Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- geopolitical:alvraan:start [2024/01/18 14:35] – ↷ Page moved and renamed from geopolitical:alvraan to geopolitical:alvraan:start shyriath
+++ geopolitical:alvraan:start [2024/01/25 10:01] (current) – shyriath
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== Dominion of Alvraan ======
-**Alvraan** is a [[takma:]] city, and accompanying city-state, in the middle [[avishraa:geography:sekhaa:river:Sahvarr]] Valley, in the midst of the [[avishraa:geography:sekhaa:region:Cerulean Tangle]]. Alvraan is a local power, though not regionally important, and its matriarchs command a certain amount of respect as self-designated heirs of the rulers of the [[geopolitical:empire:]].
+**Alvraan** is a [[takma:]] city, and accompanying city-state, in the middle [[geography:sekhaa:river:Sahvarr]] Valley, in the midst of the [[geography:sekhaa:region:Cerulean Tangle]]. Alvraan is a local power, though not regionally important, and its matriarchs command a certain amount of respect as self-designated heirs of the rulers of the [[geopolitical:empire:]].
 ===== Geography =====
 {{ :alvraan.png?250|Map of Alvraan and the surrounding region}}
-The city of Alvraan lies in the lower eastern reaches of the [[avishraa:geography:sekhaa:region:Nentir Highlands]] - at about 10°S, 3° W. The local terrain is relatively dramatic, shading from gorge-cut plateaus in the west, through to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tepui|tepuis]] and chaotic hills, opening onto flat river valleys in the east as it drops toward the main course of the Sahvarr. The climate is tropical and relatively moist, though on average somewhat drier than the western slopes of the Highlands; nonetheless there are plenty of streams and tributaries crossing the landscape, many of which swell up during the unpredictable rains near sunrise.
+The city of Alvraan lies in the lower eastern reaches of the [[geography:sekhaa:region:Nentir Highlands]] - at about 10°S, 3° W. The local terrain is relatively dramatic, shading from gorge-cut plateaus in the west, through to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tepui|tepuis]] and chaotic hills, opening onto flat river valleys in the east as it drops toward the main course of the Sahvarr. The climate is tropical and relatively moist, though on average somewhat drier than the western slopes of the Highlands; nonetheless there are plenty of streams and tributaries crossing the landscape, many of which swell up during the unpredictable rains near sunrise.
-The city is only a short distance south of the [[avishraa:geography:sekhaa:river:Shedir]], a river and tributary of the Sahvarr whose highest navigable point is located close by. Alvraan has therefore become a major junction for trading routes leading into and out of the Highlands, a fact that has granted it considerable prosperity, and its matriarchs have not been shy about using this economic clout - and the military power it affords them - to expand the area of their rule, which now extends over several hundred square kilometers, much of it along the Shedir. Alvraan is the only major city in the domain, but there are one or two smaller towns further downstream and a scattering of villages and estates throughout.
+The city is only a short distance south of the [[geography:sekhaa:river:Shedir]], a river and tributary of the Sahvarr whose highest navigable point is located close by. Alvraan has therefore become a major junction for trading routes leading into and out of the Highlands, a fact that has granted it considerable prosperity, and its matriarchs have not been shy about using this economic clout - and the military power it affords them - to expand the area of their rule, which now extends over several hundred square kilometers, much of it along the Shedir. Alvraan is the only major city in the domain, but there are one or two smaller towns further downstream and a scattering of villages and estates throughout.
 The city itself is built around, and in, a tepui rising from the midst of the jungle. The warrens within the tepui are partly natural caves and partly artificial tunnels, and are the haunt of Alvraan's aristocracy and the seat of its government. Construction atop the tepui is forbidden, except for military installations; there are a number of watchtowers and battlements, and a set of barracks for the palace guard, but the rest of the tepui's surface functions essentially as a sort of private park or hunting preserve.
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 The site of Alvraan first began to attract notice in the early [[history:Steel Era:]]. After the end of the Overturns that brought the [[family:Eighth House]] to ultimate power, peace gradually returned to the Empire and trade rebounded. The city of [[geopolitical:alvraan:Kar Oram]], sitting astride the Shedir River, was one of the places that had shared in the prosperity, being at the upper limit of navigability on the river. As the city grew, a tepui south of the city, which had already been noted for its visual beauty, became a popular destination for those wanting to bathe and swim in the pools lying at the bottom of its sinkholes - far cleaner and more exclusive than the river.
-Alvraan therefore first grew up as a sort of spa resort, a retreat for the wealthy from the hustle and bustle of Kar Oram, and although a prosperous village grew up around the baths it remained a tiny curiosity - locally famous, but only one of many attractions across a wide empire, and so it remained well into the [[history:Vigil Era:]]. As the Empire began to decay and shrink, even the [[avishraa:geography:sekhaa:region:heartlands|Imperial heartlands]] came under threat from rebellious peasants and generals-turned-warlords. Alvraan came to be recognized for its defensive qualities as well as its baths - the tepui was nearly a natural castle - and beginning in 19 Vigil fortifications began to be added and stores laid in. This proved a fortuitous choice when the hill warlord [[person:Egrith]] sacked Kar Oram in late 24 Vigil; although the chambers inside the tepui were only sufficient to protect the aristocracy, their opening of the stores to the commoners of Kar Oram at least allowed many to live who might otherwise have starved in the aftermath.
+Alvraan therefore first grew up as a sort of spa resort, a retreat for the wealthy from the hustle and bustle of Kar Oram, and although a prosperous village grew up around the baths it remained a tiny curiosity - locally famous, but only one of many attractions across a wide empire, and so it remained well into the [[history:Vigil Era:]]. As the Empire began to decay and shrink, even the [[geography:sekhaa:region:heartlands|Imperial heartlands]] came under threat from rebellious peasants and generals-turned-warlords. Alvraan came to be recognized for its defensive qualities as well as its baths - the tepui was nearly a natural castle - and beginning in 19 Vigil fortifications began to be added and stores laid in. This proved a fortuitous choice when the hill warlord [[person:Egrith]] sacked Kar Oram in late 24 Vigil; although the chambers inside the tepui were only sufficient to protect the aristocracy, their opening of the stores to the commoners of Kar Oram at least allowed many to live who might otherwise have starved in the aftermath.
 In 27 Vigil, the Imperial capital at [[geopolitical:Kar Iitan:]], near the mouths of the Sahvarr, was conquered by the forces of [[person:Uvereth]]. A formerly loyal general who had defended the remains of the Empire against impossible odds, she killed the [[person:ilvrith|last Empress]] and her immediate heirs, and symbolically shattered the [[item:Foundation Stone]], ending the Empire and beginning the [[history:Cloud Era:]]. Loyalist strongholds fell to warlords or struggled to maintain an independent existence; the former oligarchs of Kar Oram held Alvraan for four or five cycles before Egrith's granddaughter, [[person:Hevrath]], finally conquered it. Hevrath's heirs had an enormous taste for wealth but little for governance; though they maintained order around their headquarters in the Nentir Highlands, the rest of the lands under their control were simply plundered and defended against rival raiders.