Difference between revisions of "Cadwallon"

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his name to a new fi efdom, Ghieronburg, a former goblin colony
 
his name to a new fi efdom, Ghieronburg, a former goblin colony
 
near the harbor.
 
near the harbor.
 +
 +
*''The leagues''
 +
 +
Th is invasion was not the last threat Cadwallon had to face.
 +
In 983 the Akkyshan elves launched a vast off ensive against
 +
the city. Since its founding by Vanius they had satisfi ed themselves
 +
with small scale lightning raids launched from the forest
 +
of Ashinân. Th e Free City suddenly grew fearful.
 +
Only the forgotten heirs of the Dogs of War, who were scornfully
 +
called “the shrews,” rose to protect the city. Th us these descendents
 +
of the mercenaries who, not having enough money to settle down,
 +
continued exploring the ruins, made the Cadwës understand that
 +
achieving prosperity wasn’t everything. Th ey had tobe able to secure
 +
it, as General Ghieron had 40 years earlier.
 +
Th e population managed to get organized behind the shrews
 +
and the city’s militia to push the Akkyshans back to the sea. Th is
 +
was a great success, yet at a very high cost.
 +
We are now in 1003. Duke Den Azhir has been ruling Cadwallon
 +
for eight years. Th e guilds haven’t lost anything of their arrogance
 +
and might, yet nowadays an older power is rising. For the past 20
 +
years the heirs of the Dogs of War have been able to reclaim some of
 +
their ancestors’ past glory while taking into account the opportunities
 +
provided by a trading center like the Jewel of Lanever. Mixing
 +
martial tradition, the spirit of free enterprise, and the taste for adventure,
 +
these individuals are called “free leaguers.”
 +
 +
== A Cosmopolitan City ==
 +
 +
All natives of Cadwallon are considered to be Cadwës, meaning
 +
born free of other nations struggles and laws. Some even claim it to
 +
be the same for religions and traditions.
 +
All inhabitants of Cadwallon therefore aren’t Cadwës. Th ough
 +
this term is widely used, it doesn’t take into account the city’s
 +
cosmopolitan reality. Th ough the census of Cadwallon’s population
 +
may be approximate, it is nevertheless a well known
 +
fact that only two-thirds of its inhabitants are “true” Cadwës,
 +
meaning natives. Th is amounts to about 200,000 people. Th e
 +
other residents, who are either well established or temporary
 +
residents, come from cultures struggling among each other for
 +
the supremacy of their beliefs in the total war known as the
 +
Rag’narok.
 +
 +
==== The Cadwës ====
 +
 +
THE GUILDS’ ALLIES IN THE RAG’NAROK
 +
 +
Guild of Architects: Cynwäll elves, Griffi ns of Akkylannie,
 +
Lions of Alahan and dwarves of Tir-Nâ-Bor.
 +
Guild of Blades: All peoples.
 +
Guild of Ferrymen: All peoples.
 +
Guild of Goldsmiths: Living-dead of Acheron, Alchemists
 +
of Dirz, goblins of No-Dan-Kar, Griffi ns of Akkylannie,
 +
Lions of Alahan and dwarves of Tir-Nâ-Bor.
 +
Guild of Usurers: All peoples of the Meanders of
 +
Darkness.
 +
Guild of Thieves: Living-dead of Acheron, Akkyshan
 +
elves, Alchemists of Dirz, devourers of Vile-Tis, goblins
 +
of No-Dan-Kar, Lions of Alahan and dwarves of
 +
Tir-Nâ-Bor.
 +
Guild of Cartomancers: Cynwäll elves, goblins of No-
 +
Dan-Kar, Griffi ns of Akkylannie, dwarves of Tir-Nâ-
 +
Bor and Lions of Alahan.
 +
 +
*''Foreigners''
 +
 +
A prosperous, independent and diplomatically neutral city,
 +
Cadwallon attracts countless travelers. Merchants, envoys and old
 +
sea dogs are the perfect examples of the kind of professions that
 +
pass through the town. Such voyagers usually stay for a short time
 +
and leave as soon as their business is done.Th e city’s most infl uential guilds have always mingled in politics
 +
and diplomacy. Breaking with Cadwallon’s tradition of remaining
 +
free, they have built alliance networks with some nations and
 +
maintain private armies that intervene in the Rag’narok. Many
 +
citizens of these nations come to Cadwallon to strengthen these
 +
relations or, on otherwise, to end them.
 +
Th ough one cannot deny the omnipresence of foreigners who
 +
are temporary residents of the city, their infl uence on daily
 +
life nevertheless remains insignifi cant. Interested by nothing
 +
but their own business, these exiles don’t play an active role in
 +
Cadwë society.
 +
 +
*''Refugees''
 +
 +
Th e troubles that come with the Rag’narok lead many refugees
 +
to Cadwallon. Th ey are fl eeing the war and arrive penniless
 +
after their journey to the city, for the vessels and caravans that
 +
travel to Cadwallon have made the transportation of refugees a
 +
true commerce. And though these trips are far from comfortable,
 +
the fees are nevertheless very expensive. Others try to
 +
reach Cadwallon by their own means, yet few manage to.
 +
What can one do when arriving in Cadwallon klû-less*? For
