The Stingray Atoll
Named after the abundance of manta rays found frolicking in the shallows, these islands are a known as pirate haven to anyone sailing the four seas between the continents of Oresis and Occides. Historically a refuge for pirates, and later for anyone who felt sailing under any particular kingdom's navy was too onerous, it continues to be a haven for those under the yoke of oppressive systems: Since The Laozi Invasion, the Chonsi population has grown significantly, after many Chonsi sailors felt they and their families would be better off taking their risks with the pirate community than languishing under The Empire of Lao Tzu
Demographics
Stingray Atoll is a port of call to many different races and ethnicities. Really, anyone who finds themselves at odds with the laws of their home kingdom, regardless of race, is welcomed here, the only race that is not as well represented in the atoll is dwarves: their general dislike of the open ocean means you don't see many dwarf pirates. In the League of Free Sailors, no race is discriminated against, as all who sail under a black flag feel themselves apart from their kingdom of origin.
Government
The Admiralty Board- a group of famous pirates who each command a small fleet of ships under their particular name and flag- act as the governing body for the Stingray Atoll. There were five heads of The Admiralty Board, until the Orchid Empire declared war on the rest of the Eastern Hemisphere. The Laozi admiral- Wan Zhihao- was excommunicated from the consortium, and most of the ships under his command were sunk. But now, there are four admirals, each claiming dominion over one of the four seas surrounding the atoll. The four admirals meet monthly with their most trusted captains to discuss infrastructure projects, review the treasury, and discuss Terrathrian politics, vis-a-vis which kingdoms are currently the best targets for maritime piracy.
Each member of the Admiralty Board canvasses the opinions of their Captains, and figures out which issues are most important to them. Once every month or so, the Admiralty Board meets as a legislative body, and votes on important issues. Each Admiral gets one vote, which was a fine system when there was an odd number of them. Now, the governing body of the Stingray Atoll is looking for a new member to promote to Admiral status, and the race is turning out to be rather cutthroat.
Defences
There is a small fleet of ships which patrols the waters around the atoll, making sure that only people who fully intend to visit the pirate haven reach their destination unmolested. There are forts along the outer ring of the atoll, which have artillery to further protect the pirate haven from undesirables. As a last resort, each of the four admirals possess minor artifacts which grant them control over the local winds and tides, making sure than any concerted effort to attack their sanctuary- from sea or sky- is foiled.
Industry & Trade
Freeport is a massive hub of illicit trade, and those who participate in it stand to make a fair bit of money within its walls. One of the biggest moneymakers for the community is the capture and processing of sea monsters. Sea monster body parts are an illicit, but valuable resource to many: sea monster fats and oils are often used as fuel; bone, horns, claws, skins and scales are often used as crafting materials; moreover, the flesh of sea monsters is often treated as a delicacy by unscrupulous nobles with exotic pallates.
Denizens of the Stingray Atoll are very open about selling the goods they've pilfered from other kingdoms, though they often sell at inflated prices. When questioned about these practices, the pirates usually have two responses: either they point out that they went through great personal risk to obtain these items, and the price merely reflects that, or they'll say point out that if the buyer wanted this item normally, they'd have to go all the way to a different country to purchase it. Surely the convenience is worth a little extra coin?
Though the merchants of Freeport are willing to sell most anything to anybody, they do have few steadfast rules: "All sales are final," and "If you get caught, we've never met."
Infrastructure
Exterior docks are used for loading and unloading all manner of cargo from visiting ships, including docks dedicated to the gutting, skinning and processing of sea monsters, whose constituent parts are highly prized on the black markets of various kingdoms. Large cranes, clamps and other loading equipment exists on this outer ring of dock, often referred to by the denizens of the atoll as "Gutsport" or "The Gutting Docks"
The atoll has several monitored passages into its interior lagoon, where majority of the shops, brothels and inns are located, in the city of Freeport. This is also where the Admiralty Board is housed. Where a normal city might have sewers, Shipwreck is constructed above a natural whirlpool- one of the factors which contributed to the numerous maritime accidents for which the city is named- that acts as a sort of continuous drain for the city: waste can be thrown into the water, and in a day or so it will disappear down into a subterranean garbage scow.
Districts
The atoll is informally divided into quadrants, each acting as a sort of home-away-from-home for sailors of different kingdoms. There are Ellenik, Marajoan, Qanuni, and Chonsi quadrants, as well as an enclave for the elven corsairs of the Rhonish coast. Each of these quadrants has architecture and infrastructure resembling a mainland kingdom, and often citizens of each quadrant establish restaurants to serve their mother kingdom's food, and temples to the gods and deities of those kingdoms.
