City of Tareghasi

The city of Tareghasi is a moderately large city in the north-eastern part of the kingdom of Gysia. It was at one point the capital of the Eastern Essanian Empire and the 4th largest city in Arros. While its status has considerably diminished since then, it still retains some of its importance thanks to its strategic location along the Piilgrim's road and its numerous steam-powered factories.

Demographics

General Population

Compared to other cities in the kingdom, Tareghasi is the most unique in terms of demographics. While the Gysian population has a slight majority, nearly half the city is made up of Morattians and Shoranians. The vast majority of both of these groups as well as the gysian population follow Solianism.

Mage Population

The city of Tareghasi doesn't have a large mage population, much like the rest of the country. The few that reside here are stone mages, employed to maintain the extensives walls of the city as well as its numerous canals.

Government

The city is ruled by a council made up of members of the most historicaly important families in the city. Some can trace back their liniage right up to the time that the city was founded by the now long dead kingdom of Lauralia, some 1400 years ago. This gives them great prestige in the city.

Defences

The city is renouned not only across Gysia for its impresive walls and unique shape, but all around the continent, where it is known as the "Fortress city of Gysia". However, these walls aren't just for show, as they are also incredibly solidily built, as it used one of the hardest material in Hysal, Karthstone. They were built back during the imperial times, where Gysia, including Tareghasi, where uder the rule of the Essanian Empire. Once it became the capital of the Eastern half of the empire, the outer circle wall was built, while the inner wall was made taller. While the walls may be hard to maintain thanks to their complicated built, they are also the pride of the city.

Industry & Trade

Manufacturing

The city is home to some of the most important industries of the Kingdom of Gysia. Large amounts of metal works are done in the factories of the city. The most prominent export of the city are Winged ships.

Trade

The city is situated on the path of the Pilgrim's road. This road's name came about because of the high number of choranians using this road to travel east, towards the City of Hersa. However, it was before that and even to this day, hevely used by merchant caravans, as the road spans the entire continent, from the western ports of Palynor, Sirok and Sargassin, to its usualy agreed upon end, which is the eastern City of Raune, in the Kingdom of Naurcia.

Infrastructure

Fortifications

The city is protected by two circular walls, which gives the city its unique shape. In fact, the architect that designed them was originaly from Samaria, where round city plans where common. These walls aren't identicaly built however. The first wall, commonly called the Outer circle, is about a third smaller than the second wall, or inner circle. Both are made of large, thick Karthstone blocks envelloped in a layer of grey granite. While this makes the walls very solid, it also requires a lot of maintenance, and thanks to the sheer size of both of them, a lot of worker, mainly stone mages, to help with the repairs. Since the walls are the pride of the city, no coucil would ever allow their looks to be tarnished.

Canals

While the city is split down the middle by the Tares river, numerous cannals have been built in order for the various district of the city to be able to reach the river by boat. Important buidlings are built along the largest of these canals, like the tanneries at the edge of the Eroth district. The water in some of those canals are notoriously dirty.

Winged Ship Factory

A series of big and small buildings, where winged ships are built. Each building specialise in a specific part of the ship and those parts are then assembled outside the city. It employs hundreds of people, most of whom aren't mages. However, most precision jobs are occupied by mages, specificaly Metalmage.

Airport

Like other major cities in Gysia, Tareghasi has an airport, as well as a very large terminal to host all the travelers. Tareghasi is a major exchange hub, meaning that most Winged ships line end and begin here, which forces most passengers to transfer to a new ship, hence the need for a larger terminal building.

Districts

Eroth District

This district was largely abandoned as the city began to lose some of its population following the collapse of the Essanian Empire. This district used to be almost entirely residential and commercial before it was abandoned. However, since then, some industries have started moving into the large district, attracted by the cheap land and ample space. The first true factory in Gysia was completed 31 years ago. It produces parts of Winged Ships, which are then transported outside the city and assembled together or used to repair damaged winged ships that used the nearby airport. Since then, the rest of the Eroth district is now filled with factories, who's smokestacks dot the skyline of the city. These factories aren't all related to the manufacturing of Winged ships, as they also include numerous tanneries and Metal workshops.

