The Bifetra Corsairs

Until the Collapse, Bifetra was controlled by Sascria, and was a source of beastfolk used as studs for mainland slaves.  The islands and eponymous city of Bifetra were considered to be the location of the purest beasfolk strains, and it was a playground for the wealthy and powerful who wanted the very best in slaves and arena fighters.

This all changed when the Collapse hit, decimating the magical protections that kept the beastfolk subjugated and in place.  What followed were days and nights of terror and bloodshed that are still legendary on the mainland, and still used as motivation for pogroms against beastfolk all over Gondal.

Since the Collapse, the various tribes of beastfolk have each claimed islands and sections of islands for themselves, and for the most part they keep to themselves, periodically fighting over resources.  The scattered pockets of humans who did not flee the island to become refugees elsewhere have become slaves of the beastfolk tribes.  Much of the territory of Bifetra is poor soil and does not produce much food, and some tribes are not above eating their human cousins.

The primary exception to this is the city of Bifetra.  In it's cramped streets, canals and quays, various tribes live in close proximity, and while they mingle far more than in the more remote areas, they still conflict over limited space and resources.

Driven by the desire for revenge against humankind as well as a lack of local resources, many beastfolk have taken to the sea and have been engaging in violent raids all along the coast of Sascria.  At first, these were haphazard, driven by desperation and pent-up rage, and specific to only the few tribes of beastfolk who commonly take to the sea such as Muroideans and Selkies.  In recent months, however, they have become more organized and focused, and a leader has arisen among what have come to be known as the Bifetra Corsairs.  This leader, captain of the sleek dhow Blood Price, is known as The Carver.  Many, though not all, corsairs fly under the banner of The Carver - crossed, curved red blades on a black background.

The Carver, and most of the captains who fly his banner, have earned a reputation for savage surprise attacks on coastal villages and towns - in some cases, only leaving a few mutilated survivors to spread fear and panic among Sascrians.  They are not above stripping all of the food and supplies from a village, leaving desolate buildings and corpses behind.

The Carver

The Carver (NE female Muroidean Rogue 4/Fighter 3/Duelist 2) is the leader of the Bifetra Corsairs, though she does not have overt control of many of the ships that fly her colors.  Before she was known as The Carver, Marelie was a Muroidean living in Sascria proper.  Like all of her kind, she was seen as bipedal vermin, and there was little preventing Sascrians hunting her like one of her smaller, four-legged kin.  Mar, as her few friends knew her, vowed revenge, and by the time the Collapse hit, she had already killed her first unwary Sascrian humans.  In the wake of the Collapse, she fled to Bifetra.

Unfortunately, her previous killings, though ostensibly in self-defense, had raised the ire of one of the magocratic families in Sascria.  They hired an assassin to cross over to Bifetra, find Mar and kill her.  He failed when he and Mar had a very public duel to the death in a Muroidean neighborhood of the city of Bifetra.  Mar cut his body apart when she finally killed him and fed it to the other Muroideans there, earning herself the name of Carver.  She vowed that she would kill 10 Sascrians for every Muroidean who was made to suffer by the magocrats before the Collapse.  She assembled a crew, took a sleek dhow by force with their help, and renamed it Blood Price.

Blood Price

The Blood Price is The Carver's own ship and the flagship, if such a word applies, of the Bifetra Corsairs.  It is a light, well-built dhow with double lateen sails with a shallow draft, allowing it to come in very close to shore and even to travel up rivers as long as it doesn't encounter sandbars or other obstructions.  After almost two years of fending off or evading the Sascrian navy and raiding Sascrian towns, the ship itself has been outfitted to be more effective with magical countermeasures and stolen magic items.

Searing Blades

Named in part for their tendency to put Sascrian villages and towns to the torch, the Searing Blades are primarily known for using a particular kind of toxin derived from a spiny sea-cucumber native to the Bifetran islands.  When alchemically prepared, the toxin can be applied as a sticky paste to bladed and piercing weapons.  When introduced into the body through a wound, the toxin causes searing agony (Fort save to avoid falling prone and temporary paralysis, fatigued condition on successful save).  The toxin is difficult to isolate and expensive to prepare, but incredibly effective, and it is the signature of the Searing Blades of Bifetra, originally founded by elite members of The Carver's crew, but since spread beyond Muroideans to other beastfolk tribes.

Port of Bifetra

The Port of Bifetra is one of the few places on the islands that humans are generally safe and enjoy some freedom.  Most humans living in the port city fled there during the beastfolk uprising on the islands, or remain in the port to trade with the various beastfolk tribes in Bifetra.

Control of the docks is the most important currency in the Port of Bifetra, and the various trading interests, gangs and beastfolk tribes violently compete for the right to be the first to receive incoming goods, to charge whatever "tariffs" they wish of incoming traders, and to have their own access to the sea in the event that they gain control of a ship or two.

The largest number of docks are under the control of the Searing Blades, in alliance with The Carver and her crews.  They are the closest thing to police that the Port of Bifetra has apart from the enforcers of particular gangs, and really the Blades are just the most powerful gang.  Their territory is clearly marked with bright red sigils, and only an alliance of more than one local tribe or gang has any hope of contesting them.

Apart from the docks and the connected trade district, the Port of Bifetra is an anarchist haven with no over-arching government.  The various tribes and gangs in a particular part of the city will sometimes gather together to argue about shared concerns, but each small, violent groups is effectively the law in it's own territory, until they are replaced by a new gang.  Ironically, there are some who truly thrive in this environment, and even the 'protection' money demanded by the gangs and beastfolk tribes is lower than the usual taxes in other parts of the world.  After all, you're just supporting your shifty, violent neighbors, and not a whole bureaucracy and standing army.

Sascrian Response