Al-Zashn
Al-Zashn, the Jewel of the Firelands, is one of the largest and fastest growing cities of the Firelands Coast. It consists of hundreds of buildings that includes many schools and workshops, serving as the cultural and educational center for the developing culture of the Firelanders. It sits along the sea and so Imperial ships are a common stop in its ports. The city houses the Grand University, a center of learning that prides itself on building on the knowledge of the past and making new discoveries in all fields, like lotusmastery, mathematics, science, and even more practical engineering like, recently, shipbuilding.
Demographics
Most of the people who currently reside in Al-Zashn are Firelanders who speak Firetongue. There is a sizable minority of people who are descendants of the original settlers of Al-Zashn who speak a language related to Rustspeak (and therefore a distant relation to Irontongue), but most of them will still use Firetongue for their day to day affairs. There is a small population of Imperials, especially scholars and bureaucrats, whose services were bought by the Firelander Nobility.
Government
Al-Zashn is ruled over by the Hayyanid dynasty. The Prince, Jabir ben-Andalis, holds his court comprised of Firelander aristocracy and their servants and retainers, many of whom are Imperials or the Rustspeakers. Most government officials are actually not Firelanders, but these Hayyanid servants who are exempt from the special tax placed upon them through their service. They handle most of the tax collection, legal arbitration, civic inspections, etc, and are said to speak with the voice of the Amir. Of course, as servants, they live at the whim of the Hayyanid.
The other Firelander nobility are responsible for training troops and soldiers, as well as acting as local officials and magistrates for the various villages around Al-Zashn and overseeing different distracts. They often have their own servants to assist, acting as lesser Umara who ultimately must still obey the will of the Hayyanid.
Infrastructure
The Old City of Al-Zashn is, at its core, an Imperial one, built during the heyday of the Old Iron Empire. During the Age of Storms, its walls endured though its infrastructure began to suffer as there were fewer and fewer people who could maintain it. Now that the Firelanders had conquered the coast, Al-Zashn strives to become the embodiment of opulence and sophistication. The Firelanders, studying what remained of the Old City, have worked to expand its sewers and roads, as well as underground aqueducts that create wells from which drinking water can be safely drawn throughout the coastal city.
Guilds and Factions
The Grand University of Al-Zashn
The Grand University of Al-Zashn is the intellectual center of the Firelands and its reputation has earned respect from both the Imperials and the citizens of the Jeweled Cities. While the Firelanders themselves are playing catchup with the other cultures of the Shimmering Coast, their Umara have made great efforts to acquire and translate texts from the Imperials, Old Iron Empire, and the People of Sun and River and translate them into Firetongue. The Hayyanid in particular have made great efforts to court Imperial scholars from the Scriptorium to serve as teachers for the children of nobility to teach them higher disciplines like the arts, law, medicine, lotusmastery, history, and other areas of knowledge. The Grand University is, essentially, a guild in its own right, supported by the Hayyanid and other Umara (and various other groups who wish to access its knowledge) comprised of scholastic students and their teachers. There is a complicated relationship between Firelander teachers and the non-Firelander teachers. While there are no standard curriculums provided by the Grand University (each teacher is responsible for passing on their knowledge themselves), non-Firelander teachers do not enjoy as much freedom in choosing who nor how many students they will be required to teach. Firelander teachers are free to refuse any student they wish. Nobles will often offer them impressive sums and stipends to support them and the school in exchange for taking on a family member as a student. The more famous a teacher is, the higher the price he can command. As most non-Firelander scholars are servants of the Hayyanid, the ruling family of Al-Zashn can and does assign these non-Firelander teachers students that would otherwise be unable to find a master. However, especially respected and regarded non-Firelanders may still be approached by Firelander nobility and requested to provide their scion with lessons for a fee.
Alternative Name(s)
The Jewel of the Firelands
Type
City
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
