Overview

Singo is a small city located on the coastline, about two days' sail east of the Isle of Barulis in good weather. Those building the city seemed to have tried to put as many buildings as close to the water as possible. This has led to an interesting shape of the city being stretched far along the coast, but hardly at all inland.

Singo has fostered a reputation as being a relatively safe base of operations for illicit affairs. The harbor is often bustling with activity, and sounds of shouting, laughter, and scuffling can be heard emanating from the many pubs and taverns along the docks at all hours of the day. Along the coast are numerous places where smaller ships can discreetly take refuge from storms, or anything else they do not wish to deal with.

While most liken Singo to being a lawless land, this is not wholly true. Singo is led by a singular ruler, "Corsair" Cecila Cutter, a Human. The title Corsair has been passed down since the first Corsair, Stran Locket, spearheaded the defense of the town against a Barulan assault. Little is known about Corsair Cutter, and there is a lot of speculation and wild theories regarding her, ranging from her being a demon in disguise, to the Avatar of Baldoria, and everything in between. It is not unusual to find the Corsair celebrating with sailors returning to Singo after a particularly bountiful voyage. It is also not unusual for her to disappear for weeks at a time.

It is unclear exactly what the responsibilities of the Corsair are, or how they are even appointed. This seems to be of little consequence to the residents of Singo, however, who seem to be largely content with the thought that someone is watching out for their best interests. Generally, the Corsair seems to be responsible for handling any sort of international affairs, as well as keeping tabs on the ongoings of those who make port at Singo. On the occasion, the Corsair requests an audience with ship captains.

Most other nations around the North Sea have decried Singo as being a safe haven for pirates. While Singo officially denies these claims, citing numerous occasions where they have denied harbor to ships actively being pursued by Barulan and Burciman forces, most people find it difficult to take their denial seriously. Usually, the nations on the North Sea describe Singo as a mild annoyance or a nuisance. Occasionally, though, the wrong dignitary ship is attacked, or a certain desperately needed commodity is stolen, and many are quick to blame Singo and call for them to be handled. This often results in some saber rattling, but little more.

Singo is particularly friendly with the city of Montero in the Greenwood Republic, with whom they’ve long had relations. Montero’s main production is in alcohol, the overwhelming majority of which is exported to nearby Singo. As such, it is very rare for traders carting or ferrying goods from Montero to encounter any issues from residents of Singo.

Barulis is also curiously friendly with Singo. While merchants from Barulis are not completely immune to the sting from Singo, they do seem to be affected less frequently than other nations. Many suspect this is because Singo does not wish to rile up a very nearby neighbor.

In the past year, skirmishes between pirates from Singo, and naval and privateer forces from Burcima, have been increasing in both frequency and severity of conflict. Burcima has publicly stated their intention to ensure that the North Sea is protected and safe for travel.

Culture

Though Singo has gained a reputation of being a safe haven for the disreputable, this represents only a small portion of the population. Shipping, fishing, hospitality and maintenance are common professions for workers in Singo. Coastal vessels constantly bustle around Purity Bay, ferrying goods between Singo, Barulis, and towards the Greenwood Republic.

Foreigners may liken Singo to a bastion of hedonism and misdeeds, but the residents of Singo know this is an unfair depiction. There is a complex relation between the camaraderie that exists between the denizens of Singo, and the espoused importance of self-sufficiency. The average resident is equally likely to tell you that you can't rely on anyone but yourself, as they are to offer you wine from a cask they had recently acquired.

While you can likely find a worshiper of every god within Singo, probably the most well represented god to be found is Baldoria. With a bar found on nearly every street corner and lining the docks, the smell of ale and sound of revelry is hard to ignore. Worship of Jarro also has a notable presence within the city, as many of those in Singo deeply understand how one's fortune and prosperity waxes and wanes as often as the shifting of the tides. It is common for those walking the wharf to glimpse people huddled in alleys betting on various card or dice games.

The Siren’s Call is a well-furnished pub run by Madame Triss, the Siren's Call is a popular spot for returning sailors after a long bout at sea to spend their pay on drinks and merriment of all kinds. The pub features a small stage that is frequently used by the local talent, though occasionally is graced by prominent performers from afar. The pub is generally considered to be one of the more civilized establishments in Singo, with guards at the entrances to the pub and within. Rumors suggest that the Corsair owns and frequents a room on the top floor of the building, though rival owners have often made similar claims of their own establishments.

The Jackknife, on the other hand, is a small, dingy bar located close to Singo's wharf, particularly well known for their cheap drinks and rowdy atmosphere. Being so close to the docks, the Jackknife is one of the first places in Singo that many sailors will visit upon returning to Singo. Regular patrons have noted that they are equally likely to enter the bar and find the whole bar swapping stories of their recent adventures with each other, as they are to find half the bar engaged in a brawl.

