The Blood Sea

The Blood Sea gets its name from the fact that it is the hunting ground for Sahuagin, shark-folk created by the deity Sekolah. The Blood Sea touches the borders of four continents (Castia, Indoria, Rakshavim, and Akeyi), and 4 other oceans (Aussirvyth, Ta’karun, Uljar Kethand, and Kur’ancas).

There are few that dare to sail the Blood Sea, fearing the “devils beneath the waves”. Those that do are usually pirates seeking a place to lie low or are part of the Kharesi Armada, a navy from Akeyi whose weather witches command storms powerful enough to frighten even a Sahuagin. The Blood Sea separates Castia from Rakshavim and spans the distance from the Aussirvyth Ocean down to the western coasts of Indoria just below The Remnant Peninsula.

## **Notable Groups**

**Pirates of the Darkwaters**

The Pirates of the Darkwaters are a fleet of pirates that was founded by Rigby Karlek. They travel the Blood Sea, followed by the Haantar Sahuagin. The pirate fleet has many ships, the largest of which are the Dreadnaught and the Red Tide. When not moored together into the Floating City of Darkwaters, the Pirates travel between the Blood Sea, Kur'ancas, Ta'karun, and occasionally (though not often) the Alagon Ocean. Their main opposition comes in the form of the Kharesi Armada.

**The Haantar Sahuagin Tribe**

The Haantar Sahuagin Tribe reside in the warmer waters south of Castia in the region known as Canton, and sometimes make their way into the temperate waters around the Remnant Peninsula. The Haantar have a small fleet of reef sharks that they train to guard their territory when they leave with Rigby. They use hunter sharks and giant sharks for more confrontational battles that often occur during their travels with Rigby. The Haantar are bloodthirsty, and as soon as they smell or see blood, they fly into a frenzy. Their leader is a black-scale 4-armed King named Schuulk. They view Sekolah as a large great white shark, but sometimes as a megalodon.

**The Larkool Sahuagin Tribe**

The Larkool Sahuagin are far more docile than their warm water brethren in the south. The Larkool make their home near the north of Castia, on the edge of the Aussirvyth Ocean, and around Rakshavim. Unlike the Haantar, who view Sekolah as a bloodthirsty deity, the Larkool see him as a basking shark, or at times a whale shark. To this they pay homage by being docile, to reflect the nature of the basking and whale sharks. They try to be as accepting of others as possible, but they still hold a hatred for the aquatic elves. They are the impromptu guardians of their stretch of the Blood Sea. Their leader is a female Malenti with blue gills named Bluegill. Their liaison with surface races is a male Malenti with a red tail named Redtail.

**The Kharesi Armada**

The Kharesi Armada is the naval fleet of the nation of Kharesi, a nation of slavers. The Armada patrols the waters of the Blood Sea, keeping an eye out for the Pirates of the Darkwaters as they are their main competitors in the slave trade business of the Blood Sea. They've had dealings with the Steelborn Empire in the past via delivering slaves to them. The Armada has mostly Lizardfolk, but some Yuan-Ti and few Tortles can be found there as well amidst members of other races that are uncommon to the area.

## **Notable People**

**Redtail, Liaison of the Larkool**

* Redtail is a male Malenti around 30 years old. He gets his name from the fact that he is not a full Malenti. He has a small tail that sprouts from where a Sahuagin's tail normally does, but it is considerably shorter, and it is red. He is a very charismatic Malenti and has surprisingly good people skills. For a Malenti. When not running errands for Bluegill or making sure business with surface races is flowing smoothly, he spends his time singing, as odd as that may be. When called to battle, he uses a rapier made of hardened coral.

## The Floating City of Darkwaters

### **Culture**

The Floating City of Darkwaters is made entirely of ships, and travels throughout the Blood Sea, primarily in the stretch of water known as the Darkwaters. The ships belong to pirates who are lying low from whatever law enforcement is currently pursuing them. The ships are connected by gangplanks, allowing for travel between the ships. At a moment's notice, the gangplanks can be pulled up and the city breaks apart, making for a difficult target if law enforcement finds them. Ships that can no longer sail, whether it be from a destroyed mast or a hull breach, are dismantled for parts and distributed amongst the pirates. The Haantar Sahuagin don't bother the pirates because of a pact made with Captain Rigby “Carver” Karlek, a pirate captain notorious for carving up would be mutineers, and one of the founders of the city. The Larkool Sahuagin, on the other hand, stay as far from the city as they can, often causing them to retreat to their cold water home.

### **Leaders**

**Captain Rigby “Carver” Karlek, the Cold of the Depths**

* Rigby Karlek is a Silver Dragonborn, around 6’6” in height, with bits of blue mixed in around his eyes and fingers. Rigby started his piracy career in the city of Carcen, a port city in Rakshavim, at the age of 17. He snuck aboard a ship, along with three of his closest friends, and killed the captain in his sleep, later renaming the ship to Dreadnaught. Whenever a potential mutiny would arise, he'd track down the would-be mutineers and carve their bodies open, earning him the nickname “Carver”. He got the name “Cold of the Depths” from his breath weapon, which was so cold it could burn the flesh off of a creature's bones. For the next 30 years, he scoured the Blood Sea, recruiting more sailors over the years, securing more ships for those sailors, and appointing Captains to each. He is one of the four founders of the Floating City of Darkwaters.

