Vyltar

The Eagle's nest

Vyltaric seemingly came out of the ground in the 9th century as an already successful and important settlement. Over the decades and centuries Vyltaric outgrew and out-competed many of its competitors, establishing itself as a major power and trade stop, despite never growing past a large city state.

Demographics

Ethnic Groups

Zrabiye: 80%
Pokornizrabiye: 10%
Ayllu: 5 %
Bolotski: 3 %
Novilud: 1 %
Other: 1 %
About 82% of the city is inhabited by Zrabiy people, the name coming from an old Zrabiy word that means "brave". Most of the surrounding people fall into this ethnic group. Some of the slums within the walls grew separate from the rest of the city, eventually calling themselves Pokornizrabiye, or "humble and brave". This term was first used by Gregorie Vitsovin to describe the bakers that provided for the city, yet remained mostly forgotten by the nobles. In most cases it is used to describe other races that became part of the city's culture. The Ayllu, the next largest group only live in a small region on the Hayawan coast in the south city. They are an ethno-religious group originally made up of migrants from the early days of the city's life. The Ayllu people speak Khuska, a language still spoken in some areas in the Devian Mountains and itself means "common". At around the same population as the Ayllu, the Bolotski people are sometimes fit into the Pokornizrabiy group, but are differentiated by their unique location in a swampy lowland within the walls and their unique religion based on the swampy location. The Novilud are a small group of settlers mostly along the southern coasts of the Nysniy River within the walls that settled under Queen Gordoia as part of the early effort to encourage trade and urbanization on the south side of the river. Other groups, including dwarfs exist in small amounts.

Religion

House of the High Ones: 80%
Karski Cults: 8 %
River Lord Worshipers: 3 %
Hayawism: 5 %
Turtle Worship: 1 %
Other/Elvish: 3 %
The House of the High Gods has always been the main religion of the people and the royal family, but about a fifth of the people within the walls follow their own faiths. The second most common is a group of innumerable cults in slums of Garib Kar. The poor living conditions and isolation from the core of the city left the people there desperate for almost any opportunity for salvation. Tens of small cults dot the Garib Kar, although most inhabitants still believe in the High Gods, even if the follow local denominations. The second largest single religion within Vyltaric is the Church of the River Lord. They worship Willta, the same river God worshiped by the House of the High Ones. The difference is many merchants and sailors began believing that Willta was not just a minor god of the river, but the supreme god that rules at the top of the pantheon. Over two centuries, the Cult of Willta became a radical faith that outright denied the existence of most other Gods. Hayawism, the religion of the Ayllu people centers and revolves around the idea of duality. All but two major deities have a counterpart that opposes them in almost every way. (Water/Fire, Life/Death, pleasure/suffering, order/chaos) Despite the clear division between things thought of as "good" and "bad", there is no clear idea of good and evil; Hayawists believe of a balance between two sides of life inseparable since before time. Turtle worship sprung up in the Bolot areas in the north, often referred to as the largest of the Karski Cults despite not being in the Garib Kar. Lastly, most elves believe the traditional elvish religion kept hidden from most humans.

Races

Human: 85%
Half-Elf: ~9%
Elf: ~3%
Dwarf: 1 %
Other: 2 %

Government

Vyltaric's ruling family is the Urlav Dynasty, controlling directly only the walls and the north-west city. The rest is considered part of the Urlav Kingdom, and such pays Kingdom taxes. The south-east city is not considered part of the city, so doesn't follow laws or pay taxes exclusively regarding the city. Although it is officially an absolute monarchy, a collection of high ranking merchant oligarchs and parts of the high clergy play a large part in the city's politics. The clergy are able to remove or add a new leader at will, though their power has declined since the days of Alexaius IV. The merchant guild regulates custom taxes, and is often treated like an advisory to who ever is King

Defences

Vysturic is surrounded by walls, the southern walls controlled mostly by dwarfs and the rest by human soldiers. Both ends of the river are protected by large metal chains removed in most times, but closed during sieges.

Industry & Trade

Within the walls of the settlement, most of the citizens are craftsmen, bakers, butchers, or merchants. Most of the cities economy is based around controlling the Nysniy River Valley. Any merchant ship trying to get past the river must either pay a fee to enter the city in order to pass or is forced to stay in the city and sell in one of its markets for three days. This practice made Vyltar rich from more wealthy merchants passing through and forced others to sell goods, spreading ideas and advancing the city culturally. Along with the laws about passing through the city, almost all of the bridges across the Nysniy River are controlled By Vyltar's government. Crossing most of the bridges to the other side of the wide river costs a small tax. Not enough to discourage merchants of any class, but enough so that in large amounts, it enriches the city further. As trade began to flourish in the 900s, more and more services grew within the city, making Vyltar famous for its locally produced glass and pottery. As of Griša's reign, most of the city's exports include the aforementioned glass and pottery, as well as jewelry and magic items in some corners of the world...