On the outskirts of the town is a humble church to Death beside a small cemetery, though the building itself barely amounts to much more than a large shack. Inside is a small shrine to Death. Near the entrance of the church is an old writing desk with thin slats of wood and charcoal writing utensils. The walls of the church are lined with fishing hooks hanging from the ceiling. It is unsure when the tradition started, but residents of Singo have taken to writing or carving the names of sailors lost at sea on the small wooden slats and attaching them to one of the thousands of hooks. Often, sailors will write a prayer just before leaving port asking Death to stave his hand this journey. Many times, prayers are written for those on boats that are lost at sea. The church is maintained by a man named Halin.

Anyone who has sailed into the harbor around Singo is familiar with the large breakwater known as The Jade Jetty. While fairly innocuous in appearance, the addition of this breakwater stems from an interesting tale. The way the story is told is that several years after Singo had earned its freedom from Barulis, the son of a wealthy gem merchant, Sandor Hitchens, had chartered a vessel from western Daboran to Barulis. His vessel was seized, and he himself was kidnapped and brought to Singo to await ransom. Upon seeing the poor state that Singo was in, Hitchens, who had taken a liking to his captors, began to offer advice on how to make many improvements to the dingy town. The most notable of which was the addition of a breakwater to help prevent large swells from causing undue damage to the already-shabby docks. Hitchens had large quantities of granite shipped all the way from western Daboran to Singo, and with the help of an Earth Elemental, a massive breakwater was constructed around Singo. The granite used is speckled with Prase Quartz, a stone that is green in color and initially led the population of Singo to believe it was jade; hence the name that caught on, “Jade Jetty.”

History

Singo was founded in 20 BED under the careful watch of Barulis. They were predominantly farming people who wished only for peace, submitting to the Barulan Overseer for years after its founding. And while relations with Barulis ebbed and flowed over the years, the people of Singo largely did not feel a need to complain, as Barulis helped maintain order and peace in the region.

It was after the Third Surge that attitudes in Singo began to drastically shift. The Third Surge brought massive flooding to the region. Over the course of a day, Singo soon found ocean water at their doorstep, with no hint of receding. Flooding waters destroyed much of the farmland, and most of the original town of Singo was ruined or destroyed. Singo called upon their benefactors, Barulis, for aid. Unfortunately, Barulis was suffering a similar fate themselves, and was in no position to offer assistance. The nearby territory of Tamecht was destroyed, and many of the denizens of Tamecht sought refuge in Singo.

Over the next year, Singo started to build itself back up. Much of the nearby land unfortunately seemed to be struggling to grow crops since the Third Surge. While their primary source of wealth had originally been farming, the changes to the land meant the residents of Singo would need to either move, or find a new way to generate wealth. Many people did leave Singo, heading for more fertile lands closer to the Greenwood Forest.

In 241 AR, two years after the Flooding, Singo rebelled against the Barulan Empire, believing that Barulis could no longer look out for their best interest. Calls for aid had gone unheeded, and Barulis seemed to largely ignore the situation in Singo, all the while continuing to levy taxes against them. Barulis made a feeble attempt to quell such rebellion, sending the dwindling remains of the Water Guard to take back the territory. Some scuffles occurred between the forces, but no actual casualties were reported before the Water Guard returned to Barulis, unsuccessful. All things considered, the separation between Barulis and Singo was remarkably uneventful.

Now an independent settlement, the Free City of Singo was left to determine how best to recoup their losses. At first, there was a large push to try and become a popular shipping town to take advantage of the immediate access to the North Sea. This push was largely unsuccessful; even though Barulis seemed to be in overall worse shape than Singo, Barulis continued to receive the lion's share of merchants coming into the North Sea.

Running out of options, residents of Singo began to turn to thievery and piracy on the North Sea as a means of putting food on the table. Preying upon merchants going to and from Barulis, it did not take long before Barulis retaliated against Singo. In 254 AR, Barulis launched an attack on Singo to put down the threat. In a spectacular and humiliating turn of events, nearly every ship that Barulis used to stage the attack were boarded and captured, thanks to the effort of Captain Stran Locket, who would become the first Corsair of Singo. Ironically, Barulis’ intervention with Singo to mitigate the threat they posed had the complete opposite effect. Seemingly overnight, Singo became a significantly more prominent threat in the North Sea.

Barulis launched another attack on Singo in 276 AR after the Corsair of Singo had humiliated a prominent Lord from Barulis, who demanded retaliation. Though this battle resulted in more casualties than the first, Singo was miraculously able to hold its own and drive off the invaders.

Since then, Singo has developed a reputation for being more capable than expected. Those who would consider challenging Singo, have taken a cautious look at how that has gone for Barulis.