Post by Mai Kobayashi on Sept 12, 2021 1:43:38 GMT -5
 | Eirlann Island Archipelago Name: Eirlann Archipelago Location: South Blue Number of Islands: 7 Type: Archipelago Theme: Ireland |
Island History
Aerlann
Long ago, there existed an Island called Aerlann in North Blue. One of the prehistoric Islands filled with strange creatures that defied common sense. The only people brave enough to settle such an untamed Island were a tribe of savage giants called the Formoraig. Savage hunters and untamed warriors who ruled over the beasts that lurked in the untamed wilderness. Then came the cataclysm. It's uncertain what exactly caused it, but legends say that fire rained from the heavens and the Island was shattered. One Island turned into many and about 600 years ago one of these shattered islands was first settled by a group of human and dwarf refugees, calling themselves the Danann tribe. Lead by the great Warrior Nuada, these people arrived in a fleet of cobbled-together ships, fleeing a similar calamity on a nearby Island.
It was these people That gave the largest of the three Islands the names by which they are yet known today; Eire, Eireann, and Tyrnan Og. The refugees disassembled their ships after landing on the Eireann Pennisula and set up a small village there to try and recover from their ordeal.
In the meantime, the Fomoraig had hunted most of the Eireann peninsula's monstrous fauna to extinction and left the area altogether due to its naturally inhospitable terrain. Consisting largely of rocky cliffsides, peat bogs, and forests now filled only with wildlife too small for their notice it was of little interest to them but provided a safe if difficult new home to the Danann Tribe. For over 50 years their small civilization was allowed to grow without coming into contact with the Fomoraig living on the larger main island of Eire.
The first war
It was only a matter of time, however, before these two societies would clash. The Danann tribe used the Peat from the bogs to build large forges. They cleared out parts of the forest to create farmland and armed themselves with Iron swords and armor forged from bog iron recovered while staking turf. The Fomoraig however, were armed with wooden clubs and their natural size and strength advantage. The war was long and fierce and eventually ended when the Leader of the giants was bested by Nuada at the cost of his arm. The warring tribes settled in an uneasy truce where the Danann tribe would control Eireann and the Giants would stick to Eire. In time trade developed between the two tribes and slowly but surely the two societies began to intermingle.
Eventually, even great Heroes die, even those born from one of the longevity tribes. On his death Nuada was Enshrined on the smallest of the remaining Islands; Skellig Beag which henceforth became the resting place of the Danann's Heroes. His sword; the Sword of Heroes was left to mark his grave and for a whole year, the Danann tribe wept. With the death of Nuada came evermore unrest. Factions of the Fomoraig, that had grown increasingly annoyed at having to share their island with Humans and dwarves, began to raid the new villages the burgeoning Danann had started building. Some of the even longer-lived Fomoraig saw the rate at which the Danann expanded as a threat to their future.
Eventually, a Hero, forged by these trials rose up to put a stop to these raids. With Lugh becoming the second to bear the mantle of 'Hero of Eireann' the threat ended... for a time.
The second war
The peace only lasted for so long, Lugh showed increasing favor to the Human members of the Danann tribe and unrest started to grow amongst the dwarves. Balor, the son of a Dwarf from the Danann tribe and a Fomoraig grew increasingly angered at being seen as second class as both a Dwarf AND a Giant. He eventually rallied an army of Dwarves and giants to face Lugh but after another grueling war swallowed up the Island, Lugh put out his eye with the Mighty sword Fragarach but not before Balor flattened him with his sword.
His son, Setanta succeeded him and though he was enraged by his father's death, had him enshrined on Skellig Beag first before banishing all of the remaining dwarves and Giants from the shores of Eire and Eireann. He claimed the combined Island as Eirelann, invoking the name of the Island from before the sundering as a grand new, human country.
The Industrial Reveolution
The banished Dwarves settled a small Island they named Tyrnan Og and took the name of the Aen Sidhe while the remaining Giants named their Island Fodraig. Both of these eventually grew into mystery and legend in the human history of Eirelann. The Humans still remained mostly in Eirann where their villages were safe and secure. They mined up vast quantities of peat and settled Eire. Hunting down the remaining monstrous wildlife brought forth a new age of heroes but more importantly, as Eire was slowly cleansed, its natural resources became available.
