Black Isles

The Black Isles is a mostly oceanic pirate nation located in the south-east of Eldham in the Kraken Fall's Sea. It's capital is "Porthnegys" - a port city that was abandoned by the first explorers from Rathnir and taken over by the The Black Skulls, who rule the surrounding seas and archapelago. It has close cultural ties to The Pirate State of Barbossa and remains as the largest surviving bastion of pirate culture in all of Eldham.

The Barbossan Collapse
The Black Isles were founded by player EarlGreyT3a following the collapse of The Pirate State of Barbossa. Following the perilous Uraka & Barbossa Conflicts, the sailors and pirates of Barbossa were in chaos. Many Barbossans had disagreed with their leadership and had their problems with the late pirate state and saw the unfortunate collapse as a new chapter for piracy and merchant culture. While the remains of Barbossa (and most of it's people) were absorped into the neighbouring Uraka, a small group of sailors - namely EarlGreyT3a, the founder of The Black Isles, and Tyr Leuxos, who is widely disputed to have been a traitor of Barbossa - set sail for new lands.

Discovery of the Scurvy Shores
A short while later, after navigating through the delicate and winding river channels of Leifmyrr, the group found themselves in the Kraken's Fall Sea; within this sea lay an archapelago known as "Ngu Meutoro Punge". When the crew landed on the largest of the islands, they were peacefully greeted by the island's indigenous inhabitants who believed them to be friendly merchants looking for simple trade. Not being acquainted with local customs, EarlGreyT3a proclaimed the island as "Scurvy Shores" and named the archapelago "The Black Isles"; he welcomed all sailors, merchants, mercanaries and pirates salvation in a truly free land with no laws, no regulations and no foreign alliances forcing their hands.

Establishment of the Pirates
The group had found the land and independence they had yearned for however now came the hardest part of their journey: administration. Debates were plentiful between the group causing many rifts to form among the swashbuckling crew; Leux - as she had done many times before on her odysseys - argued that the island natives should be treated with a respectful and peaceful demeanour much like they had done to the sailors when they first arrived but Tea and the rest of their hardy band of pirates was having none of it. Before long, a brutal and suppressive subjugation and begun on the island natives, powerless to defend against the well-trained, battle-hardened crew. Tea was proclaimed the Pirate Lord by his fellow sailors while Leux, in defiance of the regime, began documenting and studying the culture and religion of the islands. As time progressed, more and more fleets of ships arrived to the islands and claustrophobic yet colourful slums grew to accommodate the indigenous people, while the pirates enjoyed lavish vessels and sturdy fortresses.

Construction of Porthnegys
As the population of the islands grew rapidly, Tea sent out calls to sailors to find more unclaimed land to encorporate into The Black Isles. Player Trelanganack, a new but prospective sailor to the isles, answered these calls following his discovery of a small sliver of mainland peninsula bordering the world's edge. On the peninsula lay an abandoned merchant town known colloquially as "The World's Edge", it had clearly been a costly yet unsuccessful investment of a long-gone band of swashbucklers based on the lavish architecture presented on the harbour wall; the land on which the town lay was under the jurisdiction of the Rhokian Shogunate so negotiations began (with the help of Leux's plentiful diplomatic connections) to purchase the land from them. With the approval of the Pirate Lord, Trelanganack (and his trusty partner Alfred I or "Buck") began repairing the former trade port and expanding the city to facilitate further settling from merchants and island natives. With this reinvention of the city, it was renamed "Porthnegys" - roughly translating to 'port of business'. The sudden migration and urbanisation of many of the sailors and island natives quickly grew the city's economy and, after much protest, the Pirate Lord Tea proclaimed it as the new capital city of The Black Isles. Following the success of the endeavour, Trelanganack was promoted within the Black Skulls to the positions of Corsair, Head Diplomat, Governor of Porthnegys while Buck was made Co-Governor and became well-known as the go-to builder within The Black Isles; alongside this, Leux's reputation was restored due to her help in the negotiations with Rhokia and her documentation of the native religion and culture slowly became adopted by many sailors and merchants within the Black Isles, finally ending the subjugation of the natives.

