Iknalu

Industry & Trade

Iknalu was initially considered a place for Dugalibut's wealthier inhabitants to spend their gold on luxury goods, but became more accessible for the commoners as a wider range of wares were offered for sale.
Whole families came to settle with the breadwinner, but young men came in droves in search for work and a chance to make a living in commerce. Those who fail return to their old trades or learn a new one. Metalworkers, cobblers, clothe-makers, and others soon lined the streets. Those without valuable skills lend themselves as laborers. A number of dissatisfied men who failed to make ends meet turned to crime.
Iknalu provided business for both Kalu settlers and the rest of Dugalibut alike. Kalu products, particularly dates and beer, were widely popular. Many imported wares, such as linen clothes, were originally brought in to provide homesick Kalu with goods they could not produce with local goods. These later became favored among Dugali nobility from their comfort and light weight. Existing businesses appreciated the new customer base, none more so than the city's brothels, who welcomed the influx of single, young men with open arms.
Since Iklanu was a profitable venture for the Sarisis and injected business for Dugalibut, it was seen as beneficial arrangement for over a generation.

History

Rather than being a settlement in its own right, Iknalu is the Kalu enclave in Dugalibut, a city situated in Eshawak. The community came about during the reign of Nugalakuru, after Eshawak's conquest by Tanatuliya ten years earlier. The Sarisi was a friend to the Teshua, who were fighting to secure the immensely valuable Royal Purple trade to the financial benefit to their burgeoning kingdom. The Sarisi supported them in their endeavors, sending troops to aid in the conquests. At that point, most of the cities known for producing purple dye had fallen under the control of either Natiawa or Teshua. Nugalakuru favored the variety produced near Dugalibut, as it dyed clothes a rich purple that didn't stray too close to either a red or a blue.
As Tanatuliya's wars temporarily disrupted trade, he was forced to mostly buy from cities under Natiawas control, whose colors satisfied the tastes of his court but not his own. Furthermore, their brief monopoly on purple incentivized the Natiawas to double their prices, displeasing the Sarisi.
Once Eshawak was pacified and a puppet king, Usskina, was placed on the throne, trade could properly resume. Usskina was a member of Dugali nobility who defected to Tanatuliya's camp and thus rewarded with the kingship of the city. Although he was seen by some as a traitor, he proved to a prudent ruler and a good mediator between his own people and the Teshua .Eshawak as an independent kingdom had the power to set its own prices for the purple it produced, but this privilege subsequently fell upon the Teshua, who set favorable prices for themselves and raised them for all other potential buyers.
Anxious to enrich Kalumak, Nugalakuru sent envoys to Teshala to meet with Tanatuliya. The party included Nugalaruru, one of the Sarisi's daughters, and Buhawari, a merchant and scribe in his service. They carried a tablet of silver inscribed with the king's wishes and additional terms that he wished for his aid. The two rulers had already agreed on a reduced price of purple dye for Kalu buyers, but his new terms included a strengthening their alliance through a marriage between Tanatuliya and Nugalaruru and favored passage for Kalu ships through the Golden Straits. Without much deliberation, the Teshua king agreed.
Buhawari settled soon after in Dugalibut and opened a shop to sell wares from Kalumak and other nations imported from the east. He also used his connections export goods from the western reaches of the known world to his homeland, particularly the purple sought after by the Sarisi. Buhawari began his operations at a small shop, but the demand for his wares increased to the point where he could afford to expand into an open-air bazaar and rent space to other merchants. His family had followed him to the city. Men arrived first, who soon sent word for their families to join them as well. For the entirety of its history, however, most of Iknalu's population consisted of men. Before long, the Kalu grew numerous enough to claim their own section of the city, which had been largely depopulated as a result of war.
Although welcoming of the newcomers at first, the people of Dugalibut grow suspicious of their Kalu neighbors within a generation. Tradesmen distrusted their new competition and laborers despised the Kalu who either matched their wages or worked for less in order to secure work contracts. Criminal gangs formed when there was not enough work, which make live harder for honest people. These men mostly committed theft or robbed victims of their valuables, but their actions sometimes escalated into assault, rape, and murder. Further immigration overcrowded Iknalu's confines, exacerbating this problems. Kalu criminals thereafter became more active throughout the city. An assassination of a Dugali noble prompted action from the aristocracy, who urged Usskina to deal with the newfound threat. Some of his confidants desired the expulsion of all Kalu. He refused this suggestion when presented, in part because the financial loss his coffers would incur and the fear of his overlord's wrath.
Usskina's men fought back against the gangs and killed one of their bosses, Zamagu. Known as the Deflowerer for his salicious habit, he was the most powerful criminal in Dugalibut and feared throughout the city. In retaliation, some of Zamagu's men cornered Parawus, Usskina's favorite son. The prince was returning to his father's palace after a night of feasting and drinking when the assailants overpowered his servants and guards before kidnapping him. Parawus and mutilated before being beaten to death and having his bloodied corpse left at the palace gates. In a rage, Usskina ordered Iknalu's destruction. His warriors surrounded the enclave and began indiscriminately. Angry Dugali civilians joined in on the slaughter. A three day-long orgy of burning, looting, and violence ensued, until all Kalu were either dead in captivity. The survivors were scourged and then sold into slavery.

Architecture

Like the rest of Dugalibut, the buildings are constructed from a combination of stone, mud bricks, and wooden beams. Kalu interior decoration prevails in Iknalu, which differentiates the neighborhood from traditional Eshawak dwellings.

Alternative Name(s)

Purple Town, Kalu Town

Type

Neighbourhood

Population

about 2,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Kalu

Location under

Dugalibut