Soloon Republic

A once thriving republic, home to more than ten thousand inhabitants, splintered into pieces in a matter of minutes by the fury of an uncaged dragon.

— Fidgit Allgold, Gnome author of The History of Soloon Island

Structure

The Soloon Republic was overseen by a twelve person council. Every five years, each sitting a person could be nominated to challenge the seat of one council member. In the case of death or resignation leaving a vacant seat mid-term, two people would be nominated. As such, the highest ranking officials in Soloon were the High Council Members. It was down to the High Council to create and manage the laws of the Republic. The High Council distinction was made in response to the Merchant Guilds having their own, lower level, councils that operated the day to day dealings of the various trade professions in Soloon.
Other important roles included senior positions within the treasury and Chief and Deputy Chief roles within the Sentinels, the agency responsible for maintaining order within Soloon. Whilst Soloon did not accept heinous criminals, those that had committed murder or similar offences, it was still home to plenty of unsavoury types. If a citizen was accused, their case would be heard by the Deputy Chief Sentinel - or the Chief Sentinel should the accusation be severe enough - and verdict upheld without chance of appeal. Since for many, Soloon was a sanctuary, the most common sentence was banishment back to the mainland, where whomever or whatever the guilty were fleeing from could then catch them. For the severe cases such as murder, if found guilty, they were given the option of immediate death or swimming back to the mainland.
No one ever succeeded the latter.

History

Origins

Historical records old enough to reach back to the time when Soloon Island was initial populated are scarce. The settlement's earliest reference is dated in the region of roughly one thousand years before The Cataclysm Wars. The town was founded by a group of outcasts and thieves. Escaping across the sea, they settled on Soloon island. The Kingdoms of Aldenia had no lawful jurisdiction on the island, so anyone escaping justice could join Soloon and fear no repercussions. It is noted that Soloon would not accept murderers or criminals of similar or worse standing. As word spread, the town expanded, so did the mentions of it in the archives. By 500 BCE, Soloon City's boundaries were miles across, housing several thousand people. Due to the limited space on the island, it was decreed that the city could not horizontally broaden any further else it would remove critical farming land. So as the population grew further, the city expanded upwards instead. The city became known for its many storied, and some would say precarious looking, buildings.

During The Cataclysm Wars

Soloon Island and its Republic were largely ignored for the first eight years of the War, becoming a relatively safe haven for misplaced citizens of the world. That is, sadly, until Mozhall was released from his planar prison. After skirmishing with Aldenian forces for a few weeks, Mohzall took to the skies to find a better outlet for his rage. He found it in the form of Soloon Island. Before anyone could react to the threat, the entire island was torn asunder, replaced by mere fragments of its memory.

Post Cataclysm Wars

The Soloon Republic was completely destroyed by Mohzall's attack. The area that it used to exist in is now only ever referred to as The Shattered Isles. Only two of the pieces of what was once Soloon Island are large enough to potentially colonise again, The Jaws, as they are called due to their shape. However, early attempts to do so were hastily abandoned due to unstable weather and attacks from an unknown source or at least one left out of the reports.

Demography and Population

• Population Pre-Shattering: 12,000

• 22% Human

• 18% Dwarf

• 16% Gnome

• 12% Elf

• 9% Dragonborn

• 8% Goliath

• 6% Orc

• 9% Assorted Other [Inc. high populations of non-Aldenia native races]. One of the largest known colonies of Kenku existed on Soloon Island.

Territories

The Soloon Republic encompassed both the city of Soloon along with the rest of the island it existed on. The city itself spanned roughly half of the island. A decree was issued when it reached that size in order to preserve the natural ecosystem and farming capabilities to negate requiring outside exports for sustenance.

Military

The Soloon Republic, by its very nature as a city-state, did not have a functioning army, as such. The Sentinels acted as both order maintainers and defence should the island be attacked, which was a very rare occurrence due to its natural sea borders and walls adorned with advanced weaponry.

Technological Level

Those individuals whose ideas were deemed too unsafe to pursue in their homeland regularly found their way to Soloon, where more often or not they would be allowed to continue their studies. As a result, The Soloon Republic was the birthplace of many great inventions, for better or for worse.

Type

Geopolitical, City-state

Capital

Soloon City

Government System

Meritocracy

Power Structure

Federation

Economic System

Market economy

Currency

Precious metal pieces (standard world currency)

Location

Aldenia