Les Voiles Sanglantes
Leader: Prince Shaen Tasil
Seat: Port Cairn, Farlnen
When the war between Maison Vol and La Cour Éternelle was over, after La Cour Éternelle killed every member of the Maison de Vol, La Cour Éternelle let the allies of the Vol line surrender. The allies left Aérénal and found a home on the island of Farlnen. Most the Elfes stayed in isolated communities within Farlnen, others set up the Bloodsail principality. The Elfes brought extensive knowledge of magic, archery, and woodworking to the Principalities, so the Bloodsail ships are some of the finest in the Lhazaar fleets.
The Elfes are interested in all fields of arcane knowledge so they all have magic powers in one form or other. Farlnen is a center for the worship of the Le Sang Divin and all Les Voiles Sanglantes are of the faith.
Les Voiles Sanglantes are one of the most stable principalities, and Prince Shaen Tasil has ruled for over a century. She does not want the title of high prince but she follows the politics of Lhazaar closely.
Les Voiles Sanglantes
Leader: Prince Shaen Tasil (LE female Elfee cleric 7 [Le Sang Divin])
Seat: Port Cairn, Farlnen
Knowledge: Geography (DC 25); local (DC 15); religion (DC 30)
When La Cour Éternelle sought to destroy the Marque de la Mort, all Elfes carrying the blood of the line were slain. But the Line of Vol had many allies beyond its blood relatives. La Cour Éternelle allowed these Elfes to surrender, but there was no place for them on Aérénal, and they left to find a new home on Khorvaire. Many of these refugees found their way to the island of Farlnen, making a new home in the long Ombre of the Fingerbone Mountains. Today, many Elfes choose to remain in isolated communities deep in the Fingerbones, but others have embraced Lhazaar culture and the life of the sea. The largest of these is the Bloodsail principality, centered in Port Cairn (a town on the central southern coast of Farlnen).
The Elfes brought extensive knowledge of magic, archery, and woodworking to the Principalities; Bloodsail ships are some of the finest in the Lhazaar fleets. While the Elfes are interested in all fields of arcane knowledge, necromancy is especially important to them; every Bloodsail captain has at least one level in wizard (necromancer) or cleric (Le Sang Divin). Farlnen is a center for the worship of the Le Sang Divin, and almost all of Les Voiles Sanglantes follow this faith. During the war, Les Voiles Sanglantes served as privateers for Karrnath. This changeld when Roi Kaius III denounced L'Ordre de la Griffe d'Émeraude, and today Les Voiles Sanglantes often raid Karrnathi ships and villages. Recently, Les Voiles Sanglantes have formed an alliance with the Megalodons of Point Verge.
Les Voiles Sanglantes are one of the most stable principalities, and Prince Shaen Tasil has ruled for over a century. Shaen is cool and calculating; she has no interest in holding the position of high prince, but she keeps a close eye on political struggles and has often served as a mediator. The previous leader was Prince Moren; according to legend, Moren was cursed for his dark practices and now sails the Mer Amère in a ship of bones.
Les Voiles Sanglantes currently possess seven ships. Tales say that they dye their dark sails with the blood of their victims – but this could be a story spread to inspire terror.
Les Voiles Sanglantes are largely lawful or evil Elfes, with a few Humains, Demi-Elfes, and changelins spread throughout the populace. While most Bloodsail sailors are warriors, rogues, or swashbucklers, a significant number of clerics and wizards live in the principality.
The Bloodsail Principality By Keith Baker Illustration by Kai Carpenter Don’t think we’re safe because it’s a windless night, boy. They’ve come before on calmer nights than this, their sails filled with hosts of howling spirits. Perhaps they’ll send one of their fleshless beasts to shatter our boat from below. If you’re lucky, the serpent’ll grind you between its teeth, and your body’ll be lost. Otherwise you’ll end your days as a skeleton bound to an oar in the depths of a Bloodsail ship. —Captain Dorga Hass The ship is a shadow in the night, its darkwood hull all but invisible against the water. It is the sail that draws the eye. The black silk is adorned with a hun dred crimson sigils, each burning with pale light. The sea is calm, but a groaning wind fills the sails. If you make your living on the Bitter Sea, you know what that vessel is. If you’re lucky, it’s a merchant vessel carrying the strange spices and other goods of Farl nen. If not, you’d be wise to make your peace with the Sovereigns. The Bloodsails are known to take prison ers, but they rarely take them alive.
