Steel Cliffs

In the northern region of the Southern Isles, among the reefs and treacherous waters that are common in the area, lies a small archipelago of about a dozen karst tower islands known as the Steel Cliffs. The nearby waters are dangerous, and the winding path to the single dockable area is difficult even for crews that know the way. On these islands is a small community that is more industrialized than expected, especially for the Southern Isles. The community is sometimes known as the Foundry of the Isles and residents as Seasmiths.

Overview
The formation of the rock lends easy access to rich veins of iron ore and coal. Windmills turn pulleys to bring ore up from small mines, and the iron and coal are forged into steel in foundries that run day and night. The metal is then turned into tools, weapons, and other products for sale. The lucrative trade brought in by the steel allows a large part of the society to work full time as artisans. Surprisingly, the Steel Cliffs have very little military power of their own. Instead, there is an unspoken truce with the pirate lords. This does not mean the Seasmiths are push-overs though. Heavy defenses are set up along the passage to the main island and every child is given some amount of weapon training, especially bow and crossbow use, with a stern principle of only using violence for self-defense. Being Southern Islanders the Seasmiths are no strangers to violence, they just prefer to not practice it themselves.

The small and peaceful nature of the Steel Cliffs lends itself to an unusual form of government, or rather a lack thereof. A small and unofficial council of elders are usually sought for for leadership, but there is no law to listen to them. The economy on the island is communal as everyone is looked after and everyone is expected to do their part. The people know that their society is strange to most others, so they are often highly suspicious of outsiders in order to protect their way of life.

With a total population of about 250 and only around 200 residing on the island at a time, every Seasmith knows almost every other Seasmith and many are related in some way. Many new residents also come from Seasmiths on a tour finding a romantic partner to bring home.

Trade
The Steel Cliffs do most of their trading at Crow's Harbor in a shop setup at the Chitin Forge. Regular shipments of general goods produced by the Steel Cliffs are sold here: swords, bolts, pulleys, hammers, nails, hinges, chains, chainmail, other metal objects, and recently rope and other fabric goods. Specialty goods can also be custom ordered; although there is a long turn around time, the quality is never in question and is decently famed among the Isles. As the economy in Crow's Harbor is mostly bartering, payment is typically given in items the Steel Cliffs can't easily produce: wood and wood products, some fruits and spices, non-iron metals, and especially leather.

Seasmiths also lend their services. A ship can contract a Seasmith to stay onboard as a general repairman and craftsperson, usually for tours of a few months at a time. Any boat would do well to have a Seasmith onboard, but the primary customers are generally ships that are readying to see battle... i.e., pirates. In keeping with the Steel Cliffs peaceful way of life a non-negotiable part of the contracts is that the Seasmiths do not participate in any fighting. In battle with other pirates, the Seasmiths are treated like medics would generally be on a land battlefield. Captains that purposefully harm a Seasmith or force them to fight are blacklisted from all goods and services of the Steel Cliffs.

Sea-steel Hall
The hundreds of residents of the Steel Cliffs get together at midnight at the end of every week in the large townhall known as Sea-steel Hall for a good meal, recognition of good or bad work done, airing of grievances, settling disputes, and planning for the future. Generally every Seasmith living on the island is on the same page.

The Hanging Gardens
Due to the geography of the Steel Cliffs flat, farmable land comes at a premium. The majority of the land on top of the islands are either building or farms. Up until about AeP 443 all the farms were used to grow food, vegetables and fruits to add into a diet of seafood. In AeP 434 Amia Velenstol developed a method of growing a variety of crops by hanging them on nets. Once this was perfected, the Hanging Gardens were built.

On three pairs of skinny tower islands on the southern side of the archipelago are huge nets draped between them. The nets are roughly a hundred feet tall and span across fifty feet of open space. The main ropes on the top are about a foot thick, and most of the ropes hanging down are sturdy Southern Rope. This huge and very expensive project took most of a decade to complete, mainly because of the amount of rope imported. However, it very quickly paid off. Wrapped around and growing off the nets is a vast array of vegetables and other food crops, harvested by Seasmiths dangling nearly a hundred feet on the very ropes holding the food.

Once most of the food could be grown in the Gardens, farm space on top of the islands was freed up for Jute, Hemp, and Cotton. Now rope and other textiles are a part of the Steel Cliffs wide purview of sold goods.

Recent Events
With the death of the pirate lord Curek the Iron Eye, much of the Southern Isles are wary of the power vacuum that has yet to be filled. Some of the elders, including Carlot Eveningstone, have suggested the idea of establishing trade contacts on the mainland to ensure that stable trade continues to flow. This has been met with some apprehension as the Steel Cliffs are protected in part due to their secrecy and seclusion.

People

 * Sarai Eveningstone