Daelian Raiders are the primary maritime threat to the isolated coastal communities of the Western Isles, such as Straven. To the inhabitants of these islands, raiders represent a recurring cycle of violence and plunder, requiring constant vigilance and the maintenance of armed readiness by the population. This experience is defined not by international politics, but by the sight of strange sails on the horizon and the sounding of the alarm horn to initiate community-wide defence.
Raider vessels are typically identified by their sails and pennants, which lack the blue circle of the King's ships or the familiarity of those from nearby islands. Common identifiers include patched sails, red or green pennants, and striped sails. On Straven, the sighting of such a vessel triggers a “Raider Drill.” The community is alerted by the sounding of a horn or bell, which serves to wake the households and signal the immediate transition to a battle footing.
Upon the signal, the community divides into two groups based on size and strength rather than age. Non-combatants (including young mothers, pregnant women, children, and the elderly) retreat to the safety of high ground, such as Lookout Hill. The able-bodied members of the community take up their battle gear and assemble at the jetty, which is usually the only viable landing point for raider ships.
The defensive philosophy, taught by Old Bjorn and Arne the Slow, focuses on caution, deliberation, and the maxim “No rush to die.”
The hope with these preparations and tactics is to make the raiders feel that this community is too hard to be worth what they might loot from it and to seek plunder elsewhere.
Raiders are often described as “independent traders” who have turned to piracy. They are frequently recognisable by their luxury goods (fine, loom-woven woollen clothes, twice or thrice dyed, and silver buttons or rings) which represent the proceeds of their raiding activities. While formidable, many raider crews will sail elsewhere if they find a community looking fierce enough and prepared for a protracted struggle.
Under Skyssian law, captured raiders may be brought before a King's Justice. Those who confess can be bound by a geas into the King's service as atonement for their crimes, often being re-tasked as sailors or messengers for the state.