Bremen
The shore of gleaming floods.
Bremen is a sleepy town on the west bank of Maer Dualdon, at the mouth of the Shaengarne River. Bremen is famous for its seasonal "gleaming floods" that normally threaten the town in early summer that wash up treasure and uncover precious minerals on the shore of the town. The Everlasting Rime has ended these floods ending the threat but greatly harming the village economically as it no longer has a draw for prospectors and treasure hunters.
"The glacier creaks and cracks and breaks, its water pouring down
filling flows and streams and lakes, and out the river Garne
And with this flood, the hunter stakes his optimistic claim,
the treasure gold and silver shakes free to make his name."
Politics and Economy
Innkeeping Speakership
Bremen's politics are heavily influenced by the innkeepers of the town. Their historical role in enabling vistors to seek their fortunes in the "gleaming floods". This has become increasingly true as the icegrain farmholds have declined.
The government of Bremen is an elected Speakership. The Speaker collaborates with the town's fishing fleet and community leaders, particularly owners of Bremen's taverns and inns, in order to make decisions. The Speaker is elected for an irregular period, typically around a decade, at which point a new election is organized. The Speaker is often an innkeeper or a prospector.
Town of Gleaming Floods
Bremen's economy is traditionally driven by visitors seeking their fortune in the "gleaming floods" during the summer months. Each year, the southwest shore of the Maer Dualdon floods at the head of the Shaengarne River. The floods bring sifted gold and silver nuggets, as well as manufactured treasures including fine jewelry, weapons, and other precious metalwork. The cause of this phenomenon is unknown, whether natural or magical. A variety of hypotheses have been proposed, including debris from dwarfish kingdoms in the Worldspine, or some ancient civilization buried under the Reghed Glacier.
While historically a major icegrain producer, in recent decades its economy has almost entirely shifted from icegrain farming to hospitality. The Nalemonic Occupation of Icewind Dale was more a boon for Bremen than the other towns, bringing southerners north of the Worldspine Mountains to seek their fortune.
Privation and the Rime
The need for prospectors and treasure hunters, however, has meant that the Everlasting Rime hit Bremen far harder than other communities. The village currently sits on the verge of economic collapse, with residents considering whether to move to another one of the Ten Towns.
Bremen's dire economic situation has pushed many of its boats onto Maer Dualdon, exacerbating fishing rivalries with Targos, Termalaine, and Lonelywood over the lake's knucklehead trout.
A small trail connects Bremen to Targos that allows for overland travel in the winter months when the Shaengarne River freezes. In the summer months, a small ferry is typically stationed at the river mouth for those hiking to town, but most visitors arrive by the Bremen Pier. The Rime has obliterated the trail, with few travelers justifying its maintenence.
History
Bremen was initially founded as a small camp sometime between the third and fourth centuries MA after the "gleaming floods" were discovered by subjects of the then-Duchy of Targos. Once the Duke of Targos was crowned and the Kingdom of Icewind was formed, Bremen became a Barony. It remained the richest Barony in Icewind due to the "gleamining floods" for most of the Kingdom- and Alagonid-periods.
The Baron traditionally occupied the manor house on the northern edge of town. under both the Kingdom and the Alagonid Empire, it was a constituent demesne of the Duchy of Targos, and swore fealty to the Duke.
Until the Nalemonic Era and its transition to serve prospectors and treasure hunters, Bremen's economy outside the gleaming floods was driven by icegrain farming. It is the only region outside Easthaven that could support reasonably-sized farms for the crop.
Contents
General Information
Nalemonic Empire
Nalemonic Pantheon
Silverpine dwarfs
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