Qudra
City of Power
Overlooking the Great Sea about 300 miles northwest of Hiyal, Qudra is Zakhara's bastion against the uncivilized realms beyond. The city's defenses have been built over the course of centuries in response to pirate raids and barbarian incursions. Today Qudra is the best-fortified city in enlightened Zakhara, presenting a stem gray face to the north.
Qudra is the greatest fortification in the land of Fate-a mass of gray, heavy, brooding, stone overlooking a deep-water harbor. The harbor itself is protected by a great chain pulled across its mouth. With few exceptions, the city lacks the graceful spires and domes typifying Zakharan architecture, as well as the ornate gilt and tilework. Instead, the city's builders borrowed techniques of other lands to produce the massive battlements that ring the city. Within the stalwart outer wall, smaller interior walls divide Qudra into defensive quarters. These interior walls have never been tested, since the great outer wall has never been breached.
The people of Qudra are by and large obedient, hard-working, and honest. Surprisingly, they are not warlike, for that role is taken up entirely by the mamluks. The mamluks are both slaves (owned ultimately by the Grand Caliph) and rulers of Qudra, and they form their own elite rank within the city population. The remainder of the population works hard to support its military organization.
Government
The Ruler:
Emir Hatit Abd al-WajibLong ago, in the time of the eighth Grand Caliph, an evil and dissolute man was appointed emir of the City of Power. He oppressed his own people and overran Zakhara's northern cities, taxing them unjustly until they rebelled. He forwarded only a pittance of the moneys he gathered to the Grand Caliph, sending instead honeyed words of loyalty and trust. At last he planned to march south and take control of Huzuz and the entire Land of Fate.
It was at this time that the mamluks in his charge, who had sworn loyalty to the Grand Caliph, rebelled against the evil emir. Though they were outnumbered by the emir's troops and his mercenary barbarians, the mamluks prevailed through discipline, and they overthrew the evil ruler. When word of the victory reached the eighth Grand Caliph, he was humbled by the valiant nature of his slave-soldiers. He asked them to chose among themselves the next emir who would rule them. They selected one of their bravest leaders, a man who ruled Qudra until his death.
A tradition was born, and so it continues today. Each of Qudra's emirs has been chosen by the generals of the city's mamluk units. Hatit, slave to duty, is the most recent of these mamluk-emirs. The term of the office is life or 20 years, whichever comes first. Hatit has ruled 13 years thus far.
A clean-shaven dwarf, Hatit wears the tattoos of his mamluk organization, the Dutiful, on his cheeks and forehead. He is a master of fortification and redoubts, a rarity in a land that boasts little in the way of siege machinery. He has spent much of his tenure examining and shoring up the walls of Qudra, looking for holes in her armor. He is particularly interested in the warfare of other lands, especially lands to the north, from which any major barbarian attack would probably come.
The Court:
The court of Qudra is a military council comprising all the major mamluk organizations. Each organization sends its own representative to the council. Emir Hatit is expected to confer with them on all matters of importance, and inform them of all military matters. All mamluk organizations of greater than 200 men are represented here, some 40 in all. Only mamluks may serve on the counsel, though each of the chamber members has his or her own advisors.
Emir Hatit presides over the council. Other members include the following:
- General Ekuriyah Abd al-Wajid represents The Dutiful in chambers.
- General Adun Abd al-Amin represents The Faithful in chambers
- General Okin Abd al-Talib'ilm represents The Studious in chambers.
- General Kalin Abd al-Bas represents The Valiant in chambers.
- Admiral Dus Abd al-Dawwar represents The Wanderers in chambers.
- Colonel Akir Abd al-Himaya represents The Defenders in chambers.
Defences
- 25,000 mamluk infantry
- 6,000 mamluk cavalry
- 400 special air troops, broken down among 20 major mamluk military societies
- navy of 50 ships (effectively 25 see below)
- A major mamluk society consists of 200 or more men, answering to one commander. Most units are purely infantry, while others are a combination of infantry, cavalry, and air. Spellcasters are either hired under long-term contracts or recruited from the priesthood of Vataqatal. In either case, they serve as support units for larger infantry formations. The idea of wizards amassed against enemy forces using magic has proved to be a military blunder.
Formally, all of Qudra's mamluks belong to the Grand Caliph, for they are slaves. They may not serve another ruler without the express permission of the Grand Caliph. Having received that permission in the past, Qudra's mamluks have entered into long-term service with a number of local rulers, who in turn serve the Grand Caliph.
Qudra's navy consists of 50 ships, but half of those are rotting at the docks, their sails and usable wood stripped for the other half. Morale is poor among the mamluk navy, as it has been since an aborted attempt to conquer the Corsair Domains a decade ago. The fleet attempted a direct assault against @[Hawa, City of Chaos](settlement:ebf46068-93dc-48c8-bd7f-aa4d57d621de), without sufficient magical support. Qudra's mamluk force was repelled with great losses. That display of weakness has not been forgotten by the members of the council, because it encouraged the city of Utaqa to rebel.
