Post by Valen Storyteller on Jan 30, 2016 4:45:47 GMT
Territory: 36 miles across, from Eryx into Valenpoint (5 land hexes, 2 sea hexes);
Language: Common, nobility also speaks Ruathim;
Religion: Samaran Pantheon are the state religion, Qamar and The Triumvirate are widely practiced and tolerated;
Demonym: Spinen;
Government: Absolute Monarchy;
Population: 800 thousand, split between the city and surrounding territory;
Demographics: 80% human, Half-Elves 6%, Elves 4%, Dwarves 3%, Others 5%.
HISTORY
Where Spinal now rests, a great mountain peak once stood. It is said that nearly three millennia ago, migrants from a far away realm of mighty magic-users came to Valenpoint, using great foreign magic and Iledrith’s blessing to cut the mountain in half, lift it off the ground and then flip it over, creating a flat-surfaced, floating island on which to build their city. Given that some of the flying island communities of today have just that structure, there is little reason to doubt the tale.
What is often forgotten in such a tale of high magic is the fact that a large, flat plateau is left where once stood a part of a mountain range, and in this case the gap was placed precisely along the best route into Valenpoint. The lifting of the Spine Mountain opened the path for large-scale colonisation of Valenpoint, and the city of Spinal, built upon that plateau, was the first step in that process.
The Samaran Empire is more than a memory of oppression for those living in Spinal - some of the empire’s forces still travel to within a week’s travel time from Spinal, and the great Imperial Road built during the occupation links the city firmly to the Empire’s surviving heartland. An imperial legion was dispatched to Spinal during the war with the undead forces of the Reborn Realm, and though the warriors in gleaming plate have since departed, many fear that the Empire still sees the city as one of its holdings, despite the miles of unclaimed territory separating them.
GEOGRAPHY
Spinal is well-placed to become a major tradeway for Eryx and Faytan, though it has not yet managed to build up and capitalize on that advantage. The walled heart of the city sits upon a plateau that links mainland Eryx with Valenpoint, but just as importantly its outlying northern neighbourhoods border on the Sea of Turmoil to the North, while the southern edges of the city proper rest right against the Bay of Valen, built along a breath-taking set of cliffs that descend from the city’s plateau to the crashing waves below. A broad, paved road links one far-flung neighbourhood to the other, and several times attempts were mades to build canals linking the two, but so far every attempt has ended in disaster, as the canals would have to stretch for many miles and be surprisingly deep, and the two seas have different depths.
The city claims some small amount of land west of its plateau, a rugged terrain of hills and moors where several valuable mines are to be found. Spinal’s breadbasket are the twenty or so miles of Valenpoint territory it claims to its east, a sprawling land of grain farms from horizon to horizon, all of it owned by the king and operated by his noble lords.
A great imperial road crosses from Spinal, right into the heartland of Eryx and to the new capital of the Samaran Empire. Much of the city’s trade is conducted with the empire itself, or with states that see themselves as client-states of it. Spinal itself retains a ruling elite of Samaran descent who worship their pantheon and live by their values, which has probably played a large part in keeping the empire calm and contained. Smaller country roads link Spinal to every major town in Valenpoint.
Language: Common, nobility also speaks Ruathim;
Religion: Samaran Pantheon are the state religion, Qamar and The Triumvirate are widely practiced and tolerated;
Demonym: Spinen;
Government: Absolute Monarchy;
Population: 800 thousand, split between the city and surrounding territory;
Demographics: 80% human, Half-Elves 6%, Elves 4%, Dwarves 3%, Others 5%.
HISTORY
Where Spinal now rests, a great mountain peak once stood. It is said that nearly three millennia ago, migrants from a far away realm of mighty magic-users came to Valenpoint, using great foreign magic and Iledrith’s blessing to cut the mountain in half, lift it off the ground and then flip it over, creating a flat-surfaced, floating island on which to build their city. Given that some of the flying island communities of today have just that structure, there is little reason to doubt the tale.
What is often forgotten in such a tale of high magic is the fact that a large, flat plateau is left where once stood a part of a mountain range, and in this case the gap was placed precisely along the best route into Valenpoint. The lifting of the Spine Mountain opened the path for large-scale colonisation of Valenpoint, and the city of Spinal, built upon that plateau, was the first step in that process.
The Samaran Empire is more than a memory of oppression for those living in Spinal - some of the empire’s forces still travel to within a week’s travel time from Spinal, and the great Imperial Road built during the occupation links the city firmly to the Empire’s surviving heartland. An imperial legion was dispatched to Spinal during the war with the undead forces of the Reborn Realm, and though the warriors in gleaming plate have since departed, many fear that the Empire still sees the city as one of its holdings, despite the miles of unclaimed territory separating them.
GEOGRAPHY
Spinal is well-placed to become a major tradeway for Eryx and Faytan, though it has not yet managed to build up and capitalize on that advantage. The walled heart of the city sits upon a plateau that links mainland Eryx with Valenpoint, but just as importantly its outlying northern neighbourhoods border on the Sea of Turmoil to the North, while the southern edges of the city proper rest right against the Bay of Valen, built along a breath-taking set of cliffs that descend from the city’s plateau to the crashing waves below. A broad, paved road links one far-flung neighbourhood to the other, and several times attempts were mades to build canals linking the two, but so far every attempt has ended in disaster, as the canals would have to stretch for many miles and be surprisingly deep, and the two seas have different depths.
The city claims some small amount of land west of its plateau, a rugged terrain of hills and moors where several valuable mines are to be found. Spinal’s breadbasket are the twenty or so miles of Valenpoint territory it claims to its east, a sprawling land of grain farms from horizon to horizon, all of it owned by the king and operated by his noble lords.
A great imperial road crosses from Spinal, right into the heartland of Eryx and to the new capital of the Samaran Empire. Much of the city’s trade is conducted with the empire itself, or with states that see themselves as client-states of it. Spinal itself retains a ruling elite of Samaran descent who worship their pantheon and live by their values, which has probably played a large part in keeping the empire calm and contained. Smaller country roads link Spinal to every major town in Valenpoint.