Cervantes de Leon came from a sea-faring family. His father Phillip
Leon was a privateer employed by the
Spanish goverment. He and others like him did the jobs the mighty Spanish
Armada could not. Phillip commanded a proud ship, and had been given a
special commision by the king to loot in the name of Spain. Young Cervantes
was proud of his father. Phillip had told his son that a good sailor was
always strong and gentle.
The life of a privateer was a dangerous one, though. On one voyage,
Phillip's ship moved alongside an English ship in order to plunder it.
Little did Phillip know that he was stumbling into a trap. The
vessel was actually an English warship in disguise, and it's cannons blasted
the Spanish galleon to pieces.
Cervantes was devastated by his father's death. He recieved his
father's hat, Phillip's only remains. Cervantes became bitter, and came to
believe that his father's allegiance to the crown had gotten him killed. He
swore that he would hold no allegiance to any country, and instead become a
pirate loyal to no one. With his ship, the Adrian, he started a reign of
terror across the Atlantic. No one was safe, not even the invincible armada.
Years passed, and Cervantes' reputation grew. One day, Cervantes was
visited at his haunt, the Black Tail Inn, by a messenger from Vercci, the
"Merchant of Death." The messenger, named Voldo,
requested Cervantes' help in finding the legendary sword Soul Edge for Vercci.
Voldo promised an exceptional reward for the recovery of the sword, and
although Cervantes detested the thought of working for anyone, he accepted
the commision on a lark.
Cervantes searched for a year for the sword before finally finding a
clue as to it's whereabouts. At a secret auction, an English antique dealer
had made a successful bid on a strange article. The man, a Mr. Adams, took
the item aboard his ship and left port. Even though there was no conclusive
evidence that this was Soul Edge, Cervantes had grown weary of the search and
could not give up such an opportunity. The Adrian intercepted the ship, and
Cervantes found the mysterious item on board. To his surprise, it was indeed
the legendary sword. He took it and left the crew of the English ship to die.
Cervantes decided not to take the sword to Vercci, and instead use it
for his own purposes. Little did he know that the sword would ultimately
possess him. Once he was totally under Soul Edge's control, he slaughtered
his entire crew and the population of his port base in Spain. After the
evil deeds, Cervantes rested in the Black Tail Inn once more. Temporarily
satisfied with it's twisted desire to consume souls, the Soul Edge rested and
prepared to create the "Child of the Evil Swords."
Twenty years passed, and Cervantes was not heard from. No one
ventured to the port, and Cervantes never left. However, the rumors of the
evil swords spread throughout the world. Some believed it was the sword of
salvation, while others believed it was the ultimate weapon. Many came in
search of the Soul Edge, and eventually came upon the port town and Cervantes.
One by one, he defeated those who challenged him and Soul Edge devoured their
souls.
There was one though that fought the cursed fate. The Greek warrior
Sophitia, who had been blessed by the gods,
resisted Cervantes' attacks. During the grueling battle, she actually
succeeded in destroying one of the twin swords. The sword shattered into
pieces, and Sophitia was wounded by some of the fragments. Consumed by rage,
Cervantes was about to end her life when Taki
challenged him. Because one of the swords had been destroyed, Cervantes had
lost his control and was thus easily killed by Taki. The two warriors left
Cervantes' body and the remaining sword.
Another warrior, Siegfried came to the
port town and stumbled upon Cervantes' body. It was at this point that the
essence of Soul Edge completely took control
Cervantes' lifeless body. The demonic creature was nonetheless defeated and
Cervantes was finally and truly dead.
Or was he? Years later, Siegfried (now known as
Nightmare) brought Cervantes back from the dead
for unknown reasons. Freed from Soul Edge's control for the first time in
years, Cervantes began his pirating career anew. His ship, the Adrian, became
a ghost ship and was surrounded by an otherworldly glow. The eerie sight could
be seen at dark when Cervantes prowled the high seas for his next victim. Due
to the spread of the fire, his victims believed that they were surrounded by a
large pirate fleet, and either abandoned ship or fell into a state of sheer
madness. Cervantes plundered treasure ships from the Americas as well as the
Far East, and even Spanish ships were not spared. Cervantes once again
became the terror of the high seas.
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