Ordinnean

Ordinnean is a city state located far in the south-east of Griselderyn, claiming dominion over The Griselder Valley, down in the far south of Darimark (see: Griselderyn).
Ordinnean is probably one of the oldest settlements in the region of Darimark, its founding likely going back to around 700 pSF, and certainly the largest, as it is home to around 20.000 people, about half of which are of The Hominid Strain. It is also known as “The Fortress-City”.
Together with The Embergrasp Dynasty, a kingdom to its north, Ordinnean is one of the only 2 “proper” nations in the wider region of Griselderyn . While historically its influence on the world stage has been rather minor, this has begun to change with the fall of The Ashuurian State , the general decline of Upper Zagesi and the invention of iron forging in the region.
Weapons made from “Ord-Steel”, as it is colloquially referred to, are said to be unrivaled in durability and sharpness, making them a much sought-after commodity all over Kashura.

Territory:

Ordinnean is located on an island in The Griselder River, located right in the center of The Griselder Valley. The city itself does not lay claim to the surrounding lands and its many towns and villages, though as security in the region is just as important to them as it is to its other inhabitants, they generally cooperate on issues of security and infrastructure.
Ordinnean’s strategic and defensible position has allowed them to flourish, prosper and even occasionally bully its neighbors financially, projecting power both up- and downstream with blockades and extortionate taxation rates. They have however not made use of such tactics for a while now, as trade in the region only benefits them.

Government:

While not much is known about ordinnean’s earliest governments, it has now been ruled by a general assembly of the city's wealthiest families for the better part of 300 years. As such it would be most accurate to classify it as a plutocratic oligarchy.
The general assembly consists of an ever changing amount of members which discuss and vote on various policies, though there are 2 positions which arguably hold more power than most others combined:
The Lord/Lady of Law: tasked with maintaining law and order in the city, declaring judges, employing the city guard and providing their equipment.
The Prime Speaker: decides which agendas are brought before the general assembly and reserves a right to veto. They also deal with issues of diplomacy, fund public events, such as celebrations and holidays as well as, building, maintenance and restoration of public infrastructure.
These two roles historically have served as the rulers of Ordinnean in times of crisis, and ideally work in tandem to maintain the integrity of the city.
As implied, a person without the necessary funds will not be able to fill these positions for long. The current rulers of Ordinnean are Prime Speaker Orvald Everbright and Lady Law, Emrys of Cragholdt.

History:

Despite its relatively early development by the standards of Griselderyn, not much is known about the early history of Ordinnean. It’s name appears first in a business ledger from Nagazaar, which refers to it as a minor, but decently defensible trading hub upstream, around 500 pSF.
To summarize Ordinnean’s history relatively quickly: It seems to have been a strategically important city throughout its entire history, sitting right in the crossroads between Griselderyn, Upper Zagesi and even the lands beyond The Worldspine, thanks to its proximity to Higurds pass.
Such a position does not come without its struggles though, for where there is wealth, there are also those that covet it. Bandits were, and still are a big problem in the region, one of the main reasons why the population of The Griselder Valley is so heavily concentrated in Ordinnean. War between Ordinnean and its northern neighbors was also a pretty common occurrence, which did not change all that much even after The Embergrasp Dynasty was founded to its north. Its leaders would spend another 100 years engaging in semi-regular skirmishes and attacking trade caravans, which ultimately would culminate in the war around 218 pSF, which would last for 6 long years. Ordinnean would ultimately win this war in a spectacular fashion despite its comparatively small army, in no small part due to its incredible defensiveness. They had nothing to defend except for a single city and a few defensive structures in the countryside, allowing them to basically hunker down and drain their enemy of coin, food and willpower.
Ordinnean would force brutal reparations on their northern neighbor, which would secure a steady flow of wealth to the city for several decades, though relations with The Embergrasp Dynasty would eventually normalize and even turn peaceful. It seemed they had finally learned from their past mistakes. Ordinnean’s greatest enemy however was usually itself. Revolutions were commonplace and its rulers tended to feud with each other over power wherever they could. This changed however with the end of the war in 212 pSF. The strong leadership its rulers at the time had demonstrated allowed them to solidify their power somewhat, giving them a reprieve from the steady unrest which plagued the city. With this time they set to change Ordinnean more or less into what it is today: A city that, despite little to no public participation, still maintains public peace through the power of coin alone.
Not much has changed about Ordinnean since then, its leaders changed, its population grew, but the city itself stayed the same. It would not be until the decline and eventual fall of The Ashuurian State that Ordinnean would gain a spot in the limelight though. As the region of Upper Zagesi grew more and more unstable, people looked for other ways to traverse the vast lands of Kashura. Its final claim to fame would however come with the invention of iron forging in the city itself, for as the tin trading networks of The Shattered Sea broke down, people would look towards new ways of making their weapons and tools. Ordinnean was the first supplier, and the quality of their Steel weaponry and armor is renowned over all of Kashura.