Haunted by tHe Past Ask any pirate in Regalport, and you’ll hear that the Bloodsails got their name from dyeing their sails with the blood of their enemies. This story is a good exam ple of how little people know about the elves—that after thousands of years, they still don’t know that the blood on the sails is that of the elves themselves. The people of Farlnen are descended from exiles, elves driven from Aerenal in the wake of the war that destroyed the line of Vol. Although few in number, they are a force to be reckoned with. Even the Cloud reavers know better than to challenge a Bloodsail merchant, and few captains will risk their ships in Death’s Finger Channel unless accompanied by an envoy from Farlnen. Anyone who passes an hour in a tavern in Port Verge will learn that every Blood sail ship is haunted, the waters around Farlnen are home to zombie krakens and undead serpents, Prince Shaen Tasil is merely a puppet of ancient vampire lords, and the elf merchants are primarily interested in purchasing casks of fresh blood. As wild as these tales are, almost all of them are grounded in reality. tHe black Isle Farlnen is cold and bleak, with cliffs of basalt and beaches covered with black sand. When the elves came to the island, they found almost no vegeta tion; Farlnen is close to the plane of Mabar, and full sunlight never reaches its stony soil. The Grim Lord Varonaen overcame this challenge, and the fruits of his labors can be seen today: darkwood trees and ebon sedge grass that feed on shadows instead of sunlight. Varonaen has continued his work over the course of generations, and the merchants of Farlnen trade spices and wines that cannot be produced any where else in the world. The waters around the island are just as danger ous as the stories say. Basalt columns and treacherous reefs pose inanimate threats to those who don’t know the coastline, and the undead sentinels pose an even greater threat. Anything that roamed the water over the centuries might have been slain at some point and bound to protect Farlnen. Krakens? Dragon turtles? Worse? It’s up to you to decide what lies hidden in the dark water.
tHe Faces oF Farlnen Farlnen is a dark reflection of Aerenal. The cities are made of basalt and darkwood, and the sun never pierces the Mabaran haze that hangs over the island. Most of the elves who reside there have pale com plexions, as one might expect in such a sunless land. However, children conceived when Mabar is close are sometimes born with jetblack skin; such elves can be mistaken for drow. Tattoos are used both aestheti cally and as a sign of status. At a glance, Bloodsail facial tattoos are similar to the death mask designs employed by the Aereni, though the Bloodsails favor crimson inks. But to those who know the culture, these tattoos can reveal family line, mystical talent, and the bearer’s ship. Although Bloodsail merchants and privateers are found across the Lhazaar Principalities and the Bitter Sea, strangers receive a cold welcome in Farlnen. Port Cairn is the gateway to the island and the seat of Prince Tasil, but any visitor quickly realizes that the place has few families. It is home to travelers and those who cater to them, but the family estates lie in the interior and the Fingerbone Mountains. Foreign ers who want to travel into the interior of Farlnen are treated with suspicion or hostility; it is all but impos sible to find a guide unless the traveler is an elf or a follower of the Blood of Vol. Farlnen is primarily inhabited by elves, along with a handful of eladrin and halfelves. The eladrin arrived eighteen hundred years ago, fleeing a disaster in Thelanis; they have fully embraced the Bloodsail culture and married into elf families. Members of other races might be accepted as guests, but there is no place for humans on the Black Isle.
