Eldevar

Eldevar was an Elysian city located south of the foothills southwest of the Ice Lords Mountains. It was set on a rocky hill, near the intersection of the High Moor Way and the Snowdown Road in the northeastern corner of the region known as the Hearthspring. With a population topping 25,000 at its height, it was a the largest city and de-facto capital of the province.

Demographics

Population (estimated) by Ancestry:

• Humans, 90%
• Halflings, 5%
• Others, 5%

By Occupation:

• Agriculture, 40%
• Mercantilism/trade, 20%
• Service, 20%
• Tourism, 20%
• Military/civic, 10%

By Wealth:

• Lower-income, 40%
• Upper-income, 30%
• Wealthy, ~10%
• Poor/destitute, <1%

Government

As dictated by the standards of Korthan law from whence the traditions of Eldess Governance emanate, local Magistrates such as that of Eldevar were comprised of the city's Lohr, its Lords and People's Councils, a Lord Magister, and a Lord Marshall.

The Lohr of Eldevar Keep

In the Hearthspring's largest city, executive power was traditionally held by the Lohr of Eldvar Keep. For a long time at the end of the Fifth Age and into the Sixth, that meant the head of the lesser Huus Galdenhart ruled the city. The Lohr of Eldevar in the early decades of the Sixth or Current Age of Azocar was the nobleman and head of his House, Lord Allanar Galdenhart.

Eldevarian Councils

Eldevar Council of Lords In the early years of the Sixth Age, members of the Council of Lords in Eldevar were the following:

• Aldrick Aljeron, Lord of his house and Lord Marshal of Eldevar
• Erik Thursgard, Sir Knight and scion of his house
• Thomas Sunstrom, Sir Knight and scion of his house
• Gregory Windborne, Lord of his house
• Revered Sister Aleesha Sommoner, head of Eldevar's Temple of Marha
• Gillan Anders, Guildmaster of the Stormhold Blades guildhouse in Eldevar
• Herman Scribner, Headmaster of the Sunburst School
• Sir Elic Silverstride, a prominent member of both the Church of the Eye and the Order of the Watch.

Eldevar People's Council

Like other Eldess settlements, the lords of Eldevar fostered participation in the governing of their city by citizens thereof. Therefore, the people of each of the seven distinct areas of Eldevar came together every five years to select the individuals that would represent them and their district in the People's Council.
The seven districts consisted of four of the five within the city's walls. Also included were the area outside of and downhill from the city's outer wall and the neighborhood known as the Crooked Wheel at the bottom of the south of that hill. The final district was comprised of the numerous farming communities and hamlets that ringed out to the south and east from Eldevar and the hill it rested on. The tradition that the fifth district within the city's walls, the Garden Quarter was excluded from representation on the People's Council began midway through the penultimate century of the Fifth Age. The Lohr of Eldevar at the time proclaimed that area of the city was already well-served in the Magistrate by way of the Council of Lords.
Notable members of the Eldevar People's Council nearing the end of the second decade CA were:

• MEMBER

Lord Magister of Eldevar

During Lord Allanar's time, his own sister, Tallia Sommoner ne Galdenhart was the Lord Magister of Eldevar. Additionally, the city's size meant that the Magister's duties could not be fulfilled by just one person. Magister Tallia always had at least two assistant magisters and sometimes three or four. Additionally, the magisters kept a small staff of associates and investigators that worked for them.

Military of Eldevar

As was typical of Eldess cities of its size, Eldevar's armed forces consisted of two separate institutions, the City Guard and the People's Militia.

Eldevar City Guard

The Eldevar City Guard was the "standing army" of the city and the surrounding areas. In times of war, it was even at the disposal of the Throne of Storms and it served as significant component/portion of Elysia's Army of the North. During times of peace, however, its primary missions were the security of the city and its area and the enforcement of its laws.
The commander of the Eldevar City Guard was the Lord Marshal of the city. During the early decades of the Sixth Age, this was Lord Aldrick Aljeron. He commanded a force of 2,500 or so soldiers, each divided into four battalions of five companies comprised of five platoons each. Because of the size of the force, Lord Aljeron and his successors and antecedents maintained a command roster of four battalion Commanders who were each responsible for five company Captains.

People's Militia of Eldevar

The Eldevar People's Army was a secondary and supplementary military force serving the Hearthspring's largest city. Though it stood apart from the City Guard/Army, it was almost always the case that it was loyal to both the city's Magistrate and to the Throne of Storms. This was especially true during the Horde Wars and in the decades that followed them.
The captain of Eldevar's People's Militia in the years following the Horde Wars was a former city guardsman named Ulvarik Landfjord. The size of the militia was quite variable at could be expected but it could always lay claim to a roster of at least 800 members, active or inactive.

