Sea Princes
Overview
A confederacy of independent pirate lords and their personal fiefdoms bound together by mutual profit and protection. The amount of Sea Princes in the confederacy is as varied and numerous as the size of their holdings.
While blood and coin are the only true ruling principles of the Sea Princes, two councils do exist as a means of trying to establish some semblance of order and organization: the Gold Court and the Blood Court.
Significance
In the mid-fifth century CY, pirates of the Azure Sea and Jeklea Bay became emboldened by Keoland's distraction with its northern wars and greatly increased their predation upon Keoish vessels and lands across Salinmoor.
By 444 CY, a concentrated rebellion against the Throne of the Lion was fully underway. Rallying to the banner of the original Sea Prince, a vessel captained by a pirate of supposedly noble Keoish blood, a coalition soon formed.
This nascent confederacy quickly gained traction as Keoish isles, lands, forts, and towns were swiftly conquered with little to no opposition.
Rumors abound that this noble pirate was a contender for the Lion Throne itself. Some tales even claimed that this captain was none other than the King's own brother whom had disappeared in the Amedio Jungle eleven years earlier.
In 453 CY, King Tavish III of Keoland led an army through the hot, perilous Hool Marsh to reclaim the city of Westkeep. In the short siege that followed, Keoish forces suffering from exhaustion, disease, and the disadvantageous terrain were decisively beaten. King Tavish III was slain, his legendary family sword Vilharian lost with him.
Features
Though it has never conceded the occupied territories, the Kingdom of Keoland promptly retreated in embarrassment and abandoned nearly all efforts in Salinmoor. Reveling in their victory and rich holdings, the pirate captains decided to settle down and be princes rather than brigands.
The pirates of the Hold of the Sea Princes began to flourish immediately--at the expense of everyone else. With an economy based on piratism and the vast plantations they had conquered, a repugnant slave trade bloodily blossomed soon after.
Today, Prince of Monmurg Jeon II has begun a campaign to end the slave trade. Initial backing has been sparse, but some of the more trade dependent lords are listening.
