Between Sea & Stone

Metanarrative Lead

  The Zafiroan Confederacy of Isles is composed of several small, independent islands surrounded by the Sea of Lasai and several villages along the Lasaine Coast. Leviathan Eminence rests within the sea, acting as the nation's territorial protector when faced with other Leviathans. The islands are arid and temperate, with northern mountains preventing cold weather from encroaching upon the lush, warmer landscape. Most of The Isles' mainland settlements lie along the north coast, including the Agrarian guild's outpost. The southern portion of the coast hosts tropical species of all sorts, and the jungle itself extends beyond the province and into the Wood Sea, home to Leviathan Lupi. The Isles' vantage point as a naturally isolated nation has kept it safe from many natural disasters and previous attempts at foreign relations.   Since ancient times the Leviathan Eminence barred other Leviathans from entering the Inland Sea. Displaced peoples first settled the northern coast of the inland sea after making the Pact of Eminence. This exchange laid the foundations for the first disciplines of the Schools of Thought. The most prominent settlements in the region were founded close to the sea, establishing trade routes through the shallow coastal waters. The Zafiroan Islands were discovered during The Diameter Expedition's first voyage. The Isles were settled within the year. They grew in prominence and eclipsed the coastal villages and towns as the region's economic and political center of power.   While the Zafiroan Isles faced relatively little economic or military contest from the various settlements and regional powers that made up the Lasaine Coast, their influence in the region was historically tempered by ongoing conflicts between the aristocratic houses, which staked competing territorial claims within the isles. Following the Roqueburn Massacre and the subsequent Ivory Clade Accords in 43 BC, seven of the largest houses within the islands agreed to form a mercantile coalition of seven trade guilds, with each house overseeing their respective guild. Although this failed to quell conflict within the isles completely, it did allow the coalition houses to outcompete and subsume many of their freestanding competitors, and in turn, focus more heavily on the projection of their power across the Sea of Lasaine.   At present, the Sea of Lasai is home to distinct factions. The Zafiroan Islands exert their economic influence over the region, ruling colonies across the Lasaine Coast. The seven trade guilds receive bounty from these colonies, which in turn sees the coast enter a state of squalor. The coast does not only have to contend with the Zafiroan Islands, as the Empire of Fels to the north has also begun to establish colonies on The Coast, wishing to share its bounties with their homeland. The arrival of the Empire of Fels has produced tension between the Empire and The Islands, as both seek to hold onto the Lasaine Coast for their own benefit.   The Sea of Lasaine’s economic atmosphere is predominantly focused on agricultural production, maritime trade, and magical research. The Lasaine Coast is dominated by busy port towns, serving as hubs in the regions’ trade networks. Its primary industries are agriculture and shipping. The Zafiroan Isles’s primary industries are manufacturing, education, and aquaculture. The Zafiroan High Guilds run the trade routes, production facilities, and centers of education, facilitating much of the economic activity within the region. Smaller and subsidiary guilds provide a counterbalance for the larger, more prominent guilds, and represent a much broader array of economic focuses.  