Over the last few centuries, Eirann became a member of the World government while Eire was treated as a wild frontier. The two separate parts of Eirlann developed in stark contrast. With Eirann growing into a modern kingdom governed by a court of peers called the Seelie court. A group of entitled nobles that enjoy the vast wealth and power lording it over an entire country affords them while Eire itself is little more than farmland, mining towns, and peat staking fields to support the burgeoning kingdom. The two peninsulas are very differently developed with the Eiranns viewing themselves as first-class citizens and the people in Eire as low-class workers. The increasing disparity between the two has even gathered support from the Rebel Army and the Eirish cell calling itself the Unseelie in direct protest of the government in Eireann.
Aerlann
Long ago, there existed an Island called Aerlann in North Blue. One of the prehistoric Islands filled with strange creatures that defied common sense. The only people brave enough to settle such an untamed Island were a tribe of savage giants called the Formoraig. Savage hunters and untamed warriors who ruled over the beasts that lurked in the untamed wilderness. Then came the cataclysm. It's uncertain what exactly caused it, but legends say that fire rained from the heavens and the Island was shattered. One Island turned into many and about 600 years ago one of these shattered islands was first settled by a group of human and dwarf refugees, calling themselves the Danann tribe. Lead by the great Warrior Nuada, these people arrived in a fleet of cobbled-together ships, fleeing a similar calamity on a nearby Island.
It was these people That gave the largest of the three Islands the names by which they are yet known today; Eire, Eireann, and Tyrnan Og. The refugees disassembled their ships after landing on the Eireann Pennisula and set up a small village there to try and recover from their ordeal.
In the meantime, the Fomoraig had hunted most of the Eireann peninsula's monstrous fauna to extinction and left the area altogether due to its naturally inhospitable terrain. Consisting largely of rocky cliffsides, peat bogs, and forests now filled only with wildlife too small for their notice it was of little interest to them but provided a safe if difficult new home to the Danann Tribe. For over 50 years their small civilization was allowed to grow without coming into contact with the Fomoraig living on the larger main island of Eire.
The first war
It was only a matter of time, however, before these two societies would clash. The Danann tribe used the Peat from the bogs to build large forges. They cleared out parts of the forest to create farmland and armed themselves with Iron swords and armor forged from bog iron recovered while staking turf. The Fomoraig however, were armed with wooden clubs and their natural size and strength advantage. The war was long and fierce and eventually ended when the Leader of the giants was bested by Nuada at the cost of his arm. The warring tribes settled in an uneasy truce where the Danann tribe would control Eireann and the Giants would stick to Eire. In time trade developed between the two tribes and slowly but surely the two societies began to intermingle.
Eventually, even great Heroes die, even those born from one of the longevity tribes. On his death Nuada was Enshrined on the smallest of the remaining Islands; Skellig Beag which henceforth became the resting place of the Danann's Heroes. His sword; the Sword of Heroes was left to mark his grave and for a whole year, the Danann tribe wept. With the death of Nuada came evermore unrest. Factions of the Fomoraig, that had grown increasingly annoyed at having to share their island with Humans and dwarves, began to raid the new villages the burgeoning Danann had started building. Some of the even longer-lived Fomoraig saw the rate at which the Danann expanded as a threat to their future.
Eventually, a Hero, forged by these trials rose up to put a stop to these raids. With Lugh becoming the second to bear the mantle of 'Hero of Eireann' the threat ended... for a time.
The second war
The peace only lasted for so long, Lugh showed increasing favor to the Human members of the Danann tribe and unrest started to grow amongst the dwarves. Balor, the son of a Dwarf from the Danann tribe and a Fomoraig grew increasingly angered at being seen as second class as both a Dwarf AND a Giant. He eventually rallied an army of Dwarves and giants to face Lugh but after another grueling war swallowed up the Island, Lugh put out his eye with the Mighty sword Fragarach but not before Balor flattened him with his sword.
