The Baitburn Islands

The Baitburn islands (pronounced bayt-burn) are an archipelago of sunken islands in the Southern Daranian Sea, just off the coast of Darania. Some of the largest islands are under the jurisdiction of the Sovereign City of Baitburn, while the majority are privately owned by Guildmasters, Guilds, Entrepreneurs, Elites and other private entities. These islands, on a case by case basis, sometimes follow the laws of Baitburn. Most are inhabited by Sapients, though a few are uninhabited due to Savage inhabitants, such as the island mountain of Thuria (known colloquially as Mount Blood), which is populated by bloodthirsty Renegades. The climate of the islands is generally hot and humid, with plenty of sunlight. This makes it an excellent environment for farming of many different types of produce, including sour fruits, cereals, and tree fruits (such as olives and figs). This climate has also made the Baitburn islands a popular tourist destination for many across the world. Due to the large settlements and massive population, the islands are slowly sinking deeper into the sea, at roughly 3 feet per year.

The islands mostly exist in close proximity to each other (especially in the City), and have many methods of transportation from one to the other, though mosthave a toll. Methods include bridges (which are by far the most popular form of transportation), waterways, airways, tunnels, and portals.

. Some people, in need for quick and far transportation, use Minor Rifts, though this is entirely unadvisable, with a high mortality rate. The Outer Isles cannot be reached by bridge, and the majority do not have Portals or any approved waterways or airways, due to Savages' unpredictability.

They have a population of roughly 2 Million Sapients.

### **The Fathomless**

Full article: The Fathomless

The Fathomless is a Savage abomination that lies beneath the central City, but spreads throughout the entire archipelago. Its central body is dozens of Fathoms below sea level, and is so large that its size and actual depth have not been recorded. Little is known about The Fathomless, mostly due to its distance from the islands above it, and the extreme danger that any adventurer faces who tries to document it, let alone fight it. The great Parthoon the Brave is credited with saying "When the four of us [referring to The Four] decided we had finally done everything we could do across the planes, we decided to work out that sonofabitch below the City. It was pure insanity. The water was so cold it boiled, the sea was so dark it was blinding, and the roars of the creature were so loud that I barely could hear them at all. When I tried to cut into its flesh, it seemed to grow. When I cursed at it, it seemed to become more powerful. I barely managed to activate an emergency telelink to the surface before it made my heart explode. I can never go back.".

The Fathomless poses an imminent threat to the population of the Baitburn Islands, particularly those in the water, such as those living in shutaway districts, those on bridges (especially Floaters), or the Free Collective. It strikes seemingly at random at any point using its massive, black tentacles. it causes hundreds of deaths and thousands of gold pieces' worth of damage every year.

Its size, origin, Savage type, anatomy and motivations are unknown.

### **History**

Full article: History of the Baitburn Islands.

#### First Settlers (265-245BPT)

The Baitburn islands were mostly inhabited by beast Savages and some trickster Savages until Sapients began to colonise them. During the Savage Era, the islands were teeming with life, especially marine life. The first settlers, exiles from Darania in 265BPT, discovered their prosperity and set up the islands for fishing, making large profits with merchant ships travelling through the Daranian Sea. They made the joke that the sea was so full of marine life that their bait was better used as fuel for the fire than it was for coaxing fish to their lines, and so the name Baitburn was born.

During the growth of the city, the majority of the Savages were culled or fled to outer islands.

#### Port City (245- 151BPT)

The first settlers and their abundance of natural resources soon attracted more and more enterprising individuals, who saw the extreme growth of the archipelago as an opportunity for more business. They set up ports and turned the Baitburn islands (especially Bruneh and Lavan) into popular stopping-off points for merchant ships travelling between different points in the then-prosperous Daranian Empire. In order to better accommodate these travellers, more and more infrastructure was built. Baitburn became a popular retirement spot for many merchant seamen, such as Max the Sane and Jorizdun Tromaltiom. These retired seamen were extremely rich, and used their funds to build Baitburn into a city that was fully accommodating towards boats and travellers, creating the Canals, and instituting the No Book Unread policy, allowing for Baitburn to grow as a bastion of intellectual power, as well as trading power. It was at this point that there began to be the first reports of The Fathomless, though it was simply called a sea Savage, and not worried about by any of the powerful people.

In 202BPT, the Government of The Sovereign City of Baitburn was established. This comprised a leader (Max the Sane), a council of twelve advisors (later creatively dubbed The Dozen), and a small collection of judges. They wrote the Baitburn Charter, and hired mercenaries to enforce the laws they had set out. Their primary function was ensuring ownership of property and security of the isles from piracy and Savages. They declared themselves sovereign from the Daranian Empire at the moment of the government's formation. The Empire, preoccupied with its war of control for the Gold Road, accepted.

