Port Raefel

Demographics

While the permanent population of Port Raefel is estimated to be only around thirty, the number of people sheltering there at any given time tends to be in the low hundreds. The permanent residents are descended from the original exiles (see Raefel Island) and vagabonds that washed ashore over the centuries, as well as the very few Etoileans that visited and decided to stay. 
Similar to The Icefalls, Port Raefel is an essentially classless society, with the howling storms, cave dwelling life, and need to hunt and gather your own food flattening any noble distinctions.

Government

The District Commander of West Saibh is based roughly a hundred miles up the coast of the District, in the town of Trench; while nominally all of Raefel Island is under their jurisdiction, the circumstances of the island mean that the denizens of Port Raefel are largely left to their own devices. 
The government is largely informal and traditional. The poor conditions mean that very few persons of ill repute live in Port Raefel by choice, and only the residents are generally skilled in the local survival skills needed to identify safe plants to gather and animals to hunt, causing visitors and tourists to be reliant on local guides when out and about on adventures.
While by law all resources in Port Raefel are to be shared, in order to ensure that none go hungry or die of exposure, in practice (ref: Luisa Noctillon) residents look down on visitors and other people who cannot sustain themselves on the Island, and extralegal activity can happen to convince those people to leave on the next ship out. De facto, the community is insular and distrusts outsiders, i.e. anyone not of the Island.

Industry & Trade

Food and water is plentiful in Port Raefel; the explosive growth of life on the island and huge size of fauna means there's plenty of gathered fruit and meat for consumption. Other than that, the Port is poor in most other ways, with no real local industry besides supporting the local tourist and adventurer trade. Exotic bushmeat and hard to find local herbs are exported on the regular supply ship, but in relatively minor quantities.

Infrastructure

The constant storms that batter Port Raefel means there is no real outdoor infrastructure per se; even the 'Port' only exists by courtesy; ships moor in the lagoon of the island and row supplies directly on the beach just underneath the central cave complex.
The cavern complex is built out to support a small village. Open caverns pockmark the side of the Spine of Raefel, and form a deep underground network of connected caverns as well as standalone caves in the side of the mountain. While there is neither delivery of water or power, the caverns have been inhabited for centuries and are reasonably comfortable, with partitions and doorways to mark common areas, the single hostel, and the all-important pub. Otherwise, individuals are free to simply stake out a spare cave that doesn't get rain or wind and set up a bed; most residents of the Port leave each other alone.

History

The written history of Port Raefel begins with the Principality of Etoile naval expedition there, during the closing days of The War of Unification. Port Raefel acceded to Etoilean sovereignty but was placed under no particular compulsion other than accepting naval stopovers; the Principality seemed to have no interest in actually governing the place, only preventing pirates from resupplying there. 
This hands-off approach resulted in some tragedy, when several denizens of the Port (which is predominantly male) attacked a group of visitors in 668. A member of The Magistrates was dispatched to investigate and was never seen again, presumably murdered; this brought a full response from the Principality, as three Siege-sails and a division of Etoilean assault troops landed on the island. While the perpetrators had long fled Port Raefel itself into the surrounding jungle, the island was cleared by force and they were eventually found.  Twelve accused perpetrators were hanged, with a number of others brought back to the mainland and imprisoned, reducing the population of Port Raefel by half.
This event threatened the continued existence of Port Raefel (as the remaining residents were deemed insufficient to fulfil various commercial contracts or maintain nutrition), so a handsome purse was offered for adventurers and Etoilean Rangers to temporarily take up residence at the Port. While having children on the island is heavily discouraged, Raefel Island attracts loners and survivalists, and within a decade enough new residents had migrated to the island to allow the resumption of ordinary commercial activity.
Port Raefel is now the refuge base for adventurers hunting big game on the island or treasures in the ruins, maintained at the expense of the Principality to serve as a resupply stop for the Navy.

Tourism

A common writer's theme in the Principality is that of how life is comparatively easy, compared to the hardscrabble lives of skapets and commoners during the petty kingdom era. The average Etoilean has no particular difficulty acquiring food or shelter, and has no need to learn the various necessary minimum skills of carpentry, agriculture, and hunting required to have survived during more primitive times. Those who wish to forsake civilization entirely set off to The Icefalls, outside of Principality control. Others, who merely wish to live life on the 'edge', travel to Port Raefel.
Various consortium interests advertise package tours to appeal to this sort of folk, with local guides that will teach some hapless workshop worker of the Etoile Capital City how to hunt an aurochs and butcher it for meat, or how to get a night of restful sleep during a terrifying windstorm that causes the cavern entrance to whistle. Most leave the island and never wish to return, but a select few find the lifestyle enjoyable, more 'real' than their comparatively dull lives in the major cities.

Founding Date

Unknown

Type

Underground / Vault

Population

~100

Inhabitant Demonym

Raefelites

Location under

Raefel Island

Owning Organization

Principality of Etoile