lIFe beyond deatH Much as Aerenal has its living Sibling Kings and the Undying Court, Farlnen has a balance between the living and the dead. The Prince of Farlnen is the living ruler of the isle, and she represents her people in dealings with the other Lhazaar princes. But the true power in Farlnen is an alliance of undead lords and ladies known collectively as the Grim. This shadow court watches the living from estates spread across the Fingerbone Mountains. Only the most accomplished individuals can rise to join the Grim. One must display talent and charisma, learning all that life has to offer before passing to the other side. Although these traditions are similar to those of the Undying Court, the members of the Grim are not as tightly unified as the Deathless and do not share any sort of mystical power. The lords and ladies of the Grim live in mansions maintained by tithes from the living. Some use their ancient wisdom and mystical power to help their people; others wish to be left to their arcane studies and private pursuits. However, the Grim aren’t the only undead in Farlnen. The members decide who is worthy to join their ranks, but any Bloodsail can earn lesser undead immortality by amassing sufficient wealth. This is the reason the Bloodsails take to the seas as pirates, privateers, or merchants. The price of immortality is paid over time, credited to the accounts of sailors even as it fills the vaults of the Grim. When a sailor dies, the funds in his or her account determine that sailor’s final fate. Gifted wizards or clerics can become liches. Wealthy captains some times bind their spirits to skeletal sea monsters. Most Bloodsails aspire to become vampires, however, so that they can continue to walk the world after death. The mortal population can sustain only a limited number of vampires, so the cost of this transformation rises with the creation of every new vampire. Because the price to become a vampire is far beyond what any common sailor could hope to acquire, the majority of these elf sailors end up as haunts. Since the necroman cers of the Grim can bind ghosts to inanimate objects, they take this task upon themselves and base the out come of their efforts on how much was in that sailor’s account at his or her death. The more expensive forms of the ritual allow the fallen elf to fully manifest as a ghost, as long as it stays close to its anchoring item. The lesser form keeps the spirit conscious, but allows only limited poltergeist activity. The most common manifestation of this form of spirit binding is in the Bloodsail ships. The cheapest form of immortality for a sailor is being bound to a ship—typically to the sail. The oldest sails are infused with the spirits of generations of sailors. These hosts of the fallen can propel the ship with a speed to rival any elemental galleon. They can deflect missiles or tear at enemy vessels, and the enchantments woven into the sails make them virtually immune to con ventional harm. The powers of the ghosts depend on their numbers, but these spectral allies make the small Bloodsail fleet exceptionally dangerous. Blood sail vessels that lack haunt allies often have skeleton crews—small complements of mindless undead that can be assigned to oars or other menial tasks. Although existence as a lesser haunt might seem like a bleak fate, the Bloodsails consider it a blessing. Even a lesser haunt escapes the slow dissolution of Dolurrh. He can stay with his ship and crewmates, and continue to explore the ocean. Although the haunt cannot enjoy some of the same pleasures he did when he lived, he is one with the ship and the ship’s other spirits in a way that mortals cannot understand. It’s a limited immortality, but it’s still an escape from death. These details give only a taste of the degree to which magic and necromancy affect the lives of the people of Farlnen. The streets are lit with ghost lights. Any family heirloom might hold the spirit of an ancestor, from a chest that opens only for a descen dant to a magic blade that whispers to its wielder. Almost all Bloodsail captains are arcane or divine spellcasters, specializing in necromantic rituals. When a Bloodsail captain faces a difficult decision, it’s common for her to retreat to her quarters and con sult with the spirits of her predecessors. tHe bloodsaIls and Vol The religion known as the Blood of Vol is a bastard ized version of the beliefs of the elves of Farlnen, and it has grown and changed over the centuries. Bloodsail priests are far more pragmatic than are their Karrnathi counterparts. They shape their divine spells from the raw energy of Mabar, and whereas the Seekers of Atur try to unlock the immortal potential of the Divinity Within, the priests of Port Cairn are content with the simpler immortality of undeath. Nonetheless, the two faiths share some common practices, and