>I think it's quite plain that the Maniria writeup is describing Alatan
>as a _nation_ of pirates. They have kindred on that isle and younger
>brothers who want to go pirating with them when they grow up.
I side with Peter on this issue. I don't know exactly what was meant by "Nimistor Pirates" in RQ Companion - it could as well be a term for pirates who just committed atrocities there before they turned their attention on the hapless Rightarm Isles.
Nimistor could have been a collective name for the remains of Slontos, i.e. Newcoast, but even then the most likely form of piracy I can see for the Wenelians would be to "Reap the Wild Winds", i.e. coastal scavenging on ships lured onto reefs and undeeps.
>So the pirates did not scatter throughout the Mournsea, they remained
>in and around Alatan (the two places are distinct as a look at the map
>would show).
See also the description of Khorst:
"A free port, self-governing with friendly people ruled by the Merchant's Guild. Ships which hug the coast commonly stop here to rest and hire escorting warships because of pirates from the nearby island [pirate kingdom] of Smelch."
This shows quite clearly where the pirates still are based.
>>then the Holy Country wants to suppress it's fleets;
>The Holy Country attempted to suppress Handran fleets before Alatan
>started expanding. The evidence is that they have succeeded.
At least they remained dominant in trade. I guess that Handra does have a significant merchant fleet, and that they profited from the losses inflicted on the Holy Country overseas expeditions (whouch would have used High Sea merchant vessels rather than barely modified rowed warships like the ones they use inside the Mirrorsea Bay and on occasional expeditions to the Mournsea).
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