Mora, the Pirate Isles

Warm waters, sub-tropical climate, calm seas, clear skies. One could be forgiven for believing they were sailing into the region of island paradises. The jungles and swamps of the mainlands are inviting, yet none live there. The islands are thick with wild vegetation, many fruits and naturally edible plants making them ideal for habitation, with such warm shallow waters providing plentiful bounty from the ocean. Connected to the Sea of Sails, allowing easy access to the busiest trade waters in the world, and easy access to tradewind and trade current routes, allowing easy access to the other continents. Yet if one expects a nation of sea-farers and peoples living a calm and simple life off the ocean and islands bounties, they will be in for an unfortunate surprise. Mora you see has a reputation, for plying highly dangerous trade on the high seas. Many do not speak beyond that in other nations and some naive fools from nations in other lands genuinely believe it might be like whaling, or merchant trading, or deep sea fishing, that sort of thing. The dangers of living off the sea.

Whilst not untrue, this is naive because one is lacking context. The context can come from knowing two popular Moran turns of phrase. The first is their nation's mantra, the words often displayed with their flag. 'Taxation, theft, its all a matter of perspective.' The second of these is a popular saying and threat amongst the Renarii people, the human natives of the islands of Mora. 'Silver or Lead, everyone has to pay a price.'

Behind that tropic veneer, the seeming land of plenty, a region of islands with thick jungles full of fruit, birds, plentiful food to go around, with shallow and warm waters chock full of fish, shellfish, kelps and seaweeds, again massive plentiful resources, food enough for a kingdom, hides a nation of scoundrels. Pirates, Mora is known and infamous for their most dangerous oceanic trade. Piracy. So why do they do this, and why is the mainland for the most part uninhabited? The swampy lowlands might present challenges, yet they are rich in timber, and likely other valuable resources, so why are they more or less unsettled but for one city and a handful of villages near the sea along part of the Ravenous River?

Why is Mora known as the Pirate Isles, the Freebooter's Republic? Well part of it might be cultural, however surprisingly there are notable parts of it that are also to do with geography, which shall be covered presently.

Geography

To understand the Pirate Isles, it is best to first understand the part of the continental mainland of Wyriel that technically falls under the claim of the...nation of Mora, such as it is. The islands are the jewel of the region, and the waters around it, as well as the Feasting Peninsula, at the mouth of the Ravening River. Besides these islands and that small region around the delta, the place where the Ravening River joins the Ocean of Tears, the rest is far less welcoming. The rest of this part of the continent is thick marshy and swampy jungle terrain, regularly occuring toxic mists, quagmires and pools of quicksand all over. It is home to all manner of carnivorous plants, venomous animals and beasts, and also favored hunting grounds of the fearsome Vip-tian, a foul and horrifyingly intelligent race of bestials, specifically snakemen of a sort.

Furthermore, this biome, massive as it is, nearly covering a third of the continent, is known as the Wyre-Woad Marshes. This biome acts as a soft barrier from the megafauna that dominate the ancient lands that make up the central mass of the continent, however beyond the natural hazards, there are nearly infinite stories of the supernatural that circulate culturally. Stories of Faellen Kindred, monstrous beasts, spirits, undead, and strange places, pockets, where reality itself seems shattered. Such are the stories of the Wyre-Woad Marshes.

Because of this, though the islands seem a land of plenty, the land and warm shallow waters around them providing, for a....nation numbering at least four million, likely more, and for a nation who's population is always in flux, more heavily than most, shrinking heavily some years but swelling massively in others? One can begin to understand how there may not be enough easily accessed resources for all those people. This, in part, is likely culturally where the nation's traditions around piracy come from.

However this is not the only notable geographic feature, for one cannot discuss the geography of Mora without discussing the isle of Lunia, and more specifically Mount Lunaris. Mount Lunaris, and the isle of Lunia are avoided, heavily. The island is considered cursed ground, the island seemingly constantly shrouded in mist, but only past its beach-head, the coast, beach and reefs around the isle seemingly safe. The mountains tower above the mists. Between the Waxing and Waning periods for the moon (but not from Waning to Waxing, only from Waxing to Waning), the mountain does seem to gain some sorts of ghostly illumination, points of light, almost as if communities or the like near the peaks and amongst their slopes. A few claim to have seen beings that seem like Joten, some sort of giant kin, through spotting glasses or similar tools. Every now and again some rebellious youngsters or want to be Exemplari from other nations end up in Mora, and find a way to the beaches of Lunia, believing there may be treasures and amazing discoveries to be made, perhaps some beast or threat or challenge to be overcome worth overcoming. Maybe some lost bits of history to discover. Up to this point none have ever returned.

