A ways off the coast of the Cinderlands a tower juts out of the sea like a stone spear. the areas around it for a half-day's travel by boat are wracked by constant storms and whirlpools, making approaching the tower and almost guaranteed death sentence. It might have remained a mere curiosity had the Pirate Prince of Stormhold not found secret paths through the surf several decades ago. He shared his knowledge with other captains, binding them to secrecy through potent Arcane Channeling, and Stormhold has since become one of Syhelia's most notorious pirate havens. The safe paths through the storms have since been more widely disseminated among folk of questionable moral character, and enforcers of the law have on occasion found their way to the tower (although few of them were able to leave alive) however even the "safe" paths are still dangerous, and the pirates display an unusual level of cooperation in defending Stormhold- disseminating false sea charts and banding together to defend their home when bounty hunters or vengeful merchants come calling. Any who gaze upon Stormhold proper immediately understand the reasons for this- it's a pirate paradise. The tower anchors a vast, mazelike shantytown, built without any regard for civic planning over the course of multiple decades, although it has come to resemble a vast misshappen circle with the tower at it's center. The outer edge is mostly dedicated to docks and moorings for the pirate ships. These infamous and fearsome vessels mostly head west towards the other continents- Fyrefall isn't large enough to provide enough potential plunder to so many crews- where they raid merchant vessels traveling between the major nations and even military convoys when they're feeling bold.
Most pirate havens are close to major trade routes, and Stormhold's out of the way location may seem puzzling at first, until one goes inside and sees that Stormhold is not simply a place to hide from bounty hunters between raids, its a central node of piracy on Syhelia. Pirates come here to sell their loot, far from the watchful eye of the law and with a reasonable expectation of safety. Pirates on shore leave spend their time in the many Bars, Brothels, and Gambling dens, and retiring corsairs who are wanted on the mainland usually wind up here. It's a place where criminals can experience a measure of safety, and not have to worry about the authorities busting down that door at any moment- something pirates value enough to base themselves at a port far removed from civilized (and wealthy) lands, although many crews do maintain smaller personal hideaways on the islands and coves of the other continents. Coming perhaps twice a year to offload their loot. Beyond the docks Stormhold is a tangled, knotted maze of streets and alleys, sometimes merging into plazas where all manner of illicit goods are sold. It's also worth mentioning the "safety" provided by Stormhold only applies to the long arm of the law, there is not central government (although the pirate prince is regarded as something of a first among equals, when he's lucid at least) and you can easily get shanked for bumping into the wrong person. The tower itself is something of an enigma. No one's sure who built it, and it's never been fully explored do to the many deadly traps and fearsome guardians.