Editing The Isle of Cats

{{Neath_Location
|title1 = The Isle of Cats
|image1 = isleofcats.png
|caption1 = The honey-dens are busy. Art from Sunless Sea.
|location = Stamford's Expanse|allegiance = [[The Pirate King]]
|notable_inhabitants = [[The Pirate King]]<br>
[[Zaira]]<br>
[[Isery]]
|music = [https://failbettergames.bandcamp.com/track/oceana-lonissima Oceana Lonissima]|port=Port Cavendish}}<blockquote>''"A scatter of yellow-lit honey-dens and brightly painted alehouses. To the south-east rises the stone tower of Cavendish Abbey, its ramparts hung with crimson-and-gold banners. There are zailors from all across the Neath hauling cargo, dicing and brawling good-naturedly on the docks. The air carries the sound of zee-shanties sung with more enthusiasm than skill, and the smell of roses edged with brimstone."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Isle_of_Cats|Isle of Cats|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>The '''Isle of Cats''' is the foremost smuggling port in all the Zee. Here, in the gardens of the [[Pirate King]], is the primary source of one of the Neath's most potent drugs: [[Gaoler's Honey|gaoler's honey]].
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==A Honey-Den of Thieves==
<blockquote>''"The Catties talk ceaselessly and carelessly about smuggling and piracy, but even the most hardened zailors lower their voices when they mention 'the King'. They go even quieter when they talk about the Rose Garden."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Isle_of_Cats|Compile a Port Report|Sunless Sea}}</ref></blockquote>Ships from all over the [[zee]] come to the Isle of Cats to smuggle goods, including dangerous cargo like [[sunlight]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Isle_of_Cats|Sell Sunlight|Sunless Sea}} ''"Sunlight! that most dangerous of pleasures. Here in Port Cavendish, there's an appetite for dangerous pleasures. But will you be able to negotiate with the sippers of sunlight?"''</ref> Talk of piracy is plentiful here - but when the subject of the Pirate King comes up, or the Rose Garden, the Catties go quiet.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Isle_of_Cats|Compile a Port Report|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Catties talk ceaselessly and carelessly about smuggling and piracy, but even the most hardened zailors lower their voices when they mention 'the King'. They go even quieter when they talk about the Rose Garden."''</ref>

Not many of the Isle's inhabitants know [[Leopold]], the Pirate King, personally. While his name is known, rumors swirl around him and his powers,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Rose_and_Tiger|Significant tokens|Sunless Sea}} ''"As far as you can gather, the Pirate-King's name is Leopold, and he controls all the trade on the island. Half of the Catties believe that he can take the form of a crimson tiger, and creep into their dreams.  The other half suspect, more prosaically, that he simply eats those who displease him."''</ref> and it is local custom to wear a pair of cat's-eye stones<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Rose_and_Tiger|Significant tokens|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Catties all wear a pair of amber stones threaded around their necks, or pinned to their collars. "Cat's eyes," one of them says. "For the Pirate-King.""''</ref> as a reminder that he is always watching.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Rose_and_Tiger|Leave the alehouse|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Barkeep stops you before you reach the door, and hands you a brooch set with two amber stones. He waits impassively until you pin it to your clothes. "Everybody wears the cat's eyes here," he tells you, moving aside to let you pass. "Just a friendly reminder that the Pirate-King is watching." It seems that no place, then, is truly lawless."''</ref>

Directly beneath the Pirate King are his two disciples.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Honeyed_Tongue|Swap tales with a honey-smuggler|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Pirate-King is watching you! Indeed he is, though not many see him these days. The people you want to watch out for are the King's Claw and the Lady of the Gardens.""''</ref> [[Isery]], the King's Claw, serves as Leopold's enforcer of the peace<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Honeyed_Tongue|Swap tales with a honey-smuggler|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Claw makes sure everyone keeps in line on the island,[...]"''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Which_is_the_cat%27s_chiefest_claw%3F|Which is the cat's chiefest claw?|Sunless Sea}} ''"Isery, the King's Claw, enforces the peace on the Isle of Cats: inasmuch as anyone does."''</ref> and manages a lavishly decorated brothel'''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Honeyed_Tongue|The Honeyed Tongue|Sunless Sea}} ''"Entering the brothel is like sliding into the dream of a Surface orientalist: jewel-embroidered cushions, bright silk drapes, gilded statues of elephants, sun bears and clouded leopards. Silver censers release curling plumes of rose-scented smoke into the air."''</ref>''' called the '''Honeyed Tongue.'''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Isle_of_Cats|Ambition: Where can you taste red honey?|Sunless Sea}} ''"The reports are all the same: Isery manages the Honeyed Tongue, a den of exceedingly select and debased pleasures."''</ref> [[Zaira]], Lady of the Cages, oversees the '''Cage-Gardens''', where the Isle's red honey is produced.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Honeyed_Tongue|Swap tales with a honey-smuggler|Sunless Sea}} ''"[..]the Lady - well, she's the keeper of the Cage-Gardens. Where they extract - um."''</ref> Isery and Zaira both handle prisoners kept on the island, and are allowed a personal audience with Leopold, so gaining favor with either of them is the easiest route to the Pirate King.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Meeting_with_the_Pirate_King|"Captain's compliments, my King."|Sunless Sea}} ''"Isery enters with a wine-glass of thick honey; behind them Zaira drags in a stumbling prisoner."''</ref>