Finally, known to exist deep within the Wyre-Wood Marshes There is a region, notably large, that is known to exist. A dark and twisted place, a known Scar upon Reality, known as the Rotwood. It covers an area nearly 15 000 square kilometers (5800 square miles) and that was at the last time anyone mapped this part of the mainland some three decades ago. As it is a Scar upon Reality, it would be slowly expanding, potentially, if there is an active World-Wound. Amongst the stories that circulate through the Moran peoples, there do exist whispered stories, one or two versions of tall tales suggesting that there is a truly terrifying creature, a myth given life, living within the Rotwood, a forest of dead trees, massive fungi and mushrooms, and decay. These stories suggest that a Tane, a true dragon, something long thought extinct, may call this region home and domain. An Amethyst Tane to be specific. However such tales are oft dismissed as merely drunken ramblings and tall tale weaving.

Ecosystem Cycles

Typhoon Season, the Season of storms, oft brings great destruction, but can also be a driver for great renewal. Old growth jungle cracked and shattered decays and is swallowed by the rampant growth of new flora, altering the biome of that patch notably, as new plants dominate, perhaps causing changes all the way up the food chain in the sorts of fauna that will frequent a region. Furthermore it can see life in the shallow reefs surrounding the islands stirred up and agitated, as well as occasionally seeing some massive deep sea creature or another washed up on the beach, having gotten lost and disoriented in the tulmultous waters of such a storm, ending up running aground. Such a bounty will inevitably attract predators and scavengers from every possible direction for miles and will see a short term alteration of a local ecosystem

Climate

The lands of Mora, both the islands that make up the current nation and the mainland regions are a hot, humid, tropical environment. The warmer waters of the Ocean of Tears and the currents from that ocean as well as the Sea of Sails, which is also moderately warm insure this, the air currents similarly affected. The typhoon (also known as hurricane) season is as close to seasonal variance as the region gets, when cooler air from a shift in air currents comes from far to the south. Some theorize there is are lands of pure ice to the far north and south, further than any from Durol, Gavis-Lune and even Wyriel have ever sailed or flown, but no evidence has yet been discovered to confirm such a claim. Whatever the reason, this short time of cooler south-north winds, and the clashes they have with the warmer air currents far out to sea can birth wicked storms, with winds strong enough to uproot entire walls and roof structures, or even topple entire buildings when they make landfall. Outside of this sort of weather flucuation, the sorts that come from storms, the climate and temperatures do not flucuate much at all in Mora. It is always hot, almost always humid.

Fauna & Flora

The islands of Mora, the primary regions most will ever explore, have similar flora and fauna to Waston, Magitech's Birthplace in many ways, specifically in the Flora. However, though many of the smaller and mid-sized land animals are the same, and just as varied, the islands are and coastal waterways are home to Salt-spine Crocodiles, which are the true dominant predators within the region, fearing not snake, nor jaguar on land, and only being at risk from the largest shark species, or the rare marine reptile, at sea. They grow to monstrous sizes, with specimens as big as thirty feet, weighing well over two tons, claimed and sighted on occasion, or at least supposedly. However the largest confirmed speciments, corpses that is, are still some twenty to twenty-five feet in length and weighing right around two tons, so it is not an impossible thing to consider.

However where Mora really shines is the aquatic life. Tropical fish, crustceans, aquatic mammal, and sea bird species to numerous to count, brilliant and iridescent coral reefs, massvie environments that surround and connect the various islands together all about the shallower waters in this area of ocean coastline.

Natural Resources

Mora does not lack natural resources as such, but does have not nearly enough variety therein, which likely plays a key role in how the peoples of the islands developed this culture of piracy. Timber, fruits, and seafood are really all they ever have in any potential form of surplus. Most all else comes from trade and.....their unique method, and their unique 'rules' of 'taxation'.

Maps

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  Mora, the Freebooter's Republic

Alternative Name(s)

Mora, The Freebooter's Republic, The Buccaneer Islands

Included Organizations

• Mora, the Freebooter's Republic

Owning Organization

Mora, the Freebooter's Republic