Nisr
Nisr's name comes from the Egyptian word for Eagle.
Nisr was one of the first Flying Cities, and the home of the first Aarakocra to make their way to the Material Plane from the Elemental Plane of Air. It arrived in 245 ET.
Landmarks
The Ragged Woods.
The Machlab Forest.
Crown of Teer Gareh.
Capstone Tower
Sea's Promise Lake.
The Silken Aerie
History
The flying city of Nisr was originally created in the Elemental Plane of Air as an offering to the Empire of the Kolloh Twins. However the Plum Heads, a rebellion organisation, had long been planning to steal the city and take it to a new plane. Alliances had been made with powerful figures in other planes to enable this to happen. In 245 ET, a violent uprising occurs, led by the Plum Heads, as they struggle to free the city from the empire. They succeed in wiping out the empire's military presence and in crossing to the material plane.
In the following months however, the Plum Heads struggle to take meaningful control of the city. Most citizens, glad to have escaped the empire's oppressive regime, don't want to give someone else power over them, so power is mostly devolved to community levels.
In 247 ET, the Plum Heads continue to try and solidfy control of the city. They try to encourage nationalism and a feeling of pride in the Plum Head movement by lauding heroes of the rebellion, including Towoosh Ironbite, a former leading member who was killed in the fighting. However, several former soldiers of the rebellion come forward and claim that during the uprising, they were in Towoosh's unit when they faced a hostage situation. A number of empire soldiers had a couple of dozen hostages in a building and demanded free passage from the city in exchange for their hostages. The Plum Heads are reluctant to investigate this, but others do, and the incident is proven true. Towoosh's reputation is ruined, and the Plum Heads lose power and influence.
The Plum Heads' unpopularity leads for a new faction to demand elections. The East Wind is a group of regular citizens, mostly of educated professions, who want to see fresh faces in power, as they don't trust the Plum Heads' motives for trying to rule. The Plum Heads try to ignore this for a while, but fear civil unrest, so eventually in 248 ET, elections are held. To everyone's surprise, the Plum Heads are declared the winners by an apparently neutral party. The East Wind suspects cheating, but also fear civil unrest and the violence that could happen if they push the issue, and therefore allow the Plum Heads to finally form an official council and take control.
In 285 ET, after farmers have spent several decades trying to establish orchards, the settlement finally has a fantastic harvest, leading to a heavy surplus for the first time. This allows the community to establish its first significant trade relations with settlements below. This is impeded over time by the council's over-cautious nature. They want to conserve as much food as possible rather than trading.
In 311 ET, after years of waning influence, the Plum Heads lose power and are succeeded by the Far-Sighted, who are led by Fikra Jade-Wattled. The far-sighted are followers of Tektre, and citizens appreciate their desire to bring Nisr out of survival mode at last, and to focus on reclaiming elements of their culture that have been lost through the migration and struggle to survive. They also desire to help citizens study and excel in areas beyond simple agriculture and architechture, to help Nisr gain respect from other settlements. Fikra Jade-Wattled is a popular figure, who has a geniune desire to elevate her fellow citizens, and she is instrumental in getting her group elected, and then leads the council herself for many years.
In 384 ET, Fikra Jade-Wattled passed away of old age. She is replaced as head of the council by long-term member, Merret Pin-Tailed. Merret is seen as trustworthy and reliable, and works hard to maintain peace and stability in the city.
In 403 ET, the Empire of the Kolloh Twins collapses, leading to uprisings and violence throughout the Elemental Plane of Air. Between 403 ET and 408 ET, many flee, with hundreds escaping through the few rifts into the material plane. Some travel to Nataya's surface, but many flock to Nisr, asking their long-lost kin for aid. Some are Aarakocra , but many are Kenku or Air Genasi. Nisr took in the refugees, though this strained their resources.
