The Island League

Physical Map of the Island League

Captain Ethan

Captain Tyler

The Island League is a collection of Islands to the northeast of Tirónar in the Eastern Sea. It is ruled by Captains Wade, Bob, Ethan, and Tyler.

## History

### Ancient Era

During the Ancient Era, the myriad of people groups living on the islands in the Eastern Sea perfected ship making and sailing techniques for quick, maneuverable sea travel faster than any civilization in the Mortal Realm. While the Island League as we know it today wouldn't come together until the Waldren Occupation, these separate cultures were constantly engaging in cultural diffusion (either through alliances or rivalries) and all shared a general love for sailing. While the first wave of destruction during the Dragon War nearly obliterated the ships and infrastructure of the islands closer to the mainland, the islands further off the coast quickly united in the face of a greater danger to evacuate and retreat to islands further off the coast. Ancient records confirm that some ships even sailed directly into the flames in order to rescue the stranded survivors of the initial attacks. Others even sailed directly to the coast of Haneul to offer aid, and while every offer was refused, the people of Haneul never forgot the daring, bravery, and selflessness of these acts.

As a result, the ancient peoples of the Island League survived the Dragon War with a greater appreciation for both the sea and each other. While many decided to rebuild on the islands far from the coast of Tirónar, many ships returned to the coastal islands, where they found Haneul in the middle of its great cultural expansion and were welcomed back with open arms. The Haneulians still bore an inexplicable aversion to the sea, while the sailors had no desire to be absorbed into a chaotic mainland culture, so the two "cultures" (i.e. two groups of a bazillion different cultures) instead became close allies. The newfound unity between the distinct cultures of the islands would set the stage for the creation of a confederation known as the "Island League," while the friendship with Haneul would ultimately prevent both groups from falling to the imperialism of the Waldren Occupation.

### Waldren Occupation

After amassing an insane amount of wealth and spending large portions of it on ships, soldiers, and weaponry, Waldren attempted to take over Haneul in 1227.

Needless to say, it was a mistake.

As Waldren had initially feared, Haneul kicked Waldren's butt onto the curb. To make matters worse, Waldren's ships approached too close to the Island League during this invasion attack, prompting the pirates of the League to rob and torment the imperialist trade ships at every turn, both out of respect for their allies in Haneul and for some consistent profit and sport.

In response, Waldren attempted to take over the Island League. However, the merfolk of the Eastern Sea, who themselves were strong allies of the Island League, began to take issue with the swarms of boats coming through their territory up and down the coast. The nuisance that the merfolk made of themselves, combined with the superior seafaring abilities of the Island League and the military support from Haneul, ensured that Waldren wouldn't take over the islands and would remain easy pickings for the pirates.

Waldren was extremely stubborn and proud, refusing to admit defeat against both nations for nearly a century. This period was full of back-and-forth naval skirmishes, as the pirates of the Island League targetted Waldren ships and Waldren attempted to take one of the islands in response. With the maneuverability of the Island League's ships and the military prowess of Haneul, few of these skirmishes ended in "defeat" for Waldren. Instead, these battles resulted in a frustrating stalemate in which Waldren found themselves unable to catch the ships of the Island League, nor break through the defenses of Haneul.

By 1334, Waldren had stopped attempting to fight against Haneul and the Island League and was giving the northeastern coast a wide berth, even sailing around the opposite side of the continent to pick up their goods from Lantraeth and Halennor. In an attempt to make up for their losses in this war and the rapidly falling profitability of Duilintinn, Waldren's remaining colonies were aggressively exploited for goods and resources.

When Halennor rose up against Waldren in 1445, Haneul and the Island League both lent their aid to the resistance movement. Despite its inability to defeat Haneul and the League in the past, Waldren spent several years depleting its ships and manpower in Lantraeth to the west and Duilintinn to the south in an attempt to quell this rebellion. Eventually, in 1453, Waldren was forced to admit defeat and retreat to its southern holdings. By 1500, Waldren had left the continent entirely.

### Modern Era

The Island League has thrived in the Modern Era, each island growing in population and prosperity. During this season of growth, the individual captains of the islands have taken unique paths in how they lead their people, all while maintaining their alliance of defense and trade support. Even in that, they usually act more like individual nations, conducting their own trade individually and mediating amongst themselves when mutually beneficial. They also maintain a thriving relationship with Haneul, each engaging with the neighboring kingdom in a variety of ways.

* News in Island League (April 1615)
* King Mark and Captain Ethan Visit Merfolk (June 1615)
* Strange Tidings from the North (August 28, 1615)

## Government

### Politics

There are four islands, each with an independent culture and government. A singular ruler, called a “captain,” runs everything on their respective island with the help of ranked “officers.” These captains have all sworn to work together in matters of foreign affairs: namely trade and war.

### Military

The military is entirely naval-based, and an exceptional navy at that. One won’t find a better ship or sailor than one raised in the Island League.

## Geography

### Major Regions

The Island League consists of four volcanic islands, all of which are presumed to be dormant. By nature of being volcanic islands, the lands of the Island League are very fertile.

### Climate

The lower two islands have a mild climate. The upper two islands, however, catch the winds of the north and are significantly colder as a result.

## Economy

Their main exports are high-quality ships for sale or rent, as well as their services as middlemen for sea trade are the exports of the Island League.

They import goods from other nations to supplement the food grown in the volcanic soil. Instead of directly trading for these items, they keep part of the goods they ship for others as a sort of “tax” during their middleman services.

### Technology

The entirety of Tirónar is at a relatively high level of ship tech due to the nature of the Eastern Sea. Namely, the fact that it's full of islands and weird storms and stuff. The reason that Tirónar went undiscovered for so long is that that's how long it took for other continents to figure out how to make boats that were maneuverable enough to navigate that part of the ocean! Since then, the ship tech that Waldren brought to Tirónar has been expanded upon enormously and, in some cases, adapted to fit other pre-existing ship tech in places like the Island League. This has allowed for trade between the nations of Tirónar to thrive, especially since it's incredibly difficult to cross between the mountains that form their inland borders (and even more difficult when you've got a lot of goods in the back of the cart!). I'd definitely say that the Island League has the most advanced ship technology, followed closely by Leyfel. They're the two nations with sailing-related stuff in their culture that isn't just for trade and travel.

## Demography

### Language

A wild mixture of almost every language spoken in the surrounding kingdoms. As usual, the common tongue is most prevalent.

### Education

The education system is very hands-on. Most young people are brought on the job at a young age and learn to help in various ways, eventually growing up to be very familiar with their craft, if not an expert. Skill is far less valued than self-awareness; if you are bad at something, but recognize and own up to it, no one’s going to blame you. Cooperation is crucial to surviving life on the sea, and pride will destroy a team effort far faster than incompetence.

### Sentient Species

Besides humans, sentient species in the Island League include merfolk.

## Culture

At one point, the people of these islands were just a bunch of pirates who preyed upon the settlements of Waldren along the coast of the continent. Eventually, as Waldren Occupation ended and independent kingdoms and confederations began to form from these settlements, piracy fell out of style. These gangs of seafarers eventually formed territorial clans and tribes on the islands, before finally forming the Island League. While each island has a very different subculture, each echoes the islands’ common history of piracy.

## Foreign Relations

### Allies

The Island League is allied with Haneul and Duilintinn.

### Public Opinion

There is a generally positive point of view of the Island League.