Conmore

Conmore is the capital of the Principality of Redking and build almost entirely upon a massive bridge of unknown origins. The bridge itself is 250 meters wide and over two and half kilometres in length, stretching over the 500 metre deep Newleigh River Canyon. The Great Weston Road passes over the bridge as the only crossing for hundreds of kilometres in either direction, which has brought great prosperity to the town. Rumours are that the wealth of the city also comes from an ancient natural Portal, allowing the rulers of the city to trade further than just the surrounding nations of Weston.

Demographics

The city is, unlike most of the continent, very cosmopolitan. Whilst Duland still make up the largest group of people, they are not a majority, although humans as a whole are, if only just. The city prides itself on being open to anyone with coin, and the traders accept business from anyone willing to pay. In reality, most of the more non-human looking species do find discrimination, particularly from law enforcement.

Government

Conmore is part of a county of the same name, and the Count, or Countess of Conmore is also the monarch of Redking itself. Whilst in theory the monarch in charge, in practice the county and the city are under the rule of the Council of Trade, who hold almost absolute authority.  All ten guilds are well represented in Conmore, but it is the Merchant and Wizard Guilds which have most power. The Council of Trade in Conmore elect a Consul to serve for seven year terms and it is this position that is widely regarded to carry the most authority, not only in Conmore, but in the Principality as a whole.

Defences

Historically, the bridge was open at both ends, but since humans began to dominate the area almost two thousand years ago, walls have been built across each side, to control and, more importantly, to tax crossing of the bridge. These walls have been repaired and upgraded over the centuries, and now are six metres thick, and almost 10 metres high, with imposing towers at each end and a well fortified gate house in the middle. Despite their size and width, they are dwarfed by the massive structure of the bridge above them.

Industry & Trade

The Council of Trade is well represented in Conmore, and all the guilds have buildings in the city, some, like the merchants and wizarding guild, rival the palace in terms of size and opulance. The wealth in Conmore is primarily derived from the charging of tolls to both enter and leave the city, with discounts for those trading within the city itself.

History

The original builders of the bridge are not known; popular mythology puts construction in the hands of the Umyebelian elves, almost three thousand years ago, but scholars have noted that the runes on the sides of the support pillars are not of any known elven origin and the styling is unlike anything the elves have made before. The Umyebelians have not commentated on the origins of the bridge, and it is theorised by experts to be older than their civilisation by a few thousand years at least.
Whatever its origins, it has been an important part of the trade route in Weston for all of recorded history, whoever controlled the bridge had a large military and economic advantage on the western side of the continent. The first records are those of the Umyebelians, who note it several times in their annals, acknowledging its prime importance as a trade route. As the Umyebelians withdrew from Weston two eons ago, the various human tribes that lived in the area vied for control of the structure, most lacking the resources to retain ownership, until the rising Uyagh kingdom took control around nine hundred years before present.
It was the Uyagh who fortified the two ends of the bridge and managed to make ownership of the bridge profitable, and not just a bottleneck for soldiers to die upon. For six hundred years the Uyagh, in one form or another, ruled the bridge and the now prospering town of Conmore upon it. The toll profits from the trade route brought much wealth to the area and before long, the rising power of the trading guilds began to flex their muscles. From this point onwards, the history of Conmore was linked to the history of Redking as a whole as the rulers of Conmore inspired, bribed, threatened and convinced all of the Dunland provinces of Uyagh, and two of the Schwarz provinces to join them in secession from the Uyagh. The rebellion was quick, and successful; control of the bridge, and access to the more fertile and populated Duland provinces, gave the rebels a distinct advantage, and despite the loss of their most valuable asset, the Kingdom of Uyagh was forced to accede to their independence.
Since then, the flow of wealth has brought great prosperity to the town, although this wealth is not evenly distributed. Whilst the middle of the town has grand stone and marble buildings, the envy of Weston some might say, and institutions such as the Redking College of Wizards and the Temple to Tyr are mighty indicators of prosperity, towards the ends and sides of the bridge are some of the more dishevelled and run-down urban environments in Weston. Occasionally, the local lords will organise a clear-out, and make attempts to renew the area, but the criminals and beggars soon return, drawn in by the slow trickle of wealth from above.

Architecture

The material of which the bridge itself is made is unknown; it resembles white marble with a soft semi-translucent appearance, but is harder than any other known material and resists any attempts to damage it, including magic. A similar material has been noted in other ancient ruins, but nothing of this scale. The two structures at either end are enormous; they tower almost 1000 metres high and on exceptionally clear days can been seen from over 90 kilometres away. They are covered in pale blue runes of an unknown language and the shape and symbolism of the structures appear to be unique, at least on Everland and other known planes. As well as rising 1000 metres high, the structures are just as wide, and are at least 60 metres deep.

At some point, magic was developed that allowed structures to be placed upon the bridge to be 'fixed' to the surface; whilst not impossible to dislodge, a building that has been fixed in this way retained some of the stability that would be expected had it proper foundations. Since this point, the bridge has been slowly colonised; the Umyebelian elves were the first to begin the process, and some of their structures are still in use, although most were demolished as the elves withdrew. The Uyagh continued the process, although the magic used to fix their buildings is far less effective. All of the main buildings and the vast majority of other structures are properly fixed, but the poorer areas have to make do with weak foundations into the earth that has accumulated on the bridge surface over the eons. Typically less than half a meter thick, this earth is susceptible to being washed and blown away in storms, but provides marginally more anchoring than just sitting a building on the bridge surface itself.

Maps

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  Conmore

  Conmore, or Bridge City. Capital city of the Principality of Redking

Alternative Name(s)

Bridge City

Population

16,777

Inhabitant Demonym

Conmorians

Ruling/Owning Rank

Consul of Conmore

Owning Organization

Principality of Redking