Emerald Shores Alliance

The Emerald Shores Alliance is a political, militaristic, and - most importantly - economic union between the independent settlements of the Emerald Shores and Emerald Isles regions of southern Dendralis. United through the signing of the Alliance Decree, the ESA is primarily focused on stabilizing and enriching the region's economy, while protecting settlements and tradeships from external and natural threats. By remaining focused on economic relations above all else, the ESA is able to increase political stability as well by preventing interference in the independent governance of each settlement.

Governance

The Alliance operates via a council of representatives that are selected by regional leaders from each settlement. The council is composed of five representatives, with two each from the Emerald Shores region and Emerald Isles region, and one from Emerald Point, due to their higher stake in funding the Alliance. This format provides regional stakeholders equal influence in the deliberations of the council.
The council operates with a high level of secrecy in order to ensure the safety of the council members and avoid another Dagortauré-style event in Dendralis. This secrecy extends to most aspects of the council, ranging from elections, to dates, locations, and details of council meetings. Decisions made for the ESA are made unilaterally by the council with the best interest of all member-settlements of the Alliance in mind.

Membership

To the present day, the membership of the Alliance has remained only the original signing member-settlements of the Emerald Shores and Emerald Isles. The signing member-settlements are as follows:

Emerald Isles

• Angler's Harbor
• Battle Island
• Cala'Lúmë
• Greenthorn Isle
• Mango Bay
• Meridian Island
• Threadhaven

Emerald Shores*

• Blackrock Reach
• Crescent City
• Hearthstead
• Seward's Bay
• Westforth

Emerald Point

*Though Maribel's Hollow is in the Emerald Shores region, it is not an official signing member of the Alliance. Despite this, Maribel's Hollow does receive protections from the Emerald Shores Merchant Navy due to their location being too strategic to allow enemy control.

Military Presence

One of the primary functions of the Emerald Shores Alliance is to operate the Emerald Shores Merchant Navy, a sea-based military

force. The ESMN is focused primarily on security services for goods transport and high importance individuals. The Navy features a fleet of 17 ships which protect the entirety of Emerald Sea for merchant ships throughout the region. The Navy does provide occassional land patrols through the Emerald Shores, and maintains Frostfall Watch, an outpost at the northern tip of the Fertile Valley.

Verdent Trio by Collin Stephens via Bing CoPilot Image Creator

As part of the ESMN's charter, all settlements within the Alliance are forbidden from establishing their own military units. Guard units, however, are permitted as long as their jurisdiction does not stretch outside of the settlement's boundaries.

Funding

The operation of the Emerald Shores Alliance, and it's military wing - the Emerald Shores Merchant Navy - require a good bit of funding to remain effective across an otherwise unregulated region. Funding for the Alliance is primarly generated via a tax levied by the Alliance Decree, and imposed by the individual member-settlements. The tax is equal for all citizens in the region, and account for 70% of all funding for the ESA. The other 30% of funding comes from a network of Emerald Point citizens, with this heightened investment into the Alliance being honored with the city having its own council member.

Economic Relations

The Emerald Shores Alliance relieas heavily upon their trade relations to maintain a strong economy in the region. These relationships weave a web that extends well beyond the bounds of Dendralis with Crescent City serving as the central trading hub within this network. The most important of these relationships lies within Dendralis, specifically the trade guilds of the Fertile Valley, a series of relationships that round out a full domestic economy with both sides enjoying a symbiotic prosperty with one another. Conversely, while trade between the ESA and the Olosse people of the Greenwood is strong, the parties remain distant with no desire to form a closer political alliance.

Public Perception and Interntal Tensions

The Alliance holds a relatively positive view in the eyes of its citizens. The alliance has brought great stability and continually increased the quality of life in the region, even if at a snail's pace at times. Very few peoples living in the ESA see significant impacts to their daily lives while noticing the yearly tax they pay for the Merchant Navy, resulting in a populace that gripes more than their favorable view of the ESA might let on. The most vocal supporters of the Alliance are typically connected directly to the ESMN, with banners of emerald green waving from their homes in support of their enlisted loved ones at sea.
Not all is picture perfect within the Alliance, however. For their extra investment into the ESA, the elite have drawn ire rather than praise from the Barons of Crescent City, who see this investment as a means to purchase control of the Alliance away from the everyone else, particularly Crescent City as the trading hub of the ESA. The Barons have failed to rally other settlements behind this sentiment to date, leaving their displeasure to fester, neutralized in the council of representatives.
There is also occassional dissent among the common populace, though the vocal agitators are usually silenced in short order without need for legal or martial interjection.

Type

Alliance, Generic

Capital

Emerald Point

Power Structure

Confederation

Economic System

Market economy

Controlled Territories

• Emerald Isles