Windward

Known to the natives and Tucheans as "Selm", the island was renamed Windward after the Republic of Iridine assumed control of it. The island’s mountainous west coast is famous for its rich copper mines, while the sloping east coast is green and fertile, if somewhat narrow. The inhabitants are resilient and stubborn, and many of the elders of the island were alive during the Second Aestivan War. Most of the younger folk have a tendency to leave Windward in search of wealth and glory on the mainland. Because of this, the population has been decreasing steadily for over three decades.

An island with a rich copper mine on it, Windward is owned and protected by the Republic. Its people are fairly independent, however, and many of the older ones were alive when the isle was owned by Tuchea before the last war between the two larger nations. With not much to do but be a farmer or a miner, it's no surprise the island's population continues to drop now that its people are not slaves.

- Help Files

"And the kings of Selm grew decadent and turned from worshipping the powerful gods of the Sea, and for their sins the gods called up great walls of water to crash against their palace. Yet still, the kings would not repent. So the gods sent rain clouds to block out the sky, and drench the land with their anger. Yet still would they not repent. Only after the people themselves began to cry out for relief from these great calamities did the gods pause in their terrible wrath. Even so, the sun itself would not warm the land, and many many people starved and died, the King and his nobles among them. It was only when the tall, blond people from the north landed their great arching-prowed vessels upon the strand, that the sun destroyed the lowering clouds and emerged to warm the land and bring life to its people once more." - From The Book of Aengrud, First Smith of Windward.

- Jenn (forum post)

Geography

Windward is a large island to the northwest of Iridine, home to a range of peaks bearing rich deposits of copper and iron ore. The island is called Windward by the Iridines because of its location in the direction of the prevailing winds. In ancient times, before the ocean rose and washed across the island, Windward was known as the kingdom of Selm, but much of that history has been lost, and no one knows what the inhabitants of Selm or their kingdom were like. Only a few mysterious passages in some old tomes hint at a decadent nation that traded its precious metal for other wealth.

Appearance

The people of Windward have tough, leathery skin from lifetimes in the fields or in the mines. They tend to be darker then Iridinians though only a little. They are shorter than average, due to the relatively small amount of meat in their diets, and are stocky rather then fat. Many Windwarders are surprisingly strong and enduring, both qualities required for their tough work. The islanders are commonly said to be rather slow and dense. Many have gone to great lengths to refute this accusation, but with little success—the rhythm of island life just goes against them.

Culture

Faith in Windward is secondary. As expected they pay lip service to Ereal mainly because of the large contingent of Iridine citizens now working on the
island. No great festival takes place on Windward and no great ceremony is observed. Windwarders also tend to pay some respect to the Tuchean
pantheon and some of the fishermen give praise to the Cenathen sea god. All of this is done more by rote then by any strong faith. Work and daily life is
their true religion.

Rumours & Word of Mouth

• "Windward is known for its copper mines."
• "Windward is a territory of the Republic, although its people are still fairly independent."
• "My wife is from Windward. Nice place. Horrible woman."
• "A small nation of peaceful people."
• "Windward was acquired by the [[Republic of Iridine]] from Tuchea in the 31st Year of the Republic."

History

Attracted by the glitter of exposed ore high on the mountain peaks, the people of Tuchea came to explore the neighboring island, and discovered a people barely managing to scratch a living from the sea-drenched island. The Tucheans were swift to take this island into their realm, and equally swift to see that the mines were soon working at full capacity. The Windwardians, living off Tuchean food until their own farms should again produce, hailed them as heroes and accepted their conquest with aplomb.

For the most part even-tempered and hard-working, the islanders worked for their overlords the Tucheans until an upstart young nation by the name of Iridine managed to annex the island after a series of vicious naval battles at various points around it. The Iridinians were of course more than happy to receive the precious copper and iron ores from Windward, but in exchange they gave the islanders more freedom than ever before….to own their mines, to work their land as they saw fit, to sell ores at competitive prices…as long as the bulk of those ores went to the Republic.

After being welcomed into the Iridine republic, Iridine engineers helped the islanders build the city of Chalcicus on the southwestern point of the island, on top of a small fishing village. This marvel of architecture features streets laid out in a block grid, making it one of the neatest and cleanest cities in the Republic. To protect its new assets, Iridine sent a contingent of soldiers, who built and manned a fort on the northeastern plateau of the island. The descendants of these soldiers keep a watchful eye north and east, towards the nations of Tuchea and Cinera, and Iridine periodically rotates units into and out of the fort.

In the leeward shelter of the ore-bearing mountains, rich green farmland grows wheat, olives, and even some grapes, with sheep grazing the higher mountain slopes. A few small villages have survived from ancient days, though most of the populace lives in Chalcicus.

To this day the Windwardians are a strong, independent people, hard-working and plain-spoken.

Religion

TBC

Politics

TBC