First Foreign-Affairs
Immensely proud of the nation he and his corsairs had built, Pirate Lord Tea began vocally opening diplomatic ties with foreign powers (a practice not undertaken before to preserve the young Black Isle's independence). Head Diplomat Trelanganack was sent on Tea's behalf to open negotiations and alliances with many of the nations sharing the Kraken's Fall Sea, including: Sylvania, Alzaria, Rohkian Shogunate and the Socialist Union of Paloma. The Black Isles were well regarded as a fierce yet peaceful and well-spoken nation with a firm grip on maritime trade and a near monopoly on naval combat thanks to it's members Barbossan origins. Though few of the original indigenous islanders remained, many sailors in The Black Isles - namely the Pirate Lord himself - had adopted the customs and religion of the locals, resulting in an unheard of cultural mix in every aspect of life.

Formation of the Council
As the Black Isles grew, the government was formalised and consolidated: the official Council of the Corsairs and governors were appointed to cities and towns across the nation. The council started meeting regularly to debate and discuss lore, policies, culture, expansion, allies and even war together.

Re-Unification of Barbossa
Suddenly, Barbossa returned and, graciously, Black Isles were formally incorporated into the new republic. The Silver Captain's son (Sariel Silver Dawn) moved into the northern half of the capital city of Porthnegys and, from there, organised the return of many infamous ex-Barbossan pirates. The Pirate Lord was more than happy to aid in this -as a Barbossan himself- though many of the Corsairs (namely Alfred I, Trelanganack and Tyr Leuxos) were wary of the possible oversight of the Black Isles in exchange for Barbossa. Slowly, Barbossa grew and Sariel moved away to a new location - the city of Al-Basaad. Just us the Corsairs had predicted, the Black Isles had been majorly overlooked, not even recognised for it's preservation of piracy in it's darkest age. Many Black Islanders joined Barbossa's military in an attempt to win over some recognition from the larger government.

The Red/Mald War
The inhabitants of the isles were drafted into the Red War (between Barbossa and the USSE) and were sent of to the war camp at Al-Basaad to prepare. Immediately as the war began, a Barbossan forward-scout team spotted the USSE's potion depot and, thinking quickly, detonated it with TNT. After 5 short minutes of confusion, the USSE surrendered and the Barbossan forces jumped down from their armaments and sacked their war camp. Barbossa walked away with a K:D of 47:1 and a few Black Islanders (specifically GuardReady and Trelanganack) won medals for their services.

Splintering Away
The relationship began to strain, however, as the victorious Barbossa started to stray away from their pirate culture - a culture still widely upheld and practiced in the Black Isles. Finally, the straw that broke the camel's back came when Barbossa was dissolved and replaced with the De Vrijmasten Raden (DVR) and piracy was officially thrown to the wayside. The Black Isles, wishing to maintain their current pracitces and way of life, declared their split and became independent once again.

Breaking Away
The Pirate Lord met with Sariel Silver Dawn to discuss independence. He expected an uphill battle but, much to his surprise, the captain happily allowed the Black Isles to go their own separate way as he, too, recognised their differing culture and identity to that of the DVR. There was little celebration when independence was declared; the Council of the Corsairs knuckled-down and got to work on reforming, rebuilding and reinforcing their tiny nation from foreign annexation - as is so often the case with countries of their newfound calibre. The government and ranking system was reformed: Alfred I and Trelanganack were promoted to Commodore, GuardReady become Commander of the military, Boatswain's were invented to encourage loyalty and commitment to the flag.

