Scarlet Minor and the Last Atlantic Fleet

Scarlet Minor, once a free captain and scourge of pirates, begins the story in captivity aboard Ambioca’s vessel, chained and humiliated by his nemesis, Captain Stonecold Ambioca.Ambioca’s aim is to kill Scarlet exactly ten seconds before his 21st birthday, breaking the supernatural Curse of Bodiaka that binds them both. Scarlet gave himself up in exchange for his family and crew’s safety, but he suspects Ambioca may have deceived him.During his brutal imprisonment, Scarlet endures torture and thirst but never loses the will to escape. A violent storm forces Ambioca to unlock Scarlet’s hands to work the sails, giving him a brief chance. With unexpected help from Giraldi, a former traitor, Scarlet slips away in a longboat under cover of chaos. They paddle westward through the South Atlantic as the storm swallows the Renegade. Scarlet believes he has passed his birthday and freed himself from the curse—until Ambioca learns the curse follows the Betusan calendar, giving him another month to capture Scarlet.

Meanwhile, Scarlet’s wife Araya, safely returned to the Gibraltar Bowl with his parents and crew, senses he is alive through a magical wedding ring. The ring delivers a cryptic message in Betusan—“You will find island”—spurring her to form a secret plan to reunite with him. Adrift and near death from thirst, Scarlet and Giraldi encounter a supernatural pelican that delivers a swordfish to saw through Scarlet’s ankle manacles and points them toward an island. Onshore, they find fresh water and shelter. Scarlet discovers the island is home to mysterious connections to his ancestry and the Curse of Bodiaka. His journey leads him deep into South America, including a trek into the Amazon, where he meets his halfcousin Pedrigo and learns the truth about his great-grandfather, Eyesinwealth, the originator of the curse.

Ambioca relentlessly hunts Scarlet, driven by desperation to break the curse before the Betusan deadline. This pursuit brings multiple sea battles, tense escapes, and shifting alliances, including moments where Scarlet spares enemies for strategic reasons. Along the way, Scarlet cements his role as a protector of the innocent, liberating captured sailors and striking blows against slavers and corrupt fleets, earning the title “The Scourge of God.” The climax comes when Scarlet and Ambioca face each other in a decisive battle. Scarlet disarms him in a final duel aboard ship, ending Ambioca’s reign but leaving open the possibility of future threats across the Atlantic. Scarlet now commands his own ship, crewed by those who share his vision of protecting the oppressed and dismantling pirate and slave networks. The curse of Bodiaka—once a shackle on his life—is gone, but its shadow lingers in the form of enemies who fear and resent him.

Araya and Scarlet are still apart by the final chapter, their reunion left just out of reach, but bound by the same determination to find each other. Pedrigo’s alliance hints at new South American ties and possible ventures deeper inland, while the surviving remnants of Ambioca’s crew scatter, swearing revenge.