Guilds and Factions

The Stonemage guild of Tareghasi is the only major guild in the city. It was created as an extention of the one in the City of Vrahlis, but it now operates independantly.

History

Founding

The city was founded in the year 921 BC. It was established as a frontier outpost to secure the western border of the Kingdom of Laural. The recently formed Kingdom of Gysia would attempt two times to invade the region, unsuccessfuly, before falling to the Essanian Empire..

Essanian Anexation and Early Rule

140 years after its founding, the city would be taken by the Essanian Empire as it invaded and annexed most of the Lauralian territory west of the Sanat river in the year 781 BC. By this point, the city has already a small town by this point. For the next 2 centuries, the city would steadely grow as its strategic position along the Pilgrims road, as well as the fertile farmland around it attracted more and more people to the city. By the year 600 BC, the town had become a city of over 100k person.

Eastern Essanian Capital

Then, from the years of 581 BC to 538 BC, the Essanian empire would be rocked by numerous successive political crisises that would forever change the state in many ways. This eventualy resulted into the essanian empire being split into two semi-independant state. Tareghasi, thanks to its strategic position on the Pilgrims's road and easy sea access thanks to the Tares river, was chosen become the capital of the Eastern Essanian Empire.

Exponential Growth

After this, the city began to grow exponantialy. An architect from the other side of the Empire was brought into the city in order to conceive a plan to manage this rapid growth and construct defences worthy of an imperial capital. After two decade of work, the city was nearly completly reconfigured. Many of its older buildings were destoyed in the process, but some still survive to this day. A second, circular wall was built around the city to better protect the city, while the original was rebuilt and even moved in many places in order to fit the plans.

Social Unrest and Rebel Rule

Starting around 200 years before the Third Age, the social climate within the Empire grew more and more tense, thanks to a cult that originated in Samaria, that followed Sokralism, which gained influence in the Solianic regions of the empire. Its members soon began to perpetrate massacres against the mage population of the Empire, leading to mage revolts, strikes and mutiny in the imperial army. Eventualy, in the year 161 BC, a rebel mage army besiege and invade Tareghasi and sack it. The emperor flees the city and the Eastern Essanian empire becomes ruled by a new mage emperor. This would last for around a decade before the rebel leader is ousted and executed. Tareghasi falls back under imperial control after a seige and sack. The city was greatly damaged by both conquests and would never recover its lost population.

Fall of the Empire

This revolt would prove to be the first nail in the coffin of the eastern Essanian Empire. In fact, it would begin to slowly decline in power, until it would be abruptly killed off by the year 28 BC, following a coup that would transform the remaining Imperial holdins into the Kingdom of Gysia and Morattia. The city of Tareghasi would fall into the hands of Gysia.

Present Day

Now, nearly 5 centuries since the fall of the Empire, the city is largely unrecognizable. Many parts of the city were left abandoned as its population continued to drop in the wake of The Fall. The Imperial palace that used to house the Eastern Emperor was burned down during that time, removing a defining landmark of the city. The skyline of the city, which was composed and dominated by palace spires and temple domes are now replaced by smoke stacks and saw-tooth factory roofs. Nonetheless, its most defining features, its two giant circle walls are still standing strong, keeping most of the city's indentity intact, while also keeping its enemies out.

Geography

The city is situated north of the Gysian peninsula, built on a wide and open plain along the Tares river, about 50km north of where it empties into the Toren Sea.

Climate

In general, Tareghasi is slightly cooler than the other large cities in Gysia, thanks to its geographic position further north and inland. The summers are nonetheless hot and dry with semi-frequent thunderstorms, while the winters are cool and rainy. Winter night may get cold enough for snow to fall instead.

Natural Resources

The land around the city used to be covered in a thick forest. While some parts of it remain, it has largely been cut down over the centuries in favor of agriculture and cattle farms

Founding Date

-921

Alternative Name(s)

The Fortress City

Type

Large city

Population

180 000

Inhabitant Demonym

Taregi

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Gysia