Lioness of Acaenais

Countess Jeanne de Guerin was given all due consideration by King Louis de Valois IV when she was invited to her husband’s trial and subsequent execution. The charges of treason were fabricated by jealous nobles of her husband’s land. Like vultures, they had already begun to lay claim to the land before the axe even fell on his neck. Seeing as her time in Acaenais was drawing to a close, she fled across The Straight to her cousins territory where she bid her time. Once her sons were of age she had them learn the craft of seamanship. Together with her remaining funds and what little she received after her late husband’s death, she raised a fleet to harass the King’s shipping. So fearsome was she and her corsairs that she soon earned the title: The Lioness of Acaenais. For the first few months she would always leave one enemy sailor alive to speak of her exploits. The rest were tortured, flayed, broken, and scattered across the ocean.
 The King, not one to take anything lightly, put a huge bounty on the Countess. But she evaded all attempts to capture her, earning a greater bounty and even greater prestige. Soon, pirates from far beyond the seas heard of her exploits and joined her armada. Her presence in battle was seen as good luck. So terrifying and destructive was the pirate fleet that the King had to petition the Pope and Emperor directly for assistance. Yet, it seemed not even the combined might of these powerful rulers could stop the Countess’ wrath. She swore revenge for her husbands murder and she would not rest until she had exacted it.
 Merchant shipping along the coast stalled causing goods to be transported across land and driving up prices in the process. Sensing the weakness of the Treightish King, the Aglecier Kingdom, wherein her cousin resided, issued the Countess a letter of marque as they renewed a new campaign on the continent to recapture land they had lost to King Louis de Valois IV in previous years. The letter of marque was significant as it privileged the Countess and her fleet to certain legal protections should they be captured. In turn, she was obligated to turn over a certain percentage of her acquired treasure to the Aglecier King.
 Despite the hardships, God still seemed to favour her and her quest for revenge. Embolden by recent victories over the years, the Countess sailed up river and burnt down the castle of one of the lords who had pilfered her late husband’s land. His head was left on a pike overlooking the charred remains of the countryside. Over the course of few months she enacted revenge on likewise lords, each left with his head on a pike, along with other extremities. At one point she even dared to launch a raid on a lord over land; though, this time she was less successful, successful nonetheless, and only managed to escape by the grace of God. News of her near-defeat emboldened the King to try and lure Jeanne into another land battle but she did not acquiesce to his challenge.
 At some time late in the summer of the Countess’ 12h year of privateering, the King of Treight was murdered by an inner-clique of nobles who were wearied from the years of raiding. They immediately sued for peace with the Agleciers, and in turn, with the Countess, returning to her the land of her late husband’s and former titles. Soon after she retired from all public duties and appointed her oldest son in her stead, satisfied that her husband’s name was cleared and the King dead.