The Ghosana

Historical Basis

In the eighteen months leading up to the Tsoria-Kai'Tali War, dozens of raids were carried out on Tsoria's major ports with the aim of seizing illegal goods - predominantly metals but also a range of other materials, drugs and weapons - being traded through the country. Official Pa'an Chillian records place the total value of the goods seized at approximately 400 million Global Currency Units (GCU) but Tsorian sources maintain that over a billion GCU of goods were taken, only a fraction of which were illegally mined or traded goods. The fate of these goods remains hotly contested.
Following the first wave of raids, reports began to surface of attacks on Kai'Tali trading ships and even land freight in retaliation of the seizures. Although sources suggest that the attackers began as small independent groups and likely never operated under any central authority, the pirates came to be known as the Ghosana. Despite being outmatched in number and technology, the Ghosana were able to disable several large trading vessels and may have stolen over a million GCU of goods from Kai'Tali and other elfin traders both before and during the war. The resulting crack-down on independent trading vessels saw over two hundred Tsorian traders arrested for piracy.

Spread

The full extent of the Ghosana's influence on Kai'Tali trade remains controversial. There is some speculation that Pa'an Chil exaggerated the frequency and damage done by the pirate attacks to discredit Tsoria. Accusations were even made that the Ghosana were sponsored by the Tsorian government, although the evidence for any involvement on the government's part has been flimsy at best. Meanwhile sources sympathetic to Tsoria claim that only goods directly stolen from Tsorian ships were reclaimed by the Ghosana, and that targets to legitimate Kai'Tali trading vessels were insignificant.

Cultural Reception

In Tsoria, especially in the aftermath of the war, the Ghosana have acquired the status of folk heroes, representative of an oppressed people fighting back against imperial power. Many fishers and local traders fly the flag of the Ghosana with their own flags, although it is thought that this flag was designed after the full extent of the Ghosana's influence.