Fivèndam

The Free City

Standing along the Larádyēan River between the kingdoms of Dirímor and Lōépōnye Nōe, the fortified city of Fivèndam is a marvel of the West. A merchant city of some antiquity, the City of Fivèndam is not burdened with the teeming poor found in other urban centers. Instead, its narrow turning streets are well-maintained and free of refuse, beggars are absent from its corners and courtyards, and the typical urban pall of Yrūni decay does not linger in the air. This prosperous city is a commercial center for three continents, though its main exports are only litigants, bankers, and bureaucrats. Hundreds of years of successful contracts, trade agreements, and laws have funneled massive sums back to the Illyri Peninsula, and made Fivèndam one of the wealthiest ports in the world.

Government

  • Type – Plutocratic Council (The Fivèndam League)
  • Ruler – Chairperson Elvāyréyh Shàyrh
  • Capital – NA
  • Cities – NA
  • Calendar – …
  • Festivals – …

People

  • Population – Fivèndamyr (650 DR) 84,320
  • Races – Yrūn 86%, Ōéle 6%, Dwürden 3%, Gnor 2%, other 3%
  • Ethnicities –
  • Languages – Trade, Dirímoric, Nōénic
  • Religions –

Trade

  • Currency –
  • Imports –
  • Exports –

Wards

Landmarks

People

History

Battle of Fivendam

In the Summer of 738 HK, the Illyri Campaign turned toward the Principality of Fivèndam. Conquered Diràni troops marched north from Erénost. Each soldier was promised safe passage and property should they serve the Empire against Fivèndam and the League. Those that dissented were corralled and executed for treason against the High Queen. Drāūni priests raised the treasonists and assembled an Undying regiment to lead the march north. The siege of Fivèndam was no easy matter, despite being surrounded by land forces in present-day Lōépōnye Nōe and Dirímor. In the 8th century HK, Fivèndam was one the most well-protected cities in the world. Two rings of walls surrounded the metropolis, which was crowned by a massive hill-top castle that commanded views of the countryside for many miles. Prince Jæmn Ōcèlarēa II, latest of a long line descended from Andùl Illyri emperors, invited Egdris into the city to dine with him in the castle. This was an ancient and honorable tradition among Vulmùri foes, and Egdris agreed to the ritual. The Ummòni commander took an entourage of six soldiers with him, each hand-picked from his homeland. At dinner, the general was sickened from poisoned food. While one of the soldiers tended to the general, the other five took on the Prince’s household. By Dekàli accounts, thirty men were killed in the Prince’s chambers including the treacherous Jæmn. The local account was much different, claiming that the treacherous Dekàli general had attacked and killed his host in violation of ancient customs. All evidence of the evening’s events were destroyed as the chambers were engulfed in flame. Amid the fire and confusion, Egdris and his men escaped the castle but could not find safe passage from the city. The Dekàli armies took the rising flames as a sign that the battle begun and began a brutal and protracted siege against the city. During the second week, Oðàri ships arrived on the southern coast, and a caravan of heavy wagons lumbered slowly toward the battle. The Siege of Fivèndam marked the first appearance of a new weapon within the Empire’s arsenal. The Order of Iron Death introduced armored tortoise-wagons filled with black-powder. Shielded men pushed the tortoises to the base of the city walls, lit the tapers, and ran as fast as they could under a hail of arrows, stones, and magic. A number of the tortoises detonated prematurely, giving the walls’ defenders a sense of what was coming. Sappers also made their mark, opening two large breaches in the outer wall. Armies poured into the outer city, setting buildings ablaze and filling the gulf with black smoke. The inner gates were soon buckling under the punishment of Gargdar rams as Ōéle chemists dropped gas-bombs from the second wall. On the 17th day, the Dekàlyr broke into the harbor, their maneuverable galleys swarming around the waiting League ships. Galleys and freighters burned. The harbor was choked with flotsam and screaming sailors. Pyrotechnics from a hundred magicians battled from ship decks, raining eldritch ruin upon ships and shore. Within the city, the Emperor’s Gate cracked and collapsed and the first Dekàlyr stormed into the inner city. On the 18th day the invading armies marched through the Emperor’s Gate and were reunited with their ailing commander and his two remaining guards. At the castle gate, the newly crowned Prince Bærán Ōcèlarēa I surrendered to the invaders, and proceeded into history as the shortest lived Prince of Fivèndam. General Egdris returned to the castle and imprisoned the royal family. The guards that had accompanied him into the city were each granted lordships within the new territory, with the martyrs’ awards passing on to their children. Buoyed by his success, Egdris ordered his armies eastward against the King of Viríllis, the High Queen’s ultimate objective. With Autumn approaching, the final battle would have to be now or wait until next year. If they waited till Spring, the Viríllyr might be able to raise more mercenaries.

Time Line

Dynasties

Dekàlas