Ibbenese

The Ibbenese are a culture of people located in the Shivering Sea, which is the polar sea north of the eastern continent, Essos. The chief city of the Ibbenese is the Port of Ibben, situated on the southern coast of their largest island, Ib.

## Territory

The largest island of Ibben is Ib, a forested and mountainous island containing the cities Port of Ibben and Ib Nor. South of Ib are scattered islands in the Bay of Whales. Southeast of Ib is a moderately-sized mountainous island called Far Ib, containing the city Ib Sar.

South of the Ibbenese islands on the mainland of Essos are the cities of Ibbish and New Ibbish, situated on a forested peninsula north of the Kingdom of Rwhah Drekhta, and to the west the settlements of Ib Alo and Ib Nes can be found.

## People

The people of Ibben are hairy and squat, with rasping voices, and both genders hunt in the Shivering Sea for whales in great fat-bellied cogs smeared with tar. They are said to be fond of axes and shaggy brown shields lined with fur.

The ports are lit by lamps of whale oil, and attended to regularly by slaves who ensure that the supply never runs low.

## Timeline of Events

* 95BA - War of the Axe begins, marking the start of nearly three decades of bloody struggles between the Ibbenese and the Lorathi for control of fishing grounds in the Shivering Sea. The conflict is started when the Lorathi settle upon the northern tip of the peninsula known as the Axe following a treaty signed with the people of Great Norvos. The Ibbenese, considering the Axe to be their territory refute the legality of the agreement, triggering a series of conflicts, some petty, others violent.
* 93BA - Ibbenese raiders land on the isle of Lorassos, a small isle amongst the Lorathi archipelago. They remain undetected for nearly a moon, having captured the minor population of the isle, before making a bold final stand at the approach of a Lorathi liberation force. There are those few that refer to Lorassos as the Crimson Isle of Lorath, but the name is largely one confined to historical texts for the last centuries.
* 92BA - In the third moon of 92BA, a joint Lorathi-Saathi fleet sails into the harbour of the Port of Ibben, upon the isle of Ib. Whilst they are forced back before any men could be landed, they deal a resounding blow to the Ibbenese naval power, as well as crippling their fishing fleet in a manner that would be felt across the isle for near half a decade. The army intended for Ib instead lands on the Essosi mainland, marching through the Kingdom of the Ifequevron before reaching the city of Ibbish. After a siege lasting four moons, the city eventually yields, although much of the loot obtained is lost to Dothraki khalasars before it can be returned to the homelands of the invaders.
* 91BA - Khal Onqo rides his khalasar into the Ibbenese territories along the coast of the Shivering Sea, but he and his khalasar meet heavy resistance. Onqo and all his bloodriders were slain in battle, and the lands of the Ibbenese remained unmolested by the Dothraki for another few years.
* 85BA - Khal Hrazzo and his khalasar of five thousand riders sweeps along the coastline of the Shivering Sea, sacking many Ibbenese fishing colonies and villages, taking idols to the queer gods of Ib among his loot when he returns to Vaes Dothrak.
* 84BA - After ongoing raids and attacks on their colonies by the Dothraki, the Ibbenese sue for peace with the Free City of Lorath, ending the First War of the Axe. As part of the agreement, the waters around the Axe are declared the territory of Lorath, and the Ibbenese agree to take no fish or whales in the waters. Seal, lobster and crab hunters are still allowed to utilise the waters though, although no party exists to check that they do not take other catches with those sanctioned.
* 81BA - The city of Ibbish is raided by Khal Scoro, who takes idols and loot from the city back to Vaes Dothrak.
* 79BA - A year and a half after the raid of Khal Scoro, Khal Rogo attacks Ibbish, burning the rebuilt city and carrying ten thousand Ibbenese women into slavery.
* 76BA - Seeking to out-do Khal Rogo, as Rogo had out-done Khal Scoro, Khal Dhako approaches the city of Ibbish. However, the Ibbenese flee the city, returning to Ib. Enraged, Dhako burned Ibbish as Rogo had done before him, naming the city Vaes Aresak, meaning City of Cowards. The colony of New Ibbish is built to the northwest by the Ibbenese.
* 73BA - The Frozen Age begins across Ibben, marking growing public distrust and lack of approval of the God-Kings of the nation. This discontent, fuelled by the losses in territory and lives caused by the Dothraki only grows over the coming decades, before finally coming to a head in 36BA, in an event called the Thawing of Ibben.
* 51BA - The Khalasar of Khal Ono is caught between a legion of Sarnori chariots and Ibbenese raiders as they cross the estuary of the river Zbanhe at the Bay of Tusks. What remains flees for the Kingdom of Rwhah Drekhta, known then as the Kingdom of the Ifequevron, and do not reemerge from the forest.
