The Free Cities
Structure
The Free Cities are a federation of City States in and around the Great Desert. There are 29 Oases in the desert, and each has an associated settlement that is represented at least nominally in the Free Cities council. However, the council does not have any real political power and usually only meets so that representatives can discuss trade deals, usually hosted in one of the larger cities at fine accommodations. Any council chair can be vacated by a unanimous dismissal from the council, a dismissal by their constituents, or the voluntary abdication of the council member. Each region has its own method of choosing a representative and its own criteria for the representative's success but usually they are an upstanding member of the business or political community.
There is no formal hierarchy amongst the Council except that there is a Chief Representative who is charged with representing the council to the Council's interest to the Emperor. This position is decided by auction, a process not as expensive as you might think nowadays as nobody on the Council really wants to deal with the Emperor. The Council does have one other position, that of Secretary, whose job it is to maintain records and accounting for the Council. The Chief Representative nominates the Secretary, and they can only be removed from office by death, abdication, or a simple majority of the Council. Council Secretary is a position with considerable social cachet, as it provides insider information about the Council's dealings.
From time to time the Council will muster armies from their constituents to make war against a common enemy. They will choose someone by consensus to be the General for the pooled army, and hold the General accountable for his or her actions, but the General is given broad latitude to do whatever they want with the army. One would think the General would lead these armies to take over the Free Cities, but after the Fool's Coup in 524 PE
Public Agenda
The council is mainly oriented around trade and business. However they sometimes create extemporaneous commonly funded initiatives like armies, trade or diplomatic missions, or other expeditions. This has not happened since the Empire exerted influence and this has allowed the Council to focus on business, which is booming under the Empire, as much as the people of the Free Cities are chafing under its bootheel. However, the council is not as cooperative as the Empire would like it to be, especially in its initiatives to root out espionage and quash the black markets. For this reason The Yeomanry is heavily involved in the Free Cities' affairs.
Assets
None, the Council holds nothing in common. All joint initiatives are funded commonly by agreement at the time of creation and those are generally overseen by the secretary or otherwise by someone else appointed by the council.
History
By 671 PE, several Human cities in the north had become wealthy and powerful enough, through trade with the Dwarves and Centralia, to band together to try to fight the Dark Elves of Bol'Tein. They formed the Great Desert Council to facilitate trade and form a common army. With assistance from the Dwarves and Centralia, the Council was able to push back the Dark Elves and in 656 PE the last major Dark Elven enclave was destroyed.
From here, the Great Desert Cities began to slide into stagnation and decadence. The Council became looser and looser a governing body until it was little more than a trade organization. Over time, the Council's member cities began to be referred to as the Free Cities, as they were left largely to themselves by the Centralian nations who jostled endlessly for power. While the Dark Elves no longer ruled the desert, many still lived there and over time they would come to make up a significant part of the Free Cities. The interbreeding so despised by the Elves that the world was convulsed by war more than 600 years before would become commonplace here, and most of the half-elves in the Empire are immigrants and expatriots from the Free Cities. It is often said that Dark Elven selfishness mixed with Human ingenuity created the free market system that characterizes the Free Cities, and that Dark Elven shrewdness mixed with Human ingenuity sustains it.
The Free Cities appelation took on a whole new meaning after the Empire conquered Centralia and all signs pointed to the fall of The North. The Council approached Verdon together with the Dwarves in order to proffer an offer to join the Empire nominally with the caveat that they be allowed to run their own affairs. Verdon was not interested in preserving the sovereignty of the Free Cities, however, the Dwarves made it a condition of their joining the Empire. Verdon was wary of the Dwarves' mountianhome fortresses and vast material wealth and also found it had an ideological ally in the Dwarves, and as such decided to preserve the Free Cities as a semi-autonomous region. This agreement was finalized at the founding of the Empire on 1/1 1 EY.
Our Waters The Islands, The Sands Our Sea
Founding Date
8/30/729 PE
Type
Political, Confederation
Alternative Names
The Great Desert Council
Official State Religion
Location
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
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