Government of the Archipelago
The thin veneer of law and order among the southern shipwreckers is even more precarious as of current times. Their leader, the Pirate Queen, has died, and the long, deadly process of finding a successor has begun.
The Pirate Queen
There is currently no Pirate Queen ruling the Whaletooth Archipelago. The next one will be chosen based on the events of RoS' story!
The ruler of the Southerners is known as the Pirate Queen, regardless of their gender. She provides one of the only sources of authority for the Shipwreckers and is more like a powerful crime boss than an actual Queen.
She serves an important role, preventing the Southerners from preying on eachother and becoming weak, as well as introducing some limits to their piracy. The last Pirate Queen, however, was killed when a powerful storm smashed her and her ship to bits against a rocky island in the Gaping Sea, leaving a power vacuum.
There is no method to finding a new Pirate Queen; one simply emerges from the chaos, establishing the authority expected of them, and out-competes their rivals for the title. She must both earn the adoration and fear of the Captains and the Sirens. This… disorganized manner of succession means that it can take decades for a new leader to arise.
The ruler of the Southerners is known as the Pirate Queen, regardless of their gender. She provides one of the only sources of authority for the Shipwreckers and is more like a powerful crime boss than an actual Queen.
She serves an important role, preventing the Southerners from preying on eachother and becoming weak, as well as introducing some limits to their piracy. The last Pirate Queen, however, was killed when a powerful storm smashed her and her ship to bits against a rocky island in the Gaping Sea, leaving a power vacuum.
There is no method to finding a new Pirate Queen; one simply emerges from the chaos, establishing the authority expected of them, and out-competes their rivals for the title. She must both earn the adoration and fear of the Captains and the Sirens. This… disorganized manner of succession means that it can take decades for a new leader to arise.
Past Pirate Queens
Read about prior leaders of the Whaletooth Archipelago below.
Pirate Queen Aleutian [22 b.a - 74 a.e.d]
The first Pirate Queen, Aleutian is considered both the ideal leader and the ideal Captain. Smart, charismatic, but also deeply caring for her people; these are the things that make a great Pirate Queen. She found the Whaletooth Archipelago, established the shipwreckers there, thus saving them from the wrath of the Elder Drakes, and created the role of Pirate Queen.
She ruled for a total of 96 years and passed away peacefully in her sleep in 74, the longest any Pirate Queen has held the title.
She ruled for a total of 96 years and passed away peacefully in her sleep in 74, the longest any Pirate Queen has held the title.
Pirate Queen Mindanao [104 - 191 a.e.d.]
Mindanao was the second Pirate Queen, and started off quite like Aleutian, if with a ruthless side. She took over the Whaletooth Archipelago 30 years after Aleutian died and left it leaderless; things were falling apart. Captains were not just raiding the shores of other nations, but the homes and belongings of other residents of the Archipelago.
Everyone agreed that a firm hand was needed to bring order back to the Isles, and did not complain when she established the Sirens, but after a decade Mindanao’s firm hand turned into tyranny. She grew paranoid, and even mistrusted her own organization, and instituted an uprising in the ranks.
She ruled for 87 years until she was killed by her eldest daughter, Ohktosk. She was succeeded 8 years later by one of her younger daughters, Azores.
Everyone agreed that a firm hand was needed to bring order back to the Isles, and did not complain when she established the Sirens, but after a decade Mindanao’s firm hand turned into tyranny. She grew paranoid, and even mistrusted her own organization, and instituted an uprising in the ranks.
She ruled for 87 years until she was killed by her eldest daughter, Ohktosk. She was succeeded 8 years later by one of her younger daughters, Azores.
Pirate Queen Azores [199 - 242 a.e.d.]
Daughter of Mindanao, Azores became the next Pirate Queen with the help of her uncle, Benguela, the Muse of the Sirens. She was remembered as a strict, but fair, ruler, who was willing to forgive provided that dragons did not take advantage of her. She ruled for forty-three years and died in 242 due to an infection from a poorly-treated wound.
Pirate Queen Darien [273 - 310 a.e.d.]
The fourth Pirate Queen was Darien, and the only human one so far. He was a successful Captain before taking up the position and ruled for thirty-seven years. He died after robbing a Brookian vessel - carrying a shipment of skyship runes engraved into large blocks of gold - due to poison in 310.
The stolen runes were returned to the capital and used to create a pair of skyships, the Azores and the Darien that are still in use in the Archipelago today.
Darien ruled the Archipelago for a total of thirty-seven years.
The stolen runes were returned to the capital and used to create a pair of skyships, the Azores and the Darien that are still in use in the Archipelago today.
Darien ruled the Archipelago for a total of thirty-seven years.
Pirate Queen Oresund [317 - 353 a.e.d.]
An eccentric one for sure. Oresund had a lot of weird hobbies but, overall, was tolerated, as she was also a decent leader. She talked often about establishing a proper monarchy, named her eldest son, Surigao, as ‘heir’ and insisted that all her children be referred to as ‘princes’ and ‘princesses’. Everyone assumed it was just some absurd joke until, after she passed in 353, her son actually tried to claim the title of Pirate Queen as his birthright.
The Sirens intervened and he was found dead a few days later. Oresund ruled the Archipelago for a total of thirty-six years.
The Sirens intervened and he was found dead a few days later. Oresund ruled the Archipelago for a total of thirty-six years.
Pirate Queen Baikal [379 - 409 a.e.d.]
Baikal is most well known for starting a war with Meros that lasted from 384 to 409 A.E.D, ending only when she was killed in battle by a Merosian captain, Marius Kajal Akiba Hidaka. She had been determined to prove that Shipwreckers were the better sailors, but… that didn’t turn out in her favour.
Read more about the war between Meros and Pirate Queen Baikal in more detail here, under the "Shipwrecker Conflict" heading. Baikal ruled the Archipelago for a total of thirty years.
Read more about the war between Meros and Pirate Queen Baikal in more detail here, under the "Shipwrecker Conflict" heading. Baikal ruled the Archipelago for a total of thirty years.
Pirate Queen Reef [436 - 467 a.e.d.]
The last Pirate Queen and… honestly considered a tad boring to the shipwrecks and residents of the Whaletooth Archipelago today. Reef didn’t do anything other than… what an ordinary Captain would’ve done, no weird hobbies or starting wars or revolutions.
Reef was killed in a bad storm in 467 and the Archipelago has been without a leader since; she ruled for thirty-one years
Reef was killed in a bad storm in 467 and the Archipelago has been without a leader since; she ruled for thirty-one years
The Captains of the Archipelago
Captains are leaders of pirate ships and even small fleets, the ground-level soldiers who help direct the Isles' dragons. To become a Captain, a dragon must have an already-existing Captain vouch for them and own a ship. While alone one Captain doesn’t possess much power, should they be allowed to get away with insubordination or worse, the others will doubtlessly follow suit.
In order to maintain control, the Pirate Queen must keep discipline among the Captains - but not too much, else they might grow resentful of her and try to get a new Pirate Queen put in place.
In order to maintain control, the Pirate Queen must keep discipline among the Captains - but not too much, else they might grow resentful of her and try to get a new Pirate Queen put in place.
The Sirens
An order of assassins and spies spread out across the Realm who enforce the will of the Pirate Queen. They aid her in her duties, spy, blackmail, and protect against threats to the Archipelago and her power. During times, such as now, when there is no Pirate Queen, they follow only the directive of the Muse and maintain only the barest sense of order in the Archipelago.