Cadh Acaelys

“It’s shameful, the way we rolled over for those Belhacinti dogs. We are Cadhaël! We’ve been sailing the cloud-sea since we were children! All the hosts of Heaven couldn’t root us out of here if we just took a stand! Ah, hell.”

— Silmaër, embittered cloudfisher

In the minds of many of Orphan’s people, the storm-haunted expanse of Windreach is synonymous with freedom, and indeed, many of the region’s inhabitants consider themselves to be the captains of their own destinies, not subject to any particular government. Many more, choosing safety over freedom, acknowledge the rule of a polity which has long been hard at work attempting to tame the cloud-sea: the Protectorate (formerly Principality) of Cadh Acaelys.
Originally a coalition of cloudfishing guilds, over the years Cadh Acaelys developed first into an ad hoc government, and then a legally recognized one. During the course of this legitimization, Cadh Acaelys gained both a parliament—which grew out of the original council of guildmasters—and a prince. Although this first prince was elected from among the parliament’s ranks, the parliament and the throne have often been at odds in the years since, a state of affairs which some say has weakened the country on the world stage.
The current prince of Cadh Acaelys, Therahan II, has a reputation for being a weak and ineffectual ruler. Recently, Prince Therahan agreed—or was strongarmed into agreeing—to sign a treaty transforming his country into a Belhacinti protectorate.
The transition has not been a smooth one. The news has caused outrage among the Cadhaël population, and acts of open rebellion are growing ever more common. Quelling this unrest has proved difficult; compounding the issue is the tribal rivalry between the Cadhaël Fleet—Cadh Acaelys’s military corps, which fields armadas of cloudships as well as squadrons of couatl riders—and the Belhacinti troops attempting to supersede its authority.

Stone-on-Wing

The seat of Cadh Acaelys’s government, and the headquarters of the Cadhaël Fleet, is the city of Stone-on-Wing. As its name implies, Stone-on-Wing is a great chunk of floating stone, an inverted mountain, barnacled with buildings and shot through with tunnels. Cloudships and couatl riders swarm around it like bees to a hive; cableways and rope-bridges connect its main bulk to smaller shards of land.
In contrast with much of Windreach, the area surrounding Stone-on-Wing is downright peaceful. Patrolling ships, flying both Cadhaël and Belhacinti colors, keep a keen eye out for signs of trouble; most animals in the area are small and tame, and storms, while not uncommon, tend to be on the mild side. Tourists on pleasure cruises paint watercolors on the decks of ships, and couatl riders play informal games of airborne sports.
Aside from Stone-on-Wing, Cadh Acaelys has numerous smaller, outlying communities: fixed settlements on floating islands, and nomadic populations who live aboard their cloudships. Keeping such a scattered population connected is a challenge. The Cadhaël government has attempted to meet this challenge through the creation of a number of public services: public transportation, mail services, and the appointment of a number of circuit judges, to name but a few.

Couatl Hunters of the Cloud-Sea

While Cadh Acaelys does not control a whole lot of land, it does control a large area, and a resource-rich one besides. Cadh Acaelys’s principal industry is cloudfishing—that is, hunting the many strange flying beasts which inhabit the cloud sea. Out of all these beasts, by far the most lucrative catch is the couatl.
Couatls, also called lightning serpents, are winged, feathered serpents that range in size from the length of an adult’s arm to several hundred feet long. As their epithet would imply, they are magical creatures with an affinity for Windreach’s famous lightning storms. While the flesh of many couatl species is edible, and their feathers are perennially in fashion in Cadhael high society, it is their blood which makes them so very profitable.
The electric blood of the couatl has a range of uses, not least as a clean-burning fuel. Its use is widespread not only in Windreach, but also in Templegarden. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that couatl blood more or less keeps Belhacint running. Little wonder, then, that Belhacint would want to tighten its grip on Windreach’s resources.

The Ingrates

For as long as aether travel has existed, Cadh Acaelys has had to contend with Belhacint. Historically, it has dealt with these pressures by making big economic concessions to its neighboring country. This strategy of appeasement has led to declining working conditions for Windreach’s cloudfishers, which in turn has given rise to anti-Belhacinti sentiment among the Cadhaël populace—but at least it has allowed Cadh Acaelys to retain its independence.
At least, up until recently, when the Cadhaël government signed an accord which finally transformed the country into a de jure protectorate rather than just a de facto one. Windreach is now technically Belhacinti territory, and Belhacint has installed its own troops in the region as a peacekeeping force.
Many Cadhaël people vehemently oppose Belhacint’s presence in Windreach. The most vocal minority is the Ingrates, a faction of anarchists who want to overthrow the government, or, failing that, secede and establish their own doomed utopia. They are people of no fixed abode; in order to avoid repression, they live on their airships, hidden among the dramatic rising peaks which puncture the mists of Windreach’s lawless southwestern reaches.
The leader of the Ingrates, Elaena Corlys, was once an officer of the Cadhaël Fleet, but resigned in disgust at the Cadhaël government’s constant yielding to Belhacint’s demands. As the Ingrates’ leader, she has become so notorious that the government has issued an edict outlawing the mere mention of her name—which of course has only added to her notoriety.

Blood for the Machine

In recent years, the couatl population has been diminishing due to overhunting. Critics claim that, while Belhacint has offered a number of justifications for its annexation of Windreach, the increasing scarcity of couatl blood is in fact the sole reason.
Indeed, since Belhacint assumed control of the region, couatl hunting has hit a fever pitch. Rather than allowing the couatl population to recover, fleets of cloudfishing vessels are pushing farther and farther west, into dangerous territory. Not only is this area home to belligerent storm elementals of prodigious size, but the couatls that live there are far larger and more vicious than their eastern cousins.
No matter. If they’re larger, that means there’s more fuel to be harvested from them. And if they destroy one ship, there are ten more to take its place, as long as the blood keeps flowing. The machinery of empire must be fed.

THE PROTECTORATE OF CADH ACAELYS

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Capital city: Stone-on-Wing
Head of state: Prince Therahan II
Languages: Cadhaël
Currency: Cadhaël aenoc

Cadhaël is a delicate tongue, replete with soft consonants and melodious vowels, which seems almost to mimic the whisper of the wind.
Example names: Adhanna, Aedis, Arthan, Aura, Caelthorn, Cahaeron, Cassilda, Celia, Corlys, Dannadh, Elseon, Laenaroth, Lysa, Mathys, Myrill, Seraë, Tannalith, Thauramnon, Thessalore, Vaël.