The Bloodmar Sea

6th of August 1356

Positioned between three powerful nations and home to a mix of colonists, pirates and natives. The Bloodmar is rife with ambition, conflict, piracy, politics, trading and everything in between.   The Isurian Empire, once led by devil worshippers and foul pact makers, now devout followers of Julius, The Cleansing Light, seek to grow their colonies and claim more territory out of desire to see the empire grow but also, perhaps more dangerously, out of a desire to bring the light of Julius to all.   The Merchant Principalities concern themselves more with trade and coin but for that they need goods of value and so they seek to claim islands that hold rare and valuable resources hoping to gain monopolies on the trading of as many goods as they can.   The Confederation made up of what was not too long ago considered little more than uncivilized tribes have begun to look more and more to The Bloodmar. Now that the warring tribes have united they find that peace at home offers more time for innovation and growth, and that both breed a desire for more land and resources.   Among the nations lies the criminal element, the most powerful of which is The Corsair Court. Lead by The Pirate Lords and offering safe havens to any pirate plying their trade on The Bloodmar as long as tribute is paid. The Court is normally led by seven lords but recently one of the lords (The Once-Blessed) fell before naming an heir. The location of both his island stronghold and where his ship went down are lost and many an ambitious captain seeks them out hoping to find them and stake a claim to the vacant lordship. The power of the corsairs stems from an ancient blood-pact which gives the lords the ability to perform a ritual known as The Marring. This allows a lord to tie themselves to one island and ‘Mar’ it, which makes it near impossible for anyone not wanted there to find it as the island moves and fades in and out of sight. Each lord can do this to a single island of their choosing (repeating the ritual unmars the old island) but the home base of The Court, Corsair Cove is where the blood-pact was made and as a result is always Marred inviting only those with a pirate’s spirit.   Then there are the many others who live within The Bloodmar, such as the oceanic races in their underwater kingdoms, the natives who find themselves now sharing their lands with colonists and pirates who denounce any ties to The Corsair Court.