Many air genasi faced suspicion and prejudice, because their link to Dijinn had often made them the more favoured among the oppressed citizens of the empire. In addition, since they could not fly, they were unable to access many of the vertical structures in the city. This led to the construction of 'slum' districts, with flatter buildings and a focus on horizontal streets. Many Aarakocra and Kenku viewed these as ugly and a selfish use of the flying city's limited ground space, resulting in further prejudice against the air genasi.
Farmers struggle to produce enough food for all the new citizens, and in 428 ET, the harvest fails. Over the next few years, the orchards die off, seemingly from a lack of nutritious soil, though farmers try and try again to nourish the trees. By 440 ET, the orchards have completely died off, leaving Nisr much more reliant on trade with surface settlements to feed its citizens This leads to added prejudice towards the new citizens, especially the air genasi.
In 448 ET Merret Pin-Tailed passes away from ill-health, believed to be exacerated by the stress of leading their citizens through food shortages and economic struggles, as the city tries to make trade productive with little in the way of resources to offer surface-dwellers. In the elections that follow, they are succeeded by Tessa Saffron-Crowned , a vivacious, enthusiastic speaker who knows how to appeal to the population and who makes big promises of a bright future for Nisr.
Tessa's enthusiasm for helping the population seems to wane rapidly once she is in power however, as against the wishes and advice of the council, and to the anger of the struggling population, she diverts resources to a grand palace, the Silken Aerie built for herself. She claims that it is necessary for Nisr's leader to have an impressive home, in order to win the respect and interest of the monarchies and empires on the surface. However to many, it smacks of the arrogance and selfishness of the Dijinn who their ancestors escaped from, and there are murmurs of unrest. Unbeknownest to many, Tessa Saffron-Crowned is encouraged in her reckless spending by @Archma
Nisr was one of the first Flying Cities, and the home of the first Aarakocra to make their way to the Material Plane from the Elemental Plane of Air. It arrived in 245 ET.
Landmarks
The Ragged Woods.
The Machlab Forest.
Crown of Teer Gareh.
Capstone Tower
Sea's Promise Lake.
The Silken Aerie
History
The flying city of Nisr was originally created in the Elemental Plane of Air as an offering to the Empire of the Kolloh Twins. However the Plum Heads, a rebellion organisation, had long been planning to steal the city and take it to a new plane. Alliances had been made with powerful figures in other planes to enable this to happen. In 245 ET, a violent uprising occurs, led by the Plum Heads, as they struggle to free the city from the empire. They succeed in wiping out the empire's military presence and in crossing to the material plane.
In the following months however, the Plum Heads struggle to take meaningful control of the city. Most citizens, glad to have escaped the empire's oppressive regime, don't want to give someone else power over them, so power is mostly devolved to community levels.
In 247 ET, the Plum Heads continue to try and solidfy control of the city. They try to encourage nationalism and a feeling of pride in the Plum Head movement by lauding heroes of the rebellion, including Towoosh Ironbite, a former leading member who was killed in the fighting. However, several former soldiers of the rebellion come forward and claim that during the uprising, they were in Towoosh's unit when they faced a hostage situation. A number of empire soldiers had a couple of dozen hostages in a building and demanded free passage from the city in exchange for their hostages. The Plum Heads are reluctant to investigate this, but others do, and the incident is proven true. Towoosh's reputation is ruined, and the Plum Heads lose power and influence.
The Plum Heads' unpopularity leads for a new faction to demand elections. The East Wind is a group of regular citizens, mostly of educated professions, who want to see fresh faces in power, as they don't trust the Plum Heads' motives for trying to rule. The Plum Heads try to ignore this for a while, but fear civil unrest, so eventually in 248 ET, elections are held. To everyone's surprise, the Plum Heads are declared the winners by an apparently neutral party. The East Wind suspects cheating, but also fear civil unrest and the violence that could happen if they push the issue, and therefore allow the Plum Heads to finally form an official council and take control.