Metanarrative Draft

Geography

The world of the Lasai Sea is composed of three sub-regions: the Zafiroan Isles, the northern Olibond Coast, and the southern Lasaine coast. The islands are surrounded by the Lasai Sea, a salty, inland sea that stretches about 900,000 square miles just under 15,000 feet at its deepest. The Lasai sea is home to Leviathan Eminence, the governing celestial leviathan of the area, and ally to the Zafir people.   The Zafiroan islands are the most prominent sub-region within the area. An archipelago of six large islands, the Zafiroan islands make up the majority of the nation’s economic strength. With a population of just under one million citizens-- known as the Zafir-- the islands are home to six of the seven major trade guilds in the region. Tropical and temperate, the Zafiroan Islands boast rich land and resources, though little space to make use of them. Thus, most farming and resource gathering is left to the Olibond coast.   The Lasaine Coast, which takes up the southern coastal area of the Lasai Sea, has a rich, tropical climate, providing fertile soil and rich mineral deposits that are perfect for farming. A fully tropical area, the coast itself separates the Lasai Sea from the Wood Sea, a massive jungle home to Leviathan Lupi. Several towns sit along the coastline, and some border the jungle itself. With roughly 1.5 million citizens, the Lasaine Coastal region is best known for its farming and raw material exports, and its largest city, Urrezdarra , is home to the seventh of the Zafiroan trade guilds: the Agrarian Guild. North of the islands and along the northernmost edge of the Lasai Sea sits the Olibond Coast. The Olibond coast is more arid than the islands and Lasaine Coast, and the Leviathan’s Spine mountains that border its northernmost areas provide the land with a rain shadow, trapping moisture in the area. Flooding and mudslides are common in the warmest months. The Olibond coastal towns are small, with their populations totaling only about 500,000 in comparison to the rest of the Sea of Lasai’s settlements. This region mainly provides raw ore, sand, and stone.

Government

  The Lasai region is host to a wide variety of systems of governance, and an equally wide assortment of self-avowed independent ruling bodies to implement them. Parts of this variety stem from societal drift during the isolationist periods that some cultures have engaged in or previous governments expelled into exile, but an increasingly large portion stems from the splintering of power that has followed the Fel Empire’s incursion into the region over the past 15 years. Although the rule of the Fel Colonial Administration is still largely confined to the Eastern Olibond Coast, their influence continues to stretch into contested regions across the rest of the coast. Even far outside the Administration’s present reach, word of the rapid Fel subversion of Zafiroan rule has shaken faith in the ability of the Isles to maintain control of their interests throughout the Sea of Lasaine, and has led to an uptick of political & social instability across the region. Notably, the historically non-belligerent royalist factions within Urrezdarra  have begun to engage in raids and sabotage against Guild-managed operations across the Lasaine Coast.

Zafiroan Isles

  The Zafiroan Isles do not maintain a centralized supreme court, instead opting to leave interpretation and enforcement of legislation in the hands of the guild responsible for governing any given island and the Representative Court that it chooses to appoint. Responsible for governing the Isles as a whole and enacting the will of the guilds, the central government of the Isles consists of 2 branches:   The Chamber is the primary legislative body of the Zafiroan government, holding the power to draft and vote upon new laws as well as call votes-of-no-confidence upon the Representative Courts if it is decided that their interpretations of law have strayed too far from the intention. These powers do not extend to the Guildmasters’ Council. The Chamber’s 49 seats, originally intended to be 7 seats for each of the 7 founding guilds, are filled by directorial tradesmen elected from within their respective guilds, with the distribution of seats decided by the population of the islands under each guild's authority. Meetings of the Chamber are led by a Principal Elect, chosen by vote of the Guildmasters’ Council, who is intended to direct meeting itineraries, but also serves as a final tie-breaking vote at times.   The Council is the supreme executive authority within the Zafiroan Isles, holding the power to veto any decisions made by the Representative Courts or laws passed to vote within the Chamber of Tradesmen. Its 7 seats are each permanently assigned to one of the founding guilds, and are in turn filled by the acting Guildmaster of their respective guild. The Council was the very first piece of the centralized Zafiroan government to be realized, with its groundwork laid out in the Ivory Clade Accords, and its actual establishment following soon thereafter. Although there is no limit on the term of service, Council members have been repeatedly ousted by hostile takeovers within their guild, and so the average term of service stands at only 6 years, with the shortest at only 1 week of length belonging to a council member assassinated shortly after their ascension, and the longest at 43 years, belonging to a council member who has served uninterrupted since the original formation of the council.

