The Blood Isles
The Blood Isles lie beyond the western shores of Warlderia, a rugged archipelago of cold seas, steep-sided valleys, wooded hills and rocky coasts. They are a hard country inhabited by a people who have made independence almost a matter of faith. Kingdoms and empires have risen and fallen upon the mainland, but the Blood Islers have remained stubbornly apart from them, acknowledging neither Emperor nor foreign king. The Isles take their name from the rich deposits of red iron ore found throughout the islands, which stain exposed rock and mountain streams a distinctive rusty crimson. Outsiders, however, have long maintained that the name has rather more to do with the temperament of the inhabitants. The Blood Islers themselves are generally happy with either explanation. They are renowned as sailors, warriors, traders and explorers. Blood-Isler ships can be encountered throughout the western seas and occasionally much farther afield. In peaceful years they carry iron, timber, hides, worked metal and other goods between distant ports. In less peaceful times, much the same ships have carried armed men. The distinction between merchant and raider has not always been particularly clear.
The Isles and their People
The Blood Islers are descendants of some of the oldest known human inhabitants of Warlderia. Their ancestors are believed to have reached the islands from Kylma in the distant past, long before the coming of the Higher Races. Exactly when this migration occurred, or what drove these early people across the western seas, has long since been forgotten. Isolation subsequently shaped the islanders into a distinct people. While great kingdoms and cultures rose and fell elsewhere in Warlderia, the inhabitants of the Blood Isles developed largely apart from them. By the time the Higher Races first encountered the Isles, the Blood Islers already possessed their own language, gods, laws and traditions, together with considerable skill in shipbuilding, navigation and metalworking.
Even before the arrival of the Higher Races, the inhabitants of the Isles possessed considerable skill in shipbuilding and metalworking. The abundance of iron encouraged the growth of a strong smithing tradition, while the scattered geography of the archipelago made boats essential for trade, communication and warfare. Blood-Isler society places great importance upon family, reputation, courage and personal loyalty. A person's kin are expected to support them in times of hardship and, equally, may expect their assistance in disputes of their own. Hospitality is taken seriously, promises are remembered and insults can survive considerably longer than the people who originally exchanged them. This does not mean that the Blood Islers are perpetually at war. Most are farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, herders and merchants rather than warriors. Their settlements possess laws, assemblies, markets and long-established customs. Nevertheless, most free people are accustomed to bearing weapons and there is little cultural expectation that violence is exclusively the business of professional soldiers.
A Land without an Emperor
The Blood Isles have never developed the great centralised state familiar to much of mainland Warlderia. Instead, the islands are divided between local lords, clans and petty kingdoms, whose fortunes have risen and fallen over the centuries. Some rulers command substantial territories and fleets; others may possess little more than a fortified hall, several villages and the loyalty of a few dozen households. Alliances are cemented through marriage, fosterage, oath-taking and mutual advantage, and can disappear almost as quickly when circumstances change.
Attempts have occasionally been made to establish a single ruler over all the Isles. A sufficiently powerful king may receive the submission of lesser rulers and claim a degree of authority over the archipelago, particularly in times of foreign danger. Such arrangements rarely survive long without the strength or reputation of the individual who created them. Consequently, to speak of the Blood Isles as though they were a single kingdom is misleading. The Islers recognise a shared people, language, history and culture, but this has never prevented them from fighting amongst themselves. Indeed, some would argue that it encourages them.
The Coming of the Higher Races
When the Elves and Dwarves first arrived in Warlderia, they encountered in the Blood Isles a human civilisation very different from the primitive societies they had expected to find. The Higher Races initially attempted to establish peaceful relations and offered the islanders the benefits of their knowledge and guidance. The Blood Islers interpreted these offers rather differently. They had their own rulers, gods, laws, ships and smiths and saw little reason why strangers from another world should instruct them in how to live. Relations deteriorated.
Both Elven and Dwarven powers made attempts at various times to establish themselves upon the Isles. Some began as trading enclaves or missions; others were considerably less peaceful. None lasted. Settlements were attacked, garrisons destroyed and expeditions driven back into the sea. Eventually the Higher Races reached the sensible conclusion that the Blood Isles were more trouble than they were worth. The Islers have been proud of this ever since.
