Pyrria

The Principality of Pyrria is a major nation on the Shattered Sea. It is the largest of the Calamaran Fragmented States, and its culture, people, and customs are heavily influenced by the now-fallen Calamaran Empire.
Pyrria is a highly militarised state, run by a military hierarchy. In its brief time as an independent state it has already colonised and conquered many neighbouring islands, including vassalising several Svoldian tribes.
The territories of Pyrria encompass the Archipelago of Tormentisto, the southern islands of Svoldia, the island of Ticaretto, and various smaller colonised islands in the Shattered Sea.
The capital of Pyrria is Porta Pyrus, a holy city of Navicism.
=== Culture ===
A ruthless land, it is said that Pyrria is ruled by sharp blades and sharper minds. Complacency is brutally culled. It is expected that the witless captain, the tactless diplomat, or the useless noble, shall be killed by their peers.
Pyrrians are fond of deals and bargains, especially if they end up getting the better end of the deal. Each negotiation is an opportunity, and Pyrrians will never let an opportunity go by.
Though in the past, while under the Empire, Pyrria made use of slavery, it was always looked upon with contempt, though not for moral reasons. Many Pyrrians were of the opinion that it made people lazy and produced lower quality work. For this reason, they were not too opposed to abolishing the practice after the fall of the Empire.
==== Duels ====
Pyrria has a strong duelling culture, but it is not for entertainment or honour, but for pragmatic reasons or settling disputes. When bargains fail, a duel may be declared. A Pyrrian Duel is expected to be to the death, and any underhanded tactics are permitted.
==== Folk Tales ====
Pyrria is known for a rich folklore, due to the mingled beliefs of the inhabitants of the islands before the arrival of Navicism. While under the Empire, following any gods other than the Sea King was considered heretical, so various gods and divine beings have instead been considered as mythical figures, woven into superstition and folk tales.
One of the most notable figures of Pyrrian folklore is Nene Velike, sometimes called the Lady of Knives, possibly an interpretation of the dark goddess Venefica. Nene Velike is a vengeful, spiteful figure, associated with curses, usually represented as a crone dressed in all black with a veil over her face. She often appears in tales to offer dark bargains to the protagonist, with hidden costs. 
=== Military ===
Pyrria has the most advanced military of the states to emerge from the collapse of the Empire, though it has moved away from using magic, to instead rely on technological advances. Their fleet of massive engine-powered galleons is a force to be reckoned with.
Despite this large military, Pyrrians will only rely on brute force as a last resort, and would much prefer to outwit and outmanoeuvre their opponents.
The most renowned regiment of the Pyrrian Military are the Ragnarr Cohort, elite Svoldian berserker warriors integrated into the Pyrrian military.
==== The Sinistral Hand ====
The Sinistral Hand are an order of Assassins trained in Pyrria, whose services are utilised by many Pyrrian grandees and admirals, whether it be against their enemies or own kind.
=== Geography ===
The islands of Tormentisto are hot and dry. The archipelago is often wracked with storms, but these are usually halted by the mountainous eastern islands, leaving very little rainfall on the rest of the isles.
=== History ===
Before the arrival of Calamarans, the isles of Tormentisto were split between Kanemoku, Svoldians, and a splinter group of Izirians called the Duvari. The Duvari in particular built a kingdom across the isles, which was renowned for its wealth. This kingdom was a strong ally of the Kanemoku people, though was often in conflict with the Svoldians.
==== Calamaran Invasion of Duvar ====
By the 11th Century, Ulgard Greenblood had led Calamar to conquer the western seas and destroy the Tuquessi Empire, but he wasn't done yet, and turned his fleets eastward. As he began to attack the Kanemoku Isles, the islanders called upon the Duvari king, Luluk, to help them stand against this threat. The king sent the entire Duvari fleet to meet the Calamarans at Ticaretto (then called Ti'Kar), but it could not stand against Greenblood's power of the seas. Upon arrival at the eastern isles, Greenblood made a deal with the Svoldian tribes, if their warriors helped him destroy the Duvari, he would spare them, and grant them a fraction of the plunder.
