The Coiled Coalition

The Screaming Strait is the most deadly of seas to sail, with heavy winds, magical storms and swarms of alien creatures to harass the ships that strafe too far from shore. As a result, the sea has long been a haven for criminals, misfits and smugglers, making a home where few would dare follow. In time, a town of pirates and smugglers emerged on the largest island in the strait, called Serpent's Bay. For many years, pirates and smugglers were the bane of coastal towns and merchant ships. Raiding anything that wasn't nailed down before using their superior sailing skill to vanish into the storms. Adopting the name 'sea serpents' to emulate the drawings on undiscovered parts of a map. Today they still raid and plunder, but the loose alliance of outlaws has become something more. The reason for this change is simple, in 196AH the sailors of Serpent's Bay discovered a safe route to the continent of Olm. Suddenly, they weren't just skilled pirates anymore, but the only faction capable of weaving through the magic storms and monster lairs towards the ancient continent. The jungles of Olm hold many riches, and the sea serpents were all to eager to retrieve them and sell them to the rich and powerful of Medina. Due to this monopoly, the sea serpents earned a kind of legitimacy, and to reflect this they changed their name to the Coiled Coalition. Of course, many crews of Serpent's Bay stuck to the old traditions of raiding and smuggling, but the town has now developed new avenues to riches in the form of expeditions, passages and spice trade. Currently, their biggest geopolitical influence is the diamond trade. Diamonds are an essential component of many types of spell-casting, but have become scarce on Medina. The coalition's carefully guarded control of their trade route have made them essential amongst mages and powerful nobles, who are forced to turn a blind eye towards most of their raiding activities.