His son, Setanta succeeded him and though he was enraged by his father's death, had him enshrined on Skellig Beag first before banishing all of the remaining dwarves and Giants from the shores of Eire and Eireann. He claimed the combined Island as Eirelann, invoking the name of the Island from before the sundering as a grand new, human country.
The Industrial Reveolution
The banished Dwarves settled a small Island they named Tyrnan Og and took the name of the Aen Sidhe while the remaining Giants named their Island Fodraig. Both of these eventually grew into mystery and legend in the human history of Eirelann. The Humans still remained mostly in Eirann where their villages were safe and secure. They mined up vast quantities of peat and settled Eire. Hunting down the remaining monstrous wildlife brought forth a new age of heroes but more importantly, as Eire was slowly cleansed, its natural resources became available.
Over the last few centuries, Eirann became a member of the World government while Eire was treated as a wild frontier. The two separate parts of Eirlann developed in stark contrast. With Eirann growing into a modern kingdom governed by a court of peers called the Seelie court. A group of entitled nobles that enjoy the vast wealth and power lording it over an entire country affords them while Eire itself is little more than farmland, mining towns, and peat staking fields to support the burgeoning kingdom. The two peninsulas are very differently developed with the Eiranns viewing themselves as first-class citizens and the people in Eire as low-class workers. The increasing disparity between the two has even gathered support from the Rebel Army and the Eirish cell calling itself the Unseelie in direct protest of the government in Eireann.
Islands
- Eire:
Eire and its peninsula Eireann form the main Island, colloquially known as Eirelann. Though nominally the country that is also called Eirelann, governs the entire Archipelago. Despite forming the bulk of the Island, Eire is considered the domain of Eirelanns poor working class. It is a large-sized Island with a varied terrain that hosts numerous small villages. Its people are mostly farmers and some are migrant workers that work in the various factories supporting Aereann. It mainly produces Potatoes, Cattle, and grains. Workers here live a hard life and modern conveniences are rare. Whatever technology they do have is either stolen from or antiques coming out of Eireann. Whiskey and Potato based alcohol is immensely popular here and particularly Eirish Whiskey is world renown. Though most of the export runs through Eireann and the people actually producing it see little return of the wealth their labor creates.
Next to farming fields, large swathes of the island are covered in peat bogs and mining fields, mining villages and peat stakers being two more hard but common occupations in Eire. The entire Eirish peninsula feels old and outdated and its inhabitants are a superstitious lot. Though Eireann is exclusively a Human Kingdom, Eire has some more unusual races living there stemming from a darker past of slave labor before the world government outlawed the practice, meaning most are either half breeds or later arrivals. Most visitors never set foot in Eire but the poor living conditions and unequal treatment of its citizens have fostered many rebellious thoughts. A Rebel Army cell has taken root in the country, mainly lurking in the old forests that are rumored to still contain some of the prehistoric and weird creatures that once covered the entire archipelago. Officially and most likely in truth, these creatures were hunted to extinction during Eirelann's age of heroes and only the stories remain. - Eireann:
A technologically advanced and prosperous Kingdom rules the Eireann peninsula. A member nation of the world government, they enjoy a luxury and sophistication over the backs of Eire's common workers. The noble and artisan classes living in Eireann tend to be decent folk but are realists that realize their countries' resources were used up long ago and they can't survive if Eire were to develop to the same extent as Eireann. The corrupt world nobles that form the Seelie Court and rule Eireann however are cruel, heartless imperialists that live lives of debauchery and finery over the backs of the less fortunate. Most of Eireann is covered by an industrialized city that is separated into several distinct 'cities' with their own local governments. These are remnants of the old frontier towns the Danann tribe build but they have grown so modernized and large their borders have ceased to matter. Rather than true cities they are more like suburbs or wards of one large metropolitan area.
The Eireanns view themselves as more cultured and scientific than the backwater Eirish and have discarded most of their heritage. Rather than still refer to themselves as the Descendants of the Danann tribe, their legacy of honor and bravery has mostly been forgotten. A small underground cult of Hero worshippers has sprung up in the last decades after the graves of fallen heroes on Skellig Beag were vandalized and robbed. These people are mostly merchants and nobles that have allied themselves with the Rebel Army and the Unseelie cause and are working within their roles to destabilize a corrupt kingdom. Most are the rougher and more adventurous sort that long back to the old days.
