Lusitana

CAPITAL: Armoria (unverified)
POPULATION: 100, 000+ (?)
DEMONYM: Lusitanan
MAIN EXPORT: Rocksalt/Piracy

Despite being tantalisingly close to Andover, the nearest land to Redland across the Great Sea, Lusitana remains shrouded in mystery. They are best known for their piracy, raiding ships off the coast of Andover for generations without pause, their fast metal-hulled ships completely outmatching all but the most modern steam-driven Dover vessels. Once upon a time there was a sea route from Andover out the Bay of Seven down through to Cambra, but in recent decades the sheer volume of pirate activity in the Great Sea has rendered that particular trade untenable.

It is well-known by all that Lusitana is apparently led by a young, gracious, and merciful empress on some conquering spree to the far south, beyond the known stretches of the Great Sea. However, not even the highest-ranking Cambran merchants have ever actually met with her or one of her representatives, leading many to believe she is simply a folktale figure. That is how she is often interpreted in Andover and Carlia: the "Empress of Lusitana" is a popular stock character in plays, poems, and the imaginary worlds of peasants: this fictive Empress resembles an angel or fairy, an ideal, benevolent ruler of a far-off land in which no one has to work and true justice prevails. Some have even gone so far as to drown themselves in the Great Sea, convinced that if they swim out far enough a light will begin shining on the horizon and her slender hand will lift them up to her promised land. Some bawdier stories abound in the city pubs, with fishermen claiming that they met a sea-daughter of the Empress of Lusitana stranded on the beach, and that any man who feeds, clothes, and houses her with great hospitality will get to marry her and join the Empire of Lusitana; in this telling, the Empire is located under the waves, a running theme.

During interrogation by authorities from Andover, pirates from Lusitana have spoken chiefly of Armoria, a city southwards across the Great Sea built into the cliffs of what our explorers have come to call Lusitana. Looking south from the Farris Tower by the port of Redland one can see these cliffs easily through the tower observatory's telescope, but any human activity as seen from such a distance is rendered vague and indistinct. However, some scholars - as well as politicians - suggest that what is called "Lusitana" by Dovers is, in fact, much farther to the south than originally believed. This would go far to explain why no one has ever met the legendary Empress, and where their peerless metal ships are constructed and moored.

Besides its mythical Empress, most people who live on the coast of Andover are familiar with Lusitana's pirates. They have been growing bolder year by year, but have been a problem for as long as anyone can remember. They seek out merchant ships, lumber barges, and fishing boats alike and plunder their contents with rapacious delight and effortless ease. Many pirates have sleek two-masted wooden sailing ships, heavily-armed with rows of cannon, as well as single-masted schooners bearing ballistas and teams of marines. Most feared, however, are the rare Lusitanan warships, built of black riveted steel with decks close to the water. They belch hot smoke from their funnelled fire engines, and though they bear masts they can cut through the water at an unmatched pace even without the use of sail. No warship has ever been captured from its stalwart crew, and upon seeing the tell-tale smoke clouds on the horizon, most sailors simply surrender or throw themselves overboard. Even the most advanced Dover naval guns, built for coastal batteries meant specifically to defend against Lusitanan pirate raids, fare poorly against the metal hulls, and only once has one of these naval monstrosities been turned back: when a shot lobbed from a Dover cannon hurtled from high above and crashed into a warship's deck, sending a plume of fire high into the morning sky. The ship limped back to wherever it came from, and the coast went undisturbed for some time afterwards.

Curiously, the Lusitanan pirates seem to have little to no interest in kidnapping or slavery. They regularly hold captives for ransom, but never bring them back to Armoria or anywhere else. Perhaps it is to keep their home port secret, lest a prisoner escape and tell Cambra or Andover about their hidden pirate lairs along the southward coast. Those who are captured learn precious little about Lusitanan life or politics - but they do get to hear a great deal of shanties, which have become increasingly popular in pubs across the known world lately. Also popular is one of the few known elements of cuisine from Lusitana, the "burguesa," a kind of sandwich consisting chiefly of a flat cut of boneless fried meat topped with other ingredients to one's taste, and set between two buns. Though not Lusitanan themselves, several savvy cooks have set up shops offering these foreign delicacies as a street food. The exact style of burguesas on offer in Andover, Carlia, and Cambra differ from city to city, but the Lusitanan original always features a unique condiment made up of a tomato-based sauce mixed with a spicy powder of unknown origin, served atop grilled onion with thin slices of cheese set atop the fried meat to sizzle and melt.