M'g,n (muhgawn)

City of 60,000 trees

M'g,n was first founded by the woman of the same name 6,000 years ago

Map of M'g,n (City)

Open full size

Today it serves as the capital for The Empire of M'g,n and remains the largest city in the world, though by a slim margin

Founding and Early Development

This was the first city founded after the creation of humans
The site was chosen primarily due to the abundance of fruit bearing trees and access to spring water
The first community was formed in the stretch of land in between the tothen mounds and the modern day v,lamtu reservoir
The first major urban development was the formation of the reservoir
While the various springs and underground aquifers in the area could supply water, they were not always consistent in the amount they provided
with the needs of the city increasing M'g,n ordered that a river and lake be dug out to bring water from further up the mountain into the immediate vicinity of the city
This predictably caused a major flood but the overall benefit was significant
To this day the lake will still occasionally flood
Because of this buildings are not allowed to be constructed directly on the shore

Further Expansion

As time progressed the city would expand much further until eventually space in the valley began to run short
This necessitated the settlement of the mounds
The first to be settled was the Nilen mound
Here M'g,n ordered a library be built
The original structure unfortunately no longer survives but a new library was built in its place
Continued expansion of the city did pose a serious problem
As more space was cleared for building the number of trees within the city was reduced
Given that these trees served as the primary food source for the people M'g,n declared that all of the trees within the city were sacred to her and that permission must be obtained from herself before even one tree could be removed
This tradition still exists today however it is now the local priest of M'g,n who makes the decision
To commemorate this new law M'g,n personally planted and blessed a tree in what is now the city market
The fruit from this tree is said to have a sedative effect on those who eat it but my sources claim this to be false
I will not state these sources of course as the practice of eating from this tree is punishable by death
Once the city reached its modern borders M'g,n decided that it could, or rather should, grow no further and so declared that the city may never grow again
She erected walls around the settled areas and forbade them from ever being extended outward
she also declared that no homes may be erected on the mountain outside of the city without her permission
This tradition also stands though some question its continued practice
M'g,n wished to encourage settlement of the rest of the world and saw this as an effective motivation
Since the world has been settled for millennia, critics claim that the tradition is no longer necessary
However these critics fail to realize that this law has prevented the city from becoming even more unbearably overpopulated than it already is
At least that is what the supporters of the law say
I would never offer my opinion on such political matters of course

After M'g,n

Following their queen's death the people of M'g,n chose to honor her first by constructing a mausoleum for her near the western entrance to the city
whether or not the first prophet's corpse ever rested here I can not say but I can verify that it does not rest here today
I say this because I have seen with my own eyes the corpse of M'g,n entombed in the City of T,ryq
Knowing the character of the giants and their reverence towards the prophets, I do not believe this to be a forgery
The era following the queen's death also saw a significant change in the layout of the city as a whole
With the one true ruler dead, influential people decided amongst themselves that they should all share equally in the burden of ruling
They also decided that as rulers they deserved the nicest houses
This was not unprecedented as M'g,ns home is known to be quite lavish as can still be seen today
There is though, a significant difference between there being one fancy house in all of the city and there being entire communities devoted solely to the wealthy
This change in landscape certainly upset those whose households were relocated to make room for these new neighborhoods
When the situation eventually escalated to violence the new rulers felt the need to fortify themselves within their quarter
Ultimately this defense was futile and the rich were forced to share their neighborhoods with the poor
This established the current client patron relationship that dominates the cities social life

Modern Times

Today the city looks quite unrecognizable from the ancient depiction that are handed down to us
The most striking difference, it must be said, is the presence of ancestor temples throughout the city
the sanctuary of the ancestors atop the tothen mounds is a most omnipresent reminder of this shift in custom, which will be the subject of future writings
The presence of the arenas in the city also seems quite unusual to me after having immersed myself in the ancient roadmaps of the city
these too are quite interesting in their own right both in their original intent and their current use and I would be more than happy to examine them further
The fortress atop the pelyt mound is however without a doubt the most unusual feature of the cityscape
M'g,n herself would have most ardently apposed the construction of this encampment, which leaves me wondering why it was not more staunchly apposed by the people
None of the credible sources from the time period raise objection to the concept
The only dissenting voice I could uncover was Vocedo whom I now quote

The proposed fortification, while perhaps necessary, goes against everything that this city and her people have dedicated their lives towards. Since the very beginning M'g,n wished for us not to make a peaceful life for ourselves through profane acts of militarism, but rather by simply rendering our city so deserving of mercy that no one could bring themselves to do it harm. By following the wishes of M'g,n we could not only save the lives of our people who would most assuredly die in great number during any battle within the city, but also of our enemy who are just as deserving of life as we are. -Ok,ri Vocedo M'g,n

I do not think it to be a coincidence that he left the city to pursue matters of agriculture long before the structure was ever completed
There was little need for pacifists in an age of warfare and collapse