Qariash Islands

The Qariash Islands in Gabyrian, Cymbierd Islands in Etrancoasti or Cymbair Islands in Etrandish  are an archipelago  within the Occident, currently under Gabyrian rule. A strategical location for controlling trade between the Occident and the Orient, the island cluster is actually more famously known for being fought over by Etrand and Gabyr in multiple wars.

These islands are mostly uninhabited. Having infertile soil and no natural resources at all whatsoever, the islands house no permanent residents, only temporary residents: dockworkers, military garrisons and travelling merchants.

Hulran rule
It isn't precisely known when did the Qariash Islands - or Cymbierd Islands in Hulran - became a Hulran possession, but it obviously happened some time before the Treaty of Cymbierd of 610 BEKE, which was the final end of the Ocidental Trade Wars. The island chain as a whole never housed more than a couple hundred permanent residents, mostly fishermen and animal herders - nevertheless, during Golden Age of maritime trade between East and West, the islands became an important strategic position, and would house several thousand temporary residents during that age: dockworkers, haulers, merchants, entertainers, and so forth.

After the fall of the Jing dynasty in the East, the whole maritime trade between East and West temporarily collapsed, and remained stagnant for over a century. This event caused a major economical depression in Hulra, and led to the abandonement of the islands: all those taverns, inns, brothels, warehouses and lighthouses were abandoned and allowed to degenerate into ruins, with the small population of fishermen and animal herders soon leaving the islands to migrate back to the mainland.

In limbo
Following the Hulran invasion of Etrand in 274 AEKE, Etrand annexed the Kingdom of Hulra, and replaced it with the Viceroyalty of Etrancoast, which would last for 159 years. At this point, the Etrandish may have been completely unaware that the Hulrans officially owned those uninhabited islands. But even if they knew, they did not seem to care much, and never occupied those islands: there was nothing to occupy anyway, as they were uninhabited.

The Free City of Gabyr on the other hand took an interest in the islands, and while they never formally claimed them as their own, they established outposts on several islands with the explicit intent of using them as naval bases. The islands however were of limited importance, as Gabyr already had the Free City of Charnek as a docking station on the continent.

The Cymbairan Wars
In 433 AEKE, the Kingdom of Etrand reached a compromise with the Etrancoasti nobles, leading to the replacement of the Viceroyalty of Etrancoast by the Earldom of Etrancoast. Not much later, documents were discovered about the former Hulran ownership of the islands, and the Earl of Etrancoast laid claim on the archipelago, justifying it with the former Hulran ownership of the island chain. The Etrancoasti nobility soon began petitioning to the Etrandish royal court to reclaim the islands in Etrancoast's name. This was followed by Etrand moving onto the islands and building forts and docks, stationing their own navy in the area, alerting Gabyr.

In 440, the situation escalated into an all-out war: the First Cymbairan War, which ended in an Etrandish victory (largely due to the genius of Willem Snebdjeli). The Etrandish however did not transfer ownership of the islands back to Etrancoast, instead electing to rule it directly for the time being, until they were convinced that Gabyr would not attempt to conquer the islands again: they were wrong. Eleven more wars would be fought over the islands: one in 464-470, in 497-500, in 530-533, in 560-563, in 578-581, in 598-601, in 612-613, in 630-632, in 655-659, in 662-665 and finally in 668-677.

Following the Third Cymbairan War in 497-500, Etrand was forced to cede the islands to Gabyr, and would never regain them, save for the period between 601 and 612: the Third Cymbairan War ended in an Etrandish defeat, and all subsequent wars would end in Etrandish defeats, save for the Seventh in 598-601. It was also worth mentioning, that by that point, the Cymbairan Wars evolved from wars over territory into glorified trade disputes, with the none of the wars (save for the First, Seventh and Eight) resulting in territorial changes, only trade concessions. Following the Twelth Cymbairan War, Etrand agreed to permanently give up their claim on the archipelago for good, recognizing Gabyrian ownership of the island chain for good.

After the wars
Following Etrand's disasterous defeat in the Twelfth Cymbairan War of 668-677, and the peace treaty that forced Etrand to give up their claims on the islands, the Qariash Islands were globally recognized by every relevant power - including Etrand, obviously - as Gabyrian territory. Nevertheless, the peace treaty did give one concession to Etrand: the Gabyrians agreed to allow the Etrandish navy to dock in Cymbairan shipyards, albeit for a fee. The treaty also allowed subjects of the Etrandish king to settle on the islands, but would have to abide by Gabyrian laws, and would not be granted Gabyrain citizenship.

As of 831 AEKE, the islands still have ruins of old Hulran forts. Other than that, the only points of interest are Gabyrian forts, docks and warehouses, and a few entertainment establishments mostly maintained by temporary residents from Etrand. The islands have no permanent residents, with all inhabitants being either sailors, dockworkers, garrisoned soldiers, travelling merchants or entertainers.