Conflicts with Sylvania
As a result of their independence, the Black Isles were now easy-pickings for larger nations to push around at their bidding; one of these nations was the Grand Archonate of Sylvania. Sylvania almost entirely surrounded the isles and, with this geographical superiority, enforced harsh sanctions on the islanders. They constructed a new capital called "Luxwind" in the ocean directly adjacent to the Scurvy Shores (it was even visible from the beaches themselves!) and, when asked, refused to remove it. The largest of these conflicts occured when the Black Isles occupied the small town of "Griefswald" (later renamed "Fosdinas") and legally took control of the land. They proclaimed it as theirs fairly and justly and there were no contradictions until 2 hours later when the Sylvanian Foreign Minister proclaimed (without consulting the islanders) that the land was Sylvania's! This territorial dispute grew and grew and tensions rose over the course of many hours. It looked as though war was on the horizon and both sides began contacting allies and verifying their support for their respective sides. However, at the last minute, a diplomatic decision was reached and war was called off with Sylvania dropping their claim and giving the land (quite rightly) to the Black Isles.

Proclamation of the Spice Commission
[to be expanded]

Location
The Black Isles are located in and around the Kraken's Fall Sea on the far eastern border of Eldham, surrounded by the nations of Sylvania, Rodinnbrok (specifically Rohkia) and the vassal of Nexus on behalf of Uraka.

Regions
The Black Isles feature 4 main regions named after the towns/cities that lie within them. The first region "Scurvy Shores" is an island and the historical founding point of the Black Isles as a nation by EarlGreyT3a. The second region is "Porthnegys", named after the capital city which takes up the entirety of the region - it was also the second region to be incorporated into the nation. The third region "Kragmen" lies across the Kraken's Fall Sea in a desert area, which is reflected heavily in it's architecture and customs. Finally, the fourth region is "Fosdinas", which directly borders Porthnegys and is the smallest and poorest region out of the four.

Religion
[to be expanded]

The Tale of The Black Isles
 Chapter 1: "Black Eyes" 

When the pirate lord made his bed in the island of The Scurvy Shores, he heard ,with one ear, a light conversation from two natives. a mysterious artifact left by the former Barbossian fleet, a figure made in a darken metal probably worth millions, in the far border of the sea. Of course, there were merchants after all, always thinking about gold. However, The pirate lord imagined the object in his hands, caressing the object, imagining his first treasure, not as something to sell, but as something to be proud of, his eyes were turning black. He ran to the shore, is vessel, washed into the beach, was a stolen one, damaged by the escape. The burning wood was still cracking to the weigth of the steel cannons and the sails felt like paper, the ones that no one could read. Not even a second later, not prepared at all, the crew was already running and pulling ropes in the middle of the blue waves. They arrived, at last, to their destination. It was night, The crew, nervous, holding the boat to not crumble underneath them, looked in the distance. A mere patch of sand, tinier than a plume, was surrounding them in a U shape. The pirate lord, controlling the wheel, ordered the bark to be dropped and the shovels to be ready. He went with two of his men and touched the land with is feet, strange, the sand was black. "Like a mere shadow of itself", said the pirate Lord. him and his men, shovel at hand, started to dig. Hours passed and nothing was found, the island was almost gone, the treasure was gone. The sun rose in the horizon, revealing the yellow sand that was left. Wait, yellow sand? "was it not black earlier", the crew noticed. The pirate lord, turned his head to his ship, it was now black, like a mere shadow.

Clouds were forming on top of them, rain started to crash, dark rain. The islanders rushed to the vessel, which was in the middle of giant tentacles, waving around like if it was showing off his prey. The pirate lord gripped on a loose board on the front and, that was when he started to fly. The others on the ground were small in seconds and the air was getting thicker. He climbed up to the ship, he saw his crew, terror in their poor souls, screaming for mercy, looking down at the mouth of teeth and the eclipse in his black eyes.The lord, on the contrary, was furious. "This ugly ass monster will not be my end, come and get me you pathetic scum!" The giant squid did not move an inch, and then started to rotate his plate. Men and women were dropping, miserably, one by one, like grains of salt trickled onto a perfect dish. The pirate Lord, the last on the ship, held the cracked main mast with his life. He then had an idea, he reached his sword and sawed the mast, finishing the job. The pole fell, with the pirate lord on top, penetrating the monster's mouth. We heard the shriek from miles. The vessel was free from his grasp, to sink, finally, in the abyss. The blue of the sea turned black

What rose from the sea was something of a fairy tale. An immense ship appeared, with at least twenty-four shining canons, ready to tear apart the hardest wood, black rims going around the vessel and a mast so large that it pierced throught the dark clouds and saw the sunlight. "The Eclipse, this would be the name" the Pirate Lord said, wheel at hand, seeing his crew laughing and enjoying life, seeing with his black eyes, stolen to the Kraken. However, the tale is not over yet, because the artifact is still at large, travelling in the dreams of many.

