The Balefires

The Balefires are a volcanic island chain lying far off the coast of Yavanna in the Savage Sea. At night the fires from these islands can be seen from thousands of miles away.

## Geography & Climate

There are some four hundred islands scattered across a vast area of open ocean. They vary tremendously in size - many are little more than rocks or sandbars while Ys is an island-*continent.* There are also many stunning coral reefs and vast kelp forests. Among the more notable islands are;

* The Skeleton Keys - picked clean of human life by sea raiders, all that remains are bones
* Skinwalker Rocks - these barren rocks have a sinister reputation, being so close to Ys. The natives are rumored to skin prisoners alive and wear their skins as cloaks.
* Written Isles - a group of islands that have often been spotted by passing ships but never explored. Many navigators doubt that they exist at all except for in writing.
* Red Drum - at night war drums can be heard coming from this island. Some stories claim these drums are made from human skin
* Sunder - the youngest of all the islands, Sunder is still forming and covered in flowing, incandescent lava. The sea smokes and boils all around it and the wind reeks of sulfuric gas.
* Promising Isles - known for their friendly tribes and natural beauty, their kingdoms have had the most contact with outsiders and led many expeditions to Hue and Yavanna. They treat castaways as honored guests. Curiously they seem to think foreign technology is "magic".
* The Rooks - home to crumbling sea forts, these isles have by turns belonged to pirates, slavers, smugglers, and sellsails

## History

The Balefires are inhabited by primitive, fire-worshiping tribes. Their ancestors migrated from the Vanishing Isles long ago. Why they left their home islands is a mystery, though it is likely because they could not sustain great numbers of people.

Over the years the Islanders established an intricate trade network, exchanging goods across a vast area of open ocean. They had only intermittent contact with the outside world as most ships avoided the rough seas and storms that plagued the region. Some kingdoms led long expeditions to the mainlands, sailing thousands of miles to Cinnabar and Abbysale.

Amaranth enslaved many islanders, who made prized oarsmen aboard their ships, and even destroyed the Kingdom of Forty Fires (the greatest of all the island kingdoms). Although slavery never took root in the Balefires many tribes sold captives and prisoners of war to the Amaranthines.

After the trade was abolished they had only passing contact with the Oecumene, whose ships seldom visited their islands to refit and resupply, until it settled Ys as a penal colony. As the Tiberians' empire slowly declined this colony was all but forgotten and soon collapsed into anarchy. The colonists turned to cannibalism to survive. As their own numbers dwindled they began to raid farther afield, picking whole islands clean of human life - even attacks on Hue and Yavanna were not unheard of.

Sadly the islanders have since grown wary of outsiders, hiding from sight or simply showering them in poisoned arrows and spears.

## Culture

Although no two tribes are exactly alike (and, indeed, can vary wildly across islands) they do share many things in common.

### Language

Interestingly most islanders share a remarkably similar language, a curiously tonal patois that differs only slightly across islands and borrows loanwords from many different sources (Hue, Yavanna, Amaranth, etc.). It is described as sounding quite "musical" and is often accompanied by body movements and gesturing. Their written language brought over from the Vanishing Isles is long lost, preserved only in strange petroglyphs.

### Names

Islanders often make use of "dual names" - their given name followed by a rough translation.

* Amote / Falls Upon Rain
* Hone / Man of War
* Lona / Fixed Purpose
* Mele / Keeps Time

### Art

The islanders are known for their rhythmic, fluid dancing. At sea they chant rousing songs to keep time with the drums as they row. Their canoes are elaborately carved and painted, even regarded as living, spiritual vessels (kings are often burned at sea with their ships). Their knotwork is among the finest in the world and they are famed for the quality of their rope. Tattooing is also

Appearance - They are tall and strong, with skin as dark as teak and bronzed by the Sun. Some tribes are heavy with muscle and fat while others are as leathery as dried meat. Wiry hair worn in long, plaited dreadlocks or otherwise severely styled. As soon as they come of age both men and women are tattooed from head to heel - even their lips are black! These tattoos are hypnotic to look upon. While islanders are comfortable with nudity they also wear woven palm fronds, flowers, shells, and hemp.

Technology - conch horns, coconut oil/canteens, woven palm baskets, obsidian/bone/wood weapons, bluewater canoe, stilt housing, few tribes have ever mastered ironworking

Diet - contrary to popular belief these islanders are not all cannibals - instead they mostly subsist off foraging, spearfishing, and slash-and-burn agriculture.

Trade - fruit, shells, feather cloaks, flowers, exotic animals, skins, coconut oil, obsidian, jade, bone, hempen rope (best)

Religion - those who had more regular contact with outsiders developed cargo cults; most are fire-worshipers to some degree. The dead are burned; if they are wrongfully killed then warriors will cover themselves in their ashes and take a vow of silence until they are avenged, meditating at gravesites and consuming only funerary goods as if they were vengeful ghosts. Only once they are avenged and their souls put to rest is the warrior allowed to bathe/resume his life.Their heathen kings must pass through fire if they are to rule. Their version of Baron Samedi is the "Burned Man", who is so badly burned he is unrecognizable. Self-immolation is an acceptable form of suicide, as fire purifies the body.

Misc - are regarded as peerless sailors and astronomers (though they know only of the southern stars), navigating by starlight and currents as well as simple observation (the taste, temperature, smell of certain waters, animal migrations, etc.). Some of their villages float or are on stilts.