Ankistrevos
Ankistrevos is a small fishing village located in The Shattered Sea just to the northwest of Waylon's Landing. It was founded by migrants from the Achaean City States, and retains the culture, traditions, and religion of that region.
Layout
Ankistrevos' defenses begin with the layout of the island that it's located on; the island is shaped like a shallow bowl, tilted towards one side. All of the sides other than the lowest one are lined with steep cliffs, and Ankistrevos is located in a position to control the only major stretch of beach on the island.
Ankistrevos is built above a broad sandy cove, with docks built down on the beach. The settlement has tall log palisade walls with platforms for crossbowmen and towers with ballista mounted on them overlooking the cove. Directly inside of the main gates is a large central courtyard, and at the end opposite the gates is a large building, the home of Apolinar Axius. inside, the buildings are constructed in typical Achaean style, built of sturdy stone then coated in plaster and whitewashed, with sturdy wooden doors and shutters for the windows. They are typically designed with "wings" or walls around a central courtyard.
Ankistrevos' Docks are built out from short stone jetties, with wooden docks built over them and extending out far enough into the harbor for large ships to dock. It's common for most of the vessels of the fishing fleet to be pulled inside of the walls at night, sitting in the main courtyard to protect them from damage from vengeful pirates.
Government
Ankistrevos is run democratically, with an elected leader for day-to-day operation. Any major decisions are voted on by the whole community at town meetings. This has worked well due to the small size of their population, but as it has increased to the point that the main meeting space is cramped during town meetings, they've begun discussing having a single member of each family represent them.
History
Ankistrevos was founded by the crews of several Achaean exploration ships who had been exploring The Shattered Sea for a noble house. Upon returning to their home port and discovering that the noble house that had sponsored their trip had been disgraced and all but wiped out and everyone associated with the house had a shadow cast over them. Upon learning this, the sailors collected their families, "acquired" several of their former sponsor's ships, and headed back to the Shattered Sea. There, they settled on one of the more promising islands that they had discovered on their previous trip.
They formed a small fishing village and had a number of peaceful years where they established a trading relationship with the nearby settlement of Waylon's Landing. Unfortunately, the pirates who are all too common in the region discovered their existance, and began to regularly attack them, driving them to the brink of destruction. It was at this point that Apolinar Axius joined the settlement; A former Achaean hoplite turned adventurer, he nearly single-handedly drove off a pirate attack, and began drilling the men of the settlement as hoplites. It wasn't long before the local pirates realized that Ankistrevos was too hard a target for the rewards that it offered.
Today, Apolinar Axius is the leader of the settlement and their militia are a well drilled machine; comparable in training, if not equipment, with the militia of any Achaean town. They trade both high quality lumber, fish, and copper from a rich vein on the island with Waylon's Landing, and most pirates give them a wide berth.
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