Isle of Wights

## Description:

The Isle of Wights, also known as the Crimson Coast, is technically classified as a Pirate Clan under the Drahran Empire despite never filing an official request for admittance. The island, situated at the very northern tip of the Drahran Archipelago, is one coated in mystical miasma and surrounded by terrible storms. Those who have set foot on the dreaded island have described jagged cliffs, reefs of human skeletons lining the beaches, and strange paranormal happenings. The Isle of Wights has never made official diplomatic ties with anyone, and has proven to be incredibly isolationist in its policies.

The physical location of the Isle itself is a terrifying sight to behold. Jagged rocks like gnawing teeth sit just underneath the water's surface or soar above the waves, prepared to gut any vessel foolish enough to sail too close to the coast. The aforementioned magical miasma coats the entire island perpetually and spreads outwards from the island's settlements, disrupting technological equipment and affecting magic in strange and varied ways. Storms, typhoons, and whirlpools terrorize the seas off the coast, dashing ships against the rocks and reefs like pottery against stone. Majestic singing from beautiful Sirens tempt unknowing sailors to their dooms, driving them to throw themselves over the railing of their seaborne vessels or instigate violent mutinies aboard the boats. Ghost Ships fade in and out of the Material Realm at will, intimidating passersby as a warning; those who fail to abide by this warning find themselves attacked in the night by the ethereal pirates, boarded and consequently killed by the spirits before becoming undead themselves. Undead fish and sea monsters patrol the waters in and around the reefs and beaches, assaulting any small vessels and warding off any natural flora or fauna. Bogs, swamps, lagoons, and marshes sit against the inlets of rivers, filled with the preserved bodies of unfortunate sailors and snapping piranhas prepared to remove the flesh from a man's bones. Twisted trees and undead flora dot the tree line, sitting just behind the crimson-stained sands littered with debris and the bodies of the most recent catches.

Old legends known only by the oldest and saltiest of sailors tell of the island's origins, said to have been around 1300 PC. Tribes of Lizardfolk living in harmony found their ancient ancestral tombs and burial sites disturbed and robbed. Upon investigation, it was discovered that a band of pirates including one Oliver Rhaine, had landed on the island by accident and stumbled upon the sites to scavenge food and supplies. One such tomb was warded better than the others, however, and the Lizardfolk were able to seal the pirates inside. They did not hear from the invaders again.

Several decades later, the resealed crypt was opened from the inside, as the reanimated corpses of the deceased shambled forth, rotted down to the bone. Only Oliver Rhaine, the last to emerge from the jungle, appeared to be alive. More than alive, Rhaine had looted the crypt in its entirety and, as a result of one of the damaged runic wards, was converted into a Vampire while the rest of his crew were obliterated. Over the decades, he been able to accrue the entire treasure's wealth for himself, mastering necromancy and abjuration magic in the process. Now consumed by a crazed and traumatized hatred of Lizardfolk, Rhaine led an undead crusade against the island's original inhabitants, slaughtering and reanimating them all. Once this was completed, Rhaine's taste for power was not sated, so he directed his undying attention towards the seas once more...

Due to the Isle's location within the Pilboan Blockade, the outside world has no knowledge of the Isle of Wights. Within the Continent of Pilbo, few sailors can hear a tale of the Isle without shivering, and coastal cities tell stories of the hellish landscape to keep their children from swimming too far from the beach. Like the rest of the Drahran Empire, the Isle of Wights is believed to be responsible for smuggling people and materials to and from the Continent of Pilbo and the rest of the world.

### Organization:

#### Population: Unknown

Founded in 1354 PC

The Isle of Wights is led solely by Oliver Rhaine, who eventually gave himself the title of Crimson Admiral. Rhaine leads with an iron fist and does not waver from his goal of accruing as much wealth and power as possible. Despite his obsession with control and power, Rhaine is not the only source of authority present in the Isle's Unsinking Armada. Advising Rhaine personally are a small cabal of his oldest companions and allies, all of whom have been sired by Rhaine as Vampires. Serving eternally at Rhaine's behest, his Dead Pirate Captains lead individual vessels of the Unsinking Armada. These captains can be Vampires, Ghouls, Spirits, Sirens, or normal undead; the Zombie captains of Rhaine's fleet retain their intelligence and memories from life, and lack some of the weaknesses present in their Vampiric counterparts. Below the Dead Pirate Captains come the crewmen aboard each of the dozens of Ghost Ships or risen vessels, all of which serve unwaveringly and eternally.

Unlike other pirate clans under the Drahran name, the Isle of Wights does not have a written document or other set of written rules. In stark contrast to the normal pirate ideologies, the Isle of Wights is run solely by Rhaine and him alone. His word is law, and he represents the ultimate authority on the island; untold thousands of Zombies and other horrors obey his every whim without hesitation, and any unruly crewmen lucky enough to have been gifted with intelligence are quickly snuffed out and replaced. Even Rhaine's Vampire companions are not immune to his violent ire.

