There are a total of ten journals to find in Dark Brethren. While they are all part of the Lost at Sea set, there are two different authors.
One set of journals belong to First Mate Yenay. But, mysteriously, it is unclear who the author is for the other set of journals.
All ten of the journals will be found in the Coral Fortress.
Finding all ten of the Lost at Sea journals will unlock the Lost at Sea commendation.
If you are looking for a guide to walk you through the Tall Tale and the remaining commendations, head on over to our Dark Brethren guide here.
Discover all the hidden Journals in the Coral Fortress
All ten of the journals for this Tall Tale are inside the Coral Fortress. There are points of no return throughout the Tall Tale, so be sure to follow the order carefully. If you miss one, you might have to restart a Checkpoint or start the Tall Tale over.
My Darkest Hour
Soon after stepping foot on The Coral Fortress, Jack will unlock a stone door with a locket. Once Jack opens the door, head inside and swim up to him.
Facing Jack, look to the right to find several pieces of a shipwreck along the wall. The journal will be sitting on one of the pieces in a dark corner. You will want to use your lantern here to see and find the journal, as it’s pretty dark!
(It’s unclear who wrote this journal…)
“The need for hiding my face will soon be gone.” I wrote those words on what I believed would be the eve of my greatest triumph, earning me a place at my love’s side.
I had worked ceaselessly to bring you back from beyond the veil. Hearing your whispered words as I struggled, enthralled by the prospect of reigning as your queen.
As your battles raged on, I came to realize that there would never be a seat for me at your side. Like Stitcher Jim before me, I had unwittingly served my purpose.
Then came the day I confronted you. Confessed my love to you, and demanded proof of your devotion to me. Your laughter froze my burning blood to ice.
Flameheart, my ‘King’, I will take great pleasure in annihilating the Sea of Thieves as you watch, helplessly, from the heavens. You shall having nothing left to conquer.
Following
You will swim through a narrow tunnel from the room with the first journal to follow Captain Jack. The second journal is on the left of this underwater tunnel sitting on a white piece of coral.
You’ll come to the journal as soon as you start to see bright glowing pink plants in the tunnel. If you reach a dead-end that Jack needs to help you get past, you’ve swum too far.
Following, by First Mate Yenay
Whenever I am lost in the cold and the dark, he comes to me.
How many merfolk truly swim below our feet as we sail our Sea of Thieves? I am so used to their familiar song, I scarcely stop to wonder.
Like my fellow pirates, I have been rescued form the icy waters and spirited back to my ship by the kind touch of many merfolk, men and women alike.
It was rude of me not to pay them more heed, perhaps, but I was usually distracted by the heat of battle or concerned for the safety of my ship.
That is, until the day I noticed that there was only one mer searching for me. Each and every time, the same. No matter where I sailed, he was there.
Company
After the second journal, you will come to a small room. First, use the geyser to be pushed up to a ledge in the room. Next, you’ll need to use a pulley to bring a wooden beam closer to you to jump on.
After crossing the wooden beam and landing on the yellow plant, hop down to the other side instead of continuing up the path. You’ll find the third journal tucked away here.
Company, by First Mate Yenay
The others think I have sunstroke. That is how I explained throwing myself over the ship’s railing and into the sea. In truth, I longed to see him.
He broke the surface of the waves at my side, as I knew he would, but I did not take his hand right away. I wished to drink in all of him that I could.
He is… not precisely handsome, for a life at sea soon knocks such conceits out of us with everyday bumps and bruises. But he has kind eyes.
I am certain that he is following our ship. In those rare moments when the wind is still and the seas are quiet, I can hear the echo of this song.
Tonight, when the others are asleep, I will go for a moonlight swim, and stay in the water with him until the dawn, or the sharks, come to part us.
Davy Jones
The fourth journal is located on the left in the organ room after boarding The Flying Dutchman.
You will first need to take the dagger from the Map Table on the Flying Dutchman to enter the organ room. Doing so will open the door to the room, allowing you to enter and read the journal.
