The Silver Piece Collective
Y' can hear it in the low hum of the coin. The way it rings in y' ear, how it vibrates y' spirit. Anyone can hold a silver coin, but ye will know when y' hold a silver pik.
~ Captain Soul ~
Silver And Powder
Scarred, cracked, and devastated, the world was left to sift through the remnants of the once great duergar kingdom when the Cosmic War finally came to a close. Glorious monuments were toppled. Families were killed. Those who remained were survivors in these new lands. A set of islands date all the way to these days, broken off from the main lands of destruction. Untouched and unharmed. Here, indigenous tribes lived on to the day of its rediscovery.
In the collective time of year 0, this land was called the Last Isles by its most prominent tribe, the Curuni Nenar. Here, the tribe acted as the expansive jungle's protectors, self-appointed guardians of the one floating island Hwesta. Its magic coursed through the land and sea, maintaining its beautiful fauna and clear waves. But more importantly, it was one of many seals for a dark and dangerous creature, called Kireesins, left by a powerful god to remain chained within the watery depths.
For centuries, the tide witches took care of the islands, relishing in its beauty and celebrating their many fruitful years. Until one day, when ships from across the sea came into their view. Vessels shaped much differently than theirs. People who looked drastically unfamiliar. In their first interactions, these sailors came from a land called Ravenna, and were seeking new homes to establish.
Such a home was granted, large enough for two small villages. At first, relations were positive, and the tribes grew to enjoy their foreign travelers. However, that very positivity became the element of the islands' descent into trouble. Pockets of the tide witches began assimilating into Ravennian culture over their own. Borders of the kingdom began to rapidly expand. And most of all, large deposits of silver and a newly discovered material, gat powder were heavily harvested. Before long, it was Ravenna's laws that governed the islands instead of the tide witches.
Aware they now held little authority, what was left of the Curuni Nenar broke away from Ravennian association, denouncing them and their former brethren who chose to forever leave. At this time, the Ravennian colonies also fell into a drastic civil war with itself, split between a law that would forever govern the people's religious freedoms. The Brother's Mandate. In this rebellion, an experienced sailor named Atlas Peg rose to prominence. Pillaging and sinking the many ships of the Ravennian mainland, he instilled such an independent pride in the island people that the day his death on the sea was spread, even more rallied under his banner.
The Plutocracy
One such man was Barker Drace, whom the sailors respected and looked to after Atlas Peg was gone. By the time that Ravenna finally broke off from the islands, the now independent islands had pillaged and gained large sums of treasure. When everyone was cautious where it would all go and to who, Barker promised to store it all safely, in a place only he knew of. Full of trust, the people agreed. That was the day the Silver Plutocracy was born. Barker Drace held full control over the money of the islands, and bought the allegiance of many, as well as land from the Curuni Nenar. His wealth alone made him a ruler. Decades would pass until a very greedy pirate named Yzenna Ore rose to power. For many years, she had scoured the seas in search for Drace's treasure. And the day she found it, she didn't hesitate in simply putting a dagger to Barker's skull. At first a heinous criminal, the masses surrendered to her knowledge of the treasure's whereabouts, making her the next plutocrat. But, her reign would not last long. She showed remorse for nearly no one, relishing in riches while everyone was left to poverty. At the peak of this tyranny, four individuals banded together to stop her. Once rival pirates, her ruthless conditions brought them together in mutual friendship. Even losing the whereabouts of Drace's fortune, they would accept it to end the tyrant. Catching her at a harbor for everyone to see, a great naval battle ensued. Outnumbered, Yzenna stood little chance, even after her attempts to bribe the captains for her freedom. One silver piece for each of them. Yzenna Ore was no more, and once again, the islands changed. No longer was it a plutocracy, for Drace's fortune was lost. Instead, the captains remained at sea for days, writing out a code of laws that was soon deemed the Collective Creed. Then, each taking a silver piece Yzenna had offered them, a hole was punched in each. These silver coins marked the crowns of the four pirate lords of the new Silver Piece Collective. Only through a pirate lord's will would a new pirate lord be named the day they die.The Collective
With this new government, some order was brought to the islands as piracy became less frequent. However, factions still remain numerous in these waters centuries later. Some still search for the famed Drace's fortune, others refuse to abide by the Collective Creed. The Curuni Nenar still exist in frustrated co-habitation with these pirates, while the pirate lords sail the seas, with equal amounts of power between each other. Despite the creed and various buccaneers around many ports, the Silver Piece Collective is full of charlatans, tricksters, and manipulators. To the common pirate, there is no single moral that need hold you back as long as you obey the Collective Creed. Of course, even then, there are those who choose not to, such as the Sirens. Today, a portion of the collective struggles underneath imperial rule as the distant Tenelean empire comes off of its ruinous war of expansion with a colony in the isle's northwest. Though formal peace impedes further attacks, those of the collective still do not hesitate to strike at passing vessels of Tenelea. As the empire continues to push its banner into the resource rich islands, the pirate lords sail the seas, maintaining their control of its residents. And as the Curuni Nenar attempts to remain whole and protect the Hwesta, the Silver Piece Islands stand today as an isle truly divided among itself.I've lived on these waters ever since the day the creed was made. They call me a phantom to've lived this far. They be right.
~ Captain Soul ~
Type
Geopolitical, State
Subsidiary Organizations
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
SPC Pirate Lords
Absolute Monarchy
Plutocracy
Collective
This sea now lies filled with oppression. I savvy myself to let loose the beast of below, to wipe clean the waters.~ Atlas Peg
Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for me! We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot! Drink up me hearties! Yo ho! We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot! Drink up me hearties! Yo ho!