🏴‍☠️ Background Story: Abi Al Wakass – The Falcon of Salé
Early Life: The Orphan of the Tide
Abi Al Wakass was born in the coastal city of Salé, where the ocean’s roar was the first lullaby he ever knew. His mother died giving birth, and his father—a fisherman—was swept away in a storm when Abi was only six. Left an orphan, he wandered the ports, scavenging food and watching ships vanish into horizons he longed to touch. Sailors mocked his hunger but respected his sharp eyes and quick wit; by twelve, he could climb masts like a hawk and read the stars like a seasoned navigator.
The Corsair’s Path
As a youth, Abi was recruited by corsairs who saw his potential. At first, he relished the wild freedom of the sea—plunder, gold, and reckless adventure. He became notorious for his cunning raids, moving with an almost supernatural instinct that made even veteran pirates follow his lead. He was called the “Falcon of the Coast”, swift and unpredictable. Yet this freedom came at a price—he lived without anchor, feeding desire and pride, leaving villages trembling at the mention of his black sail.
The Turning Point
One night, during a storm off the Strait of Gibraltar, his ship was nearly shattered. Abi, clutching the mast as waves swallowed his men, cried out—not to the sea, not to fortune, but to God Almighty. For the first time, he invoked the One who governs both ocean and sky. The storm passed, and though many drowned, Abi survived, washing ashore with nothing but the clothes on his back and a ring clutched in his palm—a ring etched with Qur’anic patterns, later known as the Ring of Wisdom.
Shaken by survival, he returned to Salé not as a reckless pirate but as a man seeking faith. There he encountered imams, scholars, and elders who taught him the ethics of Islam. Abi saw that true power was not in taking but in protecting, not in fear but in justice.
The Devout Corsair
Reforged in belief, Abi swore to uphold a code:
* He would never drink nor indulge in corruption.
* He would never harm the innocent, nor touch women or children.
* He would take jizya (tax of passage) as was lawful—but if a traveler was poor, he would let them go unharmed.
Soon, his enemies realized he was no mere pirate but a guardian of the seas, feared by oppressors yet respected by the faithful. His justice was swift: those who mocked God or violated the sanctity of life tasted his wrath, often left adrift in shattered ships, their pride broken like splintered wood.
The Falcon of Salé
Legends spread across the Mediterranean. Christian merchants whispered of a corsair who spared the poor but struck down the arrogant. Sailors claimed his ship moved with the speed of the wind itself, guided by unseen forces. Moroccan poets praised him as a lion of the sea, while locals began calling him “Abi Al Wakass,” linking him to Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, the famed companion of the Prophet—though Abi himself always rejected the comparison, claiming he was only a humble servant of God.
Legacy in the Maziramy Mythos
Abi’s presence in the mythos is vital: he becomes one of the rare allies who straddles both legend and history. To Euryeth, he is both brother and challenge—a man who abandoned shadow for light, proof that even those drenched in blood can rise to faith. His Ring of Wisdom allows him to see falsehood in men’s hearts, and his ship, the “Nisr al-Bahr” (Eagle of the Sea), becomes a sanctuary for the persecuted.
When storms gather and the sea itself rebels, it is said Abi Al Wakass can stand upon the prow, cloak whipping in the wind, and declare:
“The ocean obeys only its Lord. As do I.”
And the waters calm.