Rosscot Camp

Rosscot Island by Naelin
The three islands visible at the southernmost end of the Haan Archipelago have been largely unexplored by the peoples of the other islands due to the extreme, brutal hostility of the inhabitants found in them, especially those of the island known as Daltael.
Attempts at prosperous communication have at best resulted in capture for slavery, with very few coming back to tell the story, earning the whole area the ominous name of Savage Isles, by contrast to the "civilized" Trade Islands.   Reports on the islands' population, geography and resources are therefore very limited, and even the best maps have to guess much of what they show from the area.   Attempts to explore them, however, have been many, driven by the promise of fame and fortune. Most of these ended in quick failure, but perhaps the most extensive and famous has been that of Rosscot Nouverre, a Dhalmanite explorer that was funded by the government of Dhalmain in 2979 E.Alz to set a camp on an uninhabited area of the savage isles to gather information, resources, and hopefully expand the Dhalmanite control through the archipelago.  

The expedition

Rosscot Nouverre
Roscott set out south on 18th of Harvesting of 2981 E.Alz leading a team of 54 people and 18 alzufhar to set up a camp in the north area of the closest island.
The voyage was successful with no encounters with the hostile people of Daltael, and the explorers were able to set up an organized camp and begin exploring and expanding.   For over two years, the team built more permanent structures as they surveilled the land, drew maps, and brought native plants and creatures back to Dhalmain with a stream of ships transporting resources and information back and forth.
The island became known as "Rosscot Island" in honour to the excellent leader of the expedition.  

The silence

On the 10th of Singing, 2983, a ship was sent to the island, as usual, to get them some requested resources and some extra workers and take back reports and exotic goods, but its crew and ship went missing. A second ship was sent there, suffering the same fate. No ships or news of any kind were being received from the camp, and as the months went on the country grew worried. More ships were sent, but none came back.   Eventually, a small vessel returned, and the crew said that they were able to get close enough to survey the coast, but they couldn't find any signs of the docks or any activity and decided to leave when they saw some unidentified ships in the distance.   In the years that followed, some military expeditions were sent to the islands to try to find out what happened to the camp and its people, but the very few that returned did so after very brief exploration attempts where they couldn't find any trace of the base, even after making sure they were at the right coordinates. Most tell stories of having to flee after sudden encounters with entire fleets of unidentified vessels coming from the east.   Rosscot Camp's fate remains a mystery, and a sad record for the Dhalmanite people as the only ones to have managed to have some sort of success at exploring the savage isles.
"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield"
— Alfred Lord Tennyson
Founders
Type
Outpost / Base
Location under
Owning Organization
The Haan Archipelago
Portrait of Danae, a holding his peace bird pen and a book containing a map
Danae by Naelin
The cartographer Danae from the City of Birdland in Thaur was commissioned to draw a map of the Haan Archipelago for the second edition of The Book of the Habits and Beasts, published in the 3rd of Birthing, 3 E.Ru.   Danae took advantage of the enclyclopaedia's team of researchers to gather precise information and went himself into research expeditions to survey remote areas. His work resulted in what is considered the most accurate and widespread map of the Archipelago to this day, which details even most of the coasts of the Savage Isles.
 
Rosscot Nouverre
Character | Sep 2, 2023

A Dhalmanite explorer that funded first permanent camp known in Rosscot Island



Cover image: Dhalmain Banner by Naelin

Comments

Please Login in order to comment!
Jul 23, 2022 21:38

Nice mystery of the lost settlement.

Jul 23, 2022 23:24

Thank you very much!

Aug 5, 2022 00:08 by Lilliana Casper

Great job! I wonder if those ships were from the Daltael? It's interesting how it just disappeared and even those who managed to get onto the island were unable to find the camp.

Lilliana Casper   I don't comment much, but I love reading your articles! Please check out my worlds, Jerde and Tread of Darkness.
Aug 26, 2022 23:26

Thank you, and thanks for adding me on your reading challenge! I hope I have some opportunities soon to start exploring a bit more of what happens on Daltael :)