Lasaine Coast

  Between the sheer size of the Lasaine Coast, the difficulty of policing its sometimes impassable marshlands or jungles, and the number of actors working to keep it that way, the coast does not possess a centralized government of its own, nor does it fall entirely or even largely under the jurisdiction of the Zafrion Isles, despite their colonial claims. The main centers of habitation on the coast are the commercial colonies maintained by the Zafiroan guilds and the freeport of Urrezdarra, a partially independent city located on the Eastern Lasaine Coast. Alongside these centers, there are also a large number of smaller settlements scattered across the coast, ranging from fishing towns on river deltas to villages buried deep in the jungles at the edge of the Wood Sea, all of which bear no strong loyalty to any powers within the region.   Established and managed by the Zafiroan Guilds, there are a number of colonies along the seaside Lasaine Coast, each dedicated to the production of certain unique economic products. These colonies vary in size with the largest colonies under the management of the Agrarian Guild, and some smaller colonies divided up among 3 other guilds with small-scale operations in the region. Although technically under the legal jurisdiction of the central Zafiroan Government, colonial rule is delegated to the Guilds with minimal oversight, allowing them to not only interpret and enforce laws, but to also draft their own.   Predating Zafiroan occupation of the Lasaine Coast and originally established as a haven for pirates and smugglers operating in the Southern Sea of Lasai, Urrezdarra's position outside the reach of newly passed & unpopular Zafiroan tax laws made it a popular destination for traders with few scruples about dealing with criminals and outlaws, and turned it into a hub for trade heading from the Lasaine Interior out to sea as well as a central exchange for nearby settlements looking to purchase supplies under competitive market rates.   Following the influx of mercantile traffic and blossoming business in the city, Urrezdarra's population growth started to quickly outpace all of its neighboring settlements, and eventually every other city on the coast. In time Urrezdarra’s civilian population became a plurality, and the city’s cultural identity started to mellow, with citizen organizations pushing for social reforms intended to solidify the foundations of a municipal government. While the reforms faced strong opposition from the city’s ingrained culture, they did reach some measure of success, leading to the formation of a citizen congress, with 60 representatives put forth in groups of 5 by each of the city’s 12 districts. The congress has been responsible for work on improving the city’s sanitation, education, and safety, but has historically been weak on the economic criminal elements within its jurisdiction. 5 years after its formation, seeking to solidify Urrezdarra’s image as a uniform entity to the outside world, the congress began to hold city-wide elections for the selection of a chancellor from within its ranks, delegating matters of external relations and treatise to said office.   In recent times, the Zafiroan Agrarian Guild has established a number of offices and embassies within the city as the importance of its colonial holdings on the Lasaine Coast grew relative to the rest of its portfolio, drawing the ire of the city’s residents, many of whom had fled from the Isles or their colonies and hold a strongly negative view of them.

Foreign Relations

  The Introduction of the Fel into the region has greatly upset the economic balance of the Isles and the coasts. This has led the Zafiroans to act defensively to the invaders and their economic sway. This has not escalated to military conflict yet, but rumors have been spreading along the Isles and the Lasaine Coast of Zafiroan Shipwrights' fleet running extensive drills in the southern portions of the sea.   The Zafiroan guilds maintain some contact with the peoples of the Wood Sea, the domain of Leviathan Lupi. This relationship is mostly maintained by nomadic peoples trading charms and luxury pelts from deep in the Jungles in exchange for charts of Lupi's predicted movements and manufactured goods.   Many of the old tales passed down from the first settlers are maintained by the populace of the Olibond coast. These are stories about the lands these people came from, and the dangers their ancestors faced to bring them to the safe haven of the Sea of Lasai. These tales have only been reinforced by the arrival of the Fel, and their own tales of the harsh lands outside.  

Economics

  The Lasai Sea and its surrounding areas boast a robust, trade-based economy thanks to the Zafiroan Isles’ strategic position at the center of the sea. Despite its relative isolation from other areas around the globe, the Lasai Sea’s diverse environment and long growing seasons have allowed it to flourish without any external trade. Until the recent appearance of Fel colonies and diplomats, the region’s main currency was Zafiroan Silver. The introduction of Fel Geld (called “gold” by the coastal locals) has brought recent wage disputes into the coastal areas, since Fel currency is far easier for coastal towns to get a hold of the Zafiroan Silver.

