Alphar Isle

Alphar Isle was an island in the Pirate Isles in the Sea of Fallen Stars.

Geography
The island lay within the northeastern stretch of the Windrace, a strait known for its strong prevailing winds. It enabled speedy sailing from the Bowl in the heart of the Pirate Isles to Alphar Isle and beyond, but made the return journey quite difficult and time-consuming. Another strait, called the Spoon, ran from Alphar Isle's southern coast to Ilthan and back to the Bowl.

Alphar Isle was only slightly smaller than the Dragonisle and had a greater area of usable land, but was actually less attractive as a pirate port, owing to its less defensible and smaller harbors. Moreover, it was too close to Procampur and Tsurlagol in the Vast, allowing their ships to make patrols and raids with ease, and too far from the trade routes to Chessenta, Mulhorand, and Thay, unlike the Dragonisle.

Description
There were several harbors on the island, and each could hold 10 to 30 ships. The westernmost harbor was the largest and was home to a flourishing settlement of almost 5,000 people circa 1359 DR, also known as Alphar or Alphar Port.

Government
The town of Alphar maintained its own, non-pirate government. In the 1350s DR, it was led by Selshin Toshant. Although a retired pirate himself, he worked to "clean up" the harbor, tried to ban wanted pirates, and initiate legal trade with the northern nations of Sembia, Procampur, and Impiltur. However, they were not enamored of establishing such bonds with a port that had close ties to pirates and, at home, the folk of Alphar held tight to their pirate traditions and opposed Selshin's efforts. There was a risk that if he pushed too far, he would be removed from power before long.

Law & Order
Though it was frequented by pirates, Alphar was a neutral and open port, allowing almost any ships to dock, if they did not cause too much trouble and did not bring trouble onto the island by launching raids from its harbor. Only pirate-hunting privateers were barred.

Defenses
The harbor of Alphar was defended by breakrocks and a harbor chain, but this had decayed and been lost by the late 1350s DR. It also had a militia. Otherwise, it did not have much in the way of defenses, leaving it vulnerable to direct attack. When the island was invaded by foreign powers, the townsfolk disappeared into the wilderness and waited it out, before returning to rebuild. Raiders were dealt with roughly by the militia, with their ships wrecked on the breakrocks.

Activities
It was common for pirate captains of the Inner Sea to resolve their feuds by challenging one another to a race, starting at Mirg Isle, crossing the Bowl, and heading up the Windrace to a finish at a harbor on Alphar Isle, with the first to reach it declared the victor. Alternatively, they might make it a round trip.

History
Local pirate tales told that Captain Immurk the Invincible established his first pirate hold on Alphar Isle, some time in the late 12 century DR. However, if true, he likely soon realized its disadvantages and moved on to the Dragonisle. As it proved more useful to pirates and settlement there island grew, Alphar Isle became less important.

According to legend, in the, King Verovan Lorndessar challenged a Red Wizard of Thay to a race from Alphar harbor, down the Windrace, around Mirg Isle, and back. He was going quite well until he used his whip on his oarsmen, found the deceitful Thayvian had secretly swapped it for one made of cockatrice feathers, and that he had turned all his oarsmen to stone. His ship was wrecked on the rocks of the Neck and he himself was petrified.

In the, the pirate ship the Stirge returned to the Dragonisle by way of Alphar Isle after a raid on Teziir. Adventurers sought to intercept it there aboard the captured sister ship Wind's Slave.

Inhabitants
In the mid-to-late 1300s DR, Alphar Isle was something of a sanctuary for pirates who'd upset their more powerful peers in Immurk's Hold. Overall, the island's harbors were populated with almost 3,000 pirates circa 1370 DR.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Azla, a defeated young pirate who based her ship at Alphar Isle for more than six months circa 1359 DR, daring to make the odd raid while avoiding the Alphar militia.
 * Jezgar Skentzin, a lycanthropic seawolf pirate; he and his crew sometimes visited during the day, but left before nightfall.