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In the world of Iternia, there is a continent called Coros. It is surrounded by a perpetual storm, isolating it from the rest of the world. Long ago, many races lived here in equal numbers but the intervention of a god caused mankind to become dominant. Now human settlements cover the land and only a small fraction of Coros' population is non-human. These people are treated as third-class citizens, though a few do rise to positions of importance.
Today, Coros is divided into a handful of human kingdoms that are often at war with one another. Treaties are made and broken like the fleeting promises of children, by squabbling kings in a political arena filled with more traps and danger than the hideout of a neurotic rogue.
In the distant past the kingdoms of mankind fielded massive armadas of sea-going vessels, but the eternal storm around Coros has made deep-water travel very dangerous for some time now. Undaunted, man harnessed the powers of magic and technology to take his ships into the sky. Travel by airship is common-place now, and generals often send aerial fleets of military vessels against their foes. This luxury is by no means universal, as many merchants still ply the rivers of Coros with regular ships.
Trade between the countries flourishes even during times of war. Many captains seek to make their fortune by ensuring supplies to embattled opponents, and the various powerful trade guilds guarantee their safety. No king has yet tried to test the resolve of these guilds, who more often than not have their hands buried deep in the pockets of the crown.
Of course, with trade comes piracy (even in the skies). The guilds are too large and slow to stop every enterprising pirate from preying on the bloated merchant vessels teetering through the sky. Even the fastest, sneakiest captain is hampered when the Merchant's Guild employs armed guards and blockades, however. To keep from raising the ire of the trading guilds, an unspoken code exists between pirates to loot merchant vessels and leave them intact rather than sink them. Theirs is a dangerous lifestyle, though several pirates have risen to great fortune and infamy and have substantial bounties on them by several countries.
Not all pirates operate entirely on the wrong side of the law. The crown often uses hired pirates for its purposes, also known as privateers. They have been employed for purposes varying from acting as reinforcements in times of war, to sneaking into neighboring kingdoms and performing assassination in times of peace. In return, privateers are granted payment and limited immunity for their past indiscretions, though all bets are off once the captain has outlived his usefulness.
