Editing Breoa (section)

== The Raider’s Way ==
For many in Breoa, raiding is a way of life. It does not matter a person’s race, gender, class, or any other factor besides how well they raid as soon as they step aboard a longship. Those who become a raider face both a life full of adventure and incredible tragedy. One in three do not survive their first raid. There are few old veterans aboard a raiding vessel. However, many a raider will say that no matter how much gold they earn they will never retire. The thrill keeps them plundering. Perhaps it always will...

==== Death Before Failure ====
One of the most important parts of the raiding life is the mantra “death before failure.” Most raiding expeditions have enough resources to be away from port for two or three months. During this time, there are only a few viable raiding targets that might be seen. With so few chances, failure could mean the entire expedition makes meager or zero profit. Therefore, even when things look dire, Breoan raiders will continue to fight. They require all the values they can pillage and more in order for their families to eat during the harsh arctic winters.

==== Tactics ====
Raiding parties usually set sail with elementrix loaded longboats. These boats have high floating hulls that when mixed with elementrix allow them to sail across nearly any body of water including shallow rivers. Breoan raiding vessels have been seen sailing up rivers deep into the jungles of [[Arket]] (although this was one documented incident and it was thought that the crew was trying to resupply for the long journey back to Breoa).

Raiders are usually armed with a battle axe, throwing daggers, an icepick, rope, and fur armor. They are built for speed. Raiders usually begin to engage from afar with their daggers before moving into melee range with their axe. Their arsenal allows them to hack through chests, doors, and walls as well as people. No fortification can stop a Breoan raider for long.

However, the raiders often look for soft targets. Merchant ships, lost travelers, or the poorly guarded caravan are all favorites. With long periods of time between resupplies and limited medicine, raiders try to limit casualties. Although, many still do occur. Veterans have learned to stay back while the young, naive, recruits rush forward. Many will die but will leave openings for the veterans to rush forward and take the leftover riches.

==== Peace Amongst Cousins ====
The Breoans have an understanding between them: peace amongst cousins. In essence, a Breoan raiding party will not attack other Breoans. Due to their harsh way of life, all Breoans recognize each other as family (albeit distantly related). A party that has been found guilty of violating this peace is usually brutally tortured before being thrown in a prison cell for the rest of their days.

==== Looking the Part ====
Many raiders take pride in how they dress on a raid. They braid their hair, comb their beards, wear custom face paint unique to each person, and adorn themselves with charms dedicated to their favorite Saints. This adds to their mystic amongst non-Breoans. The unintentional branding of the raiders has for centuries worked in their favor and many scholars agree that it is unlikely to stop.

==== Training ====
Raiders usually enter the life in one of two ways. Either a raider is a person who could not make it in the Breoan military or they joined the Raider’s Guild in Vangen. Vangen is the primary starting point for raiders. The city of thieves takes pride in housing most raiders within Breoa. In fact, the city is built on raiders.

Training in Vangen usually takes three months. During this time the guild hones a recruit’s body and mind. Grueling twelve hour days drag on in mold covered warehouses. Yet, by the end, a recruit is a fully capable sailor who any raiding expedition can feel confident in collecting.

Dropouts from the military are hired too but at a much lower fee. These dropouts usually need to prove themselves on an expedition before they get regular pay. This is difficult and many face a harsh learning curve on the job. Yet, the military training they received, no matter how brief, usually makes the dropouts who survive into excellent raiders who become veterans.

==== Are You Good At Raiding? ====
Unlike much of Ramesh, the raiders do not care if a person is a child of Sin. They do not care about past crimes (except the truly horrific). The only thing that matters is a person’s ability to plunder. In a strange way, the raider’s society is the most egalitarian in all of Ramesh.

==== For the Community ====
Raiding expeditions are partially funded by local communities. While ship captains and crew receive a portion of the bounty, priority goes to the people. Breoa sustains itself off the efforts of the raiders. And while the life of a successful raider can yield a grand fortune, it is never lost on those who plunder the seas who helps to finance their endeavors.

It is the community who tends to the raider’s sick. The community who gives supplies to repair a broken part of the vessel. At the end of a career, it is the community that provides a retired raider (however few they may be) a weekly allowance of coin and food. Therefore, the raiders always give the people their due. Those who do not face the rather of not only those they betrayed but also other raiders. Without a doubt, the economy of Breoa would not function without the raiders supplementing it.