The Higher Wars
When Kaegor's Rebellion and the Higher Wars engulfed Warlderia, the Blood Islers enthusiastically entered the conflict on the side of humanity. Their reasons were not entirely ideological. The opportunity to attack Elven and Dwarven possessions with the approval of a powerful human leader was regarded by many Isler lords as an exceptionally agreeable state of affairs. Blood-Isler fleets descended upon the coasts. Ports were attacked, settlements plundered and shipping seized. Their warriors proved particularly effective in coastal warfare, where their shallow-draught vessels could land fighting men with little warning and withdraw before substantial forces arrived.
Unfortunately for Kaegor's commanders, the Islers were never particularly interested in military discipline or strategic plans. They attacked the enemies of humanity, their enemies' allies, neutral settlements that looked prosperous and, on occasion, other Blood Islers whom they happened to dislike. Nevertheless, their campaigns tied down considerable forces and contributed significantly to the destruction of Higher Race power in the western lands. When Kaegor finally emerged victorious and proclaimed his new Empire, he naturally expected the Blood Isles to become part of it. The Blood Islers declined. They had fought to free mankind from foreign rulers, they explained, not to acquire a human one.
The Age of the Sea-Kings
The centuries following the Higher Wars are remembered in the Isles as the great age of the Sea-Kings. Population increased, shipbuilding flourished and ambitious warriors looked increasingly beyond their own islands for wealth and land. Blood-Isler ships became familiar, and frequently unwelcome, visitors along the western coasts of Warlderia.
Not every expedition was a raid. Islers established trading agreements, served as mercenaries, escorted merchants and founded seasonal communities in foreign ports. Yet trade and violence often went together. A settlement that welcomed Blood-Isler merchants one year might find those same men returning with shields and axes the next after a dispute over payment, an insult to a captain or simply the arrival of a more ambitious leader. Some expeditions never returned to the Isles at all. Their most important settlements were established upon the north-western shores of Kylma, where Blood-Isler traders had long dealt with the Hugond peoples of the interior. Those settlements would eventually become the Crimson Coast.
The Founding of the Crimson Coast
The first Isler settlements in Kylma were trading communities rather than colonies. Blood-Isler merchants exchanged worked metal and maritime goods with the Hugond and established permanent ports from which the trade could be conducted. As the settlements grew, however, the newcomers began claiming surrounding land. Most of the early migrants were men, and many took Hugond women as wives or concubines. Their mixed descendants, known as Halvras, were often rejected by the Hugond and consequently identified increasingly with their Blood-Isler fathers. Eventually conflict became inevitable.
During the First Blood War, the Hugond initially drove the settlers back into their fortified coastal towns. Their apparent victory ended when Lord Raoul of Krester returned to the Blood Isles and raised an army with promises of land and wealth. The resulting invasion broke the Hugond forces and secured the western coastline permanently for the settlers. Over succeeding generations the colonists changed. They adopted horses from their Hugond neighbours, intermarried extensively and developed institutions suited to their new homeland. Later immigration from elsewhere in Warlderia transformed the region still further. The people who emerged were no longer simply Blood Islers living overseas. They had become the Crimson Coasters.
The relationship between the two peoples remains close but complicated. Blood Islers generally regard the Crimson Coast as a land founded by their ancestors and its inhabitants as distant cousins. Crimson Coasters are proud of that ancestry but have developed their own aristocracy, customs and identity. A Blood Isler arriving in Epave will find much that is familiar. He will also quickly be informed that he is not at home.
Sōren
The ancient language of the Isles is Sōren (Soo-ren). It predates the Higher Wars and is believed to descend from the languages spoken by the ancient human peoples of northern Kylma. Common is now understood throughout most ports and larger settlements, particularly amongst merchants and those accustomed to dealing with foreigners. In more isolated communities, however, Sōren remains the normal language of everyday life, and some rural inhabitants speak little or no Common. Sōren is also spoken upon the Crimson Coast, particularly amongst families proud of their Blood-Isler ancestry and amongst more traditional followers of the old gods. The dialect spoken there has changed considerably over the centuries and incorporates many mainland words, occasionally providing amusement to visitors from the Isles. Old songs, genealogies, laws and heroic tales are traditionally recited in Sōren, and even Blood Islers who primarily speak Common often regard the ancestral language as an important part of their identity.
