Hold of the Sea Princes

The buccaneers of The Azure Sea grew strong and wealthy when the Cerulean Empire was at the height of its power, for the eyes of its leaders were first turned northward toward empire, and the sea raiders were ignored. These privateers took to calling themselves Sea Princes, after a particularly successful Captain who was in fact of noble birth. Sailing unchecked from their island and mainland strongholds, these raiders were the scourge of the coasts. When the Cerulean Empire finally began to recover from the Great Pelagic War her navy began to rebuild in order to check the threat of the Sea Princes, as they were now commonly known. Their numbers and strength had become so great by this time, however, that the Imperial fleet could at best deliver only a sharp check to them, at the Battle of Tynamore Reef. This lesson caused their leaders to rethink their policies, however, and several of the wiser captains dropped the safety of their anonymity and retired to mainland estates, appointing lieutenants to command their ships, not in piratical or raiding activities, but on expeditions to the Drowned Jungle and thence to trade with the rare woods, spices, ivory, and gold which they wrested from the lands. In recent years, under the leadership of Shepherd Hammandaturian, the Sea Princes have once again taken up smuggling and raiding, and word has it, even slavery. They appear to have rediscovered the hunger of their early years and many coastal villages have paid a heavy price for it. None know how many ships they have in their fleet, but if one includes the vast number of Privateers that often sail with them then they could possibly have enough to challenge even the might Imperial Navy. The major issue that still haunts the Hold of the Sea Princes is slavery. Slavery is still legal in the Hold and the slave block in the centre of Monmurg wharf brings in much of the gold that sustains the Princes. As Hammandaturian himself is rumoured to have said, "In honest service there is thin commons, low wages, and hard labour. Be dishonest.". Despite the tenet of dishonesty and their reputation for violence, the Sea Princes do have some strange kind of honour that they try to uphold in their dealings with each other. The Pirates' Code is considered an essential aspiration for many of the captains in the fleet. The Hold of the Sea Princes is in The Southern Chain. The weather tends to be hot and humid during most months, with mild to warm temperatures in the winter. Strong storms occasionally batter the outer islands, but most of the inner coast is semi-protected from violent storms. There is no over-riding religion within the Hold, as there is no over-riding judicial system. The law of the streets and the blade takes precedent.