The remaining citizens are those merchants, craftsmen, and other essential job holders required to make a country function. In Eireann, if you do not work and do not contribute (or have enough money not to have to) You get send to Eire for forceful labor penalties to pay back your debt to the state for supporting you. To most of those unfortunate souls, this means permanent exile from the luxury and opulence of Eireann.
To outsiders, Eireann is particularly welcoming. Trade forms a major boon to the Islands economy and the Export of Whiskey, Processed Metals and weapons is a booming one. Though officially it does not welcome pirates, in practice alcohol and weapons being its primary exports see them received well. The Marine base on the Isle of Mann makes the Northern port quite hazardous to use as they also frequent Eireann but the smaller eastern and western ports see a lot of black market trade and a cunning pirate could easily make a fortune here. It is said, though in whispered tones, that the greed of the Seelie court even extends to them unofficially backing several pirates in turn for a share of their spoils. - Tyrnan Og:
Tyrnan Og is after Eireann and Eire the largest of the Islands to remain after the sundering of Aerlann in the distant past. It is an untouched Jungle and the last Island to be truly wild. A Prehistoric island that to this day is filled with Dinosaurs, Giant mammals, and curiously many undocumented species that have wildly bizarre combinations of animal traits. According to Eirish legends, it is a cursed Island and the domain of fairies and monsters from the distant past. The Eireanns consider these to be old-fashioned superstitions and simply consider it a Prehistoric Island with dangerous and predatory animal species that is best avoided all the same.
Not the least of the reasons to avoid it is that the seas around this island contain several active underwater volcanos and the seabed is an ever-shifting maze of obstacles that are constantly changing due to seaquakes and minor eruption vents. Whirlpools come and go and this treacherous shifting sea is one of the two great obstacles in reaching the island, to begin with. The second is an ever-present dense bank of fog, The underwater volcanos heat and evaporate the sea and while Eirelann as a whole is nominally an autumn island, the heat from these volcanos makes Tyrnan Og a perpetually hot and humid jungle Island that fits best under the summer island descriptor. The clashing pressure zones of these two different climates create fierce winds and perpetual mist banks to surround the island.
Its other name because of this is: 'The Island in the mist.' The land where fairies dwell. Neither the Eireanns nor the Eirish are entirely incorrect in their assessments, however. Though they have been mostly forgotten as such, the Aen Sidhe still dwell on this Island. The Dwarves that formerly made up half of the Danann Tribe populate the island and up until her death roughly twelve years ago were ruled by Mab, a dwarf who had consumed the Mythical Zoan Fruit; Mushi Mushi no mi, Model Fairy. For over three hundred years this Queen protected the dwarves from the Islands fierce animals and governed it kindly and justly. The dwarves who still live there to this day are the model on which the legend of Fairies in Eirish Mythology are fashioned.
In particular the royal guard, the Pixie riders give shape to this image. The Fairy Queen was one of two dwarves to herself possessed butterfly-like wings due to her Devil fruit, however, the Pixie riders are an elite unit consisting of warrior dwarves that ride a species of ancient lacewing that dwells on the island. Resembling huge butterflies the size of a grown man's head, it is not hard to see how this mounted guard, themselves modeled on their queens' appearance who hails from an even older mythological archetype could give shape to the legends of Eirish pixies.