Assets
The Stingray Atoll is located on prime real estate, a natural midpoint for any ships who find themselves in a trans-continental sea voyage. They have a grand treasury of stolen goods from various kingdoms, including precious gems and metals, exotic fabrics, spices, and iindeed entire vessels deemed stronger, faster or hardier than their counterparts.
Guilds and Factions
The League of Free Sailors are a consortium of pirate ships and captains from across Terrathria. These pirates have agreed to cease all hostilities against one another's vessels, and occasionally band together to help fellow members take on bigger and more dangerous jobs, or for protection if a sizeable bounty is levied against one of their number. The League takes a percentage of all plunder from member captains as dues in exchange for the benefits League members enjoy. Captains of pirate ships are encouraged to join the League if they are frequent visitors to the atoll, and doing so confers the benefits of membership to themselves and the members of their crew.
Benefits of membership include: preferred moorage, discounts on food, supplies, drink and companionship while docked at the atoll, and the aforementioned protection of the League if they find thesmelves in trouble. These benefits do require League Captains to run a tighter ship, following pirate code, making sure their crew is healthy, well-compensated, and equipped to League standards, but to many the benefits outweigh the costs.
While most of the time, League membership is conferred upon a Captain of a vessel- and therefore granted to all their sailors so long as those sailors stay with said captain- individual sailors are also allowed to join the guild and become League Sailors, eligible to work on any League Captain's vessel interchangebly, as they wish.
History
About 300 years ago, when trade between the two main continents of Terrathria began in earnest, it was done with ocean-going ships. Kingdoms who wished to remain relevant on the world stage funneled massive amounts of money into the construction of navies to keep up with the technological arms race. Ellenik triremes were among the first to venture out into the wider oceans, followed shortly by Marajoan caravels, who charted much of the Eastern continent of Oresis for Occidean mapmakers. Soon after crossing the Meridian Sea, cultural and economic trade began between the eastern and western continents. For a long time Chonsi panokseons- coast-running craft which were improved upon to withstand long voyages- were the only Oerian ships which travelled across the Meridian Sea. The Laozi, not wanting to be upstaged by their smaller cousins, created their fleet of treasure junks to display their wealth and standing on their home continent, and became the main proponents of trade with the west. Qanuni dhows are the most recent ship to be found travelling these waters, as only after the establishment of Ushman II's Caliphate did the Qanuni empire deem maritime trade to be worth the investment.
Shortly after establishing routes of maritime trade, people began preying upon these routes. Though originally individual ships with no real sense of honesty or morality, the original pirate admirals set down a code of conduct to improve people's perception of them, and to try and make themselves more respectable in the eyes of the international community.
Beneath the lagoon lies the lair of a deep-sea monster, which at one point threatened the safety of a nearby kingdom of Deep Elves. The original five pirate lords made a deal with the Deep Elves to help capture and subdue the monster, if they could have the atoll as a haven for their raids against other kingdoms. The nearby kingdom of Deep Elves found this to be an amicable deal, as the disrespect many terrestrial kingdoms showed to the oceanic ecosystems offended Deep Elven sensibilities: if the land-dwelling kingdoms lost a few of their ships to pirates once in a while, the elves would not shed a tear.
Architecture
The buildings in and around the Stingray Atoll are mostly wooden, being made of salvaged pirate ships, with many of the buildings on either floating docks or stilted platforms, to raise the boards up out of the water and protect them from rot.
Geography
The Stingray Atoll is almost in the exact middle of Terrathria: It lies on the Prime Meridian, and about halfway between Occides and Oresis in the northern hemisphere. The atoll has relatively sturdy landmasses, which allowed for the construction of the exterior docks, with a central lagoon. This lagoon is quite shallow, save for the cavern that lies below the city, which functions as the entrance to the garbage scow.
Climate
Given its central location, the atoll has a tropical climate. While the area surrounding the atoll is prone to monsoon rains and hurricane-force winds, the town of Freeport is protected by the artifacts held by the members of the Admiralty Board.
Natural Resources
The atoll itself has no natural resources beyond some light fishing, but the main industry revolves around the harvesting of sea monster parts.
Alternative Name(s)
Atol de Arria, Gaoli, Kansho Akaei
Type
City
Population
~1,200
Inhabitant Demonym
Skates
Included Locations
Owning Organization
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