Sindar's Tears
The series of lakes that run between Camber and River
Run, and then eventually flow into the Endless Ocean, are known as Sindar’s
Tears and are vital to the transport of good around Shardar.
They are fresh water, are rich in fish and bird life and are constantly
ploughed by the barges that travel between the capital city at their northern
end and the rough and ready fishing town at their southern end.
Legend says that
Sindar was an Avatar of the Gods, that she came to Shardar at the dawn of time
to ensure that the land would be a good and safe place for people to live in.
She saw what the humans were doing to each other, the wars they waged and
the killings and brutality. She saw
deceit and lies, she saw pain and sorrow and she saw that if the people did not
change their ways, Shardar would destroy itself.
To prevent this,
she called all the people of the land together at Camber, a tiny village at that
time, and she spoke to them of what the Gods had planned for the land.
She spoke of neighbours living in peace, she spoke of brother loving
brother, of father loving son and she spoke of an end to war.
When Sindar had finished this, the people jeered and laughed at her and
turned away from her to carry on as they were before.
For a hundred
years, Sindar wept at the stupidity and malice of mankind and for a hundred
years, she did not move from her position in Camber.
At the end of that time her tears had caused huge lakes to form and these
lakes were being used by the people of Shardar to move goods to one another. They fished side by side in peace and they sold goods to each
other instead of making war. Seeing
that Shardar had managed to save itself, Sindar stopped crying and went back to
the Gods to tell them that all was well with the land.
Few but the most
ignorant and superstitious of peasants believe this tale now, but it is still
told by travelling minstrels and bards around the hearth fire.
Regardless of their origins, Sindar’s Tears play a vital part in the
movement of goods and the fish that live in the lakes form a major part of the
diet of the many people that live around the lakes.
Merchants have
found that it is safer and cheaper to move their goods by barge instead of by
road and for centuries, barges slowly moving around the placid waters of the
lakes have been a common sight. Initially,
this did prove to be much safer than transporting valuable merchandise by road
but times change. The bandits and
thieves realised that a large source of income was passing them by and they
adjusted to make the best of their available resources.
There are many
small villages scattered around the edge of Sindar’s Tears and most of them
have at least one fishing boat moored by them.
The bandits took advantages of these forms of transport and the first
Privateers appeared on the lakes. These
bandits were nothing more than pirates who would board their target ship, steal
the gold of the merchants and ten flee again, hoping to lose any pursuers.
As time went by, the bandits advanced and adapted and realised that
instead of taking the gold or coins from the merchants, they could steal the
entire cargo and sell it for themselves.
The merchants
were naturally very upset by this turn of events and they complained to the High
Lord who created a small force to patrol the lakes.
These boats were small, fast moving vessels based both in Camber and
River Run. They would travel with and protect the merchant’s barges
and hunt down any Privateers who they heard of.
By the Year 200 there were hardly any Privateers on Sindar’s tears and
the merchants could travel in relative safety again. The lakes were never completely safe and there would always
be a few bandits who would test their seamanship against that of the High
Lord’s navy, but there were a lot less of these than there were bandits on the
road.
This all changed
when High Lord Calloway declared war on Dargoth.
Suddenly every spare soldier was needed in the war and the ships that had
patrolled Sindar’s Tears were moved down to Shandow to help in the
transportation of troops across the Southern Sea to the new continent.
The Privateers sprung up again in greater numbers than ever before and
again, the merchants were hard pressed to keep their cargoes safe.
To combat this,
the merchants would hire guards and Mages to protect their stock and it was not
unusual to see heated battles taking place miles from shore.
The Privateer’s vessels would be faster and more manoeuvrable than the
merchant’s barges but the merchants would have well armed and prepared
warriors to protect them. Whenever
the Privateers win these battles, they take the cargoes and often the entire
ships of the merchants and sell them. Sometimes
the goods are sold in Camber or in some of the smaller villages that line the
coasts of the lakes, but most often they are sold in River Run.
The most
notorious Privateer on Sindar’ Tears is a pirate who goes by the name of
Captain Immortal. Immortal is
completely without mercy and often slaughters the guards and workers of the
merchant barges for the sheer pleasure of it.
The Captain is feared and hated by everyone who uses the lakes, including
the other Privateers, but the dozen ships that the Captain controls seem to
vanish like mist when they are followed. There
are a number of different rewards on the Captain’s head; the merchants of
Camber will give 1,000 Falcons for the Captain’s death, Calloway will pay 500
Falcons for Immortal being brought in alive and the Thieves Guild of Camber will
pay 1,000 Falcons for the Captain being brought in alive. Many
have tried to pick up these rewards, but none have succeeded and few have
returned from the attempt.
Captain
Immortal’s symbol is a black skull on a red background.
When this flag is seen flying over ship on Sindar’s Tears, even the
bravest sailor will turn and flee.