Post by Kurosaki on May 14, 2012 15:31:00 GMT -5
Created by Weeks.
Name of Island: Coast Nostra
Size of Island: 5,567 Square Miles (Over 1,500 square miles are uninhabited mountains)
Location: Grand Line, Peace Route
Log Pose Time: 3 days.
Flora and Fauna: The pork chop shaped island of Coast Nostra is full of natural beauty and astonishing man made structures, many of which can be seen no where else in the world. The island is an example of man-made deforestation, which was started right after the islands discovery. During it's morning years, the island became an agricultural region as the forests were leveled. This gradually dampened the climate, leading to decline of rainfall and drying of rivers. Today, entire northern and central provinces are practically without any forests. That also affected the island's wild fauna, of which is little left in the pastures and crop fields of the inland. The main agricultural products are citrons, oranges, lemons, olives, olive oil, almonds, grapes, pistachios and wine; cattle, mules, donkeys, and sheep are raised. In addition to wine, Coast Nostra manufactures chemicals, fertilizers, textiles, ships, leather goods, and forest products. Improvements in Coast Nostra's road system have helped to promote industrial development. However, the high and unforgiving environment of the Southern mountain ranges has seen little development, the extremely high cliffs and round year snowfall making it nearly impossible to develop. There are however many metals and natural resources that are mined at the lower bases of the mountains, giving Coast Nostra a leading edge in iron exports.
Inhabitants: Coast Nostra is a multicultural nation, a "Melting Pot" of groups that over the past few centuries have melded together into it's own unique mix. Due to isolationism in the central part of the islands history, the groups all melded together into the dominate group of the island known as Nostrans. Tanned with dark hair, they are a very proud people for their heritage. Rich with a history of honor based on financial prosperity, they have many celebrations and national holidays to promote economic dominance. This has effectively colored their psychology, leading them to believe in dominance through monetary value. They however treat other Nostrans as extended family, commonly extending helping hands in exchange for favors to the less fortunate. These "Favors" are honored just as high as any written contract and are protected by the national laws of Coast Nostra. There are cases when favors cross over several generations, keeping individuals or sometimes entire families under servitude to pay of a debt. Five families dominate the island, all of which dominate a city on the island. However, they all fall under the loyalty of the Glockenblume family that currently rules over the island.
NPCS: N/A
Town(s)/Village(s)/City or Cities: Coast Nostra is comprised of five main cities, Ethna and Anapo on the eastern shoreline, Caltagirone on the northern shores, Raffaele on the western shores, and the capital of Empire located in the almost exact center of the island. There are many villages and small towns that also dot the landscape, most of them mostly facilitating tourists or supplying farms.
Ethna: Ethna is home to one of the world's most prominent universities, Cabot. The towns name is derived from Mount Ethna, the small peak on which the town is settled on. The buildings run down a steep slope and along a cliff side, narrow streets dominating most of the town. The small city's University, Cabot, is known for it's artists, scholars and free thinkers. A college devoted mainly to the arts, it is best known for its sculptor Indigo Kapo. His many works of art dot all over the island, mainly seen in the city of Anapo. Their romantic and mystic appeal has effectively caused a massive amount of classical artwork to flourish on the island. People are drawn to the university each year, many turned down. An Ivy League school, many of the students are of noble birth, though the college does not forbid the entrance of the poor or of non noble birth.
Anapo: The close neighbor of Ethna, Anapo is known as the romantic center of Coast Nostra. Settled next to a wide clean beach with warm shallow waters and a sprawling countryside, it's main export is fine wines. Though the city itself is the smallest of the five, the vineyards spanning out behind it are of vital importance to Coast Nostra's trade. Though they provide only a small percentage of the entire grand lines alcoholic consumption and distribution, it's demand for the high class of wine brings in fortunes for the vineyard owners. Some bottles will even fetch a price of over 5 million Berri. The towns makeup is typical of your average town, with a small industrial section near the docks, and a main plaza near the courthouse and town hall. Known for it's calm settings and five star restaurants, the town takes in a profit of hundreds of million of dollars each year.
