The Free Cities
The Free Cities take up a strip of land on the Eastern Continent, arcing around the shore of the Splashy Deeps and stretching out to the coast. They gained their independence from Denawyn long before its collapse.
While the name Free Cities might suggest a loose coalition of city states, their political organization is more similar to a federation of states, as none have ever been fully independent polities in their own right. Each city maintains its own cultural distinctiveness, traditions, and government, while remaining part of the larger whole and its central governing council.
The cities that make up the bulk of this nation are: Racusa, Marcourt, Arona, Delzhin, Dumtial, and Tulimar. The amount of rural land surrounding each city varies, with Arona in the far north west of the nation having the most, and Racusa in the south having the least. The size and density of each city also varies depending on their history, and primary industries.
Racusa
Racusa is the most urban of the cities. Its population fancy themselves very cultured and urbane, but are also very reliant on their neighbours for food, since they have little capacity of their own for agriculture. Racusa’s primary export is knowledge. The Collegium of Dlorweth is one of the major academies founded by an early family of Natanis. It lauds itself as the most prestigious center of learning in the east, with a particular emphasis on the natural sciences. It also boasts a very respectable Faculty of Arcanum from whence originate many of the continent’s wizards.
Marcourt
While all of the Free Cities engage in trade, Marcourt specializes in it. In the age before oceanic trade, the Market of the Mages with its three large teleportation circles was the primary source of luxury items from as far away as Breth and Rura City. Marcourt is also known for its fine cuisine, in which seafood, spices, and rich broths all feature prominently.
Arona
Arona is the most pastoral of the Free Cities, and contains the largest amount of arable land. The people of Arona are sometimes considered a bit backward by the other cities, and as a result they are fiercely proud of their heritage. An Aronian will often be quick to remind their neighbors that it’s not wise to mock the person in charge of keeping food on your plate.
Delzhin
Delzhin houses the barracks for the Free Cities’ reserve forces and is the place where young citizens are trained for their mandatory two years of civil defense service. While they lack the military obsession of old-Denawyn , they understand the value of a well trained army and a populous able to serve as a reserve force at need. Perhaps out of a desire distinguish themselves citizens of Delzhin not engaged in military activities tend to dress in extravagant fashions. Parties in Delzhin tend to be colorful affairs, with attendees constantly trying to outdo each others outfits.
Dumtial
Dumtial is the oldest of the Free Cities and houses the Civic Chambers where the Councils meet. Its people, many of whom work in the civil service, tend to be reserved in public, but extremely affectionate with their close family and friends. In addition to the seat of government, Dumtial’s other claim to fame is its Magnificent Menagerie.
Tulimar
Tulimar is home to the bulk of the Free Cities’ navy, and along with Delzhin has the largest percentage of armed forces quartered within its borders. Tulimaran’s are known for their skill as sailors and shipwrights and provide much of the maritime harvest that feeds the Free Cities. Tulimarans have a strong sense of order, arguing that there is no place for ambiguity in the middle of a storm at sea.
Structure
The Free Cities are governed by a ruling council made up of a Governor and two sub-Governors for each city. Theoretically the Governors are all equal, with no single individual holding supreme power. Depending on the nature of the law or issue at hand, it will either be handled by entire Council (Governors and sub-Governors), or be handled solely by the Inner Council (the six Senior Governors). It is most common for all the representatives from a particular city to vote as a block, but not universal, and depending on the internal politics of any given city, they may represent a variety of interests. In the event of a deadlocked vote of the full council, the issue automatically moves to a vote of the Inner Council. If that vote is also tied, then it is taken to the closest thing the Free Cities have to a monarch: The High Vizier.
The High Vizier has served the Free Cities for almost their entire recorded history. While each of the cities has its own legends about when she first came to them, none of them entirely agree about when and how she arrived in the lands bordering Denawyn. For many, she is merely a legend, while others assume she must be a demigod of some kind, since she has guided the Cities faithfully for millennia. What only a few (usually the Inner Council and a few trusted others) know is that the High Vizier is the original silver dragon Saba. Long ago, when she searched the world to find her purpose, she stumbled across the bitter struggle underway between the Free Cities and the Kingdom of Denawyn. She disliked Jedrak and his son almost immediately, but while she disapproved of their methods, she knew that even an elder dragon was no match for a prime deity. Since she could not get rid of the highly militarized, aggressively expansionist nation, she decided to help its neighbors to stand against it. Unlike her brother Lith, Saba had no desire to be a queen, or to govern the day to day affairs of a nation. She prefers to advise from the background and to serve as an implicit threat to anyone who would threaten the sovereignty of the lands under her protection. She is, nevertheless, fiercely protective of ‘her’ cities, and is not above meddling, or engaging in back room schemes if she thinks it will achieve the best outcome for the people and lands under her protection.
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