felt on the fringes of his mind and soul a numbness, it felt like relief. Since there is no sleep on the Ferry any soul who stays too long will suffer exhaustion of the mind. An exhaustion that will build to be painful, so the Pirate accepted this numbness if only for just a few moments.
Before he knew it the Pirate was counting the candles on the ship again but this time it was over and over again. "113 candles, I counted them many times I am sure there is 113. Of candles unlit there are 61 of candles lit there 52. I am sure of it...but perhaps I should count them again to be sure." He said.
After some time his body started to act without him willing it to. He started dancing around the ship with reckless abandon. "What am I doing, why am I doing this, I should stop, why should I stop? No I should stop, I feel it. I should stop. I should stop. I need to stop! Stop. Stop. STOP!!" He cried out.
The madness that he was warned of took him. The Pirate finally regained his senses found himself only inches from the doorway to the overworld. With a shock to his mind he retreated towards the front of the ship and vowed not to risk his goal again. He would not bend to the madness again.
Yet the madness had left its mark. "How long have I been here? There is no way to tell... this weight on my mind is too great! Mayhaps a song or two can help.." He pondered. As he began to sing the shadows on the deck of the Ferry started morphing into the silhouettes of Pirates fighting. Was it his choice of song or something else that caused the shadows to change? He was never sure.
Some time later whispers were calling out to him but these whispers were growing in numbers, far too many for any soul to comprehend. "The voices! So many at once! They require me to sing over and over. I can't stop. Help me..." He said in his ruinous state of mind.
Time had passed in what could have been years. "No this has been too long! Time must be up! WHERE IS MY SONG?! I HAVE EARNED IT!! IT IS MINE!" His wrath was a sight to behold as even the spirits quieted down.
Yet his prize had yet to be given to him and still longer he had to wait. Who knows how long he was waiting but it was long enough for his mind to recover and his senses once more returned to him. "I have seen many come and go, time is but an enigma to me, but I shall succeed no matter the cost. Though madness has consumed me twice now I will not falter a third time." The Pirate declared with a smile and a laugh.
Not too long after his declaration all grew silent on the Ferry. It was so quiet that the Pirate could not hear his own thoughts. Then upon the air once more to his ears
🎼 ♫♫♫ ♪ ♭ ♮ 𝄪 ♬
The Pirate cries tears of joy as he realizes that the song that he has sought after for so long has finally blessed his ears once more. With victory achieved the Pirate cheered as loud as he could, to his shock there was a roar of cheering coming from all over the Ferry. Before his eyes he sees the souls of the captains who he killed on Vorpal isle so long ago. They are joined by the men and women of their crews, they bring out some ghostly rum barrels and the crews start partying.
One of the souls of the captains said to the Pirate "Congratulations yah filthy sea dog we can't believe you did it! Not only did you set us free but you got to claim the Song of the Dead before your death. Now before you leave let us give to you the song you have longed for and a title fitting of a true rider of the Ferry."
The other captain spoke up to say "Let us sing for you so that you may never lose the song again." At this all aboard the Ferry began to sing at the Pirate and something unlocked in his soul. The pirate knew at that moment that he would be able to sing and play that song for all time, even in the sea of the living.
Once the singing died down the Captain of The Ferry of the Damned spoke up and said "I the master and commander of this Ferry of the Damned here by recognize your commitment and grit. You will now and forever be recognized as a Pirate Legend and be known as The Damned Rider of the Ferry."
The captain then pulled out his sword and threw it into the Pirate, soon after the other pirates on the Ferry put their swords through the Pirate. Finally the two captains drew their swords and put them into the Pirate's heart. They said "Let these wounds act as proof that even the souls of the dead are your friends."
The Pirate standing on the deck with many swords through him could only do one thing. He began to sing.
🎼 ♫♫♫ ♪ ♭ ♮ 𝄪 ♬
~CHAPTER 5: EPILOGUE
The story goes on to tell that The Damned Rider of the Ferry did eventually leave the Ferry and he can be seen sailing on the sea this very day. If you see a full moon you might catch a glance of that Damned Rider of the Ferry as under the full moon his spectral form glows ominous in the night. And if you are really lucky he might play for you his Song of the Dead.
You want to know who is this Pirate that did this mighty feat?
Why it is I
~Captain Maximillian Zeus
The Damned Rider of the Ferry
and Master of the Song of the Dead
[ORIGINAL POST]
WHAT:
Join me on my stream as I sail 30 straight hours on the Ferry of the Damned.
WHO:
It be I Captain Maximillian Zeus who beckons you to watch me voyage.
WHEN:
Starting stream at 6:30AM EST (Eastern Standard Time)
Ending stream after the 30 hours are up (I may dabble in the character creation for a few minutes, if there is one.)
FUN STUFF:
There will be singing, a reading of Treasure Island, readings of various stories of pirates, pirate hat making, and one suave looking pirate.
WHY:
I am doing this simply for fame and recognition from the Pirate Lords Rare themselves. I plan to claim the title and pirate legend of THE DAMNED RIDER OF THE FERRY.
THE OTHER TIME I DID THIS:
So during the December Alpha I spent 30 straight hours on the Ferry of the Damned. However with little proof other than my word I posted a thread that eventually got sent to Davy Jones' Locker with the rest of the alpha threads. So this time I can stream it and prove my mettle.
For those of you who may wish to try their hand at my non-cumulative version of this Pirate Legend allow me to explain the rules:
- The voyage must be streamed entirely in one go.
- Other than if Rare shuts down the SoT servers your voyage must be in one game session.
- If the servers do go down then you must stream while waiting at the main menu until you can get back into a server. Only time you are on the Ferry of the Damned count for the 30 hour time.
- You can't fall asleep
- Other than quick bathroom breaks and quick food breaks you need to be at your stream.
- Any extra time achieved past the 30 hour mark is your personal high score it does not increase the time required of the original challenge for new challengers. It will always be 30 hours.
~Captain Maximillian Zeus
of the Maximillian Pride