**Jack “Jackal” Moore**

* Jackal Moore is the First Mate on the Dreadnaught, a human werejackal around 40 years of age, slightly wolfish features, dark green eyes, and dark brown hair. He stands tall at 6’4”. Jackal is a long time friend of Carver Karlek. Jackal was with Carver when he snuck aboard the ship that would become the Dreadnaught. He got the nickname Jackal for many reasons. His nickname has changed many times through the years, from Fox, to Wolf, to Jackal. Jackal is as sly as a fox, as ferocious as a wolf, and has the laugh of a jackal. Another reason for the nickname is because Jackal is a werejackal, for he was bitten many years ago while on Rakshavim. He is loyal to a fault and will stay by Carver's side no matter where he may lead him. He is one of the four founders of the Floating City of Darkwaters.

**Captain Isabelle “The Red Lady” Harlin**

* The Red Lady is a tiefling of about 40 years of age. Her nickname falls to her dark red skin. She stands roughly 5’8” in height, her black hair falling a bit past her shoulders. She’s got a smile that’ll have you feeling welcome, and a singing voice that’ll captivate you. The Red Lady is captain of the Red Tide, a ship made entirely of redwood. Isabelle was one of Carver Karlek's closest friends growing up and was with him when he took over the ship that was to be the Dreadnaught. The first ship that Carver captured was gifted to Isabelle. There are rumors that Isabelle and Rigby were at one time romantically involved, but if that is true, no one is brave enough to dare bring it up to either. Unlike Carver, when Isabelle deals with would-be mutineers, whether it be because they don't agree with how she runs her ship or her unconventional methods of dealing with prisoners, she leaves the “clean up” to the Sahuagin of the Blood Sea. When Isabelle has prisoners aboard her ship, she treats them with compassion, and as if they were friends. She employs this tactic so that they may end up revealing information. She is one of the four founders of the Floating City of Darkwaters.

**Storm Sorcerer Thariev**

* The enigmatic sea elf known as Thariev appears to be of indeterminate age, somewhere between 20 and 40 in human years. Androgynous and graceful, Thariev flits from ship to ship lending their assistance controlling the weather and fighting off the Armada. Originally from the Alagon Ocean, Thariev was cast out from their sea elven homeland after losing control of their powers one too many times and worsening the destructive thunderstorms the Alagon Ocean is so known for. Said to have traveled the 6 seas, Thariev eventually charmed their way into the good graces of Captain Karlek, Jackal Moore and The Red Lady, who turned Thariev into a formidable weapon for the Floating City of Darkwaters and its pirate fleet. They are one of the four founders of the Floating City of Darkwaters.

## Carcen

### **Culture**

Carcen is a port city on the continent of Rakshavim. Being in the waters of the Larkool, Carcen doesn't have to worry about raids by Sahuagin. There is very little piracy in these waters, as the Larkool are the impromptu defenders of this stretch of the Blood Sea. Carcen's main export is spices. Carcen is also the home city of Rigby Karlek, one of the worst scourges the oceans have seen since the Sahuagin threat themselves.

## Darkurn

### Location

Northern Blood Sea to the Southern Remnant Peninsula, Underwater

### **Culture**

Darkurn starts where the Aussirvyth ends and goes south until a few days from the southern coast of the Remnant Peninsula. Far to the north where the Blood Sea meets the Aussirvyth icebergs float in the water. Deep in the depths the Larkool have built small settlements from things such as coral and stone, attempting to create small towns for other denizens of the deep. There is one spot, the deepest part of the Darkurn, where a block of ice has formed under the waves. A shrine to Sekolah has been built around it, and it is the current residence of Bluegill, chief of the Larkool.

### **Important Locations**

* Ice Shrine to Sekolah
* Various underwater Settlements

### **Leaders**

**Bluegill, Chief of the Larkool**

* Bluegill is a female Malenti of undisclosed age. She got her name from the set of blue gills in her neck. She is a High Priestess of Sekolah and has painted her body with waterproof paints to make her more closely resemble a Basking Shark. If she is called to fight, she usually uses a spear while casting her spells. She is wiser than most, and her speed in the water is vast. She has a second-in-command that deals with business between the Larkool and the surface races. When approached by Rigby Karlek with the offer of employment, Bluegill was hesitant, as it went against what their vision of Sekolah was all about.

## Canton

### Location

Blood Sea, SW Indoria through the Darkwaters

### **Culture**

Canton is a stretch of ocean starting from where the Indorian Desert's southwest border is and stretches all the way to the Ta'karun ocean. These are the lands of the Haantar Sahuagin, the ocean floor littered with the bones of many an animal, large and small. Canton has a second name. The Darkwaters. It gets its name from the fact that so much blood has been spilled in this area of ocean that the red has mixed with the blue of the ocean, creating a very dark purple color. The Haantar have mutated slightly so that they can see through the haze. It is here that the Pirates of the Darkwaters frequent, using the Haantar as a defense mechanism against the Kharesi Armada and anyone else that may come after them.

### **Leaders**

**Schuulk, Chief of the Haantar**

* Schuulk is a Sahuagin King, infamous for his brutality in battle. He stands at 9'6”, and his coloration is not like a normal Baron. Instead of dark green on the back fading to light green on the bottom, his color goes black on the back to grey on the bottom. Schuulk is one from a long line of Chieftains. He has been chief since before Rigby Karlek was born. He is an old Sahuagin, but he is far from senile. His wits are as sharp as the trident he wields, his reflexes as fast as a mako shark. He is a fearsome warrior, even amongst Sahuagin, mainly due to the fact that when he enters a frenzy his size doubles, making him a formidable threat. When approached by Rigby Karlek with the offer of employment, Schuulk was quick to agree as it meant more bloodshed.

## **Other Locations**

### **The Dreadlands**

The Dreadlands is the stretch of water that neither tribe claims. Both tribes are seen here though, usually resulting in bloody conflicts between the two. There used to be many Sahuagin cities in this stretch of ocean before the two clans split. There are rumors that there is something… Something evil. Something lost. Lost to the sands and the rocks of the bottom of the depths.