Captain Flameheart

""This world has gotten so much weaker… Festivals! Alliances! Squabbling over trinkets! I judge it unworthy. But know this, pirates. Know this, merfolk. Know this, Sea of Thieves… I have returned, and the fires of my vengeance shall consume you all!""

- Captain Flameheart

Captain Flameheart (aka King Flameheart, or Captain Flameheart Senior) is a notorious Ashen Skeleton Lord.

Flameheart had been a highly anticipated character, known well before the release of Sea of Thieves. He appeared in the E3 2016 Cinematic Trailer, and his statue has been a main feature at numerous conventions and events attended by Rare Ltd. Despite this, his in-game presence had only been referenced until his introduction in the Fall 2019 release of The Seabound Soul. He has since played a pivotal role in the unfolding events in Sea of Thieves.

There are two individuals — a father and son — who have taken the pirate moniker of "Captain Flameheart". Captain Flameheart Sr, the father, is currently the only Captain Flameheart depicted in-game.

Lore
Not much is known about Flameheart Sr. In his human life, he captained the Burning Blade, as a ruthless and notorious Captain in the Sea of Thieves. The Burning Blade was recorded to have clashed with the Pirate Lord in life, destroying his ship Magpie’s Wing and thus ending the Pirate Lord's voyage toward the Shroudbreaker.

Per the written account of Flameheart Junior in 'Tales from the Sea of Thieves', Flameheart Sr. was thought to have died outside the Sea of Thieves, with no mention of his father ever being a Skeleton Lord or the circumstances that may have lead to his transformation from human Captain to Skeleton Lord.

The Seabound Soul
Untold circumstances come to pass, leading Captain Flameheart to be cursed, immobilized, with his soul-bound to his skull, by a similar spell commonly practiced by Captain Graymarrow.

Ashen Lords rallied to Flameheart, taking his body aboard the Ashen Dragon to transport their Captain to his final resting place. During this voyage, they came under attack from two pirate ships under the command of the treasure-seeking Martha Jane and Randal 'The Vandal' Stone. Both ships were easily decimated by the infernal cannons of the fiery ship, and both Captain Stone and Martha Jane soul's were also cursed in the same manner as Flameheart.

The Ashen Dragon made land at Flintlock Peninsula in The Devil's Roar, where the Captain Flameheart was laid to rest, entombed in a sealed chamber.

Some time later, the Masked Stranger with Stitcher Jim and put into motion a plot tricking Duke, the Bilge Rats, and pirates across the Sea of Thieves to enlist the unwitting Sir Arthur Pendragon into freeing Captain Flameheart from his curse using the Sword of Souls, believing that the Captain was, too, a victim of the Ashen Dragon like Martha Jane and Randal Stone.

To Pendragon's dismay, Flameheart's burning skull lights up the sky as he promises to bring his vengeance upon the Sea of Thieves.

Heart of Fire
After being released from his curse, Flameheart retreated to his lair, the Heart of Fire, beneath The Devil's Thirst. With the assistance of Stitcher Jim, and a Chest of Rage containing the bound souls of the Blackwyche crew, Flameheart pushes forth his plan to unleash Ashen Lords upon the Sea of Thieves, and his leadship, the Burning Blade.

Captain Pendragon and some brave pirates venture into the Heart of Fire to stop Flameheart, but the Skeleton Lord is unconcerned, confident of his plan for the return of his army to bring the Sea of Thieves to its knees. It's then that Stitcher Jim finds himself fooled by his master, having his arm burned by the flames of the cursed chest, becoming a sacrifice to Flameheart, soon to become an Ashen Lord himself. Despite being too late to stop the Flameheart's plans, Pendragon is able to retrieve Stitcher's Chest of Rage, and use the Sword of Souls on it to rescue his crew.

The Reaper's Bones
Coinciding with Flameheart's return, the construction which the Masked Stranger had been overseeing while under the guise of assisting the Bilge Rats, had come to completion. This became the home to a mysterious new company called the Reaper's Bones, lead by The Servant of the Flame, who stands for "true piracy", a school of thought following closely to that of Flameheart. While the Skeleton Lord is neverstrictly mentioned, the company's insignia depicts the cursed chalice associated with both Flameheart Senior and Junior. The company's decor also utilizes Skeleton Glyphs quite heavily.

Haunted Shores
Furthering his plan, Flameheart unleashed an armada of Ghost Ships, summoned from the Sea of the Damned, lead by The Ashen Dragon and the Burning Blade. These ships haunt the shores across the Sea of Thieves aiming to invoke fear into its inhabitants while he observes and taunts from above.

The Ashen Lords
Following closely to Flameheart's fleet is the appearance of four Ashen Lords loyal to Flameheart, summoned by Ashen Skeletons using ritual items previously spotted on sketches by the Masked Stranger.

Dialogue
During Seabound Soul:
 * -|Seabound Soul=

During Heart of Fire:
 * -|Heart of Fire=

During the Ghost Fleet World Event:
 * -|Ghost Fleet=