 Chapter 2: "The Artefact" 

A winter night, the sea was becoming ice, a blueish white, frozen by the absence of heat, the Kraken had a cold heart. Instead of black rain, it was snowing, snowflakes of the purest colour. The Black Isles, blocked by the icebergs, were the most silent, in the strong winds. One of the corsairs entered the empty bar, she saw the pirate Lord, sipping in tea. "Hey Tea, you want company?" The pirate Lord slowly turned his head, showing his empty dark eyes, and accepted with a slight nod. Tyr Leuxos sat on the chair next to him. "I never asked but, your eyes, they are not so pleasant to look at." "I know, that Kraken wore them; now it’s my turn." Leux demanded a jug of beer and started to chug it. "The artifact is lost Leux, lost underneath the frozen sea, forever gone in time. I feel like I’m becoming more and more blind." Tea sipped his tea. "I abandon this doomed search." "Woah, wait. I knew Tea the boy, washed up surrounded by crates of tea. But now, I know Tea the Pirate Lord, slayer of the Kraken and captain of The Ecplise." She pointed to the massive vessel outside. "This war machine is yours, Pirate Lord, yours to conquer all the islands and become the richest man alive. Do you understand that?" Tea looked at her. "No, you don’t understand. The artifact is the only thing keeping me alive, that is why the Kraken was there, searching the same treasure as me." Leux was confused. "How do you know that?" "It is not important, what is the use of a boat when there is no destination in sight, I am cursed to turn into a monster." A crew member suddenly entered the bar in a hurry. "Pirate Lord, the artifact was found!" "Where?" said Leux, Tea was silent, drinking his tea. "Near the northern lands, on a floating corpse, an armada of ships covered with red." The pirate Lord spitted his drink, he turned his head. "Barbossa..."

The Barbossian captain was looking through the mysterious object's preciousness. An all dark metal monkey statue destined to be on a pedestal in an ancient temple. He was scared because he knew that this artifact will be the reason of his end. "Not this. Everything but this!" He screamed alone in his cabin. "What have I done?I wanted to start fresh only to be destroyed the next day?" A crewmate opened the door, curious about the noise, he saw the captain, Rossa, almost laying on his chair. "What is the problem, captain?" Surprised, he looked at the visitor. Shit, he cannot know we are doomed. "Uhm...nothing. We will go south, near the Black Isles, we are here to get our land back from..." He paused, the fear to say his name. "The Eclipse? Oh, do not worry Ross, we will end their reign, to the deep blue sea they will go, haha!" The boy was an innocent one. He did not know the danger of the Eclips. That they will perish soon. "What is your name, boy?" He hesitated, for he was confused. "My name is David..." Rossa stood up to his chair and approached the boy, grabbing his stressed shoulder. "Kid, The Ecplise is something else, the captain has become a monster. If we are not careful, we will be ripped apart by his ferocity and anger, cursed forever to be lost in memories." He stopped. And then, with an heroic voice, "But The Goliath will best them, David, we will make them pay for what they did to our land! Oh boy they will pay!" David looked up at the giant man, now raising his only fist in the air like a fairytale hero. He smiled with his gross teeth and left the cabin. Rossa sighed and returned to his chair, turning it to the other side. "Poor boy...Everybody will forget his name. The name of a brave boy."