The Duvari capital, Sova Mannar, was too far inland for Greenblood to reach, and after their great losses the Duvari refused to fight Greenblood by the sea, where he was strongest. He sent his soldiers, and Svoldian auxiliaries, to take the city, but the Duvari had prepared the city for a defence, sealing the city using some ancient Vexii obelisks. So instead, Greenblood's warriors sieged the city, starving it out for over a year.
The legends say that, out of desperation, King Luluk sought the aid of Fahraki, seeking to use a demon to fight a demon. Supposedly, Fahraki provided the king with a chalice of never-ending wine, and told him to make his generals and nobles drink from it, to help them survive the siege. The cursed wine turned the Duvari leaders into cannibals, causing them to kill and consume their own subjects, and eventually each other, to survive. Some stories say that, by the end of the siege, the people of Sova Mannar were desperately trying to escape the city, preferring to take their chances with the Calamaran forces than the monsters their own leaders had become. But just as nobody was getting in, nobody was getting out.
Or perhaps there was no deal with a demon, and the Duvari nobles simply turned to cannibalism out of pure desperation. Who can say?
By the time Calamaran soldiers finally breached the city walls, they found it full of nothing but bones, and the carrion feeders that picked them clean. At the heart of the central palace, King Luluk was the last resident of the city left alive, sealed in his stronghold and surrounded by his extravagant wealth, drinking feverishly from a chalice of wine. He was executed immediately, but whatever happened in that city left a permanent curse. The soldiers who took treasures from the city ended up dead soon after.
To this day, Sova Mannar is abandoned and well avoided. But legends of the city's wealth occasionally bring greedy treasure hunters to seek their fortune, and inevitably befall a terrible fate.
==== Settlement ====
Long before the fall of Sova Mannar, the other Duvari settlements across the islands surrendered to Greenblood and accepted his rule. While they occupied the islands, the Calamaran forces used a port town called Pyra Mannar as their base of operations, slowly building it up in their style, and eventually renaming it to Porta Pyrus.
Once the Duvari king was dead, and Greenblood's control over the islands was secure, he declared that he had successfully destroyed or vassalised every other nation on the Shattered Sea, and had achieved his destiny as supreme ruler of the seas. According to legend, this is when he gathered his priests, and revealed the secrets of El Mito Profundo, which became the Navicist holy text. Due to the gathering happening in Porta Pyrus, it later became considered a Holy City for Navicism.
==== Rebellion ====
By the 21st Century, Porta Pyrus, and Tormentisto in general, had become a major region in the Calamaran Empire. Its frequent conflicts with Svoldia meant a large portion of the military was stationed in these isles, lending the region a reputation as being the "Sword of Calamar". As such, the Pyrrians had grown resentful of the nobles at the capital, and especially, the emperor, for the way their region was treated as provincial and unimportant.
At the start of the Cobrian-Calamaran War, Porta Pyrus did not get heavily involved, as they were occupied with Svoldia. However, after the rebellion of Cartayna, it became clear that the empire was disorganised, and the pirates of Isla Cobre were hitting it where it was weakest. Emperor Ramazan commanded the Pyrrians to hold off their invasions of Svoldia for the moment, and instead invade the Spiral Isles, and take Isla Cobre. In this moment, the Pyrrian philosophy shone through; if the Emperor could not deal with this himself, he did not deserve to rule. The Admirals of Porta Pyrus decided instead to side with Isla Cobre, but first, had to finish their invasion of Svoldia.
By the spring of 20.89, Most of the Svoldian Isles had been conquered by Pyrria's forces. After a peace was brokered, Pyrria then turned their fleets onto the Capital, and aided the Cobrian Union in taking down the Empire.
Pyrria had hoped to overthrow the emperor and replace him with one of their own leaders, however, the Cobrians and the other Calamarans disagreed with this, and eventually it was decided that the empire's territories would split into independent nations. This still left Pyrria with the most territory and largest military out of the emergent nations, but they were nevertheless weakened by a war, and needed time to recuperate.