* 42BA - The Second War of the Axe begins, marking the restart of conflict between the Ibbense and the Free Cities with colonies along the Shivering Sea. The first attack is directed at the Norvoshi colony of Naros, on the eastern edge of the Axe. Disguised as whalers coming to trade, Ibbenese warships laden with berserkers raid the city, before setting it aflame. When the Norvoshi army finally arrives, the raiders are long gone, and the city is naught but ash. Lorath pledges to aid Norvos in its retribution against Ibben.
* 43BA - In the half a decade following the destruction of Vaes Dothrak, the last of the true khalasars are hunted down by Sarnori, Qartheen, Ghiscari and Ibbenese scouting parties.
* 42BA - The Second War of the Axe begins, marking the restart of conflict between the Ibbense and the Free Cities with colonies along the Shivering Sea. The first attack is directed at the Norvoshi colony of Naros, on the eastern edge of the Axe. Disguised as whalers coming to trade, Ibbenese warships laden with berserkers raid the city, before setting it aflame. When the Norvoshi army finally arrives, the raiders are long gone, and the city is naught but ash. Lorath pledges to aid Norvos in its retribution against Ibben.
* 41BA - Ibbenese raiders strike at Norvoshi, Lorathi and Sarnori fishing colonies along the coastline of the Shivering Sea, declaring the bounties of the waves, and the lands overlooking them, to be theirs by right. In retaliation, a fleet from Sarys, bolstered by converted fishing skiffs and vessels from the Lorathi colony of Morosh begins to patrol the waves west of the Bay of Tusks, sinking ever Ibbenese vessel, military or civilian with impunity.
* 40BA - The Ibbenese continue to raid settlements around the Axe, continuing the six years of conflict remembered as the Second War of the Axe. Particularly targetted as the slow fishing vessels used by the residents of the fishing colonies owned by Norvos and Lorath.
* 37BA - After the loss of the new colonies on the Axe and the destruction of the main Ibbenese fleet by a Braavosi-Norvoshi navy in the Bay of Whales, public disapproval towards the rule of the God-Kings reaches its peak. God-King Fopp Varg uses his Hoarfrost Guard to maintain his grasp on power, but in the second moon of 36BA, the event remembered as the Thawing of Ibben occurs, and Varg is butchered by an angry mob.
* 36BA - The Thawing of Ibben occurs, marking the end of the Frozen Age, and the rule of the God-Kings. Mobs of Ibbenese merchants, guildsmen, priests and whalers alike raze the colossal rough-hewn stone palace of the God-King Fopp Varg, and in his place install a council of diplomatically chosen representatives. The Shadow Council of Ibben has ruled largely uncontested ever since, its members selected by the Thousand.
* 26BA - War between Ibben and the Kingdom of Sarnor breaks out for the first time in over a century after growing tensions regarding the ownership of the estuary of the Sarne.
* 25BA - The second conflict of the first of the new era of Ibbenese-Sarnori wars is fought in the waves near the city of Sarys. Ibbenese whalers converted for war smash a Sarnori fleet, and Sarys falls into the hands of the Ibbenese for nearly a decade.
* 23BA - The Battle of the Bay of Tusks occurs. Ibbenese hunter-ships finally locate the remainder of the Sarnori fleet shattered at the battle of Sarys two years previously. Whilst greviously outnumbered, the Sarnori put up an impressive stand, before finally being overwhelmed.
* 22BA - The Third War of the Axe begins, with the first stone thrown by a Lorathi warship that attacked an Ibbenese whaling ship straying too far into Lorathi fishing grounds. The Shadow Council of Ib responded by sending forth raiders to strike at Lorathi settlements along the Shivering Sea, particularly those located around the Axe and its coastlines.
* 21BA - Raids on Lorathi colonies by the Ibbenese continue to occur, as well as attacks on Norvoshi fishing villages found along the coastlines north of the Hills of Norvos. With its main fleet stationed upon the Rhoyne, Norvos cannot defend them, and neither can the minor fleet of Lorath.
* 18BA - The Ibbenese attack the city of Morosh, a mining and fishing colony of Lorath. Before the minor fleet of Lorath could come to aid, the city is sacked, with many of its residents being taken to the isle of Ib in chains. The residents of Moroth petition the Tagaez Fen of Saath and Sarys for aid, but recent Ibbenese raids leave the Sarnori unable to offer meaningful assistance.
* 16BA - Liberation of Sarys through the efforts of the fleets and armies of Saath, as well as reinforcements from Sarnath and Essaria. Ibbenese rulers are ejected from the city.
* 15BA - Following the loss of control over the city of Sarys, Ibbenese raiders begin to strike at the shoreline of the Kingdom of Omber, becoming a plague to the numerous fishing villages and towns upon its edges.
