Excerpt from ‘The history of Vylbrand, from Nym to Limsa Lominsa’ by Archon Niniri Niri.
Just to the south of Vylbrand are the Cieldalaes, a reasonably sized island chain that is host to Hullbreaker Isle, an island of utter mystery that was more-or-less unknown for centuries. This was because of the Doxy’s Pull, a phenomenon that took the form of thick, impenetrable mists which almost ensured that any ship which entered the area around the Isle would wash up on the rocks and shipwreck. This is where the island’s name originates. It wasn’t until the Seventh Umbral Calamity that the mists rose and revealed the island behind them, as well as the revelation that certain parties had already made it to the island when the island’s explorers found the legendary ship, the Haar, Mistbeard’s own flagship.
Mistbeard had chosen Hullbreaker Isle as his base of operations precisely because of the Doxy’s Pull, granting him an island base he did not have to worry about expending resources to defend. There have been many pirates who took up the name Mistbeard up until twenty years ago when the final bearer of the title disappeared. Rumors swirled that the treasures of the legendary pirate were stored on the island, and many a wealth-seeker travelled to the island in search of this trove.
Survivor Spit
An expanse of sand occupied by primitive shelters, constructed either by Mistbeard’s crew or those who were shipwrecked on the islands. Various enormous bear traps lay across the path when the adventurers who conquered the Isle’s trials arrived there, presumably laid at Mistbeard’s command in order to waylay any that survived the journey to the Isle. A watch-station laid on the hillside leading up the path, in order to offer a clear view of those attempting to invade the island. On the beach of the Spit was a number of rafts, possibly hinting at the area’s nature as a shelter for those who survived shipwrecks, alongside the survivor aspect of the area’s name. A spit, specifically, is an extension of land, typically sand, stretching out from a landmass into the ocean.
The Runner’s Reel
A small village or garrison, this settlement seems to have been used by Mistbeard’s followers judging by the purple flags adorned by vicious blades arranged across their fabric, likely functioning as a guard post to further fortify the island.
The Hullbreaker Caves
Beneath the Isle was a twisting system of caves that crisscrossed a complex system of subterranean rivers, which seem to have been used for storage by Mistbeard’s crew. Large wooden platforms heaped with crates, barrels and coils of rope laid across the caves, many of them booby-trapped with voidsent. Mistbeard had bestowed a number of these voidsent with stone tablets that were used to open thick stone doors. A number of these doors bore the sigil of Mistbeard, the two wickedly curved blades crossed.
The Hidden Cache
This seems to have been Mistbeard’s treasury, the very source of envy that brought so many pirates to the Isle. The room was absolutely heaped with treasures and piles of gold and jewelry, pilfered from across the known world, including such rarified vaults as those of the Sultanate of Ul’dah.
The Secret Cove
Accessing this cove would have been difficult by sea without the masterful techniques of Mistbeard’s helmsmen, due to the tall mesas standing tall out of the ocean and the smaller rocks besides them. This must have been why Mistbeard used the cove for the resting place of his flagship, the Harr.
The Harr
Mistbeard’s very own flagship, this legendary vessel brought terror to many a shore and ship. The bladed sigil of Mistbeard was found across the tattered sales of the scuttled ship.
Harr is a kind of oceanic fog characterized by its frigid cold nature, most commonly found on the eastern coast of the British Isles. This name may well be a reference to the Doxy’s Pull that protected Mistbeard’s base of operations, or the sudden appearance of the ship.
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