Captain Björn Gunnarsson, more commonly known to his crew as Captain Ironside, is the captain of the pirate ship Dream Chaser. The thirty-eight year old seaman was born in the port city of Norrköping in Sweden. He is 6’2” tall with penetrating blue eyes, light brown hair, and a short beard. A veteran of the Great Northern War, he started his career in the Swedish Navy at a young age, but his career was cut short by a disaster on board the brig he was commanding, which exploded in 1713 off the coast of Porvoo in Finland through no fault of his own. A cursed crewmember was blamed for the tragedy. Nevertheless, Gunnarsson was discharged by Admiral Erik Johan, his aversion to authority probably not helping his case.
Tired of the war dominating his homeland, he signed up on a merchantman bound for the Mediterranean, but his ship never made it there. The harsh conditions and a ruthless captain drove the crew to mutiny, and the vessel was soon heading towards the Caribbean under the command of the newly and unanimously elected Captain Gunnarsson, who was soon given the nickname Ironside after the crew learned of an incident in which he narrowly escaped death when a musket ball hit him in the side in a battle against the Danish fleet. Fortune smiled on him that day, as a hip flask bequeathed to him by his dead father prevented the lead ball from penetrating his body.
While living in Nassau, he fell in love with Cassandra, a free black from Bermuda, who was working there as a seamstress. She dearly loves him, even if she strongly disapproves of his chosen career.
Björn Gunnarsson led a successful career as a pirate, capturing dozens of ships, until news reached Nassau of the King’s pardon and the arrival of Woodes Rogers, the new governor. Faced with the difficult decision between accepting the pardon or continuing his life of plundering, he chose the latter. At the start of the story he was on his way to join up with his friend and fellow pirate Edward Teach, better known of Blackbeard, but first had to take his wife Cassandra to safety in Bermuda, where she was born and had family. On their way they sighted a Spanish treasure galleon, which had been separated from the fleet by a storm, and, depending on how you look at it, he and his crew were fortunately or unfortunately prevented from reaching their destination when their ship was engulfed by a mysterious mist. Once they emerged from it they no longer found themselves in known lands.
Captain Björn Gunnarsson is a good natured man, possessed of strong ideals. Unusually for a pirate captain, he is a vehement opponent of slavery and all other forms of bondage, and is a strong believer in freedom and justice. Although an extremely competent ship’s captain, he often doubts if he he is indeed a good leader of men, constantly being disappointed by the egoistical and self-serving natures of others.