Currently, the Aen Sidhe are without a queen, as Mab finally succumbed to old age. Her daughters each in turn set out into the wider world to try and recover the Mushi Mushi no mi: Model Fairy though none have been (truly) successful. Without a Fairy Queen to protect them, the native wildlife has been in constant conflict with the dwarves for the past 12 years and if nothing is done soon the Aen Sidhe will likely die out before too long... - Isle of Mann:
The Isle of Mann is a curious anomaly. Though Fodraig and Tyrnan Og's native people would disagree with the fact that the Seelie council of Eireann has any say over them, at least in principle the Eireann Kingdom rules over those Islands in name, if not in truth. Moot though the point is as the Eireanns prefer to avoid setting foot on either of those Islands for various reasons... The isle of Mann however is not an inhospitable jungle nor a barren volcanic island; it is home to a large Marine Fortress that has been there for as long as its native people can remember. The isle of Mann belongs to the world government and was one of the concessions the Eireanns made to become a member nation. Ruled by the Tynwald, a triumvirate consisting of a Government representative, an Elected Citizen, and the Commander of the Marine Fortress the Tynwald govern the state of affairs on the Isle of Mann.
Possessing its own distinct culture, the citizens of Mann call themselves the Manx (a name shared by a peculiar and adorable breed of domesticated big Cat that lacks a tail that is native to the Island). Compared to the opulence of the Eireanns, Mann is a more humble and more fair society and forms an important trade hub in the North Blue. It boasts several large harbors and Shipbuilding facilities though its close ties with the world government and the imposing marine fortress build on the island see pirates usually avoiding the Island. And as a consequence, the northern port of Eireann that exchanges a lot of trade with the Isle of Mann due to this strong marine presence. - Fodraig:
An inhospitable island that is home to a massive active volcano. It used to look more like a green forest-covered mountain but several eruptions in recent times have burned away most of the wildlife and forest. Most of its indigenous life has gone extinct but in underground caves, the last vestiges of the once-proud Fomorian Giants eke out their existence. Only their leader still remembers a time before they were forced underground, but he is also a weary warrior that has no interest in returning to their revenge-filled past. He is content living a peaceful life under the mountain. They are adept miners and capable craftsmen most of which have not seen the light of day in their entire lives. They are decidedly more merry and content than their circumstances would suggest. They survive entirely on fungi they grow in the damper caves while they have harnassed the volcano itself as a massive forge in emulation of the early Danann.
They have amassed an incredible fortune in gold and precious metals and transformed the caldera of the volcano into a gleaming underground citadel of steel powered by geothermal energy and the sweat of their brows. Because they are entirely subsistence farmers now and no longer hunters or warriors they are relatively weak by giant standards when it comes to fighting. Though as capable artisans and smiths their metallurgy and arm strength is second to none. The scarcity of food is their biggest hurdle but as a result, they have managed to form a cooperative and high-spirited community that despite their vast amounts of material wealth is humble in knowing they only survive on the bounty the moist and warm caves provide. Rather than the warlike race of the past, the Fomoraig have reinvented themselves entirely into a benevolent and capable tribe of survivors and craftsmen. - Skellig Beag:
This Island, which name means as much as Small Skellig (despite how much beag sounds like big) is an all but abandoned Island. A single solitary mountain covers the entire surface of the small island and a monastery at its peak at one point served as a place of ancestral worship. In the sprawling underground catacombs, the ancient heroes of Eirlanns past are buried. The modern Eireanns put little stake in their past and prefer burning their dead, leading to the practice of heroic internment having been lost to the ages. The graves of the fallen heroes lie all but forgotten yet a candle burns on each grave every day.
A small sect of malcontent Eireanns has returned to Skellig Beag after the graves here were robbed by a pirate roughly twelve years ago. They have allied themselves with the Unseelie and the Rebel army cell and hope to one day restore Eirelann to its former wild and natural state. As influential and wealthy members of Eireann society only two of them tend the graves here at a time, they take turns in what they consider their sacred duty to remember the sacrifices of their ancestors.
These men of Aerlann as they call themselves or the 'Tean Beig' see themselves as the keepers of the Island's traditions and history and they zealously guard the several famous swords that still stand as grave markers on the graves of several fallen heroes. Though the tombs were robbed, only the infamous Sword of heroes once wielded by Nuada has been missing for over a decade. They hope to one day recover it and return it to its resting place but have had precious little luck in locating it or even finding the pirate who took it. - Skellig Mór:
People
- Seelie Kingdom (Human):
- The Unseelie (Human):
- Fomoraig (Giants):
- Aen Sidhe (Dwarves):
- Marines:
