Lordship of the Isles

Ruled by His Exalted Highness, Prince Frolmar Ingerskatti of Duxchan, Lord of the Isles, Scourge of the Waves

The Lordship of the Isles is the collective name given to a series of small island states off the southeastern coast of the Flanaess. These seven isles separate the Aerdi Sea from the warmer waters of the Oljatt Sea and range in size from an area nearly equal to the largest of the Lendore Isles to a tiny islet barely thirty miles in length. The climate of these islands is very tropical, and stifling warmth and humidity persists almost year round, save in the late summer months when the great tropical storms that sweep in from the Oljatt are not uncommon. Much of the terrain on the isles, except for the rocky volcanic peaks central to most of them, is covered in thick tropical forest. These forests are a rich source of the exotic animal and plant life that sustain the economy of the islands, primarily through their export to the mainland, where they are exchanged for hard coin. In the areas cleared by humanity near the coastal towns and seaports, sugarcane, pineapple, and coffee plantations are commonplace. These isles are also one of the few sources of rare woods such as mahogany, ebony, and teak, that are highly prized on the continent. Since the Lordship of the Isles guards the ways between the mainland of the Flanaess and the Tilva Strait as well as the shores of mysterious Hepmonaland, much income is derived from exacting levies from trading vessels passing through local waters.
These isles were ruled centrally by an Aerdi prince in the capital of Sulward for centuries. The largest three main islands are Diren, Ansabo, and Ganode. Each isle is the size of a small province on the mainland, and together they accommodate the majority of the population of the isles. Ansabo and Ganode were ruled by dukes since their establishment, their lords second in authority only to the prince of Diren in Sulward. The smallest isle, located between Diren and Ganode, is called Temil. It is ruled as a petty barony subject to the lord of Diren and is treated similarly to other minor subdivisions of the island, which include numerous baronies subject to the prince. The three islands of middling size, located one after the other off the eastern coast of Diren, are known as Jehlum, Mirim, and Luda. All three are ruled by counts who are closely allied to the court at Sulward. Luda, the northernmost isle, is the closest to the Lendores, and its eastern coast marks the border between the elven realm and the Lordship of the Isles. All affairs of state are conducted through the court in Sulward.
This chain of islands has been occupied by the Suel for nearly one thousand years, and this race remains the most dominant population of the isles, most notably on Ansabo and Ganode. The Oeridians have emigrated to these islands in large numbers only over the last few centuries; they are most common in Diren and the smaller isles of Jehlum, Mirim, and Luda. Olman and darker-skinned natives of Hepmonaland live in abundant numbers here, but these people are treated as baseborn and often enslaved, working the plantations of the unscrupulously rich gentry. Slavery is becoming increasingly important to the economy of the isles, particularly with the emergence of the Scarlet Brotherhood in its centers of power. Sulward, the putative capital, is a small port city that still evinces a strong Aerdi character, but Duxchan on the isle of Ansabo is the larger city of the two and is clearly influenced by its Suel heritage. The centers of power and commerce have slowly been flowing toward the latter for the last century and half, since the isles declared their independence from Rauxes in 447 CY. Travel through the Lordship of the Isles has dropped considerably in recent years, and while its not impossible, it remains dangerous for those known to be openly antagonistic toward the Scarlet Brotherhood, most particularly citizens of Sunndi and Irongate.

