Lionstone
Lionstone (dt. Löwenstein) is one of the largest, if not the largest city in Alendia. It is the capital of the Human Empire and officially declared as the capital of The New World. It stands on the continent of Ephea, laying in the Lion's Bay. It was the first settlement of humans and was always considered the capital of the Empire. It is home for not just humans, but creatures of many different races. Lionstone isn't just a city but a fortified metropolis at the same time, protecting the king and throne of The Human Empire. With a population of around 230000, it is the most populous city in Alendia and is a symbol of power.
Lionstone was the first city of humans and was founded in 9819 b. BF. The number of humans rapidly grew and with that, the size of the city increased as well. In 9805 b. BF with the beginning of the skirmishes against the orcs, humans built the first wall of Lionstone around the city, but the city kept growing and had to be extended beyond the walls, resulting in building another wall in 9436 b. BF. This procedure was repeated a few more times and with that, multiple walls were surrounding different parts of Lionstone. The main castle in Lionstone changed its location over time as well, claiming the most optimal defensive spot within the territory of Lionstone. In 6519 b. BF the humans built the artificial Lion's Channel, connecting Lion's Lake with Lion's Bay, enabling ships to sail from the ocean over Lion's Lake, all the way up to the mountain range of Ephea.
Like most other large cities of the humans, Lionstone has some squadrons specialized in the defense of the city. The Demigriffon Cavalry serves as a quick force, enabling the city to execute fast counter charges or to destroy stationary siege weapons outside of the city walls. Humans were one of the first races to perfect horseback riding, and due to the wealth of Lionstone, the city was able to even put up a squad of Demigriffon Cavalry. Another important part of Lionstone's defenses is the Noble Guard. These elite infantry soldiers were mainly used in the past to defend the most important parts of the city, like the King's Fortress, the noble district, and the harbor district.
About a dozen of spellcasters protect Lionstone with a magical force shield, absorbing incoming projectiles or magical attacks. They also deal with monster attacks or similar rare, but devastating cases. Usually, these spellcasters are part of the Wizard's Guild and serve Lionstone as researchers or teachers.
The first navy of Lionstone protects Lion's Bay. It is one of the largest naval units of humans and watches over the whole bay, forming coordinated chain-like structures. The first navy has about 50 ships, many of them with catapults or other siege weapons, and some of them even use the newly discovered modern gunpowder for canons.
Aside from this, there are other units, like Rondra's watch, retired veterans, adventurers, or even mercenaries, that are often willing to defend Lionstone for different reasons. However, these forces are not considered official defensive units, because of the lack of potential training and reliability.
Many other cities of humans have a similar defensive structure:
Geography
Spatial Location
Lionstone stands on the east coast of central Ephea, in Lion's Bay. Lion's Channel crosses the city entirely and the outskirts of Lionstone reach Lion's Lake and beyond. The land Lionstone is built on is relatively flat and very fertile, perfectly suited for agriculture.Climate
Lionstone is located in the moderate climate zone, the temperatures reaching from 0°C in winter to 28°C in summer on average. The wind is coming from the southeast, resulting in high precipitation, mostly in form of rainfall, especially in the summer months.Structure
The core area (the area inside the outer city wall) of Lionstone measures around 35 square miles, populated by 230.000 humanoids. It can be divided into multiple different districts, details listed below in the district section. The outskirts of Lionstone beyond the outer wall cover an area of approximately 4000 acres. Lionstone has a classical, medieval, almost unstructured cityscape, contains about 900 noble houses, thousands of commercial buildings and merchant booths, and about a hundred different churches and chapels. The harbor of Lionstone is the largest in Ephea and is protected by a large navy guarding Lion's Bay. There are multiple castles and palaces all over Lionstone, mostly protected by a wall. Lionstone is kept by multiple security forces, including thousands of soldiers of the Empire's army and navy, about two thousand city guards, and a smaller group of security forces, called "Azuros", which have been deactivated recently.Districts
[WIP]History
For details look up the Historical Events about Lionstone.Lionstone was the first city of humans and was founded in 9819 b. BF. The number of humans rapidly grew and with that, the size of the city increased as well. In 9805 b. BF with the beginning of the skirmishes against the orcs, humans built the first wall of Lionstone around the city, but the city kept growing and had to be extended beyond the walls, resulting in building another wall in 9436 b. BF. This procedure was repeated a few more times and with that, multiple walls were surrounding different parts of Lionstone. The main castle in Lionstone changed its location over time as well, claiming the most optimal defensive spot within the territory of Lionstone. In 6519 b. BF the humans built the artificial Lion's Channel, connecting Lion's Lake with Lion's Bay, enabling ships to sail from the ocean over Lion's Lake, all the way up to the mountain range of Ephea.
