Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court: Day of the Shadow is the fifth and final book of the Legends of the Brethren Court series for children.
This book, for unknown reasons, is only available as a downloadable eBook from Nook.
Publisher's summary
Before the Black Pearl was cursed, there was a young captain named Jack Sparrow.
Though this is the official summary, it does not match the plot of the book.
An army of shadows has been amassed. This Shadow Army has one goal: to find and kill all the Pirate Lords who rule over the Seven Seas. But the soothsayer Tia Dalma has other plans for the Lords and cannot allow them to be destroyed. With few options at her disposal, she calls upon the one man who can turn the tide—Captain Jack Sparrow.
Volume Five finds Jack and his crew—as well as some unwelcome tagalongs—en route to France in search of the rare and powerful Shadow Gold. Jack soon discovers that he is being trailed by a mysterious band of misfits who call themselves the Fourth Estate. Are they agents of the East India Trading Company, pirates in league with the Shadow Lord, or something far more terrible?
Plot
Jack and the crew of the Pearl arrive in France in heavy fog, and dock the ship before they realize they are surrounded by the Spanish. After receiving a tip-off from the Huntingtons, Carolina's father is ready to reclaim her. During the escape, the party gets split three ways.
Carolina and Diego accidentally stow away on the wrong ship, and Diego is injured when Ammand the Corsair attacks. Carolina seeks help from the ship's captain and surgeon, Captain Hawk. Captain Hawk, and his nephew Tim Hawk, have been searching for the Captain's son, who went missing. Ammand takes the ship without a fight, and though Captain Hawk convinces him to let the crew go, he deduces that Carolina is the missing princess and locks her and Diego in the brig. Carolina notes that Ammand has a vial of Shadow Gold in his sash.
Meanwhile, Jack leaves the rest of the crew to be arrested and goes off in search of Chevalle, the Penniless Frenchman. He arrives at Chevalle's house and duels him before Chevalle reluctantly admits that the Shadow Lord has already taken the vial from him. The two call a truce and work together to free their respective crews from jail in order to search for the Shadow Lord.
After freeing the crew, Jack discovers that the Shadow Lord has taken the Pearl. He commandeers the nearest ship, which happens to be Villanueva's Centurion. Villanueva is bound and gagged in his cabin. He tells Jack that the Shadow Lord was none other than Henry, the hapless pirate that Villanueva stole from the Pearl's crew in Tortuga! Jack realizes that Henry had cursed him with the Shadow Sickness when they shook hands in the Faithful Bride. After making another truce, Jack, Villanueva, and Chevalle seek out the Shadow Lord.
On board the Seref, Tim frees Diego and Carolina, and they get the vial of Shadow Gold from Ammand.
All ships converge on one point. The Shadow Lord, who reveals himself to be none other than Henry Morgan, co-author of the Pirate Code, has taken control of a fleet of Spanish and EITC ships. An eclipse occurs—The Day of the Shadow—and Morgan morphs into a powerful being. A worldwide battle starts between the Shadow Army and the Pirate Lords. Gentleman Jocard, Marcella, and the rest of the crew arrive on the scene.
Benedict Huntington, who is also present, finds and duels Jack, but is defeated. The Shadow Lord also attacks Jack, but Jack is able to wrestle the vial of Shadow Gold from him and drink it, temporarily curing the Shadow Sickness. As they fight, Carolina arrives with the seventh vial, but is taken hostage by the Shadow Lord. Jack realizes that this was Jean's prophecy; he must choose between the seventh vial and Carolina's life. Instead of giving the seventh vial to Henry, Jack pours it over the side into the ocean. He is then able to defeat the Shadow Lord.
After the battle, the Pirate Lords abruptly break their truce and reclaim their territories. It is revealed that Captain Hawk's lost son is none other than Catastrophe Shane, who has been under the Shadow Lord's control the whole time, causing both his amnesia and his clumsiness. Captain Hawk confesses that he doesn't really want to be a captain, and offers his ship to Carolina. She accepts, naming Diego as her first mate, Captain Hawk as her surgeon, and Tim and Shane as her crewmen. Tia Dalma appears and chides Jack for wasting the seventh vial. When Tia Dalma sees Marcella, she remarks that she should have left her as a cat, confirming that Marcella is none other than Constance from Jack's Barnacle days.
