Crista Islands

Had the steady stream of fat merchant vessels laden with goods from Akatar not lured a plague of seaborne raiders, the archipelago region known as the Cristas might still be void of civilization. For centuries now, buccaneers have successfully used the various islands as convenient berths from which to launch their nefarious schemes. Hidden coves originally used for ship repair and restocking needed supplies grew into dozens of full fledged settlements, eventually attracting many of the sort of legitimate business people common in thriving towns. Soon merchants with more guts than brains began taking what was coined "the gauntlet run" sailing galleons with ample cargo space to the renegade towns in the Cristas to trade for stolen goods at bargain prices. The major neighboring naval powers have made countless attempts to eradicate piracy radiating from the Cristas, but no effort has thus far succeeded. There are over 8,000 known islands in the Cristas and less than 99 percent are occupied. The islands themselves shrink and expand with the tides and are mostly rocky obsidian and sandy beaches, with thick palm groves and coconut trees. A few of the islands contain small tribes of half-orcs or smugglers that dreamed of being far from the reaches of governments.

Type

Archipelago