Caltagirone: The first city to be founded on the island of Coast Nostra, Historians agree that the original population of Caltagirone consisted of refugees from cities near the end of the Grand line. The town became dominated by fisherman and small trade companies, that of which never expanded further than a few islands along the peace route. A huge assortment of Docks covered the shallow shoreline for several years, until the first great earthquake of the islands history caused a deadly tsunami to destroy much of the northern shores. By this time, two other cities, Ethna and Anapo had grown as well, helping with a relief effort to rebuild the Capital of the island. The city was rebuilt in the same place, causing a unique city of canals acting as streets for still massive amounts of fishing boats. The buildings are made of a combination of stone and wood frames, with many arches inside and outside to make them extra stable from earthquake and water damage. The now thriving city is a huge tourist attraction along the peace route, rich in history, culture, and very secure from invasion due to its confusing canal system. Home to many casino's, resorts, and hot springs, due to the unstable fault line, it's many hotels are packed year round. It's beauty has attracted artists from all over the world as well, making it a cultural center in the peace route. The fountain of Pultnama, the first work of art from the artist Indigo Kapo acts as the centerpiece of the city. Myths state that toughs who are of pure intentions are granted a single wish from the fountain.
Raffaele: The final coastal city, Raffael is a town devoted mainly to commercial profits. It's massive docks are home to some five shipwright companies, seven trading companies and military port. settled on the eastern shored It's population is dominated by sailors, many of which have been on Coast Nostra for generations. Though not exactly a tourist attraction in itself, it is usually the first stop for any visiting the island. Port Raffael contributes 78 percent of anything coming and going from the island, making it's city wide profit larger than that of any other city in Coast Nostra. Though the financial books of the city are considered confidential, experts agree that the overall profit of the town is over a billion Berri each year. The military base, Naval Base Darby, holds the bulk of the Coast Nostra Navy and Army. Dominated by tall buildings and wide streets, Raffaele is also nicknamed "The Big City" by it's citizens.
Empire: Empire, the last city to be built by the Coast Nostrans is a massive castle town, built to withstand any attack from any direction from any army. The Castle itself was built on top of an island that is nested in the center of crater lake. Thought to once be a large volcano that due to massive amounts of pressure blew its summit into many pieces, the area is dominated by rocky cliffs and fertile land. Built just over one hundred years ago, the Castle was built based on plans from the artist Indigo Kapo. Though known for his sculptures, his last work was a beautifully styled classical castle. The idea was however turned down by the government of Coast Nostra, instead, after Indigo Kapo died, the plans were bought for next to nothing, and improved on to support a more defensible structure. Built of wood and stone, the castle is highly resistant to fire, cannons, and earthquakes. It's massive structure and towers has an outstanding view of the entire island, and a large telescope atop the tallest tower can see nearly every section of the island, excluding the southern mountains. The town itself is no more than the center of government and royal palace, yet it takes in hundreds of millions of Berri each year from traveling tourists. Many myths and stories surround the castles history, the most famous of which is the unconfirmed ruins of an ancient civilization ninetieth the structure of the castle. Home to some 10,000 citizens, it is the largest city, with an entire suburb of nobles living comfortably within the main courtyard inside the walls. The small town across the long narrow bridge has many inns and resort hotels, flush with hot springs and beautiful views.
Missions: N/A
Island History: Coast Nostra is an island with a history of destruction and reformation. In its early years, Coast Nostra was dominated by refugees from the far end of the grand line who fell on darker times. Fishing and the production of wood for ships were its main exports at this time, making the island a stopping point for traders and wayward travelers. As the island began to grow, the coastal towns saw an influx of immigrants, causing the population to double in the next few decades. This however, caused the people of the island, with no formal government, to erect unstable rag tag buildings. This would prove to be a fatal move.
The island was formed as of the result of the Nostra tectonic plate traveling northward along the static sea basin. This has caused the formation of the slanted flat lands to extend to the extensive Southern mountain ranges.
Because of this geological makeup, the island will experience mild to medium earthquakes every decade or so. However, since the island was inhabited, the island has been the site of two massive earthquakes. The first was during the influx of settlers to the island. The earthquake struck 10 miles off the northern coasts, causing a great tsunami to hit the island and nearly destroy the entire town of Caltagirone. The town, with the help of Ethna and Anapo was rebuilt, the great canal city reborn as the first center of government.
The Republic of Coast Nostra was born, comprised of the now 4 clans that dominated the island. Each clan had ran a city state government in each of the towns, with a central government setting nationwide laws and regulations in the town of Caltagirone.