The characters part ways, with Carolina and Diego leaving to pick out a ship, while thinking of what to write in a note to Carolina's father. As the two left, Jack called after them, saying he didn't need them in his crew, which Barbossa agreed with a smile.
Epilogue
As the Black Pearl sailed out into the Mediterranean, Jack Sparrow turned to look back at drifting East India Trading Company ships, thinking of Benedict Huntington and the Shadow Lord, and everything they had done to try and steal his precious freedom and gave his farewell: "You will always remember this as the day you almost captured Captain Jack Sparrow!" Jack liked the exit line so much he expressed his excitement to Billy Turner, claiming he'll have lots of opportunities to use it. Billy was determined to set a course for North Carolina to be reunited with his wife and son, but was worried and hoped to keep Jack on track long enough to get there. Jack went into the captain's cabin, where he spoke with Barbossa about finding a new crew in Tortuga. With a scheming expression on his face and eyes glittering with sinister plans, Barbossa offered to take care of finding a crew. Jack agreed before sitting back in his chair to sleep, saying "Wake me once we're in the Atlantic, will you?"
Carolina, Diego, and Jean sail away on Carolina's new ship, the Sparrow, named after Jack Sparrow, who liked the choice of name and nearly made him willing to forgive them for "deserting" him. Jean was even thinking about calling his puppy "Sparrow" as well. While looking at the Pearl sailing on the horizon, Diego and Carolina wondered if Jack would end up alright, while also expressing their distrust of Barbossa, despite Diego's attempt to warn Jack. Carolina and Diego share an embrace as the rays of the sun slanted across the ship, edging the Sparrow in gold. Carolina assured Diego that things would turn out right.
- "Don't worry too much, Diego. We defeated the Shadow Lord. We escaped my father and the East India Trading Company. And I have a feeling that no matter what happens to Jack Sparrow...he'll find a way to make it turn out all right in the end."
- ―Carolina to Diego de Leon
Appearances
Individuals
- Jack Sparrow
- Chevalle
- Ammand
- Eduardo Villanueva
- Hector Barbossa
- Shadow Lord/Henry Morgan
- Carolina
- Diego de Leon
- Billy Turner
- Jean Magliore
- Marcella
- Timothy Hawk
- Tia Dalma
- Benedict Huntington
- Barbara Huntington
- Hawk
Locations
- France
- Atlantic Ocean
- Mediterranean Sea
- Indian Ocean (Mentioned only)
- Sri Sumbhajee's palace (Mentioned only)
- Hong Kong (Mentioned only)
- North Carolina (Mentioned only)
- Madagascar (Mentioned only)
- India (Mentioned only)
Ships
- Black Pearl
- Fancy
- Seref
- Centurion
- HMS Peacock
- Hawk's ship (First appearance)
- Sparrow (First appearance)
Organizations and titles
Creatures
- Giant squid (Mentioned only)
- Shark (Mentioned only)
- Mermaid (Mentioned only)
- Sea monster (Mentioned only)
Behind the scenes
The original cover
- This book was not originally meant to be the final book in the series, and it is unknown why the change was made. Before it became the final book, The Day of the Shadow, it was titled The Fourth Estate. The work-in-progress cover for The Fourth Estate featured the same image of Hector Barbossa from Legends of the Brethren Court: Wild Waters.
- The Day of the Shadow was set to be published in November of 2009, but never arrived. It was released in August 2012, with no formal announcement or explanation, as a Nook store exclusive. It is unknown if there will ever be a print edition.
- Notably, the publisher's summary of this book does not match the plot at all. It can be assumed that the summary tells the story of the canceled book in the series, which was likely entitled The Fourth Estate.
