Kingadore
Zane McNiel

History

The early years of the pirate now known as Kingadore Zane McNeil were never officially recorded, what we do know of him is only from the talk of people who claimed to have sailed under his flag and those whose ships he took as prizes on the open water.McNeil was a mountain of a man, standing over six feet tall, and weighing in over two hundred fifty pounds, he struck an imposing figure when he wanted to. This little known pirate didn’t actually show up in the Caribbean until just after Calico Jack Rackham was hung for pirating. This and the disappearance of Rackham’s ship, Ranger, has lead experts to believe that he was a member of Rackhams crew who managed to fight their way off the ship when it was boarded. This is backed up by sightings of several females aboard his ship the Celtic Mercy, a practice that made Rackham infamous during a time when women were thought of as bad luck out in open waters.McNeil is believed to be of the same family of scots that plagued the English after the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots, though it’s widely agreed that he also had some Irish in him as well, this is attributed to his thick red beard and accent. Whatever his parentage it is agreed that he was of Celtic descent as his flag bore the mark of a cross of Celtic design one that matched a tattoo on his right forearm.McNeil was an oddity of sorts in the Caribbean, he seemed to enjoy his life as a pirate but not out of any malicious intent or malign morals. He seemed to be in it more for the chase, the fight, and prize. Never did he take a life that surrendered, nor did he leave the people aboard the prize alone in the middle of the ocean to fend for themselves with not a sail or food to get them to shore. All accounts agree that if a ship surrendered upon seeing the red Celtic Cross, the ship was boarded, looted, and left with enough canvas and food to get them to the nearest landmass safely. If the ship didn’t surrender, and either chose to run or fight, we only have the accounts of McNeil’s crew as evidence as there were no survivors.The Celtic Mercy was said to move faster than any ship of two score and four guns had any right to do, her crew believed it was god himself who blew the wind that filled her sails. By all accounts of McNeil’s crewmen and women he took part in every battle and was a large part of what kept the Crew of the Celtic Mercy on the winning side. McNeil was said to fight as if possessed by the angel of death itself, never falling to pistol shot or blade, many soon thought he was immortal.At the pinnacle of his pirating career he commanded twelve ships ranging in size from his flagship of forty four guns the Celtic Mercy to small schooners with 8 guns a piece and over 1000 men. He founded a settlement on the Ile Sainte-Marie, off the coast of Madagascar. There were many small pirate princes who claimed land there, but after a daring raid upon a royal encampment and the claiming of a fancy crown, McNiel was named the King of Pirates, Lord of the Seven Seas, and his pirates enacted the title of Kingadore that same day.Upon receiving the laurels of Royalty, Zane retired to his island and the Celtic Mercy continued to sail under the lead of several other brave and successful captains.