The Whalers

One of the richest factions of Yartar, they are highly respected and feared by other factions. They possess the biggest ships in Yartar and use them to hunt whales and bring back their carcass as they use most of the beast for a lot of goods necessary in town. They also feed people with whale meat. They constantly fight with the Adaro to be able to keep getting whales, also battling the odd sea serpent, and thus they are highly skilled in combat. It is said that whalers never live old, but they die rich.

The seas close to the port city of Yartar have always been dangerous, but never as much as now. Back before the Rising Tides, when the city was still known as Tartarus, fishermen came to establish themselves in the port town of Tartarus, using that port as their base of operations to fish the high seas, dealing with different dangers, but mostly hunting whales, sea serpents and other sea creatures, bringing back their preys to town to sell the meat and different byproducts of these creatures to the Knights of Tartarus. Over time, these fishermen developed tactics and strategies that allowed them to deal with most of the dangers of the high seas, with new threats emerging slowly, allowing them time to adapt to these new dangers.

When the prisoners of Tartarus led a rebellion to overthrow the Knights, many of them held a form of hatred towards these fishermen, as they had never helped them during the time they were incarcerated, but didn't expel them either, partially because they weren't their oppressors, but also because they brought goods necessary to the survival of the citizen of the new town of Yartar. Of course, many of these new residents initially tried to seize the ships from these men and sail the seas themselves, to hunt the different preys, but considering they had not trained and adapted over centuries of tradition, they were all utterly defeated and eventually gave up.

It is said that these fishermen, not wanting to be at the mercy of the different organizations and factions of Yartar, decided to band together and formed their faction, the Whalers. They are known for owning the oldest and largest harbors in the city, and thus to avoid being harassed by the hostile groups of Yartar, it is said that they've constructed massive ships and sent most of their population at sea, always living on the water, rather than living on land. Many believe that they may fear the island might be swallowed up by the sea, and thus want to be ready for when the time comes. No one knows where these massive ships went, but some theorize that they went to find more hospitable harbors, while others claim that they may be sailing closer to Adaro cities. No one truly knows, but there are always ships coming back to Yartar to sell fish, whale meat and whale byproducts, and the number of ships coming to the harbors has not diminished over the years.

The Whalers are also known for outlandish tales of how things were in the Old World, with strange and hard-to-pronounce names of cities and lands that no one has ever seen since the Rising Tides. Most people think these fishermen have invented these tales, as when scholars ask to see proof, they've never seen a single piece of parchment, a single book or any other proofs that may help them prove their claims. Even their lorekeepers, strange men covered in tattoos from head to toes, using strange magics of the divination kind, seem to be unable to show them what these places used to be like, or where they could be found.

Other rumors about these men and women is that they may even be allied with the Adaros, extremely savage creatures that sink and raid any ships leaving the shallow waters of the coast, seemingly just for fun. How could it be otherwise? They are known for their brutality, yet they can navigate the high seas and hunt whales without a scratch on their ships! They are well-trained warriors, but surely they should lose men when raided? Others claim that these strong warriors might be invulnerable at sea, as some have tested them out and they do bleed just like anyone else. Who knows what is the reason? But in any cases, something fishy is going on.