In 285 ET, after farmers have spent several decades trying to establish orchards, the settlement finally has a fantastic harvest, leading to a heavy surplus for the first time. This allows the community to establish its first significant trade relations with settlements below. This is impeded over time by the council's over-cautious nature. They want to conserve as much food as possible rather than trading.
In 311 ET, after years of waning influence, the Plum Heads lose power and are succeeded by the Far-Sighted, who are led by Fikra Jade-Wattled. The far-sighted are followers of Tektre, and citizens appreciate their desire to bring Nisr out of survival mode at last, and to focus on reclaiming elements of their culture that have been lost through the migration and struggle to survive. They also desire to help citizens study and excel in areas beyond simple agriculture and architechture, to help Nisr gain respect from other settlements. Fikra Jade-Wattled is a popular figure, who has a geniune desire to elevate her fellow citizens, and she is instrumental in getting her group elected, and then leads the council herself for many years.
In 384 ET, Fikra Jade-Wattled passed away of old age. She is replaced as head of the council by long-term member, Merret Pin-Tailed. Merret is seen as trustworthy and reliable, and works hard to maintain peace and stability in the city.
In 403 ET, the Empire of the Kolloh Twins collapses, leading to uprisings and violence throughout the Elemental Plane of Air. Between 403 ET and 408 ET, many flee, with hundreds escaping through the few rifts into the material plane. Some travel to Nataya's surface, but many flock to Nisr, asking their long-lost kin for aid. Some are Aarakocra , but many are Kenku or Air Genasi. Nisr took in the refugees, though this strained their resources.
Many air genasi faced suspicion and prejudice, because their link to Dijinn had often made them the more favoured among the oppressed citizens of the empire. In addition, since they could not fly, they were unable to access many of the vertical structures in the city. This led to the construction of 'slum' districts, with flatter buildings and a focus on horizontal streets. Many Aarakocra and Kenku viewed these as ugly and a selfish use of the flying city's limited ground space, resulting in further prejudice against the air genasi.
Farmers struggle to produce enough food for all the new citizens, and in 428 ET, the harvest fails. Over the next few years, the orchards die off, seemingly from a lack of nutritious soil, though farmers try and try again to nourish the trees. By 440 ET, the orchards have completely died off, leaving Nisr much more reliant on trade with surface settlements to feed its citizens This leads to added prejudice towards the new citizens, especially the air genasi.
In 448 ET Merret Pin-Tailed passes away from ill-health, believed to be exacerated by the stress of leading their citizens through food shortages and economic struggles, as the city tries to make trade productive with little in the way of resources to offer surface-dwellers. In the elections that follow, they are succeeded by Tessa Saffron-Crowned , a vivacious, enthusiastic speaker who knows how to appeal to the population and who makes big promises of a bright future for Nisr.
Tessa's enthusiasm for helping the population seems to wane rapidly once she is in power however, as against the wishes and advice of the council, and to the anger of the struggling population, she diverts resources to a grand palace, the Silken Aerie built for herself. She claims that it is necessary for Nisr's leader to have an impressive home, in order to win the respect and interest of the monarchies and empires on the surface. However to many, it smacks of the arrogance and selfishness of the Dijinn who their ancestors escaped from, and there are murmurs of unrest. Unbeknownest to many, Tessa Saffron-Crowned is encouraged in her reckless spending by @Archma
Infrastructure
The architecture of Nisr was quite unlike that of most civilisations found on the material plane at the time. Since most of its inhabitants could fly, structures tended to be high, and streets might be more vertical than horizontal. Strong species of vine and ivy were cultivated and encouraged to grow up the structures of buildings, providing safe and comfortable spaces to perch. Street furniture was slim. Those who could not fly, like the Air Genasi, often found it difficult it get around. This led to the construction of 'slum' districts, where buildings were flatter and more accessible. Since these took up more of the flying city's limited ground space, it led to condemnation and further prejudice against the air genasi.
Founding Date
245 ET (Entry into the Material Plane)
Type
Large city
Location under
Characters in Location
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