Introduction: Lock, a man of less than twenty years, has had to kill people. However, this isn鈥檛 something he鈥檚 proud of, nor is it the life he鈥檚 chosen for himself. Months ago, the young man had been worried about little things, such as which ships would be in port, how much longer the bread he鈥檇 been rationing out for himself would last, and so on. This simple reality changed when crimpers came into his hometown鈥檚 port. Crimpers: scoundrels who kidnap sailors to force them into service on their own ships. Having been mistaken for an actual sailor, Lock found himself spirited away on the kidnapper鈥檚 ship, The Stitch, in the middle of the night. After a few painful months of daily seasickness and plenty of near-fatal lessons in seamanship, Lady Luck once again dealt Lock a new hand.On that fateful night, The Stitch was forcibly boarded by fellow criminals: pirates from a brigantine named The Splinter. The pirates were nearly as disorganized as the crimper鈥檚 own crew, turning what should have been a simple boarding into a fiery, messy bloodbath. After surviving the carnage and ending up aboard The Splinter, Lock was given a choice: join The Splinter's crew or die. He chose the former, entering into yet another gilded cage.----Thank you for checking out my story! I'll be aiming to update this about twice a month, though I make no promises. Comments are welcome and always very nice to receive. :)Between Blades and Riptides will contain some sensitive content (violence, discussion and contemplation of trauma, etc) though I will do my best to not be gratuitous when describing these things. While they are elements in the story, I do not enjoy writing or reading violence and pain simply for the sake of it; it will always serve a narrative purpose. Any chapters that have a large emphasis on these elements will have a content warning at the top of the page....