Kaimana the Krakenslayer

Mother Kaimana (a.k.a. The Krakenslayer)

Kaimana is recognised as the driving force behind the recognition of the eastern islands as a safe zone in their own right, called the Archipelagic Safe Zone by those on the mainland. To date, she is the only person to be primarily responsible for an event that has named an era of history. This is a source of great pride for the people of the archipelago, and her many descendants.

Early Adventuring Career

Like most adventurers in the archipelago, she started off as part of the force that defends the islands' shores from sea monsters. She proved to be extremely talented, gaining Skill extremely quickly, and when she turned 19 she was assigned to the crew of a trade vessel bound for the Coastal Safe Zone. After the initial culture shock of seeing such large cities, and such large areas of unbroken land, she grew angry at the dismissive way she and the rest of the crew were treated by the local authorities. She was shocked at how the archipelago was considered barely civilised, and how trade with its inhabitants was thought of more as charity than as a meeting of equals.

The Campaign for Recognition

Upon her return home, she resolved to change the attitudes of the mainland, by whatever means necessary. Having learned that the mainland set great store by its system of safe zones, she travelled the islands making speeches in favour of declaring the archipelago a safe zone. This met with little success; for most archipelagans the mainland was a distant irrelevance. Furthermore, each island of the archipelago had its own fierce sense of identity and was reluctant to risk being absorbed into an interchangeable collective.

The Unpaid Bill and The Deliveries

A turning point came when a trade ship sent to the Coastal Safe Zone had its cargo seized by the local authorities without payment. The specifics are murky, and there is a distinct possibility that the ship was engaging in smuggling, but the incident outraged the archipelagans. Kaimana started to receive greater support. She embarked on a dramatic, peaceful protest which has come to be called 'The Deliveries'. She took parties of adventurers to the southernmost islands to hunt great sea monsters. This was a traditional part of archipelagic culture, but usually reserved for much more experienced adventurers. Once she had made a kill, her vessel would tow the carcass all the way into the harbour of a coastal city and leave it there. By that time, the body would be rotting and profoundly unpleasant, not to mention incredibly difficult to remove in one piece. This stunt not only showed what the archipelago contributed to the safety of the coastal cities, but was a demonstration of the total mastery the archipelagans had over the ocean. Other ships, independent of her group, followed her lead and before long the coast was choked with suppurating carcasses.

Recognition

The Coastal Safe Zone Adventurers' Guilds were strongly opposed to recognising the archipelago. By contrast, the Northern Safe Zone saw an opportunity to stop being the junior partner in inter-safe-zone matters and the Central Safe Zone admired the archipelagans' pluck. The Archipelagic Safe Zone was formally recognised, bringing the number of safe zones back up to four for the first time in over 200 years.

Later Life

Kaimana remained an adventurer. After the success of her campaign for recognition she had no desire for further politics. She did, however, dream of making the Carnos Forest part of the Archipelagic Safe Zone and mounted many expeditions to the mainland to try to establish a foothold there. Ultimately, the last of these ill-fated sorties led to her death. A small marker was placed on the shore at the place where it's believed she met her total party wipe.

Mental characteristics

Gender Identity

Female, 'she/her'.

Species

Carnonon

Life

108 BJ 22 BJ 86 years old

Gender

Female

Quotes & Catchphrases

"Our shores have never been under the heel of monsters. We will not be talked down to by cousins who were so careless as to let their lands be overrun."
"Know that your decision here means next to nothing to us. We are who we are, and our lands are what they are, regardless of whether the mainland recognises our autonomy or not."