There was a time when the mere mention of the Arion Pirates would send fear into the hearts of the staunchest Myrran mariner.  These pirates would roam the Arion Ocean and mercilessly attack any ship foolish enough to stray from the coastlines of Acoran and Tethra.  As time went by, these pirates contracted numerous diseases and contagions from poor diet, lack of fresh food and water but mainly from generally unhygienic practices.  It was not uncommon for Arion Pirates to lose a limb or two to these diseases and they replaced these limbs with prosthetics fashion from the sugar-elms that can be found in abundance on the islands the dot the Arion Ocean.  This timber was also chosen as it was easily carved and the pirates took great pleasure in whittling the wood into intricate and fearsome designs.  Unfortunately for the pirates, the wood of the sugar-elm did not react well to salt water and many a pirate found their wooden legs shrinking as the wood shrunk and warped when it came into contact with salt water.  The wooden prosthetics also introduced a poisonous fume when wet that was capable of killing anyone nearby.  In the space of a decade the Arion Pirates went from being a fearsome collective to a laughing stock.  Now only a handful remain, occasionally plundering small vessels that venture out to the Isle of Antaeus.