* 12BA - The Fourth War of the Axe, remembered as the Short War, and sometimes Igg's Folly. Ibbenese raiders led by the fearsome reaver-hunter Igg Tobo land upon the Axe, raiding the Lorathi fishing town of Lorosy. Unfortunately for them, a Norvoshi navy lingered a few leagues to the south, an escort in preparation for the pilgrimage of the High Priest of Great Norvos, Gavus to Braavos. The raiders hold the fishing village for no longer than a few weeks, but in spite of the minimal duration of the conflict, it is considered a war nonetheless.
* 8BA - Ibbenese whalers and Sarnori fishing skiffs clash in the Shivering Sea. Tensions excalate to the preparation of warships, but no fighting breaks out for another year and a half.
* 2BA - Second Battle of the Bloody Tusk occurs when a fleet bound from Sarys clashes with an Ibbenese war convoy just east of the Bay of Tusks. Like the last conflict nearly a decade prior, the sturdy form of the Ibbenese vessels delivers victory once more, although casualties are much greater than previous conflicts. Ibbenese control over the Bay of Tusks begins to wain.
* 6BA - Battle of the Bloody Tusk occurs between Sarnori and Ibbenese warships in the Bay of Tusks. Winning a decisive victory against the people of Sarnor, Ibbenese dominion over the waters of the bay remain uncontested for nearly a decade before conflict breaks out once more.
* 12AA - The Fifth War of the Axe is started by the nephew of Igg Tobo, the disgraced raider slain during the Fourth War. With a fleet of over thirty warships, Roda Tobo ravages Lorathi and Norvoshi fishing villages across the peninsula, forcing a response. Once the Norvoshi can finally muster a force, the Ibbenese have vanished, leaving ash and smoke in their wake. The Fifth War of the Axe persisted for nearly a decade, before Roda Tobo finally returned to Ibben, his prolific pillaging having brought surprising wealth to the bleak isle.
* 14AA - The Battle of the Rime occurs. Ibbenese raiders, their presence hidden by the eponymous frozen fog of the songs accounting the slaughter, strike at a Lorathi fleet captained by the Fisher Prince Joraphos Marah. Stealing a third of the fleet, and sinking much of the rest, the whalers disappear into the fog once more, having taken the Fisher Prince captive. He is not seen alive again.
* 20AA - Roda Tobo finally returns to Ibben, having pillaged the shoreline from the hills of Norvos to the Forest of Qohor. Norvos and Lorath move to reclaim the fishing villages left devastated on the Axe in his wake.
* 60AA - When Ibbenese fishermen start to colonise the tip of the Axe, building the fort town of Ib Skag, conflict starts once more between the Lorathi and Ibbenese. Skirmishes erupt between villages and towns upon the shores of the Shivering Sea, and the waters surrounding the Axe itself, thus starting the Sixth War of the Axe.
* 64AA - Seeking peace after the Sixth War of the Axe, Cikuq Tagg offers to return the bones of the Fisher Prince Joraphos Marah, taken captive at the Battle of the Rime, to Lorath in exchange for an accord between the two nations. The Lorathi accept, marking the start of nearly a century of peace between Lorath and Ibben.
* 153AA - The first sighting of the infamous White Whale of the Shivering Sea. Said to be a huge leviathan, it was so named for the paleness of its appearance, a stark contrast to the typical grey of most of the giant whales. After a number of fishing vessels are supposedly destroyed by the beast, it is branded a threat to the Lorathi way of life, and warships are sent to search for it. In one encounter with the beast, it was said it managed to destroy nearly half a dozen of the Lorathi war vessels before disappearing into the waves once more. Multiple supposed sightings have been reported since.
* 156AA - Further losses of fishing vessels are reported, and many are quick to blame the White Whale once more. However, a few within the city suggest that the disappearances are more likely as a result of Ibbenese raiders displaced by the end of the Seventh War of the Axe.
* 158AA - Less than a year and a half after the resolution of the last conflict between Ibben and Norvos, conflict once again sparks across the Axe when Ibbenese warships start attacking fishing vessels utilising the rich waters around the peninsula. For four moons, all ships not marked with Ibbenese symbols are sunk, before intervention not by the Norvoshi, but the Braavosi. The Sealord Martio Antaryon, leading a series of naval battles over the course of 158AA. Undeniably the most notable amongst them occurred in the tenth moon of the year, a short but brutal clash remembered as the Battle of Ash Bay. Amongst those slain were the First Sword and the Sealord himself, when a Ibbenese whaler collided with the Braavosi flagship upon which they resided.
* 161AA - Prospering from the amber and gold found in abundence throughout the Axe, the Ibbenese start to look for trading partners. Knowing that bartering with the Norvoshi, who still maintain dominion over the Axe despite their losses, the Ibbenese instead turn to Sarnori. Nicknamed the Golden Current, a trade route forms between the colonies of the Axe, the Sarnori cities of Sarys and Saath and the main isle of Ib itself.
* 169AA - The Eighth War of the Axe erupts when a Lorathi fleet attacks the peninsula in unison with the arrival of a Norvoshi army. At the Battle of Crab Cove, the Lorathi fleet is defeated handily by a flotilla of Sarnori vessels, captained by the noble family of Elros. Seeking to protect the Golden Current, the Sarnori also send an army by ship to the Axe, however they are hindered by storms. When they arrive, Ib Nes is in flames, and a number of the precious metal mines taken by the Norvoshi. The Mopaan family of Essaria councils Sarnori, **Ibbenese** and Norvoshi generals alike, and a compromise is reached. The northern tip of the peninsula, belongs to the Ibbenese, whereas that further south than the ruins of Ib Nes belongs to the Norvoshi, thus forming an uneasy relationship. Sarnor continues to profit from the agreement.
* 207AA - A Lorathi fisherman claims to have spotted the White Whale, the infamous and monstrous leviathan said to inhabit the waters to the north of Lorath. His claims are largely disregarded, for few living in the city continue to believe in the existence of the beast, the lasting sighting of which was nearly four decades prior.
* 254AA - In the final moon of 254, the Blockade of Lorath begins. The Sealord, an eager and ambitious man seeking to fundamentally prove that slavery is not a necessity for the Free Cities to flourish sends an offer to the Lorathi Princes and Magisters to join an unified alliance of cities dedicated to furthering their beliefs. Upon Lorathi refusal, a Braavosi fleet sails east, beginning a sixteen moon long blockade of the city.
* 255AA - The Blockade of Lorath continues through the year of 255AA, with food supplies growing dwindlingly small. The city is sustained somewhat by the seafood attainable from the shoreline, away from the blockading Braavosi ships, but any fishing vessel attempting to travel into deeper waters is quickly dispatched by the purple-hulled warships.
* 256AA - Ibben is visited by the Lorathi Magister Nyessano Eranyr, who seeks assistance from the Ibbenese in the planned coup of recently installed Braavosi influence within the city of Lorath. The Shadow Council votes against supporting the Lorathi, although Nyessano leaves the isle with the attention of a number of Ibbenese raiders, who agree to raid the Braavosian Coastlands when the time comes to force the Braavosi to split their fleet.
* 258AA - The Battle of Lorassyon Wake occurs when the Lorathi-Sarnori-Ibbenese fleet supporting Magister Nyessano Eranyr clashes with the Lorathi-Braavosi fleet supporting the Alliance of the Narrow Sea. With much of the Sealord's fleet elsewhere, dealing with **Ibbenese** raiders ravaging the Braavosian Coastlands, the strength of the Sarnori navy proves victorious, however Eranyr's own vessel is amongst those sunk. Knowing that it was only through Nyessano that they could prosper, Admiral Tugor Ahasoi orders the fleet return to Saath, and thus Alliance influence over Lorath is maintained.
* 260AA - Ibbenese raiders continue to attack the Braavosian Coastlands and the shorelines of the Lorath Bay in spite of the demise of the Magister Nyessano Eranyr, who originally encouraged such actions. They remain a plague to the Sealord for the next decade.
* 263AA - Braavosi vessels bound for the Lorathi fishing colony of Morosh are set-upon by Ibbenese reavers based out of the many caves and coves along the shoreline of Lorath Bay. The Sealord's navy sends a flotilla in response, although the infamous raider Agora Jogat and her followers are not located for another three moons. They finally meet their demise at the Battle of the Bitterweed near the end of 263AA.
* 270AA - The last of the Ibbenese raiders let loose upon the Braavosian Coastlands and shorelines of Lorath Bay by Magister Nyessano Eranyr is slain at the Battle of Ebon Cliff, where Vyran Antaryon struck down the Reaver-Lord Jagg Vargo in single-combat upon the pebbled beach near the eponymous cliffs.
* 298AA - The Ibbenese continue to enjoy a Golden Age of trade with their immediate neighbours. Over the past three decades, the level of trade between the Ibbenese and the Sarnori through the port-cities of Sarys and Saath has done naught but grow and grow. The mountains of Ib continue to prove to be rich in veins of gold, iron and tin, as well as providing a range of timbers, ambers and pelts, but it is the whale bone and oils that prove to be of particular interest to the Sarnori, who use the substances to make ornate weaponry and fuel lanterns through the long and dark nights of the Great Grass Sea. Some in Sarnor consider the Ibbenese to be subjugated by the Kingdoms of Sarnor in all but name, but there are certainly those amongst the Ibbenese that would attest the Sarnori are useful trading partners, but naught more.