Rose
Rose is the oldest city on the coast that borders the Crystal Mother's Forest. Ruled by its Queen, Rose has stood since the days of the Old Iron Empire. It and its people weathered the Age of Storms and have in the centuries since have seen their city grow to be the cultural center of the Roselands. The people of Rose embrace magic in a way that few other cultures do. While all cultures have their sorcerers, they are often viewed with fear and concern, but in Rose, they are celebrated.
Demographics
Most citizens of Rose are native Roselanders. There are some Imperials and Citizens of the Jeweled Cities that reside in Rose, but most are either diplomats, sorcerers seeking to study, or merchants. There are some Roselanders who are descended from among the Tribes of the Iron Spines, but they make up a small minority of the population. Most of the people of Rose (and its surrounding villages, castles, and towns) are peasantry, who work the land for their aristocratic masters. They do not tend to move around much and much of what they produce is used to support the aristocracy. The lords and nobility of Rose in turn will use their sorcerous might to protect the peasantry from the monsters that come from the Forest. Almost all of the aristocracy have at least a minor talent in sorcery, though many are exceptional.
Government
The Queen of Rose is a title that is passed down from mother to daughter in what has been an unbroken line since the start of the Age of Iron, for nearly three hundred years. The Queen rules Rose and all those fiefdoms that she claims as her vassals and bannerladies and lords. Each lady is responsible for managing their own lands and supporting their own Knights of Steel and Sigil, as well as training and providing levies should the Queen require them. Taxes are set by the queen but collected by her ladies and vassals, and so many will collect more than is required to keep some for themselves.
The laws of Rose are inherited and adapted from the Old Iron Empire's legal code, though each lady serves as the justice in her fiefdom, with little options to appeal. The Queen stands judge over her vassals and the aristocracy should they be accused of a crime.
Industry & Trade
Most of Rose are farmers, lumberjacks, or miners. They sell the wood, food, and metals all throughout the Shimmering Sea. However, among luxury goods, they sell the crystalized wood and Rosean glass (as well as the sand from the ground crystals they use to make said glass). Rosean glass, due to its fragility, is incredibly rare and expensive outside of the Roselands.
Infrastructure
Rose sits upon the Lake of Scales, fed by a river that runs through the Crystal Mother's Forest. Though there are many snakes that live within the lake, the river that feeds it is wide enough that the people of Rose have a watermill set up near where it flows into the lake. The streets of Rose are also paved with stone, from the days when they were part of the Empire. There are crystals that have been taken from the Forest that are used as lanterns, for they absorb and store the light that hits them during the day and then shine throughout the night. Though not exactly infrastructure, many buildings in Rose itself and throughout the villages around it use stained glass,, and so the buildings tend to be constructed with pillars and buttresses to support the fragile panes. This has led to many stonemasons and glass workers and the facilities that are used to work those materials.
History
The city of Rose has stood since at least the First Imperial Era, for the Old Iron Empire had conquered the Roselanders and made it their province as their last major conquest before they entered the height of their power and then began the stagnation and eventual decline. The city of Rose, even then, was valued for its prestige and beauty. The ancient families of Rose had ruled for many generations, with their descendants claiming that they had been taught sorcery by the Demon Princes in the days of the Demon-Gods, They Who Dream Between Stars as the People of Sun and River call them.
When the Empire entered its decline, Rose was the center of anti-Imperial sentiment, for there were many old bloodlines in Rose that resented having to bow to the Imperial Magistrate. Rose was the first in the Roselands to strike the banner of rebellion, unleashing their sorcery and bound demons upon the Imperial garrison in what came as a surprise to many. Rose, and the Roselanders, had been model subjects since they had first been conquered and they had seemed to take to Imperial culture over the near four generations they had been part of the Empire. Even to this day, the chronicles of both the Roselanders and the Old Iron Empire are unclear of what caused this rebellion, but it is theorized that the Roselanders simply saw their opportunity as there were rebellions occurring throughout the Empire.
Its forces stretched thin, the Empire struggled to dispatch its legions to hold its furthest provinces, including Rose. It instead focused on those closer to the region of Ceralus. Though technically never recognizing the Roselanders as independent, it could not spare the forces to reclaim it and so the Rose came under the command of its ancient families again, though Imperial culture had left a strong mark on the Roselanders.
During the Age of Storms, the Roselanders suffered less than other reasons, despite their use of the Wyrdwinds for Sorcery. The Crystal Forest has always been hostile to all humans, but it seemed especially hostile to the Wyrdings. The demons bound to the service of the Roselanders used their magics to shield Rose and many of its larger villages from the storms. Even the Song would rise louder to be heard, as if calling the Wyrdwinds to itself. It was a time of chaos in Rose, just as it was throughout the world, but the Queens of Rose endured and the people ultimately were still alive when the Final Storm broke, though it was only later that word reached Rose of the woman calling herself the Empress who had brought an end to the age.
Rose has since retained a respectful diplomatic relationship with the Iron Empire, with each new Queen of Rose sending a gift upon her coronation to the Empress as a sign of their respect, but they are not officially a part of the Empire, but neither has the Empress acknowledged Rose as an independent nation.
Points of interest
The Queen's Castle
The Queen's Castle stands as the tallest building in Rose and it is an architectural marvel. With walls that are seemingly made of different panes of glass and crystal wood towers that are built to sound like a chorus when the Song come from the Crystal Mother's Forest, people have oft wondered just how the Queen's Castle stands. Few ever see beyond its grand hall and the throne room, but this is where the royal family of Rose resides, along with their servants and their most loyal knights. It is usually open to the public from sunrise to sunset.Architecture
The architecture of Rose is built to support their love of stained glass. While mostly using wood from the Crystal Mother's Forest, they have also learned how to cut down the crystallized trees, working it like it was stone to create foundations that resonate with the Song that come from the Crystal Mother's Forest. For the important buildings, like their Devotions, the temples that stand to honor the Demon Princes that shared their power with the ancient families of Rose, they are made from stone and have many pillars and buttresses to support the fragile glass. The Queen's Castle stood through the Age of Storms and is the tallest structure in Rose. Though it was said by many for the longest time that it is held up by magic, the Imperial Scriptorium has sent many architects to study it (with the permission of the Queen of Rose) and they believe they may understand some of the underlying architectural principles that allow it to stand so tall with walls seemingly made from glass. In fact, it is said that the Empress wishes to build her own tower in Citadel in the style of the palace of Rose, though work has not yet started on it.
Geography
Rose is built along the Lake of Scales, which is the source of most of its fresh water. Though not built along the Crystal Forest or the coast, Rose is not far from either. The Song can still be heard and resonates with the crystals of Rose and there are rolling hills and flat grasslands with good soil that can grow food to feed its people. The crystals that the Roselanders 'harvest' from the trees is also ground up and turned into sand and fine crystals that they use to make their glass.
Natural Resources
Being on the coast near a temperate rainforest, Rose has access to wood that it will trade throughout the Shimmering Sea. It also has many metal mines, but also crystals that can be harvested from either geodes and natural formations in caves or from the crystal trees, trees that have become like crystals. This crystalized wood is prized throughout the Shimmering Seas for its beauty and for only occurring near Rose.
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