Karos

'Step from golden sand to golden rock and feel the weight of chains fall away. You have no masters anymore. You are free.' - Sign upon the Quay of Karos

Written by Yerran

'The red tail of a great sand whale slams down along the starboard side, sending fine sand raining around us. We crest a golden wave and I see it. Rising from the flowing sea of sand like mountains from the sea, four great stacks alone upon the waves. A harbourage of safety, Karos. The last free settlement in Sabal and a refuge from oppression and slavery. Cast adrift, alone, isolated. Perhaps here it lies, the end of my quest.' 

The City

Within the centre of the tumultuous waves of the Shifting Sands lies four stacks of stone, their surfaces glittering with structures of metal, wood and cloth. A ramshackle design, so packed and dense that the natural stone can scarcely be seen. Though beneath this appearance tunnels run deep into the stacks providing space and security. For each hides hundreds of cannons and magical contraptions to keep the Saballan ships at bay. For Karos is not a town of Sabal, but one of freedom. Freedom from all laws.

History

The city was built over generations, all upon the backs of freed slaves and their descendants. They arrived either of their own accord, in raids or were born there. It was always easy for them to recognise spies due to the markings most slaves were given as well as an instant understanding of their plight. As the city grew so did its need for resources and food. Most of these were taken in raids, stolen or traded for with those merchants willing to barter secretly with the residents of Karos. 

Even in harsh times when the soldiers of Sabal sought to starve blockade it, preventing all trade and attack the ships on the Shifting Sands they managed to survive. Through a combination of farming upon any spare land they could and hunting the beasts of the golden seas for meat. In the early days they sought to buy large plots of soil and water to import, but have now devised a way to recycle, reuse and capture all they need on the stacks.

With Karos no longer relying on the outer world, it became a problem for Sabal as a rogue faction within its own. Fleets were built upon the edge of the shifting sands and set sail for Karos, set to purge the land of this city. However, the great battle went in the way of the citizens of Karos who had been smuggling a huge number of armaments to the stacks for decades. The ships were met with the sand-pirates and blasted apart by the cannons and other weapons that bristled from hundreds of tunnel openings and platforms across the huge cliff faces of the stacks. This saw such a defeat for Sabal that they have not tried since to take it. The stacks themselves have become a mountain fortress of monumental strength. Another symbol of their freedom

Society

There have grown two opposing ideologies within Karos over the years and they separated themselves due to these differences. The two eastern stacks became the home of the 'Ka Mea', a group intent on building a functioning society free of pressures and challenges. Living a life of quiet freedom. The western stacks became the base of the various sand-pirate groups. Those angry at the Saballans and their society, intent on rebelling violently and tearing it all down.

The Ka Mea

Stacks full of windmills, water capture systems and intricate systems of gardening. The land is utilised to the maximum to grow, create and harvest what those of Karos need. The Ka Mea have a belief that their existence is enough to challenge Sabal, and by living good lives, they have won. This has led them to live simple lives. However, that does not mean they are defenceless. Many are trained to fight to protect their way of life, whether that be from the Saballans or from a takeover by the sand-pirates. It is unlikely there will ever be a coup of that kind from the sand-pirates, as they do share the belief that they all come from the same experiences. They also will not stop any who wish to join the sand-pirates or those who wish to join their way of life. It is the Ka Mea that often trade with the sand-pirates, exchanging hand-crafted items, grown food, clothes and other simple aspects with their treasures and salvage, creating a symbiotic living arrangement.

The Sand Pirates

Upon the western stacks, life is different, though there are fewer rules and the only thing you truly need concern yourself with is your life. This is the home of the sand-pirate crews. Those who believed that to live is not a big enough act of defiance. They seek active retribution against their former oppressors, raiding into Sabal and battling their ships upon the Shifting Sands.

To live within western Karos you must align yourself to one of the three main sand-pirate crews, each with their own quay and stronghold. They are: 'The Bilgesteel Buccaneers' run by a devious male lizardman named Hagnin Snarltooth; The Broken Bones' run by a female half-orc called 'Stonesplitter' or the 'The Scented Sand Hydras' run by a lavish female elf called 'Carrigan Windstep'. Each of these crews has their own goals and agendas, some are merely trying to bloody the nose of Sabal in vengeance, while others are in it for the illegal trade of goods and wealth. These different aims cause a significant amount of infighting. A staple for day-to-day pirating upon the shifting sands, though it can bring a tremendous reward. The kind spent in the only free city around, Karos.

A Tale of Venya

Learn more about the world, its history and the factions here.

The Legend

Tales tell a large band of slaves broke free of their master's whips and fled into the desert, pursued relentlessly by the guards, only for the chase to come to an end upon the edge of The Shifting Sands. When cornered, rather than supplicate and return to their lives of neglect and oppression every one of them stepped into the shifting sands, choosing death over servitude. This is where the tales vary, for some say that each slave was carried through the ocean of golden sand and washed up upon the rocks at the sea's centre, while other state only one woman survived the journey. Either way, these slaves went on to found the city of Karos, a place where all could be free. 

In the tale where only a woman survives, her name is Karos, and she is the founder and guardian of the city. Within the centre of the eastern stacks, where the Ka Mea rule, there is a statue to a nameless woman that many call 'Karos' or 'The Guardian of Karos'.

A Refuge

The residents of Karos are not the only ones to flee the slavemasters of Sabal, as those within the west fled to the Crimson Canyons in days long past and founded the Red Refuge. Though they differ in many ways, for the red refuge is a place for all to come, and has developed into a small nation with its own culture. Karos is a single city trapped amidst the growing power of its enemy. Almost all within Karos were slaves themselves or are descendants of them. They share a hatred for Sabal that is unrivalled and will accept any slaves, often raiding into the nation to free them. The city itself is not only a monument to this but also a place to enjoy absolute freedom. A place where none may tell you what to do and there are few regulations beyond the cardinal rules. Where all residents have a say in all matters of the city. It is a place where one can be as free as they like.