(It’s unclear who wrote this journal…)
I was born to be a weaponsmith rather than a common criminal, but you cannot live a life at sea without hearing the legend of Davy Jones.
For a pirate, clinging to their last seconds of life and watching the final grains of sand tumble through the hourglass, his arrival must induce sheer terror.
His bargain is simple: agree to serve aboard his mighty vessel, the Flying Dutchman, and avoid taking that final step across life’s threshold.
Those scoundrels who betray their pact with Jones, or who displease him in some other way, are cast down to his Locker. Pirates for all eternity, indeed.
This is a world where the pirates’ life hangs not by the fragile thread, but by the mighty golden chain. With our help, Jones will have strength enough to sever it.
Risk
The following journal is in the large room that immediately follows the Flying Dutchman chamber. Upon entering it, you’ll fight off several sirens in the water. After dispatching these sirens, dive below the water’s surface to find several cages chained to the floor.
The journal is in the first of several chained cages underwater.
Risk, by First Mate Yenay
The Captain took me aside today, She wasn’t cruel, only concerned. She reminded me that we know so little about the mer and where they came from.
I am not about to listen to old stories of pirates being dragged under the waves and transformed! And if it were to happen, at least I could be with him.
I dove into the sea again that night, eager to wash away the argument. I soon found that I was not the only one who had a confrontation that day.
There was a scratch on his arm. Deep, I think, though he would not let me touch it. Nor tend to the wound, not that I knew how. I swam with him instead.
I awoke today to a wrongness – to a silence. Now it is nearly the evening, and I have not heard his song. Every moment until sunset is agony.
A Better Offer
You will find the next journal in the same large room where you found the fifth journal, Risk.
Past the chained cages underneath the water will be several pieces of shipwreck tied to the floor. Swipe at the rope and cut loose the three shipwreck pieces. Then, after they float to the top of the water, hop across them.
Once across, you will see a path that leads up to a platform with a ladder on it. You will find the journal underneath the platform in the dark.
(It’s unclear who wrote this journal…)
“If you want peace, prepare for war.” Words spoken by a general whose bones long ago crumbled to dust. Words that these bones still remember.
I have spent my life preparing for war. More than that – I have crafted war, mastered the art of it. Once, I came close to losing myself to its flames.
My efforts were unappreciated, my finest weapons used by pitiful pirates to skewer snakes or hack at one another in some pointless brawl, but I persisted.
My loyal Skeleton Fleets introduced the Sea of Thieves to the truth of war. Better yet, my efforts at The Reaper’s Hideout taught pirates to war among themselves.
None of it has been enough, but now…an invitation. The ultimate test of my skills. Fashioning a War that will end all Wars. How can I possibly refuse?
Change
After reaching the top of the large cavern and solving two Siren Statue puzzles, you will reach a wooden door. After opening it with another Siren Statue puzzle, drop down into a new area where Ocean Crawlers will spawn to fight.
After you dispatch them, the seventh journal will be resting in a yellow set of coral towards the left of this room.
Change, by First Mate Yenay
It has been weeks since I felt like writing anything. Like feeling anything. Weeks since I have seen him. And then today… a shadow, under the ship.
There was signing, too, but it was… different. A sad song. The others heard it, I could tell. The Captain has had her pistol loaded ever since.
Sirens are nothing but an old pirate legend, but legends have a way of coming true out here, don’t they? The Merchants talk of so many missing crews…
If pirates can become merfolk, then what might merfolk become?
The sad song is back. Louder. All around us now. He is here, and he is not alone.
A Change of Location
Moving further in, you should come to a vertical tunnel where you have to solve a Siren Statue puzzle to raise the water.
Once you raise the water, you will find the journal at the top of this room, resting in blue-tinted coral to the North.
(It’s unclear who wrote this journal…)
I have become used to hiding. I hid my arm from customers, not to mention my hag of a sister, when my skeletal curse first began to claim it.
Later, I hid my name, then my voice, and – reluctantly – my face. Whenever a fresh start was needed, I would depart. Retreat, too, is a part of war.
Thankfully, I have become quite adept at sailing beneath the waves, an advantage shared both by Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman itself.
