: As they rebelled from being Tyr's prison colony in the
: first place, they could well have attacked Tyr out of
: revenge, sweet revenge.
Makes sense. Although, assuming the pirates were citizens of Tyr before being exported to Leix in the first place, surely they would be harming some of their own relatives by returning to burn down Tyr. Which of course raises two points. Either, when someone was exported to Leix their family was sent with them (which would mean the citizens of Tyr were guilty of a form of ethnic cleansing) or that the pirates were so evil that they really had no consideration for any friends or family they had left in Tyr. Then again (I'm thinking as I type) we don't know how long the penal colony was in existance - maybe generations - in which case any connection with Tyr, other than the desire for revenge, would have long since vanished.
: Also, it makes sense for Leix to be an island,
: as its the best place to put a prison colony - escape
: is very hard. Ideally a larger island, as you can put
: lots of prisoners there, and have enough land to farm
: &
: be self-sustaining.
I agree that Leix should be an island - think Alcatraz, think Australia - although is it clear whether Leix is a penal colony or a prison colony? There are distinct differences (if my history serves me right). A penal colony is effectively a self supporting society, admittedly full of criminals, much as Australia was in its early days. To that end it could be miles away from Tyr. Whereas a prison colony would be merely a prison on an island - it would require guards, most likely a governor and a whole host of support staff. It makes sense that this would be reasonably close to Tyr for logistics purposes (San Francisco/Alcatraz)
: Once they'd rebelled, they would have control of whatever
: ships were in port and become a naval power & hence
: be
: called pirates.
But it would be a small fleet at best. If Leix was a penal colony ships would only visit to drop of prisoners, other than that there would be no way off the island. And the sorts of ships that would be used would not be fighting ships. My guess is that the pirates would have raised a fleet elsewhere.
: Along the lines of your conspiracy theory - what kind of
: place was Tyr to have such a sizable prison colony, when
: other major cities such as Madrigal & Covenant
: apparently
: didn't? Were homeless peasants banished to Leix for
: stealing a loaf of bread?
I must admit Tyr is not coming out of this in the best of lights. It may be that Covenent and Madrigal had penal colonies but were better at managing them and stopping revolutions, but I doubt it. Also if Leix was the island south of Covenent, it makes me wonder what the inhabitants of Covenent would have thought about having all of Tyr's misfits just off their shores.
Bubba