Agriculture and Trade

  The Lasaine coast has the potential to be, and has been self-sufficient in the past. It is not currently self-sufficient due to the extreme export of raw material and goods to the Zafiroan Isles and Olibond Coast. The License system implemented by the guilds keeps any local craftspeople from setting up workshops in the highly populated coastal regions. This keeps the towns of the Oliban Coast reliant on shipments of refined goods from the Zafiroan Isles. Many of the high-end raw materials produced in the Lasaine; meats, cheeses, olives, wines, and lumber are exported directly to the Isles by the Guilds and merchants. Most of the local populations subsist off of fishing, vegetable gardens, and hunting. Food is exported to the Isles and the Olibond coast in vast quantities from the Lasaine. Two years ago, out of the 20 million tonnes of food produced by the Olibond coast, 15 million tonnes of foodstuffs were exported to the Olibond Coast and Zafiroan Isles. The wood sea also provides many specialized goods to the trade guilds. These goods include hardwoods, pelts and meats of exotic animals, unique herbs and ingredients for cooking and magical applications, and charms from the local tribes which have caught on with the general populace in recent years.   The Zafiroan Islands were self-sufficient in their Feudal days, utilizing a combination of fishing and small-scale agricultural production. Due to the relatively recent urbanization of the Isles, the agricultural resources of the Isles have been fully converted to aquaculture, hydroponics, and floating agriculture. Increased demand for foodstuffs have also brought in food imports from the towns on the Olibond Coast.   The Olibond Coast is not self-sufficient, the arid lands not taking well to the agricultural practices of the Lasaine-based Agrarian Guild. The guild finds it easier to work the Lasaine production harder than to try adapting new techniques to the Northern climate. The towns and ports which have been settled there are heavily reliant on the food and equipment provided by the Zafiroan Isles. Recently, the Fel have been poaching trade deals from across the Olibond Coast with offers of better treatment in negotiations, more readily available supplies, and more advanced agriculture technologies to boost their yeilds. Settlements under Fel leadership have been flourishing, and trading their new bountiful harvests to the Fel.  

Economic Distribution

  Raw goods including grains, meats, animal fibers such as wool and pelts, lumbers, and ores are harvested in the colonies along the coast. Each town and village along the @Lasaine Coast has a community of Agrarians licensed by the Agrarians Guild to direct the raising of livestock, planting rotations of crops, and other administrative tasks in the coastal settlements. Most settlements hug the coast, but navigable river systems leading into the foothills of the mountains allow some mining and crop producing settlements to be relatively far from the reach of the Zafiroan Guilds while still being economically important to the region. The further a settlement is from a navigable waterway, the more difficult it is for them to connect with the civilized areas. This can be a boon for freedoms from the guilds, but also severs the services and resources that the guilds bring with them. Processed goods are mainly manufactured in the workshops of Craftspeople in the Zafiroan Isles. The influx of raw materials from the Olibond and Lasaine Coasts converge on the Isle and make procuring resources easy for craftspeople. The largest industries in the Isles by workforce are the Aquaculture Gardens and the Zafiroan Shipyards. The skill and scale of these two industries collectively take up 30% of the workforce of the Isles, a sum of people in the hundreds of thousands. Other major industries of the area include the Scholars, who advance the understanding of the world, Smiths, Textiles, Woodworking, Ropemaking, Glassworking, Ore Processing, and Food Preparation.   One of the largest resources the Guilds maintain control over are Tradespeople. The Guilds train and license their practices to Tradespeople, requiring renewal of their licenses to practice on regular cycles. These cycles are dependent on the kind of trade and the current council of the respective guild, but the most common period is biannual. This is seen as ample time to travel to towns on the coastal areas to perform their craft, but it can often be used to restrict the practice of certain crafts to areas close to the guilds headquarters. Some guilds, such as the agrarian guild, require their Licensed Agrarians to renew their licenses every year, so as to be up to date with the current needs and practices of the craft. The Chamber of Scholars is notorious among the other guilds for maintaining long time spans on their licenses. The longest recorded lifetime of a license is one of theirs, lasting for 50 years.   Licenses are symbols of power and authenticity. Higher-end merchants in the coastal regions will only trade with licensed Tradespeople, as they will often be the only buyers able to pay the goods they are selling.