The Old Gods
Religion in the Blood Isles is ancient, personal and deeply woven into family and community. The gods are not remote theological concepts but powers believed to influence storms, harvests, battle, fertility, luck and the fortunes of individual families. Kord is particularly honoured amongst warriors, sailors and those who value strength and courage, while Vatun has traditionally possessed a strong following in the colder and more isolated parts of the Isles. Other gods are worshipped according to local tradition, and beliefs concerning ancestors, spirits of the sea and powers associated with particular places remain widespread. Temples exist in larger settlements, but worship is not confined to them. Sacred groves, standing stones, burial mounds and lonely shrines can be found throughout the islands. Blood-Isler religion travelled overseas with the settlers. Kord and Vatun consequently retain particularly strong followings amongst the traditional families of the Crimson Coast.
Red Iron
Iron has shaped the history of the Isles almost as profoundly as the sea. Rich deposits occur throughout the archipelago, and in several places the mineral content of the soil is sufficient to colour cliffs, streams and exposed earth a deep reddish brown. This red iron gave the islands their most commonly accepted name. Blood-Isler smiths have worked these deposits for thousands of years. Their craft lacks some of the extraordinary refinement associated with Dwarven metalwork, but it is respected for its practicality and durability. Isler swords, spearheads, axes, nails and tools are widely traded, while the ability to equip large numbers of warriors from native resources has always contributed to the Isles' independence. Weapons are frequently handed down within families, and an old blade with a known history may possess considerably greater prestige than a newer and objectively superior weapon.
Ships and the Sea
No part of the Blood Isles lies far from the sea, and even inland communities depend upon it. The Islers build sturdy sailing and rowing vessels capable of crossing open water while remaining shallow enough to enter rivers and land upon beaches. Larger ships carry cargo between the Isles and foreign ports, while leaner vessels are used for fishing, war and raiding. A successful captain can become extremely wealthy. More importantly, a ship provides independence. A landless warrior with courage and a place aboard a vessel may return from an expedition with enough wealth to establish a household of his own. For this reason the sea has traditionally offered a route to advancement unavailable in more rigid societies. Blood-Isler sailors have travelled astonishing distances, and their traders can sometimes be encountered in ports where few people could confidently point towards the Blood Isles on a map.
War and the Shield Wall
There is no permanent Blood-Isler army. Each lord maintains his own household warriors and can summon additional fighting men from the communities owing him allegiance. Powerful rulers may also attract professional warriors seeking wealth, reputation and a place at a generous lord's table. The traditional Isler warrior fights on foot with shield, spear, axe or sword, although bows and javelins are common. Wealthier warriors possess mail shirts and good helmets, while poorer levies make do with leather, padded armour or simply a shield. Their most famous battlefield tactic is the shield wall, ranks of warriors standing shoulder to shoulder behind overlapping shields. Blood-Isler warfare prizes cohesion and courage; abandoning one's companions in the line is regarded with particular contempt.
At sea and during raids, however, they favour speed and aggression. Ships land warriors close to their target, resistance is overwhelmed quickly and the force withdraws before a larger enemy army can respond. The Islers have never possessed the enormous armies of the great mainland empires. They have seldom needed them.
The Blood Isles Today
The modern Blood Isles remain independent, divided and occasionally turbulent. Old feuds continue beside prosperous trading relationships. One island lord may raid a neighbour while his brother conducts business with that same neighbour's merchants. Alliances change, marriages settle disputes, new disputes begin and ambitious rulers periodically attempt to impose their authority upon territories that have no particular desire to receive it. Yet outsiders who mistake this division for weakness usually discover their error quickly. Threats from beyond the Isles have repeatedly achieved something generations of Isler rulers have failed to accomplish: they persuade the Blood Islers to cooperate.
Neither of the great successor Empires exercises meaningful authority in the archipelago. Imperial merchants are welcome, Imperial diplomats are tolerated and Imperial claims of sovereignty are generally regarded as a source of entertainment. Relations with the Crimson Coast are considerably warmer. Trade, marriage and migration continue between the two regions, and many families possess relatives on both sides of the sea. Nevertheless, centuries of separation have produced two distinct societies. The Crimson Coast has become richer, more cosmopolitan and increasingly influenced by the feudal traditions of mainland Warlderia. The Blood Isles remain what they have always been: a land of iron, ships, old gods and fiercely independent people who have never seen any compelling reason why somebody else should rule them.
