As mentioned earlier, Hauther is but one continent in a much larger world known to the Hautherians as Ferron. According to the best geographical calculations, Hauther is rather small, being only about 3.5% of the currently estimated total land mass of the known world. Just as Hauther is home to various wondrous inhabitants, the remainder of Ferron is home countless more, most of whom Hautherians have never witnessed or heard of.
Forbidden Territory
One of the most obvious questions that has yet to be addressed is when the blood plague broke out, why didn’t Hautherians simply leave the continent to seek safety elsewhere. In short, many Hautherians did flee, and inevitably, the blood plague followed them. However, the outbreak of the blood plague in other lands wasn’t as cataclysmic as it was in Hauther. While other nations did suffer significant casualties due to the outbreak, they were able to band together and eradicate the infected, and therefore, the infection.
Recognizing the threat the blood plague posed upon themselves and everyone else in Ferron, the affected nations formed a special treaty and decreed Hauther a plagued and forbidden land. Together, they agreed to never allow any further refugees to reach their shores and established a quarantine zone up to 300 miles off the Hautherian coast. Any ship found heading into the zone is subject to seizure and its occupants execution, and any ship exiting the zone would be attacked and sunk and its occupants slain without recourse for fear of the blood plague. Since the decree, the quarantine zone and interdiction of ships has been steadfastly enforced. No nation has made any official attempt to investigate Hauther or contact any of its inhabitants, as that would be a violation of the treaty. Moreover, the memory of the horrors the blood plague wrought upon their lands, even more than seven decades later, remains, prompting Ferron to consider Hauther forever lost.
A Most Dangerous Game
Of course, while some see Hauther as a land of certain death to be avoided, others see it as a land of opportunity. Braving the quarantine zone, penalty of execution, and death by blood plague, smugglers have had some success establishing limited trade with Casperia. Casperians, who can count accomplished smugglers and pirates amongst themselves throughout their history, have done all they can to entice and assist incoming smugglers. They have anchored trade barges not far from shore that allow smugglers to drop off cargo and receive trade goods requests without ever having to interact with a Hautherian in person.
Such trade has led to a limited exchange of news and a small inflow of new technology for Hauther, but on the whole, the danger involved in smuggling to Hauther has kept the industry small. Only the most brazen or desperate of smugglers even consider sailing into the quarantine zone. Most do it for the potential profit, while others do it for the glory or to bite their thumbs at whatever kingdom they despise. In the smugglers’ minds, however, the greatest danger isn’t death at the hands of the interdiction forces, but being forced to set foot on Hauther and contracting the blood plague.
It doesn’t happen often, as most smugglers that encounter interdiction forces on the way out of the quarantine zone would rather face death than be forced to turn back and step ashore for supplies, but on occasion, a smuggling ship or its crew is forced ashore. Crewmen who are able typically make their way to Casperia where they can readily find government backing for a new ship to continue their smuggling, albeit with strings attached. Others, finding themselves as oddities with a unique skill set, are usually able to seek gainful employment. Pistoleers and others with knowledge of the latest blackpowder weapons or crafts can be quite successful in Casperia. Some who strive for more adventure sometimes find their way into the outlands or even into the Silver Order. Whatever the outcome, new arrivals who survive their initial landing are quick to find that the land isn’t nearly as dead and blighted as the rest of Ferron believes it to be, and with a little luck, their lives and adventures don’t have end.
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