It is a loose association of groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection. Each group, known as a "family" or "clan", claims sovereignty over a territory in which it operates its business – usually a town or village or a neighborhood of a larger city. Its members call themselves "men of honor", although the public often refers to them simply as "the family men. As such, each clan, four in total, have a stake in each city and its outlying territory on the island of Coast Nostra.
Each family at the time was an individual state whiten the islands main government, adhering to a military and economic alliance for the further development of the Coast Nostran people. For many years this system continued, with an honor system developing beyond conventional currency. People of the island when low on funds, will ask for financial, or other favors, in return for another favor or equal or lesser value. This favor will usually be asked to the head of a clan, as they usually have the most pull or financial status to back the person in question. Favors cannot be denied unless another favor is currently outstanding. As such, they much act like bank loans, and are considered more valuable than any form of currency. This honor system had changed many laws and values on the island, with "Honor Killings" a common occurrence.
Honor killings are perfectly legal on the island, but the case must be presented to an official court in order for it to be so. These assassinations are usually brought on as a result of an outstanding favor that someone will refuse, or from personal vendettas that arise from social conflicts. These killings occur usually in public places where authorities are present, who supervise the killing and escort the permit holder. It is not uncommon for the Authorities themselves, or high ranking clan members to commit the assassination. This is considered socially acceptable.
Jails are also absent on the island, instead, criminals who break national or clan laws will be put into servitude to a family for a period of time until it is believed they have payed their debt. Usually the convict will serve the family or person that they victimized.
These values have been around since the first great earthquake. However, no more than 50 years later, the island was again hit by another great earthquake. With several of the islands buildings in ruins, the inhabitants slowly dieing of starvation, and the military in chaos, the island was transformed into the government it is today. Although officially running like a monarchy, the island is unofficially a military dictatorship, with the four families working much like a military class and the Empire clan working much like a head of state.
The Glockenblume family, at the time a low ranking clan, was able to take control of the military through several favors and reform, rebuild, and take control of the entire island. The now Glockenblume Clan was able to assume a role of dominance at this time, sweeping out "Undesirables" and closing the boarders of the island to all foreigners. This was known as the golden age to the island, who worked together as a single unit to not only repair the island as a whole, but further its economic and educational growth. Trading was still accepted by the island, however, not a soul was permitted to step off of their ships. This was done for the purposes of keeping the island "Pure of foreign influence". In truth, it was to keep new ideas from spreading around the island, keeping the word of law and order to the Glockenblume clan.
During this golden age, a man by the name of Indigo Kapo came into fame for his new technological theories and artistic abilities. He gave the entire island a mysterious aura about it, consuming the air with romantic myths and exciting new stories. His works are seen all over the island, his crown jewel being the castle, now known as Empire Palace. The government however denied his work to be built, and instead, they waited until he died before they would buy the blueprints. The plans as such were bought from his family for next to nothing, yet rumors exist that the government made them an offer that they simply could not refuse.
The castle was built over a 50 year period, built slowly and carefully in order to maintain its beauty and add many defensive advancements. Extensive tunnel systems were also built beneath the castle, leading many to believe in many secret meetings whiten the government. However, many more myths lead others to believe that the Empire clan is looking for long lost ruins beneath the castle, searching for clues to some very old, very lost civilization.
By the time the castle had been completed, the World Government had formed the peace route that the island now sits on. Just as the final stone was being put into the castle, the World Government came with a massive armada to reopen trade negotiations. Through the years, the Glockenblume clan had denied any trade negotiations from the World Government. As such, they had also refused to formally join the world government, even though their island rested on the main route through the grand line for all World Government trade. The World Government finally responded with an armada, threatening an invasion unless the island formally joined the World Government, and ceases all trade tariffs on the island.
The Glockenblume clan finally gave into the demands, knowing that their would be more gained than lost. However, under the agreement, Coast Nostra was not open to immigration, only tourism. The profits brought in by tourists to the natural beauty of the island, as well as its one of a kind exports bought in new financial gain to the island, making it one of the richest countries in the world.
Today, Coast Nostra is known for its strong military ties, making it the one of the largest standing army's and navy not connected to the world government on the peace route. It's own little powerhouse, travelers are warned to keep any hostilities off the island.
