Freecities League
The Freecities - or the Freecities League - are a collection of semi-independent city-states that reside along the Warden Road that formed a confederation a century before the fall of Angesh and the Iron Throne to Arslan Khan and his forces.
The League itself is a confederation based on trade and collective self-interest to keep the main trade route, the Warden Road, reasonably free of control by any of the neighboring countries. By doing so, they keep themselves from coming under another ruling country that may not have the best interest of the Freecities at heart.
This type of confederation has been a thorn in the side for more than one of the neighboring kingdoms. It obsessed the last king of Angesh to the point that his subterfuge to try and undermine the region provided the seeds that brought about his own downfall. To date, there have been several attempts to conquer a part or all of the regions of the Warden Road, and therefore the Freecities, but none have been successful.
Settlements vary in size within the Freecities, and some lie farther out from the Warden Road than others. For example, cities such as Aquitaine and Wolfwater lie on the Warden Road, while Purgatory Gulch and Ravensmoor sit farther afield. However, all are considered equal partners in the League.
Currency, Coins, and Taxation
The Freecities economy is, like most of its neighbors, based on the silver and gold standard. Other metals, such as copper and platinum are also used. Those are to denote a higher value within the monetary system. Paper currency, which is usually made from milled longgrass and mulberry bark, then stamped using an engraved and enchanted copper plate, is used but only for matters of privately issued bills and acts as a promissory note for the holder.
As with any country, the coins produced have a look that is unique to the region. For the Freecities, the coin itself is a treated glass. Inside the glass lies the thin gold, silver, copper, or platinum. The process to produce the coins requires cooperation between the member cities. Minerals from the Oatman Canyon region, glass from Aquitaine, wizard enchantment form Wolfwater, and so on. The actual minting takes place in Wolfwater.
A benefit to the Freecities coinage is its weight. The interior metal is refined so that it retains the same value as coins from other realms. However, the thin glass shell around the metal carries an alchemical enchantment to make the glass shatterproof and reduce wear on the coin, which would reduce its value. This also helps during transport, especially during visits from tax collectors to the member settlements during harvest season - known as the Shrock Tax as in the early years of the Freecities League taxes were collected just after the harvest of Blue Shrock rice.
A coin's value is rooted in how it relates to a "standard" gold coin, which - as per agreement of the Alliance of Merchant Companies - is about an eighth-inch thick and one inch across. The conversion standard between metals has altered over the generations, however, the current standard has persisted for almost a century. This standard is:
Assessor Company
The Assessors are the tax collectors for the League. It operates in the manner of a guild, sending out representatives just after harvest season to collect the Shrock Tax from the member cities and assess how the settlement has grown. Larger settlements pay a higher fee than the smaller ones. This money is returned to the main Company House in Wolfwater. There, the fees are counted, cataloged and then distributed for 'public works projects'. Some of these include a stipend to Merchant Company Alliance members, payment for supplies regarding coin minting, repairs to the Warden Road, and so on.
One constant expense is the Warden Road. During the time of the Kingdom of Angesh, an agreement between the Freecities and Angesh allowed Angesh to maintain and repair the ancient blackstone road. However, when Angesh fell, the agreement was no longer valid. Since no new agreement could be settled on with KaraKorum or any other neighboring country, the Mayor's Council decided to put the Freecities know-how to the task. However, repairs are slow as the League has to juggle this large scale project against the needs of its member settlements. Currently, individual member settlements each take a portion of the road nearest them and work to maintain that for ease of travel.
Legislative Body
Legislation in the Freecities takes the form of the Mayor's Council. This council meets once a year and is comprised of the elected mayors from all the current settlements that are members of the League. As actual governing of the member settlements is left to the settlement's mayor, the Mayor's Council concerns itself with matters that impact the League as a whole. Most times these matters revolve around trade with neighboring countries, new or existing contracts with members of the Merchant Company Alliance, and internal disputes between settlements.
This is also the body that creates and votes on regulations and laws around how settlements may - or may not - interact with each other. Violations of these laws and other legal matters aren't handled by this council, that is a job for the Captain's Forum.
Judicial Body
For matters pertaining to interpreting law set down by the Mayor's Council, ruling on a matter where a law or regulation might be broken, that falls on the Captain's Forum. This group, in a manner similar to the Mayor's Council, is comprised of the Captain of the City Watch from each member settlement of the League. Unlike the Council, the Captain's Forum meets once a season to discuss legal matters or issues that have developed during that spring, winter, etc.
If a ruling of the Captain's Forum results in punishment, the settlement at fault is fined. If the violator is a single individual, they are captured and handed over to the settlement where they committed their crime. There they face that city's laws regarding punishment.
Demography and Population
As the Freecities are located along the length of the Warden Road, the primary trade route in North Edoya, they have become a melting pot of ethnicities and cultures for the North Edoyan continent and to a lesser extent of parts of the South Edoyan continent as well.
The mix of cultures in a given settlement is, as would be expected, related to the neighboring countries closest to that settlement. Two exceptions would be goblin and halfling cultures and groups. Many of both are known as wanderers and in the case of certain goblin ethnicities, are often focused on trade and trading efforts. So in most member settlements, goblins and halflings are a common sight alongside humans. Within the past generation, elves have joined their ranks as a common sight.
Orcs and dwarves are a less common sight but with the rise of KaraKorum and slow improvement of trade, newcomers from KaraKorum are starting to visit Wolfwater more often, as are dwarves to Aquitaine.
Military
The League has no unified military force since the member settlements maintain their own defense. This has worked both for and against the League in the past depending on the force that threatens them. In general, because the settlement militias or city watch comprise a small number of individuals - as opposed to a standing military - the Freecities League make ample use of tactics and raids involving small numbers of highly trained individuals. They are called 'cohorts'.
These small teams of five to eleven specialists are more nimble and able to move with a greater speed than a large military. However, once cornered, they can be overwhelmed by a force of larger numbers. Cohorts - when used - strive to avoid this and rely on ambush, sabotage, and similar tactics to whittle down an invading force. These tactics have been so successful that they have been adopted by neighboring countries, such as KaraKorum. To the orcs of KaraKorum, this is easily recognizable to them as an 'Arbin' or 'The Sweeping Wing'.
Maps
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Purgatory Gulch Region
Region in and around Purgatory Gulch -
Aquitaine Region
A map of Aquitaine and nearby settlements of the Freecities
Aquitaine
Purgatory Gulch
Wolfwater
Ravensmoor
Thistletop Keep
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