History

When the Aerdi expanded south into Sunndi, they succeeded in gaining control over the whole of the Solnor coast, from the Vast Swamp in the south to the Timberway in the north. With this dominance of the land came a desire to control the seaways that would soon become the primary means of transport and trade between one distant end of the Great Kingdom and another. The overkings colonized the islands off the eastern coast of the Flanaess, but standing in their way were the Flan and Suel inhabitants who had controlled these islands and plied the surrounding waters for centuries. For the most part they were no match for the Aerdi, and the isles of the Sea Barons were settled quickly. None of these maritime powers and their natives were more powerful than the Duxchaners of the Oljatt Sea. These pirates and buccaneers were the terror of the south, holding a near stranglehold over traffic through the southern straits and raiding the southern coastal cities with ease.
Following a particularly terrible attack on Pontylver, during which the shipyards were set ablaze, Overking Erhart II was determined to put an end to the marauding. In 166 CY, he committed the combined navies of the Great Kingdom to breaking the power of the Duxchaners. Old Baron Asperdi's young but powerful naval force from the Sea Barons was brought to bear on them, led by Lord Admiral Aeodorich of House Atirr, then accorded the finest naval captain of the time. The town of Dullstrand was specifically founded to act as a base of operations for the invasion of these southern islands by the Aerdi fleet. Within two years of hotly fought battles in the Aerdi Sea, Atirr and his armada, which was outfitted with mages and powerful clerics of Procan, finally defeated the Duxchaners and their allies at the Battle of Ganode Bay. This won greater fame and praise for the Aerdi admiral, who eventually rose to the throne of North Province some years later. The most militant of the surviving Suel buccaneers retreated to the port of Ekul, on the Spine Ridge of the Tilvanot Plateau, but were no longer a significant factor. The Aerdi settled these islands in large numbers, founding Sulward as the capital, though the population remained largely Suel, particularly on Ansabo and Ganode, where local Suel lords were absorbed into the government of the realm. An Aerdi lord was appointed prince of the new realm and he was made responsible to the herzog of South Province, but given the right to carve up the islands into provinces as he saw fit and award them to his kin.
The island lords became very rich over the next few centuries, profiting from the trade that flowed through their islands, a portion of which was due the herzog of South Province. The Duxchaners of the duchy of Ansabo, the second largest isle in this chain, were viewed as little more than pirates by most, but they were kept in check; they learned to prefer trade and fought only occasionally with the Sea Barons. The situation changed during the Turmoil Between Crowns, when the whole of the South was in rebellion against the Malachite Throne. Ivid I of House Naelax brought pressure on the southern princes to fall into line, but the outrages committed by the new herzog of South Province, which included seizing Lordship vessels anchored in Prymp Town, drove the lords of the isles to declare independence along with the other states. The prince of the Isles joined the Iron League in 448 CY, providing naval support and conveyance for traffic between Irongate, Onnwal, and their allies in Nyrond. In so doing, the lord of Diren was forced to deal more plainly with his fellow lords on the other islands, sharing additional power and ceding more local autonomy to them over the ensuing years.
The overking in Rauxes quickly issued letters of marque to the Sea Barons, designating the ships of the Lordship of the Isles as targets for any Aerdi vessel. The last century and a half have seen many battles between the two naval powers, culminating in one of the largest in 572 CY. The Duxchaners and their Suel duke had grown increasingly powerful during the intervening years and finally, when an internal squabble among the Oeridian lords on Diren failed to produce a successor in 564 CY, Latmac Ranold of Duxchan became the new prince. He took an increasingly provocative stance among the lords of the Iron League, favoring open conflict against the Great Kingdom to negotiation and subterfuge. Ranold built up the navy of the Lordship and began harassing the shipping lanes of the Great Kingdom as his forebears had done centuries ago. However, this led to the Battle of Medegia in 572 CY, in which the Duxchaners suffered their greatest defeat by the Sea Barons. This action failed to get the approval and support of the Iron League, and the debacle deflated Prince Ranold greatly. As the lord grew older, he appeared to lose his once-tight grip on the islands.
During the Greyhawk Wars, the wintry Latmac Ranold was abruptly deposed and an unheralded successor immediately took his place. The Lordship of the Isles quickly became a hotbed of intrigue. The new prince, a little-known Suel lord named Frolmar Ingerskatti of Ganode, immediately withdrew the Lordship from the Iron League and set about lending his naval forces to the maneuvers of the Scarlet Brotherhood, including the blockade of the Tilva Strait that continues to the present day. It is clear to most that Ingerskatti is a puppet of the Scarlet Brotherhood, but little can be done about it, as these cultists are very successful at putting their operatives in key positions within the realm, deposing Oeridians whenever possible in favor of loyal Suel. Most of Ansabo, the port of Sulward, and the whole isle of Ganode are now completely under their control.
In 584 CY, Ingerskatti used his fleet to terrorize ports on the Azure, first by attempting a failed raid on Gradsul, then by harrying the vessels of Irongate, whom they view as their most important rival. As of 590 CY, naval warfare has broken out between the free ports of the Azure Sea and the Lordship of the Isles. Ships of the Iron League and Gradsul now attack Lordship vessels on sight, especially those carrying slaves or cargo to and from the Sea Princes or Pomarj. Ingerskatti has won over the desperate prince of Ulek, gaining a port for himself at Gryrax. Lately, an axis against the Lordship and its Scarlet Brotherhood allies is forming around the Azure Sea, and the sight in early 591 CY of a frigate flying the colors of the prince of Naerie (of Ahlissa), docked at Gradsul, should give them pause.

Government: "Independent monarchy" (principality) that is actually a puppet state of the Scarlet Brotherhood, which manages most military, judicial, religious, and economic affairs; prince has real but limited powers, affecting the Brotherhood's rule only through force of his own charisma and cleverness
Capital: Sulward
Major Towns: Duxchan (pop. 8,900), Sulward (pop. 7,200), Mahan (pop. 4,100)
Provinces: Seven islands, each its own noble province: duchy of Diren (capital: Sulward duchy of Ansabo (capital: Duxchan duchy of Ganode (capital: Mahan county of Jehlum; county of Mirim; county of Luda; and barony of Temil
Resources: Rare woods, spices, shipbuilding supplies
Coinage: Great anchor (pp), sunship (gp), dolphin (ep), trident (sp), shelly (cp)
Population: 266,000—Human 79% (Soz), Elf 9% (high), Halfling 5%, Dwarf 3%, Gnome 2%, Half-elf 1%, Half-orc 1%
Languages: Common, Ancient Suloise, Elven, Halfling
Alignments: N, CN, NE*, LE, CE
Religions: Osprem, Xerbo, Norebo, Syrul, Wee Jas, other Suloise gods
Allies: Scarlet Brotherhood
Enemies: Sea Barons, Iron League, Lendore Isles (distrusted), Ahlissa (distrusted)

  Location in the Flanaess