Freebooters of the Coast

# FREEBOOTERS AROUND THE EMERALD COAST

## In the Shadow of the Emeralds

The Freebooters, unlike the wilder nomads in the Frigid Waste or the far removed Rythians of the far north, are not inherently a people born to rebellion or fleeing. Rather the Freebooters are small fleets (perhaps only a couple ships at most) or dotted towns that don't publicly aclaim allegiance to the Admirals and Captains of the Emerald Coast. That independence is often kept through backroom deals or corruption with various captains, or even deals with the haven of Abysmal. As such there may be quite a few towns that are formally marked as Emerald Coast but actually don't even pay taxes in the traditional sense and are common knowledge to be outside the rules so long as no one presses it.

### Terrain and Dispersion

Most of the Freebooters are typically located on a few scattered islands that are either far from the normal routes, extremely defensible, dangerous (like a volcano) or some combination of the three. That said some are more nomadic in their fleets and a few are even scattered across multiple islands. The notable islands are the Island of Reen, the Whispering Isles, and the Realm of Astavalan.

## Major Freebooters

### **House Reenashore**

*"We stand against the Ages, and the Tides."*

Colors and Symbol: Dark orange, with purple secondary. Symbol is a lobster. ￼

Where to begin... House Reenashore are noble fools who sit on a rocky island in a 'castle' made almost entirely of dirt and rocks and wood they have spent decades building after fleeing from Central Driegvale over some complicated political dispute that (rumor has it) involved a murder-suicide pact and causing an outbreak of plague. Surviving off the sale of saltpeter and mined materials, the House under 'Lord Captain' Alekin II Reenashore have also been known to loan out some of their high-quality Cuirassier soldiers bedecked in full helm and breastplate known for equal knowledge with sword-and-shot and the field of siegework/artillery. Also no one wants to try seizing their castle and waste the ammunitions.

### The Dissenter's League

*"Never again, to a single Admiral. Never again, to one's whims."*

Colors and Symbol: Bone white and green. A headless skeleton on a dark green background.

The Dissenter's League arose in the aftermath of Noir's rise to power against Barosh and spear headed by the brother Captains Isron and Ikaron Glaswan. In fact, the two were one of the new threats that had begun to rise until the tragic day of Isron's death and the abandonment by the majority of their supporters due to the younger Isron being the charmisatic one. Now Ikaron Glaswan and his Dissenter Council of four other captains base from Abysal Port when they must, preferring to live free and without allegiance to any but themselves. The majority of their work is done as freelance merchant escorts/navigators, slaver hunters, and occasionally riding in to bother the Fleet via vigilante action (rescuing smugglers, retrieving impounded cargo, roughing up/killing particularly cruel or awful captains).

### The Thornites

*"The world, breaths. To use that breath, is to be with life."*

Colors and Symbol: Woad (Celtic Blue) and tan. Symbol is a two headed winged serpent (arms but no legs) ￼

The Thornites dwell across a series of islands, led by strange demi-kings who speak an odd language (celtic) and serve as mystics, weather-changers, and elementalists. Using whatever clothing they can find, trade, or make, the Thornites are certainly strange fellows. That they readily join ships or expeditions, especially from the 'Woadrins' who supposedly were human at one point but mutated to hairless (except for their strange pointy facial hair) people with a light blue skin tone, shark-like teeth, and four eyes. They are mostly left alone simply because they are not really an issue, they provide helpful magic users, and they are a genuine curiosity... Or maybe the magic users are payment?