Culture & Society:

The Culture and Society of Ordinnean have historically been obsessed with 1 thing above all: merit. In Ordinnean it does not matter who your parents are, if you were born with special powers, divine destiny or whatnot, it only matters what you are good at. An artist is supposed to be good at art, a smith good at smithing, a guard good at guarding and a ruler good at ruling. If they are not good at those things they shouldn’t be doing them, if they aren’t good at one thing but good at another… well then they should do that. Don’t like it? Then learn to like it or get good at the thing you ARE doing. And if you are good but someone else is better? Well then you better learn what they are doing differently and quickly, because not being the best at something is only a few steps away from being bad at something.
This culture had some interesting consequences on Ordinnean itself:
First, no tolerance for incompetent rulership, revolts were all too common during its early ages, something that has only changed with the reforms put in place following 212 pSF. Now rulers cannot simply tax their problems away but must maintain their own immense profits, or risk losing their position.
Second, a culture of excellence and improvement, that one should always reach for the next step, always aim up, never be content. While this has without a doubt been the cause for Ordinnean’s abundance of expert craftsmen, artisans and scholars, one can probably also see the problems that arrive from a society of people that are never happy with what they have. Maybe that’s why the stereotype of ordinneans is that they’re always grumpy.
Third, an openness to change and transformation. As opposed to many other cultures around Kashura, ordinneans do not consider their way of life or the way they do things as inherently superior to others. They simply look at what works, see that it works and decide to do that, until they find something that works better for their purposes.
Fourth, pretty much by accident, Ordinnean has evolved into a very egalitarian society. The reason for this is rather simple, if the only thing that matters is merit, why should you care about someone’s strain, gender, sex, age or anything else like that? The only relevant question is, are they good at what they do. If the answer is yes, that’s the end of the conversation. It’s likely because of this that Ordinnean has such a diverse populace, especially by the standards of the region.

Laws & Institutions:

The Laws around Kashura generally don’t vary all that much from one another, murder and theft is pretty much illegal everywhere for instance,this section will therefore focus only on the noteworthy:

(Almost) no taxes:

One of the main reasons for why the people of Ordinnean are willing to tolerate the current system of government is that they do not interfere with their work in any way. Taxes are illegal and anything you legally earn shall be yours to keep. This lack of income is however the reason why the city's rulers must be so immensely wealthy to be able to attain and hold the position, because they have to pay for everything that in other places would be paid for by tax money. And if they can’t and don’t vacate the position… well that sounds like a revolution to me.
The one exception here are tolls and tariffs for foreign travelers and merchants.

Slavery:

It is illegal to enslave citizens of Ordinnean under any circumstances, anyone else is fair game though. That said, slaves are not all that common in Ordinnean, they take up space, you have to provide a place for them to stay and feed them and they usually aren’t especially skilled.

Harsh Punishments:

Punishments for breaking the law are quite harsh in Ordinnean. After all, if you’re a criminal, at least be a good one. If you get caught you deserve what’s coming for you.
There is also no way of buying your way out of prison, if you get convicted you are leaving that prison in only one of three ways: after serving your time, in a casket or by being pardoned by The Lord/Lady Law, though the third almost never happens.

Ordinnean

Geography:

Region: Northern Middle East - Griselderyn

Society:

Population: ~20.000 people
Strains: Hominids ~50%, Other ~50%
Religion: The Ur-Ashaar

Politics:

Government: plutocratic oligarchy
Rulers:
Prime Speaker Orvald Everbright;
Lady Law, Emrys of Cragholdt
Influence: minor

Commerce:

Currency:
50 copper mark = 1 silver ord
25 silver ords = 1 golden guld