Coralous Union
The organization representing nearly every surviving colonist from Ebronium. The Coralous Union has grown in size and power since its inception following The Fall of New Coralous, and now controls most of the lands once held by the local lizardfolk. Despite this, conflict and limited resources have kept them from expanding beyond the riverlands in southwest Coralous.
Structure
The Coralous Union has no central government, and each city-member is allowed to govern themselves as they see fit, in accordance with the will of the gods and the people. There are semi-annual meetings held in Nettle Lake, where acting municipal leaders discuss matters of importance, or problems bigger than what a single township can handle, but these are often simply matters of discourse, not policy. It is also at these meetings that newer settlements can petition for "seated" membership in the Union, something that has never been contested, but has sparked recent debate about the future. After all, no existing settlement wants to risk losing access to valuable resources as new villages spring up in the shadows of these older, larger towns.
Public Agenda
The Union exists to provide a network of free cities working for the mutual good of the citizenry. The people of the Union believe in the right to self-determination and the freedom to live as they please, so long as they do not tread on the rights of others, and it is the goal of the Union to ensure that the people continue to live that way.
History
The island of Coralous was settled by colonists from the Inner Sea area just over a hundred years ago. Shortly after the initial settlement, however, a war on the mainland broke out, limiting interest in furthering colonization of the new land. The following years saw fewer and fewer resources being sent to support the new settlements, until a handful of ships loaded with refugees marked the last contact with the mainland.
Attempts were made by the lesser nobles on Coralous to establish a new kingdom on the island, but their decision to construct a fortified city on the coast drew the ire of the local sahuagin. In a sudden, terrible offensive, the fishmen razed the burgeoning city to the ground and slew nearly every member of the new government in what has come to be known as the Fall of New Coralous. Since then, the remaining settlements have structured themselves into a sort of coalition of municipalities with no strong centralized government, seemingly forgotten by their motherland. This has become known as the Coralous Union, and now, some eighty years after its founding, it is the only land that many of its residents have ever known.
Initial exploration of the surrounding area found no known indigenous civilizations of note on the island, though the presence of some scattered ruins suggest that the island was once home to a relatively advanced, magic-using society. Despite this, and other mysteries about the nature of the island, the small population size and the lack of a standing military has limited any further exploration outside the vague boundaries of the Union.
Demography and Population
Most of the residents of the Coralous Union are the descendants of the original settlers of the island (or were part of the settlement itself, for longer lived races). The homeland, a small kingdom on the coast called Ebronium, was a human kingdom that had thrived on coastal trade. While all races lived peacefully within the kingdom, more humans found their way to Coralous during the colonization and subsequent refugee settlement. Because of this, by the time the vessels stopped, and contact with Ebronium was lost, humans outnumbered other races in the colony by nearly half. Since then, the shorter lifespans and faster reproduction rate of humans and halflings has kept them the most populous peoples in the Union, while dwarves, gnomes, and elves, only in their second generation, are relatively uncommon by comparison. Half-Elf citizens, as a result, are somewhat more populous than their elven parents, but significantly less common than their fully human brethren.
Additionally, only a small number of half-orcs ever crossed the ocean with the settlers, making them the smallest demographic of people in the Union. Since there are no known orc tribes on the island, the orc bloodline can only be continued by two existing half-orcs having a child. Unsurprisingly, their presence on the island has been dwindling since the very start, and only a few dozen are even expected to live scattered around the settlements.
Finally, the settlers of the Union have had one strange addition to their numbers, albeit in exceedingly small numbers: lizardfolk. While most lizardfolk on the islands were hostile, or at least aggressively disinterested towards the settlers, some of the smaller tribes in the west banded together with the Union. They stay almost exclusively in their marshland homes, although, on rare occasions, some do visit the more urban settlements, like Arboris or Nettle Lake. They never cross the Coralous River, however, for fear of treading into the lands of their less open-minded brethren.
Military
There is no organized military throughout the Union. Militias may be mustered to support other settlements in danger (such as during the Lizardfolk Wars), but generally every town is responsible for its own defense in day to day affairs.
Recently, the The Red Blade Mercenaries have hired themselves out to patrol the trade roads and fight against enemies outside of city boundaries where needed, but they are not a military in any official capacity.
Religion
Since the residents of the Coralous Union are almost entirely descended from the first settlers, many of the habits and social mores of the modern people are holdovers from the mainland. While the people of the Union are generally Good, many of them have adopted a “live and let live” attitude towards their neighbors, and the focus on reestablishing a strong, defined government or ruling system of laws never actually happened. As such, the majority of the people tend towards Neutral alignments. Local laws and rules are still enforced, of course, and criminals are still punished accordingly, but the people of the Union have no interest in trying to police each other, and accept the limited power of local customs as a matter of propriety.
Understandably, the deities worshiped by the people of the Union tend to reflect those same kinds of beliefs. Gods that are staunchly Lawful or Chaotic garner a smaller following than those who follow a more moderate path, and worship of evil gods is essentially unheard of. The most commonly worshiped deities in the Union are Erastil and Sarenrae, while Desna has a smaller following among both the elves and those who prefer life outside of established settlements. Dwarves on the island still revere their racial patrons as well, particularly Torag and Kols, though the relatively small population makes the devotion uncommon outside of places like Arboris and Engervar.
Foreign Relations
Aside from the handful of allied ahh'rasha'kak lizardfolk, the people of the Union have, at best, strained relations with their native neighbors. The treaty that exists with the remaining nass'isra Lizardfolk is more of a cessation of war than a real peace, as both sides still skirmish with each other, especially around Krh'shi'sn lands.
To the north, gnolls and kobolds from the Hallensteir Mountains and beyond, engage in regular raiding, while the sahuagin presence to the south precludes any attempt to rebuild seaside settlements that were lost before the birth of the Union.
There are also three druid circles on the outskirts of Union lands, tending the wilds and refraining from participating in any of the politics of their neighbors. While these circles maintain their independence from the Union, the Northern Pine Circle and Southern Marsh Circle maintain friendly relations, while the Marsh Plateau Circle has a strictly neutral stance, refusing to even communicate with the people of Coralous in an official capacity.
Maps
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Nettle Lake
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Two Pines
Founding Date
4634 AR
Type
Political, Confederation
Alternative Names
The Union, Coralous
Power Structure
Confederation
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
The Union adopted the currency of their homland in Ebronium out of ease. New currency is still occasionally minted as needed, but since the bulk of monetary trade happens between merchants, and not the general populace, circulated currency is rarely lost.
Legislative Body
The meetings of city-members during the twice annual meetings discuss matters of importance within the Union but rarely, if ever, attempt to set policy.
Judicial Body
Each settlement is responsible for its own guard force and judicial processes.
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Comments