 +
some the disillusion comes quick and hard like a lightning
 +
bolt. Th ese usually end up in the worst parts of the lower city,
 +
adding to the ranks of the homeless or used as guinea pigs
 +
in the underground laboratories of unscrupulous alchemists.
 +
Yet most refugees manage to integrate. By pawning their last
 +
belongings, they manage to borrow enough ducats to settle
 +
down and carry out their profession with the guilds’ permission.
 +
Without the slightest qualms, the guild of Usurers off ers
 +
to the poorest to pawn their own body. If they don’t pay back
 +
their debt on time, then the borrowers end up as more or less
 +
consenting organ donors.
 +
In the light of these explanations, it seems obvious that the
 +
fi rst few years of a refugee’s life in Cadwallon are far from blissful.
 +
However, the guilds know how to make the most of their
 +
members. An individual with sought after abilities and who
 +
is ready to work hard can provide a relatively comfortable life
 +
for his family. It’s impossible for him to own his own store or
 +
workshop, but he can become the indispensable assistant to a
 +
master of the guild, with the fantastic income that this position
 +
implies.
 +
 +
*''The natives''
 +
 +
Being a Cadwë means being born in Cadwallon and being
 +
raised in the city’s tradition of freedom. A Cadwë, regardless of
 +
his life standards, carries within him the heritage of the founding
 +
fathers of the Jewel of Lanever. Very often families continue
 +
to pass down certain values that are specific to their original nation, yet these are often mixed and smoothed over by living
 +
among Cadwallon’s cosmopolitan population.
 +
Today Cadwë values are relatively abstract whereas on a daily
 +
basis nothing seems to be able to diminish the independence won
 +
a century and an half ago with the strength of arms. Th e endless
 +
quest for riches, the will to settle durably and make the most
 +
of this city and its lifestyle are recurring elements. Th e pride of
 +
being a Cadwë isn’t as much about being scornful towards the
 +
refugees as being intimately convinced of being part of the advancement
 +
of a society detached from the nations and their wars.
 +
For some this means contributing to the guilds’ prosperity, while
 +
harvesting benefi ts for oneself. For others, enlisting to the service
 +
of one of the noble families is seen as a better social investment,
 +
even if this means having to develop the indisputable qualities of
 +
a courtier. Th e most impatient and the most idealist newcomers
 +
directly enter the duke’s service by joining the militia or the free
 +
leagues.
 +
Yet in the upper city there is a certain form of elitism. Being
 +
outrageously rich is not enough; one also has to have a certain
 +
number of degrees of Cadwë lineage. Th e oldest noble families
 +
can trace their ancestry back seven or eight degrees and an important
 +
part of the protocol during aristocratic receptions is
 +
founded on how many degrees of lineage a guest has.
 +
 +
==== Prosperity ====
 +
 +
Th e widely spread nicknames of “Jewel of Lanever” and “City
 +
of Th ieves” carry a certain amount of truth about Cadwallon. A
 +
seaport city and a lakeside city, a land of asylum, a crossroads
 +
of a great variety of trades, a cosmopolitan town and a political
 +
playground: Cadwallon is all that at once.
 +
 +
*''Trade''
 +
 +
Because it attracts populations from the four corners of
 +
Aarklash, Cadwallon benefi ts from a wide range of expertise. It’s
 +
true that the secret research done by Cadwallon’s omnimancers
 +
is far from equivalent to the Syhars’ discoveries in the fi eld of
 +
mutagens, just like the local steam machines are far from being
 +
as perfected as those of the dwarves of the Aegis Mountains.
 +
Yet all of these products have an enormous advantage: they are
 +
available to who is willing to pay the price.
 +
In addition to this undeniable asset, Cadwallon has been
 +
known to develop its own commerce: the exotic animals from
 +
the Immobilis islands are most wanted all over Aarklash, just
 +
like the secret plants cultivated by the guild of Tailors for the
 +
Cadwë nobles. And what about the long and fast galleys made
 +
from strange types of wood found only in magical groves that
 +
randomly grow in the Free City? Th e City of Th ieves has thus become a major trade platform. All
 +
of the continents merchandise transits on the docks one day or another,
 +
including slaves, whose commerce and transport are prohibited
 +
within the city, yet permitted on board vessels entering the port
 +
(which doesn’t prevent the duke from taxing them as “cargo”).
 +
As for obtaining merchandise that normally isn’t available,
 +
there are always discreet ways of dealing and unwitting individuals
 +
who think that everything can be sold in the City of
 +
