The Shackles

The Shackles is an extended archipelago off the coast of western Garund, directly south of the never-ending hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego. It is the haven of the notorious Shackles Pirates, and the ruins of the ancient cyclops civilization of Ghol-Gan dot its islands and lurk beneath its waters.

Chelaxian exploration and founding of Sargava

When the region was first explored by the Empire of Cheliax in 1111 AR, they discovered the Ghol-Gan ruins and their grisly illustrations and declared them to be cursed, and moved on to establish a colony further south in Sargava instead.

As trade grew between Sargava and Cheliax, it also attracted those who wished to prey upon it. Pirates found that the ancient harbours of the Shackles made excellent hiding places from which to strike, and these havens soon grew into proper communities. Retired sea captains also founded the settlement of Bloodcove in the Mwangi Expanse.

These settlements became hubs of black-market trade, as unscrupulous merchants took their ships on what they called "the southwestern vacation" to buy stolen property at cut prices.

Government

The leaders of Shackles society are the Free Captains. Most command only a ship or two, but the most powerful each control one of the region's ports or islands and sit on the Pirate Council, which oversea the entire nation. They are in turn led by the Hurricane King or Queen, who is chosen from among their members. Since 1715 AR, the position has been held by Tessa Fairwind.

While the title of Hurricane Queen suggests absolute authority, in reality the title recognizes only the strongest member of the Pirate Council, a body that in turn represents only the strongest Free Captains of the Shackles. Their rule is maintained solely through guile, courage, and strength. The only open method of being offered a seat on the Pirate Council is by winning the annual Free Captain's Regatta.

What otherwise passes for government in the Shackles is quite chaotic, and each port establishes its own set of laws and customs that are rigorously enforced by the pirate lord in charge. Among them, the largest and most prominent is Port Peril, strategically positioned on the mainland and safeguarded by the formidable cannons of Fort Hazard, overlooking Jeopardy Bay.

Foreign relations

The pirates' predations leave them politically isolated in the Inner Sea region. Only Sargava maintained a treaty with the Pirate Council, and even then the agreement resembled a protection racket more than policy; that agreement ended with the Vidric Revolution that overthrew the government of Sargava and replaced it with the new nation of Vidrian.

The pirates of the Shackles are particularly loathed by the Mbe'ke dwarves of the Terwa Uplands, who are at war with the Shackles pirates in the Third Corsair War. This is only the most recent war between these two powers, the first Corsair War starting back in 1607 AR. While the Mbe'ke have long suffered from pirate predation, some of the more radical members of their Assembly of Kings now seek a way to completely destroy the Shackles and its pirates once and for all.