By 200BPT, the Saltmakers' Guild, the Armsmakers' Guild, and the Mages' Guild had all formed, and created the Guilds' Alliance (now known simply as The Guild). They pressured the government to remove regulations on their markets, and allow completely free trade from the Guilds to merchant ships, with greatly reduced taxes. The government, seeing the danger of upsetting the guilds, which provided the majority of income for the islands, agreed to the terms set by the Guilds' Alliance, codifying the Trade Agreement in 199BPT. Due to the government support of free trade via guildhood, more and more guilds began to form and join the Guilds' Alliance. strengthening the economy and slowly growing the population and knowledge of the City.

#### The Great Migration and Aftermath (150BPT-93BPT)

Known to the Daranian Empire as The Great Exodus or Hour Zero, The Great Migration was a period in which over 250,000 Daranians fled the empire due to the Hellplague. The majority of Darania became poisoned with the plague, which caused a great deal of Savages to enter the nation and, subsequently, the Empire. Realising that the Hellplague Savages were averse to water, refugees took to boats to avoid near certain death. The vast majority arrived in the booming and prosperous Sovereign City of Baitburn, which had avoided the Hellplague entirely due being surrounded by water and distanced from Darania.

The massive increase in population meant two things: that there was a giant surplus of workers in need of employment, and that the collective knowledge taken by the No Book Unread policy increased more than a hundredfold. The Guilds expanded greatly, building large factories and facilities to put the new population to work, quickly setting base on the Guildhavens, which they purchased from the government cheaply due to the urgency of the situation. With the largest economic force in the world decimated by the Hellplague, the economy of Baitburn soon became unrivalled, bringing in even more migration from all over the world. The Baitburn islands were no longer known for fishing: in fact, the number of fish in the sea had significantly decreased, to the point where many workers starved to death. By this point, The Fathomless had become a significant threat to the City, and was named. During the period, the population of the islands became roughly 600,000.

#### The Midnight Year (92BPT)

In 92BPT, the entire world went dark. All the stars disappeared from the sky, the sun never rose, and spells were severely weakened. The cause of the Midnight Year is unknown. The Midnight Year was a horrible time for the residents of the Baitburn islands. Fathomless attacks were frequent, the majority of crops were destroyed, meaning livestock and sapients perished, and navigation was made impossible due to the stars as a reference point for sailors going missing. The lack of trade meant that there was little to no income for the islands, meaning thousands of workers were made redundant. It is estimated that due to poverty during this period, over 100,000 Baitburnians died.

Due to a lack of light and a population desperate to live, lootings and robbery were common, and the still small mercenary force were overwhelmed. They resorted to extreme brutality in order to deter criminals. The government issued an announcement that anyone caught stealing was to be killed swiftly, without trial. This caused rioting, and the martyrdom of several revolutionary figures, such as Wasim Salehi. In response to the fear of the government being overthrown, the Guilds hired and trained many Enforcers to protect the businesses and quash all thoughts of revolution. All attempted uprisings failed, and all revolutionaries were treated with extreme prejudice. The government supported and subsidised the training of Guild Enforcers as the protection of The Guild was essential to the running of government, and the overthrowing of The Guild would certainly spell an end to the government as they knew it.

The Midnight Year came to an end exactly 1 year after it began. The stars reappeared, and a few months later, trade resumed as though nothing had happened. After the year was finished, the outer islands were filled with Renegades.

#### The Age of Adventure (91BPT-213APT)

Realising the need for increased security and protection of the state, especially due to the active threat that arose from a large population of Renegades, the government began the Adventure Program, and set up the Adventurers' Guild. They solicited adventurers (or those looking for adventure) from all across the world to come to the city and train in the arts of adventure. The Mages' Guild, still one of the most powerful in The Guild, wholeheartedly supported this, along with the Armsmakers' Guild. They saw this as a chance to increase their ranks and power, and the Mages that were already adventurers used their contacts to invite everyone they knew to join the program. The program invited anyone willing to train, and gave them the basics of adventuring, set up parties, and trained them for a year. After completing the program. parties could be sent on quests (often to retrieve items and artifacts from other nations or rare ingredients, such as dragons' scales or the feather of a Simurgh). In order to be eligible for a quest, a party had to do mandatory service. For the majority of parties, this was policing work as City Enforcers, though some adventurers would do public works, such as working in a temple as a healer or a priest, or as a builder of public infrastructure, such as bridges. The allure of the program was that the longer you worked, the bigger quests you would be given, and the more powerful you would become.

This attracted thousands of adventurers to the City, wanting to grow rich and powerful. It was particularly successful in gathering Mages, who, with the influx of people and vast knowledge held by the island from the No Book Unread policy, made many technological advances, including: airships, portals, item cleansers, macrowards, Rifts, and communicators. As the population of Mages and other adventurers grew, more and more advances were seen, propelling the elite of Baitburn into the heights of luxury. The greatest success of the Mages, however, was the creation of Planar Travel.

