Croshen Islands

Introduction
Croshen Island is a chain of over 100 islands located in the northern east blue, it has 20 larger islands where the main cities are located with the remaining islands being small with large villages or towns located on them. The people of these silands The Croshenese are known for their powerful warrior and determind indipendance. Every member is refered to as a Son/Daughter of Croshen and two of it's most famous children are Zero and Ayane Hotaru members of The Sea Devil Pirates.

Geography
The Island is actually a large island and has 3 large cities and 6 large villages surrounded by smaller islands with various villages on them. While the closer islands have the same skin tone as the main island the northern islands have noticably darker skin due to the small amount of bad wather they get. The citizens on these islands are called The Northerners or North Croshenese. While those on the main island are called Mainers or Croshenese.

Architecture
Common aritechture on the island invovles pagoda style roofs and dragon like statues which symbolise good luck and strength of heart. also the walls of the buildings are commonly panneled (excluding the major buildings which are stone). Another common feature is the warrior statues at every entrance to the cities and towns which symbolise protection and the willingness to fight.

Culture & Government
The Croshenites as they are commonly refered to are a very strong willed and determind people. They are also strong fighters who balance martial practise with spiritual beleifs they're martial art style named Storm Fist show that. The people also speak two languages Croshenese and English.

Their government is a constitutional monarchy which is headed by The High-King and the Prime Minister, the High-King over sees all government actions and gives the go ahead on anything such as combat and island wide events where as the government itself deals with the every day issues.

The culture is very spiritual, having many gods and spirits that guide and govern them. The 3 most powerful gods are Tai-Kian, The Supreme King who acts as king of the gods and god of time. Lian-Sha, The God of War, Protection and Storms who guards the Croshen people and guides it's warriors to glory and a worthy death. The final god is Mai-Sha, The God of Wisdom and Love this goddess is Lian-Sha's twin sister, she acts as her brother's voice of reason and guides lovers to true happiness and hopefully a family.

The Croshen people also worship storms. Seeing them as a sign from Lian-Sha, the warriors see this as a sign to embrace their warrior spirit and the power of their people and gods. Insulting the gods also warrents a very harsh punishment, which is more than often death.

The Names are also unique to any other kind of names in the world each having a meaning. For example:

Zero Hotaru: The first name is short for Zerokandar which means in croshenese "He who fights for nothing yet something". Which in itself means he fights for what to others seem worthless or pointless.

Ayane Hotaru: Short for Ayanedinama which means "Born of the rose and sun". Meaning "She of great beauty and pressence". Meaning she will grow to be beautiful and always noticed.

Aya Hotaru: Short for Ayanimani which means "Daughter of battle" which means "She who lives in war" reflecting her life and adopted heritage.

Tattoos are also important in The Croshenese Culture, many of the tattoos bare similarities to Akainu's tattoo but the bulk depict dragons, ancient warriors and demons and genrally cover the upperbody. In the Croshenese religion the more tattoos show the physical skill of a warrior along with scars.

List of Gods
Tai-Kian: King of the Gods and god of time.

Micha-Kian: Queen of the Gods and guardian of woman and godess of childbirth.

Lian-Sha: God of War, Storms & Protection

Mai-sha: Godess of Love & Wisdom

Nichi-Vash: God of Honored Death & The Finsha (afterlife)

Hou-Min: God of the Hunt and Magic

Gin-Lia: God of Justice and Honor

Mon-Jak: Godess of the Moon and Night

Son-Jak: Godess of the Sun and Day

Ton-Jak: God of Dreams and Nightmares

The Four Brothers: Gods/Godesses of Wing, Fire, Earth and Water

Han-Lia: God of Song, Dance and Celebration

Rok-Nai: God of Craftsmen, Monuments & Memorial

Military
The Croshenese people have 3 branches to their military; The Army, The Navy and The Marines. All three of the branches are powerful and able to match The Marines with ease despite being outnumbered greatly. Within the three branches there are two unique arms. The first being the Croshen Privateers a secrective side to The Navy.due to the un-easy treaty with the World Government the Croshenese Royal Family can't openly engage them in combat so they have their own personal pirate force fight for them. The second arm is The Royal Guard, these warriors are some fo the best in the Croshenese kingdom and are nearly always lead by a member of the Hotaru Family.

The Rank structure is similar to The Marines of the World Government except with seperate ranks for each branch:
 * Supreme General (Army), Fleet Admiral (Navy), General of the Marines (Marines)
 * Command General (Army), High Admiral (Navy), General (Marines)
 * General (Army), Rear Admiral (Navy), Lt General (Marines)
 * Lt General (Army), Commandore (Navy), Marine Commander (Marines)
 * High Colonel (Army), Sea Commander (Navy), Commander (Marines)
 * Colonel (Army), Commander (Navy), Lt Commander (Marines)
 * Lt Colonel (Army), Lt Commander (Navy), Captain (Marines)
 * Major (Army), Captain (Navy), Lieutenant (Marines)
 * Captain (Army), Lt Captain (Navy), Junior Grade Lieutenant (Marines)
 * 1st Lieutenant (Army), Lieutenant of the Sea (Navy), Ensign Grade 1 (Marines)
 * 2nd Lieutenant (Army), Lieutenant Junior Grade (Navy), Ensign Grade 2 (Marines)
 * Army Sergeant (Army), Ensign (Navy), Ensign Grade 3 (Marines)
 * 1st Sergeant (Army), Master Chief of the Navy (Navy), Marine Sergeant (Marines)
 * 2nd Sergeant (Army), Master Chief (Navy), Sergeant (Marines)
 * Segeant (Army), Chief Petty Officer (Navy), Junior Grade Sergeant (Marines)
 * Corporal (Army), Petty Officer (Navy), Marine Corporal (Marines)
 * Junior Corporal (Army), Crewman First Class (Navy), Corporal (Marines)
 * Trooper First Class (Army), Crewman (Navy), MArine(Marines)
 * Trooper (Army), Crewman Recruit (Navy), Marine Recruit (Marines)

Weapons
Due to the Croshenese ideal of indipendance they do not go by the Wazamono grade (despite Croshenese weapons being graded that way outside the islands). Also every blade, spear, axe, gun, bow or staff is given a name by either the owner or the weaponsmith who made the item.

These are the grades of weapons:


 * Emperor Grade: Equal to Saijo O Wazamono Grade
 * King Grade: Equal to O Wazamono Grade
 * Prince Grade: Equal to Ryo Wazamono Grade
 * Noble Grade: Equal to Wazamono Grade

Wildlife
The Croshen Islands have unique creatures spread all over them. The most unique are Dragons! While these aren't the same as dragon of legends they are reverd as the same creatures, there are three distinct types on the islands. The first are the Wave Dragons or Sea Kings to everyone else, in the Croshenese religion they are the Sea God's envoys and a sign that the waters are healthy. Another type is The Land Dragons or Mountain Dragons, these are very aggressive to the point killing one is a great feat. The most dangerous sub-species of Land dragon is The Daimond Back Dragon, the scales on the back of these beasts are so strong nothing can break them so hunting them is a challenge unless you can attack it from below. The final type of Dragon is the Sky Dragons which are like the other dragons of legend but alot smaller about the size of a Marine warship. They also can't breath fire but they are hard to spot and hear due to their ability to glide for miles and dive that amazing speeds.