Districts

Districts of Eldevar beyond the city walls

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Eldevar Hill

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The Crooked Wheel

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Greater Eldevar

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Inside the walls of Eldevar

Old City

After climbing the southern face of Eldevar Hill, visitors to Eldevar crossed through the only gate servicing the outer wall of the City and were immediately presented with its most crowded and vibrant district. A few dozen feet beyond the gates sat Eldevar Square, one of the three open markets within the City walls.
Eldevar Square too was vibrant and bustling, as it was the destination to which farmers and hunters from the areas around Eldevar brought their wares to sell. A fair portion of merchants who traveled to the city from afar also stopped here and set up shop. Also, artisans who kept their shops and studios outside of the city typically did their business here as well.
A number of taverns and inns bordered the lower market or were within a block or two of it. These were all modest but comfortable establishments, reflecting the character of the clientele these service and the portion of the city they sat in. Harrick's Hall and Vandreen's Brewery sat alongside the Square opposite each other, to the left and right sides of the market. Both offered a fine but limited selection of ales and other brews, as well as offerings from the plentiful vineyards of the surrounding hillsides and even the occasional spirits.
Adjacent to the uphill side of the market is the Swooping Dragon, a tavern that serves similar liquid fare to the others but also offers a varied menu of options for lunch an dinner. A block further uphill was its partner establishment, the Dragon's Rest Inn, which offered modest lodging accommodations for travelers needing a place to stay in the city. Finally, the Gate's Hall Inn was located just inside and to the left (west) of the City's gate.
The main thoroughfare leading to and up the hill into the City kept its name once inside its limits. This, the Eldevar Way bisected the Old City along the up/downhill axis. Extending out from Eldevar Square, bisecting the neighborhood laterally was the Rocky Hill Way. To the west, this avenue had a short run to the limits of the neighborhood along the southwestern ridge that separated the Old City from neighborhoods uphill.
Shops of all manner of basic goods and sundries abounded along the main avenues of the Old City. Otherwise, the bulk of the buildings in the neighborhood were residential in nature.

The Stones

South and east or "downhill" from the Old City, the Rocky Hill Way lead into the oldest portion of Eldevar, the Stones. This neighborhood was so named for the "ancient" stone buildings that dated back to the earliest days of Eldevar's history. In the City's earliest decades and century, the Stones was where its wealthiest residents made their homes. One look at the views over the southeastern and eastern portions of the city walls, particularly between dawn and sunrise, was all the evidence one needed to see why.
As Eldevar's wealth moved up the hill, the Stones fell on harder times. All things being relative though, even "on the Stones", life was generally safe if not always all that quiet. It was a portion of town that the City Guard didn't police with the same frequency as the rest of the city. However, the venerable maxim that there was honor among thieves generally kept the peace here.
The Stones was the place to go to in Eldevar if one was looking for merchants who dealt in more illicit fare and one infamous shop was Bertrand's Spice Works. In the "front end" of his shop, the devious halfling Bertrand Banderwaggle conducted legitimate business, selling spices, herbs, and arcane components of a more mundane nature. In the back though, is where he truly earned his keep, trading in poisons and poison-making ingredients, as well well as harder to find spell components.
The other place of significant interest on the Stones was Eldevar's Dawn Glade. The garden sanctum dedicated to the worship of the goddess Setah was amongst the most revered amongst the faithful. It sat atop a rocky outcropping near the outer city wall and thus benefitted from the best of the views and sunrises the Stones had to offer.
Apart from its more notorious elements, the Stones was also well known throughout Elysia and beyond because it was where the vast majority of Eldevar's halfling population lived in. These small folk of the City kept their residences in the "upper" half of the neighborhood, away from the outer wall. Most lived in wooden cottages and multi-residence structures in the district. However, some of them were even fortunate enough to occupy burroughs more traditional for their kind. Many of these were dug out of the base of the southeastern ridge of Eldevar Hill, which formed the upper boundary of the Stones.
The small folk of Eldevar were similar in most other ways to their kin elsewhere and were thusly welcoming, boisterous, and fun-loving. So it was no surprise that the Stones was a place to go for those looking for establishments purveying good food and drink. Most famous of these was the Toppled Tankard, located just a block from the end of the Rocky Hill Way. This inn and tavern's moniker was somewhat misleading. Indeed, it served a wide variety of brews from all over Taszerania, which its fame afforded the halfling owners of the place, Barrick Thinwhistle and Minerva Tannerval the opportunity to procure. But the Tankard was also known far and wide for its other fare.

Market Quarter

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New City

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Garden Quarter

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Founding Date

~ 600 bCA

Type

City

Population

25,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Eldevarian

Owner/Ruler

Allanar Galdenhart

Ruling/Owning Rank

Lohr

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Elysia

Related Historical Events

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  Birth of Thialia Shadowborn