Name of Island: Coast Nostra
Size of Island: 5,567 Square Miles (Over 1,500 square miles are uninhabited mountains)
Location: Grand Line, Peace Route
Log Pose Time: 3 days.
Flora and Fauna: The pork chop shaped island of Coast Nostra is full of natural beauty and astonishing man made structures, many of which can be seen no where else in the world. The island is an example of man-made deforestation, which was started right after the islands discovery. During it's morning years, the island became an agricultural region as the forests were leveled. This gradually dampened the climate, leading to decline of rainfall and drying of rivers. Today, entire northern and central provinces are practically without any forests. That also affected the island's wild fauna, of which is little left in the pastures and crop fields of the inland. The main agricultural products are citrons, oranges, lemons, olives, olive oil, almonds, grapes, pistachios and wine; cattle, mules, donkeys, and sheep are raised. In addition to wine, Coast Nostra manufactures chemicals, fertilizers, textiles, ships, leather goods, and forest products. Improvements in Coast Nostra's road system have helped to promote industrial development. However, the high and unforgiving environment of the Southern mountain ranges has seen little development, the extremely high cliffs and round year snowfall making it nearly impossible to develop. There are however many metals and natural resources that are mined at the lower bases of the mountains, giving Coast Nostra a leading edge in iron exports.
Inhabitants: Coast Nostra is a multicultural nation, a "Melting Pot" of groups that over the past few centuries have melded together into it's own unique mix. Due to isolationism in the central part of the islands history, the groups all melded together into the dominate group of the island known as Nostrans. Tanned with dark hair, they are a very proud people for their heritage. Rich with a history of honor based on financial prosperity, they have many celebrations and national holidays to promote economic dominance. This has effectively colored their psychology, leading them to believe in dominance through monetary value. They however treat other Nostrans as extended family, commonly extending helping hands in exchange for favors to the less fortunate. These "Favors" are honored just as high as any written contract and are protected by the national laws of Coast Nostra. There are cases when favors cross over several generations, keeping individuals or sometimes entire families under servitude to pay of a debt. Five families dominate the island, all of which dominate a city on the island. However, they all fall under the loyalty of the Glockenblume family that currently rules over the island.
NPCS: N/A
Town(s)/Village(s)/City or Cities: Coast Nostra is comprised of five main cities, Ethna and Anapo on the eastern shoreline, Caltagirone on the northern shores, Raffaele on the western shores, and the capital of Empire located in the almost exact center of the island. There are many villages and small towns that also dot the landscape, most of them mostly facilitating tourists or supplying farms.
Ethna: Ethna is home to one of the world's most prominent universities, Cabot. The towns name is derived from Mount Ethna, the small peak on which the town is settled on. The buildings run down a steep slope and along a cliff side, narrow streets dominating most of the town. The small city's University, Cabot, is known for it's artists, scholars and free thinkers. A college devoted mainly to the arts, it is best known for its sculptor Indigo Kapo. His many works of art dot all over the island, mainly seen in the city of Anapo. Their romantic and mystic appeal has effectively caused a massive amount of classical artwork to flourish on the island. People are drawn to the university each year, many turned down. An Ivy League school, many of the students are of noble birth, though the college does not forbid the entrance of the poor or of non noble birth.
Anapo: The close neighbor of Ethna, Anapo is known as the romantic center of Coast Nostra. Settled next to a wide clean beach with warm shallow waters and a sprawling countryside, it's main export is fine wines. Though the city itself is the smallest of the five, the vineyards spanning out behind it are of vital importance to Coast Nostra's trade. Though they provide only a small percentage of the entire grand lines alcoholic consumption and distribution, it's demand for the high class of wine brings in fortunes for the vineyard owners. Some bottles will even fetch a price of over 5 million Berri. The towns makeup is typical of your average town, with a small industrial section near the docks, and a main plaza near the courthouse and town hall. Known for it's calm settings and five star restaurants, the town takes in a profit of hundreds of million of dollars each year.
