Ornamen

Capital of the Wol Province

Ione has prospered from keeping itself neutral in the conflicts that have surrounded it. The traders from the region know that they will be safe when trading through the city of Ornamen, that’s why we’re here.
— Caravaneer, White Stag Trading Company

The city of Ornamen is the capital of the Jhio River-bordering province of Wol. Jewel Lake and the connecting river provide the main route for traders from upstream to enter Ione. Ornamen is the largest city in Ione outside of the capital of Ione, Fortuna, primarily due to the trade that is brought in through the river, though despite the heavier traffic, it is the only provincial capital that doesn’t directly connect to one of the towering gatehouses, a responsibility that has instead been given the town of Ardarre which resides a short distance away. The current Exarch residing in Ornamen is Anselm Bacchus.

Demographics

Ornamen has a recorded population of 3,400 individuals all of which are human. Following the direction of the Alarch, only the human population of the city is recorded. Moreso than the other settlements within Ione it is likely that the population is higher than reported due to the heavy trade that passes through the city resulting in many non-human individuals to reside within the settlement from mere days to multiple years.

Government

Ornamen is governed by theocratic rule similar to all settlements within Ione and the municipal government is controlled by an Eparch who is appointed through Cionecic's Divine Selection. The Eparch reports to the provincial representative, the Exarch, who also resides in Ornamen as it is the provincial capital of Wol.

History

The Ornamen settlement was originally founded next to the lake as a location to obtain fresh water easily for drinking and crops as the removal of the Clandestine Growth Directive was expected to result in a sharp population increase. As information of Ione's existnence spread throughout Irios other settlements that had developed further up the river system in Erune began to send small merchant boats that would make their way down the Jhio River and eventually end up in Ornamen. The merchants would often rest up in the town for some much needed respite before heading back up the river and would spend some wealth or trade with the local businesses that were scattered throughout the town. As the extended Ionean border walls were already under construction north and expected to encircle the nation, the decision was made fairly early to keep the towering gatehouse that would be placed in the south some distance away from Ornamen in order to protect businesses and the significant number of individuals that resided in Ornamen and thus Ardarre was founded in 1013 to hold the gatehouse. The placement also had the gatehouse closer to Principa should soldiers need to defend the location. After the first few traders returned to their settlements they began to spread the word of Ione and Ornamen which further increased the frequency of traders arriving from the region. Knowledge of Ione had reached majority of Irios a few hundred years before the end of the Time of Trials while war was still common making trade inconsistent and difficult. Seeing worth in keeping Ione as a regional trade hub, the much larger nation of Skoedan began guarateeing Ionean independence in 1031 which sparked an even greater trade numbers as merchants felt safer trading in a neutral, but protected settlement. The Skoedan guarantee lasted until Skoedan ceased to exist in 1201 but the foundation had already been formed and Ione’s history of being neutral to the surrounding conflicts combined with their location at the end of the Jhio river had propelled the city to be one of the best known and wealtiest trade hubs compared to some of the other trade hubs within Irios. Eventually the increased trade led Ornamen to become the second largest city controlled by Ione and it was made the capital of the Wol province which resulted in even more Ioneans migrating to the city to set up shops and businesses. The reconstruction of the Ornamen with marble after the discovery in Arnsrath was done carefully as to ensure a sense of grandeur and the now known [Exhibition Market] was extended from the docks to the city centre to provide a larger more concentrated area for trade. By the time it was complete a well known land route from the Mussaran peninsula had also been established.

Points of interest

[Exhibition Market] - Exhibition Market makes up a large stretch of the city that extends from the city centre down to the docks. The market hold all manner of goods from the various regions of Fanvinir not just Ionean exports.
[Chapel of Wol] - Each of the provincial capitals has a large chapel that provides the dual purpose of a religious site and the location of the sitting Exarch of the province.
[Ornameic Docks] - The largest set of docks in Ione, they house a huge majority of the trade traffic coming from down the river.

Architecture

As this was one of the cities constructed originally from stone, it created some of the early gothic architecture that would evolve into what is currently seen throughout the marjoity of Ione. Principa was the first settlements to see pointed arches, rib vaults, and detailed columns. Ornamen expanded those designs to include the more complex constructions such as the tall spires and flying buttresses that would not arrive in Principa and other stone cities until their marble rebuilds. The marble rebuild of Ornamen resulted in a significant increase in the complexity of those features and was made much finer to impress and create envy among the surrounding nations that were using Ornamen for trade.