Artacia
As the skies reveal our path, with sword in hand we brave through.
Across the Wintermar and at the edge of the Preomonan continent, Artacia stands as the oldest city of the immense island, with its origins tracing back to the early days of mankind. The Free City is fabled for being a large hub for scribes and scholars, who copy and sell a wide range of tomes to those willing to pay their rather salty prices. Nevertheless, artacian wine is another of its celebrated attractions, luring merchants from lands far and beyond. Finally, Artacia is the home of the renowned Cognite, a large college where inventors and academics go to study and develop their ideas, standing as a small competitor against the dominion of
Sarusa over technological breakthrough.
History
Artacia is perhaps one of the oldest cities in Mellanvarlden, competing perhaps with
Kronstad, capital of Thortyr. Historians from the free city have gathered evidence about early settlements in Preomona and the Smuggler Islands as far back as 5000 IL, comprising mostly of scattered tribes and groups of hunter gathererers that struggled to survive all across the jungle. Supposedly, because the land was filled with ferocious and implacable monsters, the men of Preomona decided to sail to an island to the east, very close to the continent's coast.
There, these peoples founded the legendary city of Efta, supposedly to be the largest city ever built, with tall spires from which one would be able to gaze far out in all directions of the wind rose. The city lasted for hundreds if not thousands of years, but one day, a rather ambitious king started a project to build a spire so high it would reach heavens and allow him to gaze down upon the world. The gods, angered by his pride, cursed the entire city, flooding it whole as gigantic waves engulfed Efta while the earth beneath the island sank to the bottom of the sea. Word is, according to the Preomonans, that the city is still somewhere in the depths of Wintermar, filled with riches and mysteries waiting to be discovered. Those who survived sailed back to Preomona and settled there, this time with a promise to no longer seek the skies. Such legend is the explanation as to why the Preomonans do not build tall palaces and houses and the reason they're also called Efteans.
After Efta was flooded, various cities were founded all across the west, Artacia amongst them, in a time when slavery was widespread. A few of these cities were Argedon, Megarta, Selidos, Aphenus and Zerna, the latter which fell around 300 EL, but many centuries later got "repopulated" by smugglers and corsairs who made the ruins their fortress.
Artacia holds a long history of wars waged against other free cities in an attempt to establish an hegemony across the Preomonan coast. Records speak of the "Bronze Campaigns" of the 9th to 5th centuries IE, when Artacia, Zerna and Megarta swapped places as the hegemon of the continent. Yet Artacia prevailed amongst all, every time stealing a parcel of the vanquished's population as slaves to sustain the workforce in the northern city. Weakened and humiliated, some of these cities disbanded or were utterly destroyed by hordes of Preomonan creatures. The campaigns ended when
The Engelian Empire † sacked several of the cities in the 4th century IL, after they had been weakened by the fighting amongst themselves. This event marks the end of the fighting amongst Preomonans and the beginning of their patriotism and xenophoby for the manniskarians.
Not only, around the year 200 IL, Artacia revolutionized their defenses against the feral lizards of the jungle by building an intricate system of outposts and moats that extend outwards towards the jungle. Still, when the Linking came in the year 0, hundreds of the draconic beasts that inhabitted the jungle became extinct, which further contributed to the stability of the Preomonam cities. By them, Artacia and Zerna were the only two cities left standing, who shared animosity from the past.
During the 3rd century EL, great fleets of migrants left Zerna and started settling elsewhere, from which rumors exist that a group of fierce warriors and women, blessed by the cosmos, settled to the south and starting a city that would one day come to be
Argontos, the city of the Myrmidons. To their sheer luck, Artacia was hit by a terrible earthquake in 306 EL, which killed dozens of thousands, crippling the city for over a century and allowing Argontos to establish a foothold.
As time passed, Artacia shifted it's focus from being merely a military power to becoming an economical hub of the Wintermar, trading with
Brandjorden and also a center of study, when the Cognite was founded in 700 EL, a century after slavery had been abolished and Thespeos was founded.
As of today, Artacia is still a significant power in Mellanvarlden with close ties to Argontos. A slight tension exist between the city and Manniskar, as if the preomonans were resentful of Engelia to this day, and some say the day will come when the preomonan cities will try to invade Manniskar.
Demography and Population
The most populous city in Preomona, Artacia has about a million inhabitants and an army of roughly 100 thousand strong.
Mythology & Lore
A widely known figure in the city is the great conqueror Etrio of Artacia, who lived in the 7th century IL and led the artacian army through the preomonan jungle and invaded the city of Megarta, establishing Artacia as the current hegemon of the time.
Worship
The majority of Artacia follows
Astrallism or Mosaicism
Founding Date
Around 2000 IL
Type
Geopolitical, Free City
Demonym
Artacian
Power Structure
Thalassocracy
Currency
Preomonan Kérmas
Executive Body
The city is ruled by a diarchy of two kings, who act as generals, while the bureacracy and internal affairs are handled by a small council of magistrates.
Location
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