The Eclipse was already prepared for the long trip. The sails were dropped, the cannons were ready to destroy the enemy, and Tea, the pirate lord, had his hands grasping his wheel. He yelled to his friends. “Let’s go on in an adventure boys! We know where’s the artifact, let’s destroy some Barbossan jerks! Haha!” They laughed and screamed with greed and joy, ready to make history flourish with their names. The ice was still present, blocking the smaller fishing ships, but not the Eclipse, because they finally had a goal to follow. Hours passed, and Leux saw the crimson Barbossan fleet coming right to them. “Tea! They are here!” He smirked and saw it, the big bastion of a vessel with his followers ships. “The artifact is mine now.” They both approached and stopped. The two captains had so many decibels in their voice, that they could hear themselves yapping insults. The Barbossan captain started. “What do we have here! Is it a lost soul that I see!” “Rossa, we meet again!” Tea responded. “I was told that you have what I rightfully deserve, you stole it from me Rossa, and I need it back!” Snow started to fall, like ashes from the clouds, covering the brown wood and the iron swords. “Are you talking about this?” Rossa showed the treasure, raising it like a prize that contrasted with the white air. Tea’s black eyes started to shimmer, like if the kraken was fuelling in him. More snow was falling, “You scum! Do not drop it like a fool!” Rossa laughed. “Well, that is an option, but no, it is free gold after all. Haha!” A screeching roar suddenly emitted in the storm above and the wind started to push them into battle. The gods were impatient. “It’s time to die Rossa!” “Haha, you will see your end!” Oh boy he is doomed. The two captains returned to their station. And the fight began. The other Barbossan boats were the first to attack, shooting The Eclipse from afar. The cannonballs arrived with force, wooden planks were falling into the water below. Tea harshly turned right to avoid the rest coming after the boat and shot one of the vessels down with a massive explosion. The other one came closer, ripping the other side with their bullets and howling bliss. Ending it fast with them eating a volley back. David ran to Rossa. “Captain, they already destroyed the Firelover and the Laughing Made, what do we do now?” Rossa then thought of the impossible. Tea was raising his arms with pride with his crew when he saw The Goliath hitting The Eclipse with a devastating charge, piercing it with a giant hole in the side and, for the attacker’s side, a heavily damaged front. Fire spread on the two vessels, the crews were everywhere on the ground, dead or unconscious, while the boats were now one. The rest who were alive was already starting to fight each other with steal and gunpowder. Rossa woke up, the carnage of a suicidal act. He noticed the artifact was not with him, but with David that was ahead of him, standing there, crooked like a winded sail. “David…” Then David turned around, with a red mark on his chest. “What. No…” The boy, mouth open, fell in the water with the artifact in his hands. Transforming the water black. “NOOOO!!! DAVID!” Rossa never screamed this much for someone, his eyes were now red with vengeance for a boy he only knew existed yesterday. He immediately shot the killer in his fury. “TEA!!! Come here and fight me!” Tea woke up with his name ringing in his ears. “Your artifact is gone in the sea Tea! You are eternally cursed!” “No… Not again. I CANNOT LOSE IT AGAIN!” The pirate lord yelled and, with his black eyes twitching in rage, ran to Rossa. What followed was an epic battle, blades sparked in the presence of the other, red and black eyes were fighting to lead the pain away. They were exhausted, bloody and in agony. The ice was gone, now replaced with rain, black rain.

"You will pay for this Rossa." Tea said to Rossa who responded with a single "no". Then the world shook, Tea remembered this feeling. And as he was reminiscing. A tentacle rose up through the rough sea. "What....is that?" Rossa was confused. Tea noticed something strange, he saw that the monster was holding the artifact. He understood. Tea ran to the Eclipse side and quickly remove the ship to the side while Rossa was focused to the monster's arm. Rossa gasped, "No." The tentacle descended into the Goliath and broke it in half, taking away Rossa with him, now cursed forever to be lost in memories.

Tea, Leux and the rest of his crew left the storm, now artifact at hand. The Eclipse now roams the Kraken's Fall sea, with Tea at his helm and a young kraken below, helping them like a brave boy.