followers of the Blood are treated with respect in Farlnen. The Bloodsails sold their services to Karrnath during the Last War, and ever since Kaius III turned away from the faith, Karrnath’s ship ping and coastline have been the primary targets of Bloodsail raiders. Despite these intrigues, the Bloodsails are unaware of the existence of Erandis Vol. The Queen of the Dead needs to conceal her identity from the Aereni Deathguard, and only her most trusted allies know her true name. Instead, the people of Farlnen know her as Lady Illmarrow, one of the most power ful and reclusive members of the Grim. She can use this authority to call on her people for aid or fealty, but she generally prefers to keep a low profile and work through agents. bloodsaIl Player cHaracters The Bloodsails aren’t innately evil, and there’s no reason a player character couldn’t come from this principality. Consider the following possibilities. F A young wizard believes that the life of an adven turer will allow him to gather his blood money far more quickly than would serving as a deckhand on a ship. He is loyal to the traditions and beliefs of his people and fully intends to ascend to mem bership in the Grim. Although he might not sail a ship, he has the instincts of a pirate; he is always searching for profit and might push his allies to ruthless action to gain wealth. If he is a cousin of Prince Shaen Tasil, he could be called upon to rep resent the principality in diplomatic events after his reputation and level have grown.
F When her ship was destroyed in the Last War, a privateer was the only survivor. Now she is liter ally haunted by her former shipmates. The ghost of the captain claims that the crew members were betrayed and sent to their doom by a member of the Grim—possibly Lady Illmarrow. The privateer must solve this mystery and avenge her fallen com panions, but if she is to face one of the Grim, she must lie low while she gains power and influential allies—perhaps a party of adventurers. Although this character concept would work for any class, it’s an interesting layer of color to add to a shaman; rather than spirits of nature, her spirit companions would be the ghosts of her former crew. F An elf vampire washes ashore with no memory of his past. From his tattoos, it’s clear that he comes from the Bloodsail Principality and possibly is a lord of the Grim. But he can’t remember what happened, and his skills are those of a 1stlevel character. Can he recover his power and memories while working with a group of adventurers? If he does remember his past, will it be welcome news, or must he atone for a legacy of horrors? adVenture Ideas The Bloodsails can serve as colorful antagonists if adventurers are traveling through the Lhazaar Principalities or sailing on a Karrnathi vessel. A longterm campaign against the Blood of Vol might bring adventurers into conflict with the Bloodsails as they search for Illmarrow and Erandis Vol. The con cepts presented above for player characters could be used as elements in other characters’ backgrounds to help drive the story. Below are a few other ways to work the Bloodsail Principality into an adventure or campaign. F The party acquires a haunted weapon that recog nizes one of the player characters (any elf, halfelf, or eladrin) as a distant descendant—generations removed from Farlnen, but still kin. The ghost blade wants to be carried by the descendant (which could be a problem if another member of the party is better suited to the weapon) and prom ises to lead the adventurers to hidden treasures in exchange. F A vampire player character is being hunted by templars of the Silver Flame, and a Bloodsail vessel is the only chance for escape. The Bloodsails respect the undead and could be convinced to help the vampire and his or her friends. Alternatively, Bloodsails could aid a group of adventurers who are attacked by rival pirates—perhaps the start of a beautiful friendship. F A lord of the Grim needs vast quantities of blood for an experiment. At first, adventurers might encounter merchants who are willing to pay for donations of blood, which are sealed in casks of preserving pine. Then they find a coastal village whose people have been slain and drained to the last child. What is the lord working on? Can the adventurers stop him? F The Aereni Deathguard plans to open a rift to Irian, the plane of positive energy, on Farlnen—a scheme that could banish the Bloodsail undead. The characters could be an integral part of the plan, helping to acquire the scattered treasures required to construct an eldritch machine and then leading the covert operation to smuggle the device onto the island. On the other hand, the adventurers might have befriended the Bloodsails, in which case they could be working to expose the Deathguard scheme and prevent the destruction of the Grim.