Wealth Distribution

  The Zafiroan Isles feature the richest of the rich, and as home to six of the Seven Trade Guilds, they control most of the region’s wealth. Each of the Seven is equally powerful in their own right, and thus economic prosperity is rampant among the island inhabitants. The islands are not only the center of the region’s trade, but the region’s arts, culture, and magic development as well. Thus, it is a great honor to be seen as successful among the people of the islands. The Lasaine Coast is home to only one city comparable to the Isles’ in wealth: Urrezdarra. As home to the Agrarian Guild and former ruling families of the Zafir, Urrezdarra is the central shipping point for farmed goods and raw materials such as wood, sugar cane, and tobacco. Unlike the islands, Urrezdarra is home to more than just the uppermost classes. Among the outskirts of the city lie working-class and lower-class farmers. Wealth distribution then ripples outward as coastal towns move further and further from Urrezdarra.   The Olibond Coast holds the poorest classes in the region. With the Leviathan’s Spines at its border, the people of the Lasaine Coast are most often forgotten in trade affairs, aside from harvesting raw materials like gold, copper, and sand. Almost completely isolated from the rest of the Zafiroan’s jurisdiction, Olibond coastal villages tend to barter goods and services instead of using the region’s currency.   The recent introduction of Fel currency into Zafir economics has given some leverage to coastal peoples living under Fel jurisdiction. Worth only about half as much as Zafiroan Silver, Fel Geld is often used in conjunction with Silver when making transactions around the Olibond coastal towns. The introduction of Geld into the Olibond Coast’s economy has provided many citizens with more funds, slowly closing the gap between the working and middle classes.

Class Equality

  A hot-button issue among the coastal communities, wealth distribution and class equality make up most of the political struggle on the coast. Coastal peoples see the Zafir islanders as rich, powerful leaders who have risen to the top through sheer luck and force of will. It is common for aspiring merchants to travel from their coastal homes to the islands in search of wealth and prosperity, yet many find themselves unable to survive among the wealthiest, most powerful guilds in the nation. Islanders view the coast as a means to an end. Although the coast holds the majority of the islands’ raw materials, the Seven Trade Guilds are what keeps these raw materials moving from hand to hand in their economy. The belief that any citizen can climb to the top of the economic ladder is common among islanders and coastal peoples alike. This “bootstrap theory” further fuels the Zafir’s reasoning behind magic restrictions and scholarly studies.   The recent introduction of Fel social services and currency has brought new questions to the coast regarding which rights are entitled to everyone, and which are privileges only the wealthy get to indulge in. Despite the Fel’s restrictive government, poor and working class citizens find themselves with more food, better housing, and stronger infrastructure than previously.

Culture

  The Lasai region is host to a wide variety of areas with distinct cultural identity. The Zafiroan Isles’ strong economic power and guild-run society has developed an individualist and elitist culture. The Lasaine Coast has developed accordingly, prospering in a community-driven and communal identity rooted in tradition and use of magic. The Fel’s influence to the North has recently driven the peoples of the Olibond Coast towards stability and acceptance of outside influences, but many elders and subversive folks of the region still hold true to the area’s traditional roots.  

