Santelmin Order: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:08, 5 March 2022

The Santelmin Order is the smallest of the major factions of the Blacksand League. All members of Santelmin crews are casters, and the faction does not openly recruit. Rather, to join the Order, one must be specifically selected by the pirate admiral Heshwen. Most Santelmin ships are magically automated, driven and maintained by constructs, animated objects, or undead. The Order serves as something of the kingmakers among the League factions - when they deign to speak on a matter, the others soon fall in line.

Location

The Santelmin Order is mostly active within the Kilche Sea, preying on the merchant vessels that travel its busy trade routes. Santelmin ships often target merchants near Laniobriga as well. Santelmin ships frequently visit the ports of the Blacksand Archipelago, which are widely considered safe havens for pirates.

History

The Order is the oldest of the current factions within the Blacksand League, having successfully survived both the good times and bad of the last four hundred years. The rigid hierarchy within the Order ensures there is always a clear path of succession, and new leaders can rapidly step into the role without delay or hesitation.

Interests and activities

Though the Santelmin Order has been one of the most successful pirate groups within the Kilche since it was founded, they remain secretive and closed to outsiders. The Order does not allow any to join as long as they are capable, unlike most pirate crews, instead preferring to selectively contact only those who display enough skill and ambition. The long-term goals of the Order are unknown to those outside its membership, though they seem to be content to be patient for now.

The Order has a reputation for leaving no survivors on ships they capture.

Ships

The flagship of the Order is the Midnight Sun.

The Order uses a variety of vessels, with a preference for fast outrigger warships driven by both sails and oars. Santelmin warships can operate with very small crews due to extensive magical automation of their operations.

Notable individuals

See also: Heshwen

Relations

The Santelmin Order prefers not to involve themselves in disputes between the other factions, instead letting the other pirates fight before gaining the spoils for themselves. In diplomatic meetings between the League factions, Santelmin representatives rarely participate; when they do choose a side, the matter invariably resolves quickly in their favor.

Relations between the Order and Tarkuus are unclear - from the perspective of outsiders, both seem to ignore the existence of each other.

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-The '''Alliance of the Red Banner''', sometimes known colloquially as the '''Red Flag Fleet''', carries with it a reputation as both the most aggressive and most successful of the pirate factions of the [[Blacksand League]]. The faction leader [[Shiyang]] is known for her unconventional approaches to warfare and diplomacy.
+The '''Santelmin Order''' is the smallest of the major factions of the [[Blacksand League]]. All members of Santelmin crews are casters, and the faction does not openly recruit. Rather, to join the Order, one must be specifically selected by the pirate admiral [[Heshwen]]. Most Santelmin ships are magically automated, driven and maintained by constructs, animated objects, or undead. The Order serves as something of the kingmakers among the League factions - when they deign to speak on a matter, the others soon fall in line.
 == Location ==
-The Alliance of the Red Banner is mostly active within the [[Kilche Sea]], preying on the merchant vessels that travel its busy trade routes. Alliance ships frequently visit the ports of the [[Blacksand Archipelago]], which are widely considered safe havens for pirates.
+The Santelmin Order is mostly active within the [[Kilche Sea]], preying on the merchant vessels that travel its busy trade routes. Santelmin ships often target merchants near [[Laniobriga]] as well. Santelmin ships frequently visit the ports of the [[Blacksand Archipelago]], which are widely considered safe havens for pirates.
 == History ==
-Though the Alliance is primarily associated with its current leader, having grown markedly in prominance under her, it predates Shiyang by a number of decades. Originally a more disorganized group led by her husband, and her husband's father before him, Shiyang took command after his death.
+The Order is the oldest of the current factions within the Blacksand League, having successfully survived both the good times and bad of the last four hundred years. The rigid hierarchy within the Order ensures there is always a clear path of succession, and new leaders can rapidly step into the role without delay or hesitation.
 == Interests and activities ==
-Under Shiyang's command, the Alliance's primary purpose is to increase the personal power and wealth of its leader. Shiyang uses the Alliance's considerable strength and capabilities to pursue any who would challenge her, neutralizing enemies by either forcing them to join or putting them to death, whichever is most convenient.
+Though the Santelmin Order has been one of the most successful pirate groups within the Kilche since it was founded, they remain secretive and closed to outsiders. The Order does not allow any to join as long as they are capable, unlike most pirate crews, instead preferring to selectively contact only those who display enough skill and ambition. The long-term goals of the Order are unknown to those outside its membership, though they seem to be content to be patient for now.
+The Order has a reputation for leaving no survivors on ships they capture.
 == Ships ==
-The flagship of the Alliance is the ''[[Perfidious Storm]]''.
+The flagship of the Order is the ''[[Midnight Sun]]''.
-The Alliance uses a variety of vessels, with a preference for mid-sized junks. Recently the Alliance has begun experimenting with and deploying ships armed with alchemical weapons - those that refuse to surrender frequently find themselves ablaze.
+The Order uses a variety of vessels, with a preference for fast [[wikipedia:Lanong|outrigger warships]] driven by both sails and oars. Santelmin warships can operate with very small crews due to extensive magical automation of their operations.
 == Notable individuals ==
-''See also: [[Shiyang]]''
+''See also: [[Heshwen]]''
-Many of the high-ranking captains within the Alliance are part of Shiyang's extended family. Despite this blatant nepotism, incompetence is not tolerated, and those that fail to perform are quickly tossed aside.
 == Relations ==
-The Alliance is frequently at odds with the other factions of the Blacksand League, as Shiyang's drive to grow her fleet in numbers and ability often runs counter to the goals of others. Small skirmishes between Alliance vessels and those of other factions, especially the [[Four Thousand Eyes]], are not uncommon. The Alliance stops short, however, of full scale war against its rivals in the League.
+The Santelmin Order prefers not to involve themselves in disputes between the other factions, instead letting the other pirates fight before gaining the spoils for themselves. In diplomatic meetings between the League factions, Santelmin representatives rarely participate; when they do choose a side, the matter invariably resolves quickly in their favor.
-Relations between the Alliance and [[Tarkuus]] are very strained, to the point where Tarkuusan assassins have eliminated Shiyang's past lieutenants in order to send her a message. Alliance pirates continue to prey on ships under the protection of Tarkuus, and some suspect it is only a matter of time before the forces of the undead empire will seek to eliminate the faction entirely.
+Relations between the Order and [[Tarkuus]] are unclear - from the perspective of outsiders, both seem to ignore the existence of each other.
 [[Category:Organizations]]
 [[Category:Kilche Sea]]
 [[Category:Blacksand League]]