Industry & Trade
Guilds and Factions
Key Figures Outside the Court:
Qazim al-Satir is the one wizard of whom it can be said, "He is good enough to be a slave" - and have it meant as a compliment. Members of the council hold Qazim in high regard. While he is not a member himself, his advice is often sought in matters of magic. It was Qazim who saved the remnants of the fleet ten years ago in the Battle of Hawa, and the generals remember. Qazim prefers to not leave his comfortable manor in Qudra's suq district, but he will respond to any call from the council.
Shams al-Ezai is a half-elven sorcerer who works in the Slave Bazaar as a qadi. He is assisted by two hakimas, Tau'am and Turn bint Nisr, who are twins. Together, this trio attends the public slave auctions, attempting to maintain the honest balance of trade-ensuring that would-be slaves are well-cared for, are not ensorcelled in any fashion, and are not free men or women captured against their will. (Obviously, the twins' powers of true sight are invaluable.) Shams enjoys his work. He rarely has to exert his power, however, since Qudra imposes many other tight controls on slave-trading. For this reason, Shams and the hakimas are the last line of defense for someone captured by raiders and sold into slavery in the city. He is a member of the magical reserve for the Studious, and could be called into active service in times of need.
Mad Asham is a curious character who wanders the streets of Qudra. Old soldiers remember him as a magical advisor to The Dauntless (a mamluk group). Decades ago, he and a raiding party disappeared while conducting a recruiting mission on the borders of the Haunted Lands: Six years later, he stumbled back into the city alone, his robes tattered and his mind wiped clean. No magical aid would roust him from his babbling, and even the genies who agreed to examine him could not bring about a change.
Another well-known figure, Bahramiyah al-Musafir oversees the great caravans that bring weapons from the great forges of Hiyal to Qudra. She has done so for 40 years. While Qudran steel is good, Hiyal's is superior, and each mamluk unit seeks to arm its best forces with Hiyal's weapons. Today, Bahramiyah is a grumbling old woman. The day-to-day business of selling steel has been taken over by her sons and daughters, but she still makes the annual journey to Hiyal and back, traveling by camel and sambuq.
Points of interest
City Walls. A marvel of engineering, the walls of Qudra are carved out of granite from the Furrowed Mountains. The foundation was laid by order of the first enlightened emir. The walls have been improved and strengthened by the mamluk rulers who followed him.
Today, the city's outer wall measures 40 feet high and 40 feet thick. The wall is not solid, however. Twenty feet from the exterior, a 15-foot-wide tunnel snakes through the center. The wall is breached by three gates, each leading south toward the mountains. Otherwise, the only gap in the wall occurs at the waterfront. The outer wall curves around to embrace and protect the harbor, ending on both sides with a 50-foot-high tower. The twin towers hold the great chains that seal the harbor from invasion. Atop the wall, members of the mamluk guard patrol the battlements. A different unit is assigned this duty each month. Great cauldrons are positioned along the walls and over the gates. During an assault, the caldrons hold burning "oil of stars" (Greek fire), which the guards can pour upon assailants below.
Slave Market. Qudra's ruling mamluks enforce high standards in the authorized slave market. As a result, its slaves are of the highest quality, are not mistreated, and are usually capable and talented. Members of hill tribes are sold here along with northern barbarians, as are criminals who have been enslaved for breaking the Law of the Loregiver. An elvish wizard and two hakimas (see "Key Figures Outside the Court") have been appointed to oversee the market, ensuring that it operates in a reasonable, enlightened fashion.
Mosque of Blood. Qudra is home to the greatest temple erected in the name of Vataqatal, a warrior-god venerated by many mamluks. The temple takes its name from its outward appearance; its rough-hewn sandstone walls are stained red with regular applications of henna, honoring the good men and women whose blood has been spilled in battle.
Open Mosque. As a reward for the city's valiant mamluks, the eighth Grand Caliph sent many of Huzuz's finest architects and tileworkers to Qudra, where they erected a graceful mosque in the Zakharan tradition. This blue jewel stands in stark contrast to the brooding gray stone of the city's walls and other buildings. It is frequented by natives who do not venerate Vataqatal with the same fervor as the mamluks.
Major Mosques:
The largest temple in the city is the Mosque of Blood, carved of red sandstone and coated regularly with henna. It is dedicated to Vataqatal, a local god. His church is approved by the Grand Caliph, and his worshippers venerate him much as followers of other gods venerate their own. (They have no unusual rituals or ceremonies.) Qudra also has an open mosque, described above.
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