Th ieves. Isn’t Cadwallon’s motto “My kingdom for a ducat!”? If
 +
there are fools who wish to buy things that cannot be bought,
 +
why deprive oneself of their gold? Considering its importance, the harbor is the stage of nonstop
 +
activity. Th e merchants barter directly on the docks, surrounded
 +
by goblin sailors and Kelt dockers, in an atmosphere
 +
fi lled with shouts and sweat. Even in the upper city trade is in
 +
full swing: here a dwarven engineer is demonstrating his domestic
 +
automatons; there a master tailor is presenting his avian
 +
hats...
 +
 +
 +
*''Diplomacy''
 +
 +
Th e upper city of Cadwallon constantly hosts the plenipotentiaries
 +
of all origins who meet, negotiate treaties with the
 +
duke, and seal secret alliances with Cadwallon’s most infl uential
 +
guilds, either to recruit an army or to profi t from generous
 +
investments.
 +
Diplomacy always going hand in hand with a little spying and a
 +
hint of treason, the Free City is the stage of a great deal of plotting
 +
and nighttime maneuvers. Th e odd towers of the upper city then
 +
become the stage of bloody yet discreet pursuits. Shady dealings
 +
are hidden from curious eyes in the alcoves. Sometimes confl icts
 +
are solved in public duels in the reception hall of an embassy or on
 +
the fi eld of honor.
 +
Th ere are four offi cial embassies in Cadwallon: those of Alahan,
 +
Akkylannie, Syharhalna and No-Dan-Kar. Th e relations with these
 +
nations are especially strong but not always very warm. Most of
 +
Cadwallon’s important guilds are allied to one or more of these
 +
nations and one can often meet their leaders in the hallways of the
 +
embassies.
 +
Th e latter play an important role in the upper city. All members
 +
of Cadwë high society are expected to attend the numerous
 +
parties and ceremonies organized by the ambassadors. Of course, these extravagant activities hide very pragmatic objectives.
 +
Th ey are all opportunities for the powerful to mingle, to
 +
get together and thus build relations that are then strengthened
 +
through formal agreements. Th e embassies are therefore places
 +
where important exchanges take place, day or night. Th e city’s
 +
independence allows the ambassadors to meet the representatives
 +
of any other people without worry and without causing
 +
any protest. It’s hard to imagine a meeting in Akkylannie with
 +
a Syhar envoy!
 +
In the past Tir-Nâ-Bor had an embassy in Cadwallon. Even
 +
though this is no longer the case, the dwarven nation maintains
 +
its trade relations with the city and its guilds. Diplomats are almost
 +
always present in the upper city. Depending on the period,
 +
they stay either in the Varr-Nokkt family residence or in the
 +
suites of the best hotels of the ducal enclave.
 +
Th e Jewel of Lanever also hosts a Cynwäll ambassador who
 +
lives in the tower that dominates the upper city. Th ere isn’t an
 +
embassy in the strict sense of the term and the ambassador
 +
himself is a secretive character who very few people have had
 +
the honor to meet. He never partakes in any festivities unless he
 +
has something of importance to announce. Th e nations that don’t have an embassy are nevertheless present
 +
in Cadwallon. Most peoples send delegations to the upper
 +
city. Th eir members are housed either by the guilds or by the
 +
noble families depending on the nations’ affi nities. In addition
 +
to the Var-Nokkt family, the guild of Ferrymen regularly invites
 +
various representatives from the major ports of Aarklash to a
 +
lakeside mansion with a private marina. Th e seat of the guild of
 +
Goldsmiths, a sumptuous tower in the heart of the upper city,
 +
also welcomes prestigious guests from allied nations.
 +
Th e delegations sent to Cadwallon aren’t always offi cial representatives.
 +
Many economic powers have interests in the free city,
 +
be they rich goblin traders, powerful Kelt clan chiefs, venerable
 +
craftsmen from the Aegis, or renowned Syhar alchemists. Th e
 +
upper city teems with grand hotels that are willing to accommodate
 +
any visitor, as long as he is wealthy and has clearance
 +
from the ducal authorities.
 +
The guild of Thieves provides these eminent visitors with many
 +
services. Some want to discover the lower city and its nightlife
 +
while others wish to stay in town discreetly, far from the brouhaha
 +
of the high society. Th is guild thus hosts individuals who
 +
are generally discriminated in Cadwallon, especially devourers
 +
of Vile-Tis and Akkyshan elves. In exchange for these services
 +
the guild can get hold of rare or illegal supplies intended for
 +
the black market. Th e devourers supply countless relics stolen
 +
during their raids, and the forest of Ashinân provides dreadful
 +
venoms and poisons.
 +
 +
 +
== Cadwe Identity ==

Revision as of 14:00, 15 May 2013

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