Zafiroan Isles

  Each of the major islands that make up the Zafiroan Isles have their own unique identity due to the guilds that inhabit each island. These guilds guide the vast majority of systems in everyday life, from rituals of adolescents becoming adults to family values and how elders are treated. When a child is born, they are raised most often in a 2-parent household. When a child reaches adulthood at the age of 13, they are expected to begin working as an apprentice to a tradesman of a guild. There is no formal way for an adolescent to apply for apprenticeship, and no part of the process is regulated or governed by the guilds or by any third-party. Growth and progression in one's career within a guild is dictated by recommendations by peers and superiors, with those higher up in the hierarchy providing guidance and development for those below them. An individual’s status within and without the guild is determined by their status as a tradesman, and there is a taboo surrounding people who have elected to not work through the guild system.   The people of the Zafiroan Isles have a strong need to display their material wealth. This display of status only becomes more prevalent as one ages and climbs higher on the guild ladder. Individuals will spend the majority of their income on housing, artisan goods, clothing, jewelry, and food. Over 90% of spending is done within the Isles, as perception of goods manufactured outside of the Isles is poor. More extravagant and expensive housing is built towards the center of most islands, so many times the vicinity of one’s home to the Guild Hall in the center of the island is a direct translation of one’s status.   Magic in the Zafiroan Isles is primarily used to further one’s goals as a successful merchant or tradesman. For hundreds of years magic has been a central part of successful inter-sea navigation. Scholars have focused on studies of the Moon and navigational stars to shorten trade routes, speed up ships, and prediction of upcoming weather events. Magic is perceived as a challenging but worthwhile area of study, with members of the Chamber of Scholars regarded just as highly as members of any other trade guild. Within the other guilds, scholars often find work supporting tradesmen in their own efforts, and will sometimes even be considered a respected member of two guilds at once.

Lasaine Coast

  Elders of families in the Lasaine Coast are the most respected members of society. There is a strong sense of duty for younger members of families to care for and respect their elders. Individuals overwhelmingly often decide to pursue a career identical or similar to their parents. Farmers often pass their land and teachings to their children, and the few specialized trades within villages and cities on the coast retrieve recruits from their own children, or on the rare occasion children that decide to pursue a path different than their parents. Children that choose to leave their families for work are a taboo and seen as abandoning their families, so most often these children go on without the support of their parents.   Across the coast and especially in the city of Urrezdarra, adoration for the largely defunct royal family still remains. Elders still cling to traditional perceptions of the royals, living remnants of the time before guild domination. Many festivals and events are centered around things the royal family deem most important. Arrival Day is a festival celebrating the arrival of the royal family after being pushed out of the Isles, the Day of Eminence celebrates the Pact with Eminence, and there are celebrations for each historically prominent royal’s birthday. These celebrations have often been a time of unity for the region, but recently there have been disruptions to the festivities due to anti-monarchist groups protesting.   Magic along the Laisine Coast is deeply traditional and mystical. Those who study magic tend to use it for divination, forecasting, and herbalist support of larger agrarian operations. While the younger generation’s perceptions of magic are waning, elders still highly respect magic as a pursuit and as a useful tool for everyday life.

Olibond Coast

  The people of the Olibond Coast harbor very similar beliefs to those of their southern counterparts on the Lasaine Coast. Strong family values and an elder-centric family hierarchy remain, but the lack of proximity to royals has diluted their support for the old monarchy. The recent injection of Fel citizens has severely altered the culture of the Olibond Coastal region. Major hub cities like Oliburgh host an eclectic mix of regional cultures, giving each city district more identity than the city at large.   Tensions between Fel citizens and people native to the region have drastically lessened over the last five years, largely due to the positive economic impacts from the changes. Rise of Technology & Government Presence The cooperation of Fel and Olibond peoples has led to increased prosperity in the region and significantly improved foreign relations for those on the Coast. Olibond People have become more acclimated to increased government presence over the last ten years, and the general perception of a strong, central government has improved as well. It is expected that within the next five to ten years, villages in the region will be petitioning for Fel involvement in order to increase stability and growth.   Magical studies on the Olibond Coast are similar to that of the Lasaine Coast. Divinations and herbalism prosper, though recently Scholars have been cooperating with Fel and their technology to truly grow both disciplines. Most people accept the benefits of this cooperation, but there are many who are outspoken against this cooperation and who seek to keep the traditions of Zafiroan magic entirely separate from Fel technology.  