Caltagirone: The first city to be founded on the island of Coast Nostra, Historians agree that the original population of Caltagirone consisted of refugees from cities near the end of the Grand line. The town became dominated by fisherman and small trade companies, that of which never expanded further than a few islands along the peace route. A huge assortment of Docks covered the shallow shoreline for several years, until the first great earthquake of the islands history caused a deadly tsunami to destroy much of the northern shores. By this time, two other cities, Ethna and Anapo had grown as well, helping with a relief effort to rebuild the Capital of the island. The city was rebuilt in the same place, causing a unique city of canals acting as streets for still massive amounts of fishing boats. The buildings are made of a combination of stone and wood frames, with many arches inside and outside to make them extra stable from earthquake and water damage. The now thriving city is a huge tourist attraction along the peace route, rich in history, culture, and very secure from invasion due to its confusing canal system. Home to many casino's, resorts, and hot springs, due to the unstable fault line, it's many hotels are packed year round. It's beauty has attracted artists from all over the world as well, making it a cultural center in the peace route. The fountain of Pultnama, the first work of art from the artist Indigo Kapo acts as the centerpiece of the city. Myths state that toughs who are of pure intentions are granted a single wish from the fountain.
Raffaele: The final coastal city, Raffael is a town devoted mainly to commercial profits. It's massive docks are home to some five shipwright companies, seven trading companies and military port. settled on the eastern shored It's population is dominated by sailors, many of which have been on Coast Nostra for generations. Though not exactly a tourist attraction in itself, it is usually the first stop for any visiting the island. Port Raffael contributes 78 percent of anything coming and going from the island, making it's city wide profit larger than that of any other city in Coast Nostra. Though the financial books of the city are considered confidential, experts agree that the overall profit of the town is over a billion Berri each year. The military base, Naval Base Darby, holds the bulk of the Coast Nostra Navy and Army. Dominated by tall buildings and wide streets, Raffaele is also nicknamed "The Big City" by it's citizens.
Empire: Empire, the last city to be built by the Coast Nostrans is a massive castle town, built to withstand any attack from any direction from any army. The Castle itself was built on top of an island that is nested in the center of crater lake. Thought to once be a large volcano that due to massive amounts of pressure blew its summit into many pieces, the area is dominated by rocky cliffs and fertile land. Built just over one hundred years ago, the Castle was built based on plans from the artist Indigo Kapo. Though known for his sculptures, his last work was a beautifully styled classical castle. The idea was however turned down by the government of Coast Nostra, instead, after Indigo Kapo died, the plans were bought for next to nothing, and improved on to support a more defensible structure. Built of wood and stone, the castle is highly resistant to fire, cannons, and earthquakes. It's massive structure and towers has an outstanding view of the entire island, and a large telescope atop the tallest tower can see nearly every section of the island, excluding the southern mountains. The town itself is no more than the center of government and royal palace, yet it takes in hundreds of millions of Berri each year from traveling tourists. Many myths and stories surround the castles history, the most famous of which is the unconfirmed ruins of an ancient civilization ninetieth the structure of the castle. Home to some 10,000 citizens, it is the largest city, with an entire suburb of nobles living comfortably within the main courtyard inside the walls. The small town across the long narrow bridge has many inns and resort hotels, flush with hot springs and beautiful views.
Missions: N/A
Island History: Coast Nostra is an island with a history of destruction and reformation. In its early years, Coast Nostra was dominated by refugees from the far end of the grand line who fell on darker times. Fishing and the production of wood for ships were its main exports at this time, making the island a stopping point for traders and wayward travelers. As the island began to grow, the coastal towns saw an influx of immigrants, causing the population to double in the next few decades. This however, caused the people of the island, with no formal government, to erect unstable rag tag buildings. This would prove to be a fatal move.
The island was formed as of the result of the Nostra tectonic plate traveling northward along the static sea basin. This has caused the formation of the slanted flat lands to extend to the extensive Southern mountain ranges.
Because of this geological makeup, the island will experience mild to medium earthquakes every decade or so. However, since the island was inhabited, the island has been the site of two massive earthquakes. The first was during the influx of settlers to the island. The earthquake struck 10 miles off the northern coasts, causing a great tsunami to hit the island and nearly destroy the entire town of Caltagirone. The town, with the help of Ethna and Anapo was rebuilt, the great canal city reborn as the first center of government.
The Republic of Coast Nostra was born, comprised of the now 4 clans that dominated the island. Each clan had ran a city state government in each of the towns, with a central government setting nationwide laws and regulations in the town of Caltagirone.
