Selva Island

The Earth Monument on Selva Island

## Quote

"Selva Island stands as one of the first Pirate colonies and also as one of the most cherished ones. No harm could ever come onto Selva Island without a fierceful retaliation, by myself included." - Duncan Heyward to Chinlachlook, 2037

## Origins

Selva Island was settled by a group of wanderlusting pirates, simply sailing out to a random, uninhabited island some few hundred miles south of Hawaii and deciding to settle there. The names of these pirates are long lost to history, but it is believed that they were a very diverse group, (so much so that many think it was intentional), consisting of a Sikh, Arab, Chinese, Eastern European, American, Ghanian, amongst others. In the short stay of these dozen or so pirates, they constructed a well known monument known as the Earth Monument, which has taken up the meaning as being a symbol of unity for the Pirates of the Pacific. Although it is unknown what happened to the original inhabitants, they are well versed in Pacific Legend for being contributors to this symbol of unity, which unconsciously =may have had a significant impact on the development of social norms in the Pacific, as outlined by a research article once published in the Galapagos,

## Overview

It was easily decided by the High Commission of the Galapagos Islands, shortly after the discovery of the monument tin 2035, that Selva Island would be fiercely protected and kept safe, being declared the first "Natural Heritage Site of the Pacific." The monument was subject initially to some small amount of graffiti by rebellious pirates, including a vulgar spray painting of a certain body part, but ultimately a permanent watch was built on the island early in 2035 which prevented further vandalism. For many new pirates it became a spot to visit, almost like a tourist attraction, and for many of the hardened veterans it symbolized a shared struggle and image of what the Pacific was meant to be. Even outside of the Pacific the monument became somewhat well known, as an article published by the New York Times simply detailed a brief history of its construction and took a few pictures of it, which went viral. Consequently Selva Island was expanded to accommodate the growing amount of traffic, mainly providing for basic amenities such as an inn , port, bar, and shops, but ultimately the permanent population never numbered more than 2000 as The High Commission wanted to avoid tarnishing Selva Island's pristine natural beauty with a massive settlement. In addition, although some tourism grew, the Galapagos Pirates as a whole wanted to avoid charging a fare to visit the monument, as it was deemed morally irreprehensible. For some years Selva Island had a relatively uneventful history, even as Anicka Konvicka would visit in 2037 (who had a history of being trouble to Pacific Islands), to simply comment on the beauty of the monument.

Trouble would come late in the year 2038 though, when conflicts relating to the Indonesia Coup caused a raid by a large coalition of Chinese and Indonesian pirates which (who generally did not share the same attitudes as Galapagos Pirates in relation to preservation of history) raided the island with a substantially large fleet numbering in the dozens, surrounding the islands and bombarding the defenders, numbering no more than one hundred. They simply intended to take over Selva Island as a strategic point against the Galapagos Pirates, without much care for the monument as a whole, and could care less if it was destroyed or not. During this conflict the Selva Monument took a number of cannonballs and was heavily damaged, but notably it never collapsed. Meanwhile the defenders simply attempted to hold out with coastal defenses and what limited supplies they had, successfully stalling out the invasion for a large amount of time, boosted by a sense of duty in protecting this important piece of history, Although the entire populace of the Galapagos and many Pacific Regions found this act outrageous, very little could be done due to how powerful Chinese, Indonesian, and Black League factions had become, accompanied with a general sense of caution in starting something bigger. Duncan Heyward, hearing of this incursion, became infuriated and personally sailed to liberate the islands, alongside Anicka Konicka, who simply used her Heart of the Sea to call upon a massive maelstrom, causing the invaders to withdraw and retreat. In a display of wrath usually rare to Duncan Heyward, he chased down the retreating fleet and completely decimated it personally, leaving no survivors.

After the invasion reconstruction began on Selva Island, now being boosted with an even larger garrison and more substantial coastal defenses, with patrol ships commonly covering the route between it and the Indonesian islands. Many pirates lament that Selva Island had become more of a military fortress by the end of 2038, but they likewise knew it was an inevitably situation given how aggressive the Western Pirates were. However most important to the Pirates of the Pacific was the fact that despite fourteen days of naval sieges and bombardments the Earth Monument still stood, even though heavily damaged. Although there was deliberation on fixing the monument to restore it, the community as a whole decided that the monument should stay as it was, battered and beaten, but still tall and valiant.The monument consequently became an even more powerful symbol of unity as a result, and the surviving defenders of the Island became widely praised as "The Forty Seven," indicating the survivors of the battle. Vigils and grievances were common for the next half a year, and the area around the monument became desperately choked with flowers and an assortment of random trinkets to honor the monument and the defenders. Later in history, before the massive battle that became known as "The Battle for the Fate of Indonesia," a massive entourage of West Caribbean and Pacific Pirate Fleets gathered at Selva Island as a mustering point around the monument, to listen to a rallying speech by Jaime Valdez and Duncan Heyward shortly before the momentous battle, solidifying powerfully the identity of the Pacific Pirates.