Italosi

Summary

The Italosi is the common name for the people who run the ships between Bailen Island and Umbra. The Italosi are a highly diverse group of families that live on the ships and the docks of Bailen. They speak their own language, they dress in their own cultural style, and they are very insular. The closest analogy here would be the way the Romany people operated in Europe -- they are an entirely separate culture living next to the other forces on the island.
The Italosi make a living piloting ships between Bailen Island and Umbra, including up the Canal and the Numi, and loading and unloading cargo on the docks. Because of the storms and the treacherous waters between Bailen and Umbra, the Italosi are now the only captains and navigators who can traverse that water, so the colonials have business relationships with the Italosi to move troops and goods back and forth. The Italosi also have relationships with the gangs in the south of the city, most prominently the Crowden Boys. They are an independent and autonomous group on Bailen, but they largely do what they are asked and are thus not seen a danger.

History

Rumor has it that Bailen was not the first one to find the island, and that the Italosi predated the British discovery by hundreds of years. Cpt. Bailen did not report seeing any inhabitants, but that fact that there are so many African and Asian people in the Italosi gives some weight to this myth.
The first records of a ship people appears in the Stonesthrow War, when the people piloting the ships to Umbra started to spend more time on the water than land and eventually live on the boats. As years go by, the sailors became more clannish and started dropping all their other responsibilities and contacts. They started developing their own language and customs. For a time, the British and French colonials maintained their own fleets, but the sailors on the ships often came from that clannish group, and just as many ships were purely owned by this new group.
The Great Storm changed everything. Most of the ships in the South shore were destroyed, but the sailors in that new culture managed to preserve some of their own from the storm. When the colonial pilots tried to navigate, they found the waters too dangerous, but that other group could still sail. The British and French decided to make an arrangement with that culture to have them pilot the ships, and from then on, sailing to Umbra was outsourced to that clan. The name "Italosi" was just a word that the French colonials overheard the sailors using with each other, and they responded to it when they were called that, so the name stuck, even though people don't report hearing that word spoken by the Italosi often on the docks.
By this point, the Italosi have a symbiotic relationship to the military and trade partners, and are seamlessly integrated into the systems of the docks. On a handful of occasions, the colonials or the gangs have tried to threaten or swindle the Italosi as a group only to come back the next morning to see no ships at the docks at all. There is now a general agreement between all parties not to offend or challenge the Italosi in their work.

Culture

The Italosi are very clannish, so no one outside of their group really knows anything about them or how they live. What observers have discovered is the following:

• The Italosi are a wildly diverse group, spanning races and ethnicities. All Italosi work, including women and children.
• The Italosi language is atonal and arhythmic. It is next to impossible to follow, although it does borrow words from French, English, and the other languages of Bailen.
• Italosi clothing is bright, mismatched, and often mis-sized. All the clothing is used and regularly repaired. Gender is not particularly conformed to in dress or hairstyle. Italosi like jewelry, although always large and sturdy pieces.
• The Italosi live on clusters of house boats that sit away from the docks. They hug the southern coast mostly to the east of Ecumene but off the coast of the woods that come before the beach properties.
• Italosi are most often seen on the docks and ships, and participate in commerce there. They will mix with other groups in bars or drug dens or gambling, but they are never alone and always travel in small groups
• All Italosi appear to be fluent in English, French, and Italian. They will switch to the language they hear when dealing with outsiders. They ignore attempts by outsiders to speak or dissect their language, and they will brush aside any questions about their culture.
• Italosi do know and hang out with people outside of the clan, but they don't share details or have real friends. Anyone who is looking for business with the Italosi simply mention it to one of them and they are eventually brought to someone who handles the negotiation.
• The Italosi name the ships. There are official names for British and French and American ships, but in every day life, everyone just uses the Italosi name. The names are often very oddly poetic.
• Individual Italosi do what they want. If an individual Italosi gets into trouble, they are basically on their own. The clan does not intervene if someone gets mugged or gets into a bad situation. But bad deals with the Italosi or actions that affect the group as a whole have a universal response.

Key Details

Founded: The first reported Italosi appeared in the Stonesthrow War
Leadership: The Italosi are led by a head family, but they are known only to the Italosi.
Headquarters: The Italosi live in a connected set of house boats off of Bailen island.
Membership: Somewhere between several hundred and low thousands
Affliations: Crowden Boys, British colonials, French colonials, American military, other gangs

Type

Geopolitical, Tribe