Barristen Islands

the Barristen islands are a collection of islands situated south of the Gulf of Njord. It is one of the largest collection of islands in Clamund and has a population consisting mostly of crab fishermen, pirates and hideaway criminals. Being a considerable landmass, many gangs and pirate crews use the island to store their loot, establish a fort to stash their gold, and generally use the island as an area of rest due to the lack of any established towns or nobility on the island.
== Geography ==
The islands consist of around 40 islands all together, with Beare isle and Gilja island being the dominant islands that most inhabitants live on. Most islands are miniscule, leaving over 10 islands big enough to sustain a population of sorts. Beare Isle is described as a rocky wasteland where the ground fumes from bottomless holes and many of the inhabitants live in cobblestone houses and holds who use the barren nature to their advantage. Gilja island is much different, being a lush temperate forest island that many outlaws and pirates use to build their palisade forts with. The winding forest floors and the rocky outcrops of each island help the outlaws immensely as each island is able to hide many lairs by means of hidden caves, forest valleys, and large hideouts constructed from loose stones and wood.
=== People ===
There exists no Barristen Islander that is distinct enough to distinguish among other Clamundians that live on the island. Rather, people who call the islands home consist of the dregs and outlaws of human and elven society who flee to the islands either as a way to thrive as outlaws or to escape justice from foreign lands. Many nobles and kings with false claims to titles usually flee to the islands after losing their fight for the crown and for the most part, many of them die on the islands in desolate exile. Most inhabitants on the island feed themselves with the extensive crab population around the islands of which bands of crab fishers migrate along the coasts of the islands in search of potential crabbing spots.
Many petty warlords claim shifting territories on the island as they squabble among other pirate lords for land and people. These small wars are usually fought by pirates and outlaws with meagre equipment as bands of men stalk the rocky plains and forests of the islands. The Foggy King is a title well-known across the Barristen Islands and along the coasts of Vestar as it is a title passed among the strongest pirates and outlaws residing on the island. The Foggy King is a constantly changing title as many outlaw leaders and chiefs could claim it at the same time.
Industrially, most outlaws and bandits tend to avoid the simpler aspects of living such as farming and sustenance gathering, leaving much of the work to enslaved war prisoners and those crab fishermen forced to work for established outlaw gangs. Peasants and fishermen from the coast of Vestar or the Elf Kingdoms who stray too far from their coasts may be beset upon by pirates living on the islands who would capture them in order to force them to work laborious tasks.
== Notable Historical Figures ==
Most notable figures on this list represents the known historical people in Clamundian history that have exploited the Barristen Islands. Most figures at the time of their dominance were given the title of Foggy King/Queen by their people, showing their dominance over the islands.
=== Lady Mao An, 845-922. ===
Lord Mao An was a infamous pirate responsible for acts of piracy across the known world. For a better part of her life she was in command of a huge fleet of an assortment of ships from different cultures, looted from her expeditions across the oceans of the world. The pirate was regularly known to own the title of the Foggy Queen during the beginning of the 10th century after she sacked Windrip in a naval invasion which involved over 50 ships led by multiple pirate fleets. Lady Mao An is known across the entire known world, but her exploits are mostly recorded in Xhishun history considering that she was born from unknown heritage on one of the islands close to Yatzao. Having been run out from the Xhishun seas by fleets of privateers and marines, she and what remained of her devastated fleet sailed to Clamund in 902 where she would stake her claim on the Barristen Islands as the Foggy Queen, quick to fight back any other claimants while quickly seizing the majority of Gilja Island.
Her reign would come to a halt when upon contributing to a local slavery ring that exchanges captured slaves to sell across the world, a group of armed assassins would infiltrate her motte and bailey situated along a natural harbor in the eastern part of Gilja Island where she would die in her throne room along with several of her guards fighting the assassins. After the attack, the assassins would promptly leave the island, never to be seen or heard of again.
=== Otto Gyldenglove, 1236-1290 ===
Otto Gyldenglove was a prominent outlaw king that is well known for his exploits in the Jarldom of Vestar and the Earldom of Flynn in his raids in the Ceolhare barony. Gyldenglove had a stake on the Barristen Islands following his departure from being the Jarl's hearthguard following his accusations of raiding the coasts of the Free States; who at the time had a lasting agreement with the Jarldom to not raid their coast. Gyldenglove had several forts constructed on both Beare and Gilja island to impose his dominance and for a time in 1271, he was considered the Foggy King for this action and his seat of power was held at Stoney Fort. Gyldenglove would soon be forced to give up his seat after only 10 years of reign as a group of outlaws native to the island would depose him in several surgical raids which destroyed both Gyldenglove's forts and most of his pirates. Those who remained under Gyldenglove's command would be forced to retreat to the Earldom of Flynn where he would begin his conflict.
== History ==
The Barristen Islands have been used in many occasions as staging grounds for military and bandit invasions alike. But for most of its history outside of temporary military conquest and departure, the islands have been dominated by the more dreadful folk of Clamund. Outlaw syndicates would regularly seize islands throughout its history and stage small-scale conflicts with other gangs vying for power. General safety on the island was always at an all-time low as these bush wars had no ethics and all targets were eligible for death or slavery depending on the mood of the attackers or victors. Those few occasions when orders is temporarily restored due to a standing army that occupies Stoney Fort; a large castle that all kingdoms of Clamund use and abandon during a seaside conquest, the army is usually driven out by a bandit confederation only years later with most of its inhabitants either returning to their kingdom by boat or slain or enslaved in the ensued battle.
=== Age of Magic ===
For the larger part of this age, the Barristen Islands remained uninhabited by any major faction. No wizard king has ever staked their claims on the island as their war canoes could not find suitable ground to make landfall as they faced Beare island's rocky cliffs in the west. Some reports of explorers attempting to reach the island through independent expeditions found that there were some inhabitants of the Gilja island in the form of a confederation of sentient animal people. The animal confederation consisted of bear folk, fox men, beaver men and badger folk. This group of animal people numbered in the hundreds and were capable of metallurgy and language but their existence was eliminated in the third century following a Vestarian invasion of the Gilja island. The pirates that attacked were afraid of the forest creatures and essentially destroyed all that was constructed by their long-lasting empire. 
Overall, over three settlements were located on the island including one fort manned by a warband of bear people, were promptly destroyed and razed, believed to be shameful and heretical designs of an ancient demon. By the end of the pirate invasion, they returned to Vestar with their findings and were forgiven of their crimes for eliminating a crime against nature and what remained of this unknown forest creature alliance was among the few animal people that hid amongst the fighting. It is known whether they persisted on the island or they moved away.
=== Age of Iron ===
After the razing of the animal confederation on Gilje island, some Vestarian pirates that were aware of the exploits of the earlier expedition arrived on the island only to see that it was abandoned. Some pirates decided to inhabit the island and thus began the outlaw population on the islands.