" &image=ctgic; &style=stDetail1;04/14/2006 Life in Vana'diel&style;&br; &style=stDetail2;Corsair&style;&br; &br; &li=ng01;A Tragic Past&li;&br; &image=im00;&image=390_5.png; "'The Black Coffin'...a ship aptly named.&br;'Tis often said that numbers and strength will win a war.&br;So how could a single vessel have sent our invincible fleet to the bottom of the sea?&br;Its dark name speaks true... The ship has become our coffin."&br;-From the memoirs of a Battle of Arrapago veteran&image=im00;&br; Around 200 years ago, there was a nation in the Near East that flourished through the strength of its navy. This kingdom was called the Kingdom of Ephramad. The Empire of Aht Urhgan engaged in several disputes with the kingdom over territorial waters. Eventually, the Empire forged an alliance with the Mamool Ja Savagelands and invaded the Kingdom of Ephramad, which fell in a mere eight days.&br;The kingdom's prince, Luzaf, received the news of his nation's demise on the return trip from his studies in Bastok. He immediately changed course to the Arrapago Islands, where he established a provisional government. Rallying the remnants of Ephramad's fleet, he began ardently harrowing the Aht Urhgan Empire using guerilla warfare. Thus were the corsairs born. Luzaf took his graceful ship, the "Ebony Queen," and remodeled it for war, renaming it the "Black Coffin." Luzaf then continued his campaign against the Empire as the corsairs' captain. &br;&br;The Empire suffered so many defeats to the elusive corsairs that she nearly lost jurisdiction over the sea. However, the situation was reversed when the Imperial Army discovered the corsairs' location. The army devised a plan to gather the corsairs at their home port and destroy them in a trap. The plan succeeded, and the fight raged on until only the Black Coffin was left. Luzaf and his crew are recorded to have fought valiantly despite the overwhelming odds, but ultimately went down with his ship into a watery grave. &br;&br;Many of the surviving corsairs refused to acknowledge the death of Luzaf, and carried on the rebellion against the Empire in smaller groups. Even today, their proud descendants are still continuing the battle against the Imperial Army.&image=im00;&br; "