Demography
Lionstone is home to many Epheans , more precisely: humans of Lionstone. But due to its size and role as capital of the New World, many other creatures of other races can be found living in Lionstone. In 20 b. BF the census was as follows:- Humans: 51%
- Halflings: 12%
- Half-Elves: 11%
- Elves: 10%
- Dwarves: 6%
- Gnomes: 3%
- Dragonborn: 2%
- Half-Orcs: 2%
- Others: 3%
Religion
The The Pantheon of the Twelve-Gods is the most popular belief in Lionstone and the only official religion. Some individuals respect the old pantheon of Faerun, especially Clerics, Paladins, and other people with professions, which involve dieties. However, especially people living outside the walls in the outskirts might honor different dieties. Such 'paganism' was illegal most of the time, but with King Lawrence Brimstone claiming the throne of Lionstone, a new era of tolerance and variety started, allowing people to honor whatever diety they want. However, the church of the sun and the other two big churches from the Twelve God Pantheon are trying to keep other beliefs relatively low to ensure their power and influence.Administration
Government
Lionstone is ruled by the King of all Humans. The King appoints key roles like judges, administrators, commanders of security forces, and even governors for single districts. Additionally, the three churches have big enough of an influence on the government as well.Law & Order
The City Watch is the local security and police force of Lionstone whose duty it was to settle petty disputes, capture criminals, and ensure public order. Additionally, they control travel and migration, keeping note of people crossing the city borders and guard the walls of Lionstone. In case of an attack or other bigger issues threatening the security of the city, the City Watch can be reinforced by the soldiers of the army and navy, idling in Lionstone. The City Watch is divided into different squadrons, each of them responsible for different tasks or locations. The Azuros were a private security force of emperor Azur. They were known for direct and martial methods and were the perfect tool for emperor Azur to keep the city controlled and in his iron grip. The main task of the Azuros was to find criminals and get rid of them and they also helped to execute the great decimation in 6432 b. BF. Nowadays the Azuros have been deactivated from King Laurence, who wasn't compliant with the partly borderline illegal methods of the Azuros.Defenses
Three layers of strong walls surround the core of Lionstone, equipped with mangonels, ballista, or other siege weapons with a high range, watched over by the City Watch, a group of about two thousand well-trained guards. As mentioned above, the main task of the City Watch is to ensure Law and Order. In case of an attack on Lionstone, the guards are perfectly suited to defend the city. Additionally, many soldiers and veterans of the armies of humans live and Lionstone. These forces can easily be mobilized to reinforce the defense of the city.Like most other large cities of the humans, Lionstone has some squadrons specialized in the defense of the city. The Demigriffon Cavalry serves as a quick force, enabling the city to execute fast counter charges or to destroy stationary siege weapons outside of the city walls. Humans were one of the first races to perfect horseback riding, and due to the wealth of Lionstone, the city was able to even put up a squad of Demigriffon Cavalry. Another important part of Lionstone's defenses is the Noble Guard. These elite infantry soldiers were mainly used in the past to defend the most important parts of the city, like the King's Fortress, the noble district, and the harbor district.
About a dozen of spellcasters protect Lionstone with a magical force shield, absorbing incoming projectiles or magical attacks. They also deal with monster attacks or similar rare, but devastating cases. Usually, these spellcasters are part of the Wizard's Guild and serve Lionstone as researchers or teachers.
The first navy of Lionstone protects Lion's Bay. It is one of the largest naval units of humans and watches over the whole bay, forming coordinated chain-like structures. The first navy has about 50 ships, many of them with catapults or other siege weapons, and some of them even use the newly discovered modern gunpowder for canons.
Aside from this, there are other units, like Rondra's watch, retired veterans, adventurers, or even mercenaries, that are often willing to defend Lionstone for different reasons. However, these forces are not considered official defensive units, because of the lack of potential training and reliability.
Many other cities of humans have a similar defensive structure:
- Some kind of a fortification, mostly a wall or palisade
- A good number of infantry soldiers as core
- At least one squadron of cavalry
- Sometimes some kind of special unit of elite soldiers
- Often at least one spellcaster or magic-user
- 'Unofficial' warriors
Type
Capital
Characters in Location
Geography
Region: Central Ephea
Area: 35 sq-miles
Aliases: King's City, The Lion's seat, City of Rondra, Crown of the Lion
Religion: The Pantheon of the Twelve-Gods , Church of the sun, The three churches
Population: 230.000
Area: 35 sq-miles
Aliases: King's City, The Lion's seat, City of Rondra, Crown of the Lion
Society
Government: Classical Monarchy
Ruler: King of Humans
Races:
Ruler: King of Humans
Races:
- Humans: 51%
- Halflings: 12%
- Half-Elves: 11%
- Elves: 10%
- Dwarves: 6%
- Gnomes: 3%
- Dragonborn: 2%
- Half-Orcs: 2%
- Others: 3%
Population: 230.000