It is a loose association of groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection. Each group, known as a "family" or "clan", claims sovereignty over a territory in which it operates its business – usually a town or village or a neighborhood of a larger city. Its members call themselves "men of honor", although the public often refers to them simply as "the family men. As such, each clan, four in total, have a stake in each city and its outlying territory on the island of Coast Nostra.
Each family at the time was an individual state whiten the islands main government, adhering to a military and economic alliance for the further development of the Coast Nostran people. For many years this system continued, with an honor system developing beyond conventional currency. People of the island when low on funds, will ask for financial, or other favors, in return for another favor or equal or lesser value. This favor will usually be asked to the head of a clan, as they usually have the most pull or financial status to back the person in question. Favors cannot be denied unless another favor is currently outstanding. As such, they much act like bank loans, and are considered more valuable than any form of currency. This honor system had changed many laws and values on the island, with "Honor Killings" a common occurrence.
Honor killings are perfectly legal on the island, but the case must be presented to an official court in order for it to be so. These assassinations are usually brought on as a result of an outstanding favor that someone will refuse, or from personal vendettas that arise from social conflicts. These killings occur usually in public places where authorities are present, who supervise the killing and escort the permit holder. It is not uncommon for the Authorities themselves, or high ranking clan members to commit the assassination. This is considered socially acceptable.
Jails are also absent on the island, instead, criminals who break national or clan laws will be put into servitude to a family for a period of time until it is believed they have payed their debt. Usually the convict will serve the family or person that they victimized.
These values have been around since the first great earthquake. However, no more than 50 years later, the island was again hit by another great earthquake. With several of the islands buildings in ruins, the inhabitants slowly dieing of starvation, and the military in chaos, the island was transformed into the government it is today. Although officially running like a monarchy, the island is unofficially a military dictatorship, with the four families working much like a military class and the Empire clan working much like a head of state.
The Glockenblume family, at the time a low ranking clan, was able to take control of the military through several favors and reform, rebuild, and take control of the entire island. The now Glockenblume Clan was able to assume a role of dominance at this time, sweeping out "Undesirables" and closing the boarders of the island to all foreigners. This was known as the golden age to the island, who worked together as a single unit to not only repair the island as a whole, but further its economic and educational growth. Trading was still accepted by the island, however, not a soul was permitted to step off of their ships. This was done for the purposes of keeping the island "Pure of foreign influence". In truth, it was to keep new ideas from spreading around the island, keeping the word of law and order to the Glockenblume clan.
During this golden age, a man by the name of Indigo Kapo came into fame for his new technological theories and artistic abilities. He gave the entire island a mysterious aura about it, consuming the air with romantic myths and exciting new stories. His works are seen all over the island, his crown jewel being the castle, now known as Empire Palace. The government however denied his work to be built, and instead, they waited until he died before they would buy the blueprints. The plans as such were bought from his family for next to nothing, yet rumors exist that the government made them an offer that they simply could not refuse.
The castle was built over a 50 year period, built slowly and carefully in order to maintain its beauty and add many defensive advancements. Extensive tunnel systems were also built beneath the castle, leading many to believe in many secret meetings whiten the government. However, many more myths lead others to believe that the Empire clan is looking for long lost ruins beneath the castle, searching for clues to some very old, very lost civilization.
By the time the castle had been completed, the World Government had formed the peace route that the island now sits on. Just as the final stone was being put into the castle, the World Government came with a massive armada to reopen trade negotiations. Through the years, the Glockenblume clan had denied any trade negotiations from the World Government. As such, they had also refused to formally join the world government, even though their island rested on the main route through the grand line for all World Government trade. The World Government finally responded with an armada, threatening an invasion unless the island formally joined the World Government, and ceases all trade tariffs on the island.
The Glockenblume clan finally gave into the demands, knowing that their would be more gained than lost. However, under the agreement, Coast Nostra was not open to immigration, only tourism. The profits brought in by tourists to the natural beauty of the island, as well as its one of a kind exports bought in new financial gain to the island, making it one of the richest countries in the world.
Today, Coast Nostra is known for its strong military ties, making it the one of the largest standing army's and navy not connected to the world government on the peace route. It's own little powerhouse, travelers are warned to keep any hostilities off the island.