Korinn Archipelago

The Korinn Archipelago was a chain of islands in the Sea of Swords, situated in the northernmost region of the Moonshae Isles.

Geography
The Korinn Archipelago stood west of Delmarin Island, as well as east of both the island of Ruathym and the small archipelago known as the Whalebones. Beneath the water between those latter two locales, it laid close to the storm giant fortress of Maelstrom.

By and large, all the islands that made up the archipelago were hilly and mountainous, with only a few good fields suitable for farming. Although some of them were wooded with a hardy breed of pine, most of the isles were either barren moors, tundras, or simple bedrock.

Flora & Fauna
Dragon turtles were known to prowl around the waters of Korinn. Many of its islands were inhabited by dragons, griffons, harpies, and wyverns. Domesticated animals on the islands included goats, pigs, and sheep.

Viledel Isle in particular was known to have a myriad of mundane sea birds, wild goats in its western hills, and rats. In addition, a variety of edible wild plants grew on the island that included onions.

Trade
Primary exports of the Korinn Archipelago's islands included fish, pork, mutton, leather, linen, and wool. As well as a myriad of wild herbs and spices. The larger islands and greater port cities also had many craftsmen, who provided luxury goods and services. Some of the islands also operated salt mines.

History
Circa -10500 DR, the Korinn Archipelago takes form.

Around roughly 1128 DR, the Korinn Archipelago was discovered by human farmers and fishermen emigrating into the Moonshae Isles region. These settlers lived a rough and lawless life, lacking trade as well as any sort of central leadership.

Over the course of a century they became firmly settled on its islands and their population. With this came increased trade and attention from pirates. Between 1188 DR and 1228 DR, strong bands of pirates terrorized the waters of Korinn, holding great sway over its people.

Around that latter date, a Northmen chieftain named Viledel led a large fleet of his human and demihuman followers into the archipelago from their southern kingdom of Petathal. They sought to colonize the lands themselves, aspiring to one day create a strong maritime empire. They set up a base on the westernmost island, which came to be named after him. Over the next four decades, through a combination of clever tactics and skill in sailing that surpassed them, his people managed to diminish the power and presence of the once supreme pirate forces. Sending them scattering out north and south from the Moonshae Isles.

Over the course of those forty years Viledel's people also came to mix peacefully with the island's already settled humans, over time bringing more islands under the chieftain's control and establishing more trade routes. His kingdom thrived and the people lived in a time of relative peace. But on 1268 DR, the fortieth year of Viladel's reign, a kingdom of pirates launched a retaliatory attack. They quickly overran his island and rampaged throughout it, destroying nearly the whole population.

One of the island's inhabitants, a boy named Keestake, avoided the notice of the pirates by hiding under an overturned boat. He continued to live solitarily on the island for the following sixty years, guarding the treasure of his fallen king and surviving off the land, eating rats and wild plants like onions.

Having lost their king, the islands became fragmented and the weakest fell victim to stronger forces. The pirates went on to grasp dominion over the western islands of the archipelago and cut them off from trade routes so thoroughly that knowledge of their location was lost to much of the Realms. In sixty years following the death of their king the independently governed islands came to thrive once more to some degree, cooperating in manners of trade and growing their populations.

Circa 1328 DR, a group of archipelago inhabitants that included the merchant's daughter Melisana of Ventris were captured by slavers and sent sailing towards the pirate stronghold of Westhaven when a violent storm sent most of the galley's crew overboard. Eventually they crashed upon the shores of Viledel Isle and the group of people managed to escape their jailor, a drunken half-orc named Hafkris.

Making their way over some low hills on the western side of the cove they had crashed in, this group soon came upon a dozen goblins and a half-dozen orcs fighting in a ravine &mdash; members of the Sithisila Fleet and Hak-kubra tribe respectively. After defeating these groups by uncertain means, this party hurried into the ravine to the side of the elderly Keestake. He informed them of his backstory and reason for the two buccaneering groups' conflict &mdash; the Hak-kubra had arrived a few days earlier and captured him, seeking the treasure, then the Sithisila Fleet arrived two days prior and since then been fighting over the rights of Viledel's fabled treasure.

Around the early 14 century DR, Elminster sailed up from the Moonshae Isles and through the archipelago upon a longship captained by King Rolf Olafson. The whole time sailing through them, the king and his Northmen crew were very tense and vigilant, for they were concerned of the possibility of getting attacked by the local pirates.

Rumors & Legends
One of the flying cities of the Netheril empire that fell from Karsus's Folly were believed to have landed in the waters of the archipelago.

Inhabitants
The inhabitants of these islands were primarily made up of Northmen, along with a variety of demihumans descended from the followers of Viledel that included dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, and halflings. Their mini-kingdoms were unified by little other than their shared Northlander culture. Some remnants of the Ffolk were also known to inhabit the isles.

The white dragon Arveiaturace was known to sometimes hunt in the archipelago.

Barret's Quay
A smallish island on the eastern side of the archipelago that lacked any major port cities. It was noted for how reserved and tight-lipped its inhabitants were. The population was primarily made up of humans, with a few dwarves.

Caftenor
The most southern of the islands, Caftenor had temperate weathers and was the most abundant in resources, in particular that of fish. It was surrounded by well-stocked fishing grounds. Alongside its humans inhabitants lived a sizeable population of halflings. They had a decent port of the same name, which was one the most frequent stopping off ports for ships bound between the nations south of Korinn and its western islands.

Chawdik
An island on the eastern side of the archipelago that was fairly poor. It was most notable for its large gnome population that lived on its south coast, being ones of the largest gnome populations in all of Korinn.

Highport
The greenest and most heavily forested of Korinn's islands, this mountainous landmass was fairly rich and had several powerful port cities. A large degree of the populations was made up of elves and high-elves.

Jacaman
One of the smaller and apparently insignificant islands, it was one of the major producers of spice in the archipelagos. Pirates took great interest in the trade that occured there and the sea-routes leading to it. As of 1479 DR the isle was ruled by a disguised devil, known as Roquern, who worked to keep his realm unnoticed. He enslaved creatures and forced them to work on his spice plantations.

Pandira
One of the northernmost and second largest of Korinn's islands. It was a notorious pirate haven in the days of Viledel the Sea King, but was seemingly abandoned a few years after his death. Around the early 14 century DR, a major port by the name of Westhaven was secretly established, on a bay guarded by natural breakers and free from dangerous shoals. It began life as an honest port, but over time its inhabitants decided to cater to all kinds of cutt-throats after suffering several pirate and Northmen raids. It was a neutral ground where aggression on anyone was not tolerated. This port was fairly successful and a thriving base for pirates of both the Korinn Archipelago and the Moonshae Isles, a place where black market goods and info were traded to the highest bidder. All nations of the Sword Coast and every civilized group in the Moonshaes kept some form of spy on the isle.

Rabin's Reef
A forested island that was a popular summer destination for wealthy families, especially those of Ventris.

Tetris
The southernmost island of the archipelago and the isle furthest south from Pandira. It functioned as a secret base of operations for the Sithisila Fleet, a group of goblin pirates.

Ventris
The largest of Korinn's islands and the most richest, commanding a good deal of the archipelago's sea-trade. It was heavily mountainous, covered by thick forests of pines, and had several plains that had been cleared to support a number of prosperous farming communities. In addition to humans, the island had a large population of demihumans that included a sizable number of dwarves and halflings as well as some elves.