Atkeles
Atkeles is the primary trading port and market for Valtkos Kiralyno, the dwarven kingdom upon the Jakonian Peninsula. The town offers the largest market for mercenaries and trained recruits for regiments in all of Emicara. Atkelian mercenaries and smiths are world renown for their abilities and training. It is also the most expansive above-ground town predominantly populated by dwarves in Emicara.
Government
The governance of the trading city of Atkeles was turned over by the Onyxhorn Clan to the Firsthammer Clan for purposes of administration. The Battlehammer Clan is a well known smith clan that was granted control of Atkeles in 1011 AF following years of noble service. The Battlehammers have been in charge of maintaining the guard and preserve order between the mercenary clan regiments that have been organized. Their word is the final resolution on any debates between clans and the Battlehammers are the ones placed in charge of overall defense and management of the city. All of the mercenary clans involved maintain order at the request and supervision of the Battlehammers.
Defences
A modest stone wall surrounds the city of Atkeles, offering a protection to the streets within, but the heart of the town's defenses rests in the presence of thirty different mercenary clans and regiments stationed within. The regiments receive both training and missions from Atkeles themselves, and they are all subservient to the Clan Battlehammer, who can call them up for law enforcement or military defense. Although the town lacks the material defenses of a larger stronghold, when the clans are present, the town is defended by one of the most experienced and best equipped armies in the world.
Industry & Trade
Atkeles relies the most upon the trade and deployment of mercenary regiments of dwarves across Emicara. They undertake nearly any job offered, and many have cut their teeth on combat in other lands. Nearly all local agriculture and industry is dedicated to the support and training of these regiments, and service on training fields, in taverns, and among the administration offices of the clans are where most of the workers of Atkeles spend their time.
Infrastructure
The city of Atkeles is a clear weight on the surrounding environment, as the dwarves carved up the hills and extended the river to make the town into a clear and flat grid shape. The monumental movement of earth has enabled the roads to be wide and paved, offering easy travel throughout the town. The docks and waterfront themselves are expansive enough for far more shipping than the town receives as of late, and most of the effort has been on the maintenance and continued operation of the ferries between Atkeles and Satsuma. These ferries are lavished with dwarven luxuries, and offer comfortable and expansive transportation of both people and merchandise between the Jakonian Empire and Kiralyno.
Assets
The Warrior's Market is the chief place for the buying and selling of goods and services. Most of these goods and services are weapons, armor, and the service of mercenaries. The shops around the marketplace cater to mercenaries and adventurers, selling well crafted dwarven goods for those who spend their lives fighting in the service of themselves or others. The inns and taverns here have thick walls and well trained bouncers, used to the constant fighting between dwarven clans and adventurers looking for a fight. A handful of wizards from Jakonia have set up towers around the market, working with local blacksmiths to create magical weapons and armor in decent amounts that will assist those in combat.
There are two temples of the Church of Saint Keshush in the town. The temple of Saint Clara offers healing services and aid to wounded adventurers and those who seek succor from a long journey. The second is the Temple of Saint Gorly, who is the patron of the numerous quartermasters and blacksmiths in the town. A shrine also exists dedicated to the gods of the old dwarven pantheon, but for the most part its halls stand empty, except for the few most stubborn dwarves who continue to adhere to the old ways.
Guilds and Factions
There are thirty clans in Atkeles, each with their own motives, history, and agendas, and all of them serve as mercenary regiments in the numerous conflicts that have beset Emicara over the years. That is not to say that they don't work together on occasion, and most of the debates in Atkeles are about determining what contracts the mercenary clans can and will take. They have divided into two overarching factions, with their members often fighting against each other as much as against the other faction. Rarely do these conflicts come to blows, but debates rage constantly since Kiralyno gained its independence from the Empire. Oddly, the factions have taken on with pride the insulting labels placed upon them by the opposite faction.
The first faction of dwarves are known as the Weakwilled. These dwarven clans believe that there should be a clear and stated moral code for what kingdoms and nations the mercenary clans work for. They believe that the Jakonian Empire no longer deserves the service of the dwarves and that the dwarven people should be in alignment with the politics of their kingdom, and avoid fighting for those who have fought Kiralyno in the past. On the other hand, the other group, the Bloodthirsty, believe that any contracts should be taken, and even advocate fighting for Populres or the Bahamis should either ever offer enough pay for service. They believe that no moral qualms should get in the way of the business of the dwarven people.
History
The Kiralyno dwarves were the first to reopen their doors after the fall of the Nameless Empire, but they weren't foolish enough to reveal the existence and location of their main stronghold, burrowed within the northern hills of the Jakonian Peninsula. They instead found a nearby river which was flush with refugees and traders, and opened an above ground trading post across from the largest settlement in the area. Atkeles proved a vital trading post during the early years of the rebuilding of civilization, and the humans surrounding the region found it a valuable resource. Only with the rise of the Jakonian Empire did events turn sour, and Atkeles burned during the Hill War as the Jakonians sought out the main dwarven citadel.
After the war ended, the dwarves were forced into a treaty with the Jakonians, and Atkeles eventually was rebuilt for trade with the wider empire. The dwarven people thrived under Jakonian rule, and although the existence of Kiralyno was eventually revealed, Atkeles remained the place where the dwarves trained and equipped their regiments for war alongside the human regiments of the empire. The outbreak of the Northern Rebellion was the only event that could have any chance to change the tide of dwarven service as imperial shock troops. The rebellion changed everything, but Atkeles thrived, as the demand for mercenary regiments soared on both sides. Dwarven regiments ended up on both sides of the conflict, and bad blood remains to this day between some of the clans. Today, the town of Atkeles continues to thrive as minor conflicts are constant through Emicara, and there is always a need for mercenaries.
Architecture
The buildings of Atkeles are as old as the town itself, built from stone hewed from the hills of the north. The buildings are very geometrical and angular, and the streets are laid out in an orderly grid. The architecture is brutal in its simplicity and nearly every building could be used as a small fortress should the town be attacked. Although the colors may be drab, it is clear that nearly everything in this town is designed for defense.
Founding Date
68 AF/170 AF
Type
Town
Population
5,800
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Atkelian
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
~4,900 Hill Dwarves
~900 Various Other Races
Comments