Technological Influences

  Technology in the Lasai region is mostly an extension of magic, acting as a vessel for the Schools of Thought to be put into practical use. The varying cultures all have their own forms of technology, but the recent arrival of the Fel has led to some new technologies in the region. Look to the Zafiroan Isles and their masterful ship building, a key part of their colonization of the Lasaine Coast. Empowered by the knowledge of the sea granted to them by Eminence, these craft are built to survive the crashing waves and terrifying storms of the Sea of Lasai. Paired with navigational maps drawn with the guidance of the stars, the Zafiroan Isles rule the Sea. Ferry boats exist to transport people from one isle to another. To facilitate this, canals have been constructed on several isles. On the Isles themselves, the use of floating gardens is quite common, as well as other forms of hydroponic plant growth. While the Isles do depend on the Lasaine Coast for much of their food, there are still some items that they produce on their own, such as rice and cranberries.   On the Lasaine Coast, technology is often an import from the Isles. Tools for farming, fishing, and other trades such as lumberwork and mining are made on the Isles and shipped to the Lasaine Coast. This is a part of the economic arrangement between the two, however, as these tools are created in such a way that they break often, and need to be replaced. With less of a focus on manufacturing their own goods, they are more dependent on the technology of the Isles. Families and communities that do acquire technology from the Isles beyond that used for production tend to share them among their members, believing that it is better used by all than by a few.   The Olibond Coast has seen new technologies at a rapid rate since the Fel broke through the mountain barrier. With their railroads and locomotive engines, the Fel have also brought agricultural technology that the Olibond Coast has been in desperate need of. Aqueducts help ferry fresh water around the Olibond Coast in towns that have accepted the Fel's presence, and rails connect territories together, making visiting family in another village easier than ever before. This enhanced infrastructure circumplants the traditional use of navigational astral magic, as there is no need to navigate by the stars if the path is already laid in iron. Another new technology brought by the Fel is concrete, mixed using sand from the Olibond Coast. Concrete creates sturdy, brutalist buildings, and helps the Fel further cement their position in the Lasai region. Sand from the rich shores of the Olibond Coast drives further expansion by the Fel.

Military Influence

  Until the emergence of the Fel, the Zafiroan Isles were the largest military force in the region. Their naval prowess permits them to watch their colonies from afar, and quickly assemble ashore if need be. In most cases of colonial rebellion, it takes merely a single warship's crew to end the dissent if force must be used. Soldiers are on guild payroll, and all go through a year's training at the military academy before being shipped out. The Isles have begun to welcome soldiers from the Lasaine Coast as of late, fearing that if the Fel Empire were to find a way to they Isles, they would be overrun. Coastal soldiers are not likely to receive officer positions, and will never be stationed at their own home, for fear of a trained soldier turning their coat and assisting a dissenting force.   Since the disbandment of the Royal Army, the idea of an active, independent military among the Lasaine Coast's towns has all but been abandoned, with most of its citizens having to work on production for the Isles. The closest thing to an army on the Lasaine Coast are the ragtag militia groups who believe that the rule of the Zafiroan Isles oppresses the Lasaine people and drains the land of its bounty. The Lasaine Liberation Front, as they call themselves, are largely a fringe group, with many people living on the southern coast feeling that things are better with Zafiroan guidance. The Liberation Front's sentiment is more common among the younger generation, while older citizens have become disillusioned and settled into colonial life.   In contrast with the forces of the Lasaine Coast, the Olibond Coast's people often have a militia in each village or town. These militia have done little to stop the march of the Fel Empire, whose trained soldiers prove to be more than a match for local militia. Many towns choose to not even fight back against conquest, as a way to spare the lives of their citizens. Once a town has been captured, the Fel accept new soldiers with open arms, and if none volunteer, will conscript from their new territory. This non-discriminatory approach to constructing an army leaves the Fel with the largest military force in the region. The Fel show no signs of stopping, ever seeking new resources across the coast to fuel their conquest, and more soldiers to deter intervention by the Zafiroan Isles.