Hawa
City of Chaos
Hawa is the only sizeable settlement among the Corsair Domains. Seamen who have never seen Hawa know its reputation for chaos, given the pirating bent of its inhabitants. The people of Hawa have also dubbed it the City of Stilts, for nearly half its buildings are built directly over the water.
Hawa is a sprawling city built out over small islets of Chaos Bay. Half the city is on stilts. The bay is littered with coral reefs, making navigation for outsiders nearly impossible. Even seasoned sailors have difficulty, for sea-elf magicians regularly move the razor-sharp tropical growths through their wizardry. The city proper is a hodgepodge of different buildings. Often one structure is built upon the rubble of the previous one, so rumors of sunken and flooded treasure chambers abound. Beyond the city walls are the retreats of many retired corsair captains, each controlling a small, well-fortified (and often well-concealed) refuge.
The people of Hawa are independent, self-reliant, and dangerous, much like those of the Free City of Utaqa, with whom they have good relations. In fact, many residents of Hawa have blood relatives in Utaqa, and vice versa. The people of Hawa welcome newcomers, but they are not so foolish as - to trust them: Strangers who cross a man or woman of Hawa have a price to pay, for once betrayed, Hawa's citizens are as savage as any native of the Crowded Sea, doggedly seeking revenge.
Government
The Ruler
Currently, no single man or woman rules Hawa. Occasionally, a self-proclaimed "pirate king" has achieved power, ruling for a handful of years-which is as long as he can bully or bribe the city's council, the city's only stable governing body. Years ago, Hawa was ruled by a pirate queen, whose reign outlasted that of those who have succeeded her. According to rumor, the council arranged her unlikely death: she drowned.
The Court
Hawa is ruled by a council of the most powerful corsair leaders, some of whom have retired from life at sea. Active corsairs with a seat on the council aid in policy decisions only when they are in port, and their concerns are primarily along the lines of protection rackets and treasure splits. Retired corsairs (who have sprouted land legs) run bars and inns on Hawa, or own ship-building and repair facilities. Some also manage protection rackets. The concern of these "retirees" is keeping Hawa afloat both financially and militarily. They have been very successful against the slave-troops to the south, chiefly because the land-bound slaves have no love of water. Important members of the council include the following:
Jayani al-Jasir is one of the legendary figures of the islands. She controls much of the taverntrade in Hawa, and any shops which she herself does not own must pay a small gratuity for permission to exist. Jayani is allegedly in her nineties, though except for a graying at the temples, she does not show her age. Most people assume she guards her looks with some form of magical enhancement.
During her years at sea, Jayani raided up and down the Free Coast. For a decade she worked out of a pirate base on the back of a great zaratan (a sea- turtle as big as an island). Then an attack by Qudra's mamluks spooked the creature and dragged her base to the bottom. Her hatred for the slave-soldiers and their minions knows no bounds, and foes who seek to infiltrate Hawa had best know that every tavern has Jayani's spies.
Grima al-Auni minKor is a priest of Kor, trained in the City of Delights and dispatched to the city of Liham. He never reached that city, however, for corsairs under the command of Jayani captured the hill giant en route. Grima soon found his "true" calling by bringing enlightenment to the corsair peoples. His main concern is protecting the children of the oft-violent corsair society. He hopes that these youngsters-the next generation of corsairs-will unite Hawa with the enlightened world, making it a respected city-state. (He encourages them to focus their efforts on the unenlightened.) Grima has been fairly successful and convincing in the past decade, owing primarily to his soft and resonant voice, calm and thoughtful manner, and a right hook that can smash through a ship's hull.
Akura al-Hiyali is an active corsair captain. His upbringing and abilities are not those of a warrior, yet he has become one of the most successful pirates on the coast by using his training as a sha'ir. A water gen serves as his familiar. He is said to have no genie under his control at present, but in his time, Akura has summoned more than a few of these elemental creatures to wreak havoc upon his enemies. He is aggressive and bold-as likely to attack another corsair as any merchant vessel. He fancies himself the next pirate king, and claims his legend will exceed that of Jayani. The illustrious Jayani, of course, disagrees, and the two battle constantly, both in council and through their followers on the streets of Hawa.
Defences
- 2,000-man city guard
- 15-ship navy, comprising ships of retired captains sold to the city. Those numbers are misleading, however. Every landholder has his or her own personal guard, ranging from a few leg-breakers to a small army. During an invasion, half the city of Hawa will be up in arms (while the other half heads for the hills with the valuables). Further, each corsair crew is a fighting force unto itself, and nearly all would battle to protect the city. At any given time, 20 or more pirate and smuggling vessels lie in port. If a major armada is heading up from the south, that number doubles or triples.
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