Daemado Islands (tɛ.ma.do ˈaɪ.ləndz)

The Daemado Islands are an archipelago located within the Musahae, a particularly dangerous region of The Middlesea. According to Chilseongsin legend, the islands were once used as a prison for the wild and dangerous Tokkaebi - a collection of malevolent spirits who would wreak havoc on the world if left unchecked. These demons can wander freely throughout the Musahae, but they are tethered to the Daemado: at a certain point, they reach the end of their chain and can go no farther. In their rage, they have made the islands practically uninhabitable - summoning storms to batter them, waves to flood them, and lashing out at any ship foolish enough to approach.

Even before their imprisonment, the region was perilous, prone to devastating hurricanes and mysterious disasters that swallowed ships without warning or explanation. The combination of the Tokkaebi and the archipelago's natural hazards ensured that none but the foolish, the reckless, or the desperate would ever attempt to settle there.

The Imugi are not foolish. But they were desperate and reckless in the aftermath of the fall of Seomna, when they fled from the invading Empire of Wamato. They sailed into the Musahae, hoping only to survive long enough to escape their pursuers. When the Tokkaebi came for them, they bargained with a few of the spirits for protection against the rest.

Before their imprisonment, the Tokkaebi had been worshipped by some among the Chilseongsin of the Seom Islands, and the old stories spoke often of their thirst for blood offerings. The refugees from Seomna agreed to pay for their passage in blood - an agreement that was later extended to permit their residence on the larger islands of Daemado. It was then they took the name Imugi, a Rengota word meaning sea serpent, and began their campaign to drive the Yanjin, and all humans, from the Seom Islands.

They now operate as pirates and raiders, seizing prisoners and goods to sustain their cause. They liberate enslaved Chilseongsin whenever they can, and sacrifice their captives to the Tokkaebi. It is this blood that allows the Imugi to sail through the Musahae and survive within it while all who pursue them are torn apart by the sea.

It is a devil’s bargain - but the Imugi know that the true demons are not the Tokkaebi. The true demons are the Yanjin who stole their home, and they will do what they have to in order to drive them out.