Spray Port
"Serpent dancers, fearless and free"
History
Sprayport stands as the bustling heart of the Everspray Islands, a vast trading hub where commerce flows freely, drawing goods and wealth from across the continent. Rich in natural resources—from glistening pearls and precious stones to the strange, lustrous fabrics woven from sea creatures—the islands have long been sought after by merchants and travelers alike.
The island has always been governed by the Captain’s Board, a council comprised of every man and woman who commands a ship docking in Sprayport’s harbor. Although island affairs fall under the board’s jurisdiction, a sacred saying rings true across the port: “A Kin’s ship is his own.” Once a ship leaves harbor, its captain’s law alone holds sway, allowing for complete autonomy on the open sea.
In the more remote corners of the islands, where devotion to Golorrath, God of the Abyss runs deepest, many cults and shrines are dedicated to him and the Seaborne Through intense prayer and ritual, the most fervent followers even able to join their kin at sea, transforming into Seaborne themselves, forsaking their humanity for an eternal bond with the ocean.
Following the Deep Night, the oceans were still treacherous; long, dark nights blanketed the waters, and shadows lurked below, and Golorrath still attempted to pull all seafarers into his murky domain. Yet, the fearless freefolk of Sprayport alone dared to chart new oceanic trade routes, braving the chaos. However, at some point the attention of Vorath, God of Fear and Hunger turned towards the ocean and the domains of Golorrath. Seeking to create Drakkur's equal in the ocean, the primaris of dragons, Vorath unleashed a mighty kraken upon the archipelago, threatening to drag the islands into the deep.
Legend tells of Thalos, God of the Sea’s birth at the height of the kraken’s attack on Sprayport itself. With the city on the brink of annihilation, Drakmare, the legendary sea serpent, rose from the depths to mortally wound the kraken, driving it back into the abyss. In the wake of this miracle, many on the Everspray Islands turned to the worship of Thalos, though some clung to the old ways even still.
During the Heavenly Clash, many ships departed Sprayport to aid the New Gods, battling the creatures of the Abyss. Yet, rumors persist that some ships stayed behind, sailing under the secretive will of the God of the Depths in secluded reaches of the archipelago.
After the Sundering, Sprayport was cut off from the mainland for decades, as turbulent seas made travel impossible. Only in recent years have the skies and seas calmed enough for trade routes to reopen, reconnecting Sprayport to the wider world. Drakmare has also been increasingly dormant as time passes, and with the absence of Everspray Island's greatest guardian, long forgotten horrors have been sighted again.
Now
Today, the port is alive with movement and trade, but the island’s ancient customs remain evident to those who look closely. Charms and wards still adorn the homes and ships, and haunting chants echo from Sprayport’s dark, timbered churches. The deeper one ventures beyond Sprayport, the more the old ways surface, until it feels as though time itself has turned back to the age before the Heavenly Clash, when dark rituals and strange creatures roamed the land. Despite the renewed prosperity, tales of deep-sea horrors grow once more, and whispers of a returned kraken ripple through the southern islands. Zephyr's Gate's invention of an airship also threatens to usurp Sprayport's control of the trading routes, a fact that most sea captains are aware of.
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