The Isle of Wights is a mysterious and enigmatic pirate clan, with few details known of their inner workings and rituals. Their methods of recruitment, however, are common myth and legend amongst dockworkers and fishermen. The Isle of Wights has been purposely tainted by necromantic magic, infecting the very landscape and twisting it into a macabre parody of its former natural self, in order to make it as dangerous and impassable as possible. Any ships foolish enough to sail too close to the island are run aground, gutted by unseen rocks, influenced by Sirens, raided by Ghost Ships, boarded by the Dead Pirate Captains, or destroyed by one or more of the island's massive undead guardians. Those unfortunate sailors do not receive the afterlife they desire, and are instead forced into eternal service in the Unsinking Armada by Rhaine or one of his necromancers. Any bodies that wash ashore are reanimated for service, and any scraps of torn flesh or severed limbs are repurposed and molded into hulking monstrosities of undead necrotized tissue and bone. The Isle of Wights is rumored to be overpopulated, with Zombies making an overwhelming majority of the island's permanent inhabitants.

Unsurprisingly, the Isle of Wights directs a sizable portion of its resources towards the expansion of its fleet and the filling of its coffers via piracy. Every sailor slain is a new Zombie for the crew, and every ship sunk is a new vessel for the Unsinking Armada.

The JPCU maintains a close eye on the Isle of Wights and the activities of its inhabitants to ensure no cataclysmic necromantic rituals are conducted and no major breaches of the Pilboan Blockade occur. This surveillance has led to tensions and violence between the two groups in the past, and a request for an increase in surveillance and dedicated resources has been submitted to the higher-ups within the JPCU.

### Equipment:

The technological capabilities of the Isle of Wights and its Unsinking Armada are understandably limited. As is the pattern for a majority of the nations along the Continent of Pilbo, access to modern technology is limited at best and unavailable more commonly. In the Isle of Wights's case, their technology is limited to sixteenth (16th) and seventeenth (17th) Century equipment, which corresponds to the Golden Age of Piracy for the rest of the world, during the Drahran Empire's own golden age of prosperity. Cannons, flintlocks, muskets, cutlasses, and rapiers are all that are available to the Undying members of the Isle of Wights.

In stark contrast to the technological capabilities of the Isle of Wights, the pirate clan boasts significantly more magical prowess. A mastery of necromancy, access to untold hidden treasure contained within the unopened Lizardfolk tombs and temples, millennia of magical knowledge and study, and the wisdom of immortality make the leaders of the clan formidable wizards and potent necromancers. Capable of raising shipwrecks up from the sea floor and reanimating its crew, the Isle of Wights is a deadly foe with ever-growing numbers.

While the organization possesses many artifacts and individuals of note, many of the group's strongest members are shrouded in deep mystery and seaborne legend. Most notably, it is rumored that Oliver Rhaine's necromantic talent runs deep throughout the Isle of Wight itself, that Rhaine's magics have infected the island down to its roots, which ultimately resulted in the island's twisted appearance and natural hazards. This undead infection of the landscape is also believed to be responsible for the unnatural attraction to the island felt by the undead and Undying.

In addition to an undead island, the Isle of Wights is also rumored to possess the reanimated corpse of some kind of sea monster, although the specific type of sea monster is unknown and changes from person to person, story to story. Some claim a Kraken, others claim some giant shark or prehistoric beast, others believe it to be some kind of flesh golem molded into the appearance of a sea monster. Whatever the truth, this unseen abomination is capable of sinking JPCU patrol vessels, and has been "spotted" in the ocean all around the island, guarding it against invaders or thieves.

In combat, the Isle of Wights prefer hit-and-run tactics, boarding actions, reanimating deceased members of the enemy crew during the battle to cause chaos, and the application of overwhelming firepower to slay their enemies or induce a surrender.

#### Bloodrum:

Vampires of all kinds lack a functioning digestive system, being undead, and as such are immune to the effects of food, alcohol, drugs, poisons and toxins, etc. However, the Isle of Wights and the Vampires of House Rhaine have devised a specialized alchemical concoction, known as Bloodrum, to sate their thirst when travelling the high seas of the Continent of Pilbo.

Bloodrum, through alchemical processes, grants blood an alcoholic quality stronger than Bloodwine or other alternatives, and induces drunkenness in a race that is usually immune to such effects. Bloodrum is rare and expensive to produce, but the Vampires of the Isle of Wights spare no expense, and produce the drink year-round in massive quantities. Like both blood and alcohol, Bloodrum is addictive, and is carefully rationed aboard Isle of Wights ships to prevent dependence on the beverage.