Zaira works alongside the '''Melliferous Sisters''', whose living quarters are located in '''Cavendish Abbey'''.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Cavendish_Abbey|Cavendish Abbey|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Melliferous Sisters make their home in the richly-appointed stone tower of Cavendish Abbey. Their thick gloves and crimson-mesh helmets are worn, less for modesty, and more for practicality. They tend the hives of the lamplighter bees all across the Isle, and make a religious observance of harvesting red honey for the Pirate-King."''</ref> This order of nuns was established after Leopold defeated the [[Mother Superior]] in a duel, winning the right to take some of the nuns of [[Abbey Rock]] to the Isle of Cats; at least one of the original nuns, now the Abbess, is still alive.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Cavendish_Abbey|Fuel for the Bee-Smokers|Sunless Sea}} ''"The Sister tells you that the Pirate-King went to Abbey Rock fifty years ago and asked the Abbess to send some of her novices to Port Cavendish. You ask why, and she shakes her head. "The better question is: why did the Abbess send her precious novices to a place like this? [...] The Sisters of the Rock respect strength-of-arms, which of course the Pirate-King knew only too well. He challenged the Abbess to a duel, and won. She didn't have much choice then!" She cackles again. "Ask our Abbess if you don't believe me. She was one of those very novices, sent across the zee!""''</ref> The Sisters tend to the [[Lamplighter Bees|lamplighter bees]] that pollinate the rose gardens, and use the bees to harvest honey from prisoners.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Rose_and_Tiger|Religious observances|Sunless Sea}} ''"[...] the Melliferous Sister thaws a little. "We are Bee-Keepers and Honey-Harvesters. The Catties owe their prosperity to us, and the Pirate-King too.""''</ref> They treat their duties with religious fervor,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Cavendish_Abbey|Cavendish Abbey|Sunless Sea}} ''"They tend the hives of the lamplighter bees all across the Isle, and make a religious observance of harvesting red honey for the Pirate-King."''</ref> and there are indications that their practice has been developed into a cult of mystery.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Cavendish_Abbey|Gossip with a Novice|Sunless Sea}} ''"She is only a recent novice, and barely even inducted into the Lower Apistic Mysteries."''</ref>

The Isle has several alehouses, as well as honey dens,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Isle_of_Cats|Isle of Cats|Sunless Sea}} ''"A scatter of yellow-lit honey-dens and brightly painted alehouses."''</ref> but the only bar shown is the '''Rose and Tiger'''.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Rose_and_Tiger|The Rose and Tiger|Sunless Sea}}</ref>

== A Garden of Memories==
<blockquote>''"Before you is a garden dipped in blood. A sea of petalled crimson. Winding paths lead to irregular rows of cages, each covered in tangles of thorn and vine. Some of the prisoners inside the cages call out to you; others mutter to themselves, or weep. A few simply stare, hopeless and silent."''</blockquote>Behind a locked gate, accessible only to those with the Pirate King's favor,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Key_to_the_Cage-Gardens|A Key to the Cage-Gardens|Sunless Sea}} ''"A sign of the trust of the Pirate-King of the Isle of Cats."''</ref> are the gardens of crossbred [[Exile's Rose]]s<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Tending_the_Rose_Garden|Tending the Rose Garden|Sunless Sea}} ''"They say these particular exile's roses are of a variety cross-bred with a flower from Hell. That would explain the stench of brimstone, underneath the sweetness."''</ref> that provide fuel for the production of [[Gaoler's Honey|gaoler's honey]]. And amongst the flowers are the prisoners: held in cages and slowly tortured as their memories are drunk up by honey-sippers.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Roses_and_Cages|The Garden of Roses and Cages|Sunless Sea}} ''"Winding paths lead to irregular rows of cages, each covered in tangles of thorn and vine. Some of the prisoners inside the cages call out to you, others mutter to themselves, or weep. A few simply stare, hopeless and silent."''</ref> It is unclear precisely who is sent to the gardens, other than that they are used as a substitute for debtor's prison.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Which_is_the_cat%27s_chiefest_claw%3F|Which is the cat's chiefest claw?|Sunless Sea}} ''"She was a smuggler of our honey, this zee-captain: and also a gambler, and a frequent visitor to the Tongue. Her debts became so onerous that I had to take her in keeping.  [...] I sold her to Zaira, for the Garden of Cages. [...] The bees have been into her - who knows how many times? There is nothing left now. She won't remember her name [...]"''</ref> Gaining the Pirate King's attention may also require providing a human tribute.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlesssea.miraheze.org/wiki/Tending_the_Rose_Garden|Tending the Rose Garden|Sunless Sea}} ''""Good. You're here." Zaira snips a rose-head with her shears. "I'd like a new addition to the Garden. Could I borrow one of your crew? Well. Have one, really. I doubt you'd want them back, after.""''</ref>

==Historical and Cultural Inspirations==
The Isle of Cats is similar in concept to the famous pirate haven of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortuga_(Haiti) Tortuga], which was run and governed by pirate captains in the heyday of their practice. It also takes some aesthetic inspiration from Singapore, for multiple reasons. Prior to British colonization, Singapore was its own haven for pirates operating in Malacca - but more importantly, Leopold is the son of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamford_Raffles Sir Stamford Raffles], who founded the British colony of Singapore. Leopold spent his very early years in what is now Malaysia and Indonesia. In our world, he spent his entire brief life there before dying in an epidemic of dysentery.

Port Cavendish and Cavendish Abbey are likely references to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cavendish Sir Thomas Cavendish]. Cavendish was an English explorer and privateer who circumnavigated the globe, explored East and Southeast Asia en route, and while he was at it, captured (among other ships) an enormous Spanish trading galleon loaded with gold and a wealth of other valuables.

==References==
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