Farr Islanders
The Farr Islanders are the people of the Farr Islands, which lie in the Great Western Sea. Some of the finest sailors in the realm come from these islands.1
The islands are mostly populated by humans, with high elves found among them now and then. Their people follow a tribal way of life and are born to be sailors.2
Life at sea
Every Farr Islander knows how to handle simple sea craft, and the islanders are known as able swimmers. Meeting one in The Empire is not unusual, but it grows rarer the further one travels from the coast, because the islanders' skills are worth most at sea.1
The islanders keep time by the tides.3
Crafts and trade
Making clothing, food and tools from what the sea provides is a deep-rooted part of island culture. Daggers carved from whalebone are especially well known.1
Pirates act, unofficially, as the go-between in trade between the Farr nations and the Empire. Many exotic treats, chocolate among them, reach the Empire from the islands.2
Farian fare known on the mainland includes Sunken Spire Ale, a salty brew from coastal towns with hints of kelp and sea foam, and Seaborn Paella, a rich dish of rice, shellfish and seaweed cooked with saffron and seawater. Dreadwaves, a strategy game played with carved seashells standing for ships and sea monsters, in which players race to claim the richest islands, is Farian as well.4
Nobility
Island culture knows two kinds of nobility. The established families of the islands closely resemble the nobles of the mainland. Beside them stand the noble captains: a successful captain is raised to noble rank, and the extent of their domain is reckoned by the number of ships they own. Such captains gain fishing rights and control over trade routes, and the flag of their flagship serves as their house emblem.1
Customs shared with the elves
Every decade the elves build a ship of perfect beauty, load it with offerings and with poems praising the sea, and leave it to sink into the embrace of Aquaron. Some similar customs are kept by the Farians, who probably learned them from the elves, though this is not certain.5
History
During the raids of the northern warlord Skolpa, his forces managed to cut the links between the Archon Academy, the Farr Islands and the Empire.6
Notes
Sources
This article draws on:
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