Jones was wise to ally with the Sirens. Temperamental as they are, their spires and fortresses are born from the sea, and Jones cannot set foot on land.
As his allies, we shall soon carry the Eternal Bargain of Davy Jones to places he may not tread. I have arrived, and the Dark Brethren court is about to form…
Rescue
You will find the last two journals in the Brethren Court. The first journal is against the right wall of the ramp that leads down into the court. You should find it before reaching the large table.
Rescue, By Yenay
Even as he tore our ship apart, he was weeping. Tears from those blank, pale eyes, no longer kind. Twin mirrors, reflecting my horrified face.
The Captain is gone. She flung herself into the water with her pistol and blunderbuss, ignoring my panicked shriek not to hurt him. Buying us time.
I don’t feel despair. I don’t even feel fury. I feel certainty, because I know what has to be done. Finally, it is my turn to rescue him.
Disease can be cured. Curses can be put right. Somewhere on or under this vast, strange Sea of Thieves, there is a way to restore his song.
I am Yenay, First Mate no more. However long it takes me, I will not stop and I will not falter. Not until I am once again gazing into those kind eyes.
The Brethren Convenes
You will find the second journal in Brethren Court resting against a chair at the table in the center of the room.
The Brethren Convenes, by Wanda the Warsmith
Scrutinizing this strange collection of faces – some unfamiliar, some unexpected – I have finally realized just what has drawn us here.
The Fallen Ruler – the gold on his skull now mottled and tarnished, whose greed could never be sated by the paltry tributes of his disciples.
The Outcast – blamed by his kin for causing chaos, now lured here by the Sirens’ song. He sees, at last, that his dream is over. It is time to wake up.
Davy Jones himself – once a pirate, whose greatest love was the sea, but that sea betrayed him in the end. Took all it could, gave nothing back.
We are all here because we have lived the lie of the pirate’s life, in our own ways, and it brought us nothing but anguish. Now it is time for the lie to end.
8 thoughts on “Dark Brethren Tall Tale Journals, Locations and Text”
I’m just gonna leave this here:
Once you enter the fortress, after Jack opens the door, hang a right and you will see a small shipwreck, the 1st journal is located on top. After leaving the shipwreck, you will head down a narrow tunnel, the 2nd journal is on the left on a white piece of coral. Further on, you should come to a room with a piece of wood controlled by a pulley, after crossing the wood jump, head right to find the 3rd journal on the coral instead of left for the ladder. The 4th journal is located on the left in the organ room after boarding The Flying Dutchman. Number 5 is resting in an underwater cage after going through the doors from the Dutchman fight. In the same area, journal 6 is below the pulley system under a wooden platform with the ladder on it. After reaching the top and exiting the massive cavern, you will reach a door, after opening it, drop down into a new area where enemies will fight you. After you dispatch them, the 7th journal will be resting in a yellow set of coral towards the left of this room. Moving further in, you should come to a vertical tunnel where you have to solve a siren statue puzzle to raise the water, once the water is risen, the 8th journal is at the top of this room resting in a dark piece of coral. The last two journals are located in the Dark Brethren Court. (the room where Davy is talking to the brethren) Number 9 is located against the right wall of the ramp leading into the court. The 10th is resting aside the warsmith’s chair at the central table.
Great work on hunting all of those down! Thank you so much for sharing them too. This will be a great help to the community!
Thats my guide but okay
Oh okay, good to know! Where did you originally post your guide? Nice work on finding them all 🙂 It’s no easy task!
Yeah it took my crew 4 hours. I originally posted it here in a comment but it never got approved
That’s odd! We don’t have anything in our comment queue that hasn’t been approved yet. Not sure what happened there. Sorry about that pirate!
I totally forgot to mention the guy who gave me that list 😳 so sorry
journal 7 is titled “Change.” journal 8 “A Change of Location” I’d say it’s on purple coral, I spent a while looking at what I thought was dark and I don’t think the coral it’s on is that dark. 9 is “Rescue.” 10 is “The Brethren Convenes.”