Pirates, sea barons, merchant traders and all with a love of the water find their home in the Lhazaar Principalities. With a history that is equal part piracy and seafaring trade the Principalities have remained a separate entity from the kingdom of Galifar even during the years they pledged allegiance to the crown. Now, with the nation of Galifar officially shattered the Lhazaar Principalities have formed a loose confederacy of states each ruled by their own sea prince living a life where might makes right and the person with the most and biggest ships rules the sea.
The rule of the princes over the Principalities goes back more than two thousand years. These are not hereditary positions as the kingships enjoyed by the royalty of the Five Nations, though some bloodlines produce more leaders than others. Instead, rulership of each principality goes to the strongest, the toughest, and the most accomplished sailor or pirate or merchant lord in the pack. Determining the next prince (a term applied to both male and female rulers in the Principalities) can sometimes be a violent, bloody affair. In general, the captain with the largest fleet, the most powerful sailing vessel, or the greatest popular support takes the banner of prince for his or her Principality, but tests of skill, of battle, or even of wits have been used to select leaders among the islands of Lhazaar.
The most often used title among the rulers of the Principalities is prince. Other rulers give themselves titles such as sea baron, pirate lord, merchant king, captain, admiral, or duke. Such titles all depend on the traditions of the particular principality and the wishes of the current ruler. While a piece of land, which usually includes a dock or seaport and a small village, accompanies each ruler’s title, the true wealth and power behind the captain’s chair remains the ruler’s flagship and the size of his or her fleet. A prince can hold acres of land, but without a powerful flagship and a fleet of support vessels to sail the sea, he or she has no real power in the Principalities.
Each principality maintains a number of lesser leadership roles that usually remain filled by the same people despite how often the prince’s crown changes hands. These administrators, navigators, shipwrights, and other positions necessary to the continued existence of the principality often attract and keep those best suited to the jobs assigned them. Occasionally a prince comes along who refuses to honor an existing rank or position and wants to place his or her own minions in power, but this is the exception and not the rule.
Few of the dragonmarked houses operate in the Principalities. The exceptions include House Thuranni, which has made its headquarters here since breaking away from House Phiarlan; House Orien, which follows trade and cargo across the continent regardless of which borders it crosses; and House Kundarak, which reluctantly maintains the island prison called Dreadhold.
Pre-Galifar
The Lhazaar Principalities take their name from the explorer Lhazaar, the woman responsible for first bringing human settlers from the nation of Rhiavaar in Sarlona to the shores of Khorvaire 3,000 years ago. It is theorized that these "settlers" were actually societal undesirables escaping jail and persecution. The Principalities continued to grow as humans spread across the landscape of Khorvaire. By the time Galifar I came to power the Lhazaar Principalities had already been well established for over a thousand years and the people had earned a reputation as raiders and pirates. The strip of land went largely unnoticed under Galifar until 28 YK when Galifar brought his own navy against the Lhazaar Princes who had been wreaking havoc on the coastal communities both in the north and the east of Khorvaire. Over the next decade the Galifar-LhazaarWar resounded on the open seas around the principalities. After ten years and thousands in gold had been expended by both sides Galifar had finally secured enough victories against the sea princes that they entreated for negotiations. In the end they became officially part of the nation of Galifar, though they remained autonomous.
Under Galifar
Now officially a part of the Kingdom of Galifar, the Lhazaar Princes could no longer rely on piracy on the open waters, so they turned their efforts to trade and exploration, leading some of the most daring expeditions to date. For 800 years, the Lhazaarians bid their time, awaiting the spark of change. That spark would come in the throes of the Last War.
The Last War
When the Last War erupted in Galifar the sea princes remained decidedly neutral continuing as they had for many centuries to trade and explore the known world. As the war raged on for decades however the sea princes began to find the same argument that the dwarves of the Mror Holds had. Their agreement of fealty had been to Galifar and the Kingdom and with the kingdom now in ruin they saw their agreement as officially dissolved. Now free to revert to their ancient ways of piracy it didn't take long for the sea princes one by one to return to their old ways. At first the various princes warred amongst themselves for supreme sovereignty over the principalities until they realized that the whole of Khorvaire was their oyster and they were holding all the knives. Piracy once again plagued the coastal towns across Khorvaire while other sea princes hired out their flotillas as privateers. As the Last War subsided the Lhazaar Principalities were able to hold themselves together under Prince Rygar ir'Wynarn long enough to attend the forming of the Treaty of Thronehold granting them all of the rights of the other nations.
However, now with the confederacy of independent states now officially recognized by the other sovereign nations of Khorvaire the sea princes had to lower their flags of piracy and return to the life of trade and exploration. Some renegade princes still plague the open waters, but the rest of the princes seem to be biding their time for another spark, content to wait it out like a bad storm.
Total Population
500,000
- Human 42%
- Gnome 16%
- Half-Elve 14%
- Lokumite 12%
- Dwarf 5%
- Elf 4%
- Halfling 4%
- Other 3%
The confederation is divided into seven sovereign principalities.
- Seadragon
- Cloudreaver
- Direshark
- Grey Tide
- Bloodsail
- Wind Whisperers
- Heavenly Fleet
In general, most Lhazaarites care nothing for religion, until it serves them. However, there is also a disproportionate number of Blood of Vol "Seekers" who live here.
The people of the Principalities are sailors and fishers, pirates and merchant marines. They are more comfortable aboard a ship than on land, and some can’t abide solid ground for more than a short visit at a time. Each sea baron and pirate lord commands a fleet of ships that serves as his or her claim to wealth and power. A piece of land, either on the mainland coast or on one of the many islands that separate the Bitter Sea from the Lhazaar Sea, accompanies each title, but without a flagship and support vessels the land has no value in their eyes.
Some sea barons work exclusively as fishers, traders, or privateers, but the vast majority fly whichever flag is most advantageous at the time—including the skull and crossed swords of piracy. Even with this reputation, many of the dragonmarked houses and other enterprises hire Lhazaar ships and crews to move cargo from one destination to another, in order to take advantage of their expert knowledge of the sea and their ready-to-sail ships.
Comments