Essharan Naval Affairs

[Theori]

The lore goblin returns! (This time at request of 'ol IronFistT)

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Essharan Naval Affairs

• Unlike its military, Esshar has no unified navy. Each port city in the Empire has its own naval force, and whilst they may occasionally aid each other they largely operate autonomously.
  
  
• Essharan waters are currently (1700s) riddled with piracy. Pirates around Esshar are generally deserters from city fleets, privateers under Barsburg who remained after the peace, and ships from small outlaw enclaves scattered on several islands outside of Essharan waters.
  
  
• Naval Exploration was popular in the time immediately after the fall of the peace barriers. There are tales of Essharan explorers in this period visiting Brittania, Agartha and Sheng, although they were rarely permitted to stay for long.
  
  
• Captains seeking to go on expeditions may approach nobility for funding. Due to House Grimmore's worldliness, they are generally considered the best first option for such fundraising. Oftentimes these funds will come with conditions; naming rights of newly discovered islands, a cut of any treasure or artifacts found or, occasionally, the accompaniment of a Lord's agent or a Lord themself.
  
  
• Esshar's greatness does not come freely. They lack true naval superiority, and fleets of other Aegis powers often outnumber them. To compensate for this, it is an open secret that Esshar will often hire pirates to masquerade as their navy, or else issue them letters of marque to employ them as privateers.
  
  
• Various guilds operate on the Essharan seas, and several prominent trading companies visit Esshar frequently from other continents. These ships are often intercepted by pirates or sunk during storms; a stretch of particularly rough waters near the Esshar coast is nicknamed the 'Barrier's Little Brother', due to storms said to be almost akin to those of the former peace barriers raging there frequently. The seabed of the area is said to be littered by the wrecks of sunken treasure ships, and some rumours name it as the region in which the legendary island of Los'tal may be found.

[Horus]

I appreciate these kept it up.

[IronFistT]

Thanks Theori! 

[Jumpy]

this is gonna be useful when Uri's boat gets repo'd in my hands