The discovery of the methods of Planar Travel by Kanthris the Mighty were so revolutionary to the world that the Church of the One changed the Elysian Calendar to reflect that the year of its discovery was Year 0, and that the measurement of years passing would be done in BPT (Before Planar Travel) and APT (After Planar Travel). Planar Travel through Oghma's Needle (the apparatus for all planar travel in the world) allowed for Baitburn to propel itself to new heights, with more and more wealth and adventure accessible. Baitburn now had access to all the magic it needed, and Oghma's needle was so well warded and protected, alongside the massive Enforcer presence in the city, that nobody could ever steal the Artifacts and items in the city's possession. As the city had a monopoly on Planar Travel, it had an advantage in all theoretical warfare, as it essentially had the nuclear option at any point that it could use on an enemy power.

In the current day (213 APT), the Baitburn Islands are still in the Age of Adventure.

### **List of Islands**

Islands are listed by their true names. The name given in brackets is its popular, or colloquial name, except in regard to Guildhavens, where the brackets denote the Guild the island represents. Legal documentation, as well as trade agreements and other official business, is written using true names, otherwise they are barely used.

#### Sovereign City of Baitburn

The following are the six islands that make up the formal City.

* Bruneh
* Lavan
* Abbasak (Little Shoe)
* Jonobi (Simurgh Island)
* Morghi (Two Sisters)
* Saint Mivar

#### Baitburn Territories

These islands are owned by the City of Baitburn, but they are not a part of it, meaning they do not benefit from the legal and social protections that come with being in the formal city, such as protection from the City Enforcers. Some are inhabited by Sapients, though many of them have been overtaken by Savages (particularly Renegades).

* Kharmaz (Ghost Reef)
* Kharg (The Iron Island)
* Hormuz (Emerald Isle)
* Queshim (Midwater)
* Dara (Shaman's Rock)
* Three Dents
* Thuria (Mount Blood)
* Bouneh (Lovers' Isle)
* Ommot-Kom (Bone Island)

#### Guildhavens

Guildhavens are islands owned by The Guild. Each of them contain production facilities for the products that the guild make, in addition to living and leisure facilities for its inhabitants. They are almost exclusively inhabited by Guild Workers and Guild Masters, and access routes to Guildhavens are heavily restricted by The Guild. There are anonymous allegations that there are secret tunnels linking some of the islands, but The Guild have denied that such tunnels exist. The Guildhavens exist technically under the jurisdiction of the City of Baitburn, but are under no real obligation to follow these rules, as Baitburn would not function without the support of the Armsmakers' Guild or the Mages' Guild. Holding any of the guilds to account would also destroy the economy of Baitburn, and most likely lose the support of the Adventurers' Guild, which would be disastrous for the City as a whole. As such, The Guild and its subsidiary Guilds essentially exist as sovereign entities. the The list of Guildhavens is:

* Guildhaven (headquarters for The Guild)
* Salthaven (Saltmakers' Guild)
* Crafthaven (Craftspeople's Guild)
* Clothaven (Clothworkers' Guild)
* Armshaven (Armsmakers' Guild)
* Glasshaven (Glaziers' Guild)
* Sailhaven (Merchant Seamen's Guild)
* Arcanohaven (Mages' Guild)

#### Private Islands

These are islands owned by private entities and individuals. They exist within the jurisdiction of the Sovereign City of Baitburn and as such are beholden to their laws. However, due to their inaccessibility, they are difficult to police, and so are only really policed when there is cause for concern raised to the City. These islands are mostly accessible through private waterways, airways and portals. Some islands are connected to the City or each other through the Gholami Network, a series of underground tunnels privately owned by the Gholami Crime Family.

* Jama's Island
* Elephant Island
* Gulzar's Island
* Gholami
* Roshanak's Island

#### Free Islands

These are islands that have not been claimed (or are not currently claimed) by any entity. This is either because they are uninhabitable (due to Savages such as Renegades, or the terrain itself), or due to spiritual and religious significance and taboo.

* The Nose
* Hellmouth
* Soulhaven
* Saint Kenan
* Saint Rashin
* The Isle of Horrors Unknown

#### Addendum: Islands Without Significance

This list is not a full documentation of all islands within the archipelago. Some are not included because they are very small, contain little to no life (even of Savages), and have to cultural or historical significance. Many such islands have been claimed throughout the archipelago's history, especially early settlers of what was to become the City. These claimants have largely failed in protecting their island from Savages, and have often fell victim to vicious tidal patterns, lack of natural resources, and The Fathomless. Due to the inaccessibility to most of these unclaimed islands by conventional means, they have often failed to sustain a consistent population. As such, their claims are of no note and are not included in this list. An expansive list is selectively available to the public at The Temple of the Falling Star, inside Oghma's Needle, at The Library of Al-Kalud, and at The Stablemind Centre. Private entities may also hold lists or extensive lists unknown to this writer.