Guilds and Factions

The Bell Camp has one of its largest clusters in the north east corner of the city and controlling much of the surrounding regions. Several large landowners control large sections of the city, especially in the north.

History

Before Vyltar

Vyltar was built between the rich lands of the middle and upper bends of the Nysniy River. This gave it a good position to become a dominant trade power in the Nysniy River Valley, but it was not the first to make its home in the intersection. The first major settlement in the area was Qasnasin, one of the oldest cities in the Nysniy River Valley. Qasnasin was founded sometime between 700 and 600 SA. The original founders are lost to time, but by 300 SA, they mostly adopted the Nysniy writing system from the north. Qasnasin became a regional power, possibly extending its power into the Devian mountains. Texts written in the Qasnasine dialect were found across the Nysniy River Valley and beyond, one coin from 200 SA even being found in the Tetlian Peninsula. The coin containing the name of the only know Qasnasine King. The King depicted on the coin was wearing an owl (possibly owl-bear) head looking to the right. The other side of the coin had " ", or "Lord Thedayik" written in a circle. During this time, the 200s SA, Qasnasin was a powerful state that became powerful through trade going up and down the river, in the same way Vyltar does so. As Qasnasin grew in power, so did the other pre-Svati states to the north. One of these states, the Hinderik Kingdom, managed to unite the northern Nysnyiy river. In the late two hundreds they began pushing south, evident by a spike in population and change in coinage in the lower bend of the river. A war probably ensued between the Qasnasin Kingdom and the Hinderik Kingdom, as the city was completely destroyed sometime around 100 SA. The city was not resettled, and the population of the upper bend began going down, showing that the war between them was likely a war of destruction, rather than a war of occupation. What most likely happened is one side provoking the other, probably in a conflict over the middle bend, leading to a war. The Hinderik Kingdom was either unable or unwilling to take over a land so far away from their homeland, so they preferred to destroy the opposition instead. With the destruction of Qasnasin, the intersection between the upper and middle bend stayed practically empty for centuries. It occasionally had small settlements that came and went, until a clan originating from the Devian mountains first settled in the valley.

The Moving City

The people of Vyltar were not originally a city or nation, but a tribe. According to the old founding legend of the Vyltaran people, the first leader of the dynasty was named Urlav. He ruled a tribe of nomadic mountain people that moved between several valleys and lived in caves that they built into the mountains. They lived there without a leader, until a giant avalanche destroyed all of the caves they built and stopped them from traveling into the mountains. The reason for the avalanche and the god that sent it differs in different versions of the legend and where changed in different time periods. During the fray, Urlav stepped up to lead the survivors to safety. In most versions, he is credited with saying "come, my people". They left the mountain range and wandered the known world for thirteen years. During the period of wandering, Urlav and his two sons faught groups of enemy armies that wished to crush Urlav's people. The people of this period are often known as the Urlavis. After wandering through much of the world, the Urlavis found an open fertile plain surrounded by tall mountains. The center of the valley had a large lake called the Great Gold Pool by the locals. The Urlavis settled down on the opposite side of the lake to the city of the locals, called the city of silver pearls. The new city Urlav founded was called Srabinshi. The new city prospered and became a metropolis under Urlav's 100-year rule. At the center of the city was the palace of domes. It was less of a palace, and more of a city contained within Srabinshi. The palace of domes got its name from the single tall and large palace that was made with domes that piled up on each other and smaller shrines to nature gods that all were roofed with smaller domes. The prosperity of 'Urlav's City' apparently brought attention, as raids from other tribes constantly tried to loot the city. Each time, a different hero stepped in to save the city with the help of the aging Urlav. After defeating one of these raids, Urlav became weaker and his son stepped into power, ending Urlav's 100 year rule. Ileksar, his youngest son, became the new King of the city, but was right away met with disaster. The Great Gold Pool that the city hugged suddenly began flooding, destroying the city. The still young Ileksar asked his father for guidance, but all the father did was give his Ileksar a staff with two small golden wings at the top. Urlav died and turned into a spirit after that. Ileksar made the choice to move the Urlavis out of the flooded city and back to the mountains. Upon returning to their old home, they were kicked out again by a giant Mountain Spirit, the Grear Mountain Lion. For another two years, they roamed the known world, going from small settlement to small settlement. They eventually were met with the Maiden of the Blue River, a spirit living somewhere along the Nysniy River. She led them to a small hill and told them to stay there while she protects them for a year. After the year passed, the Maiden left to her homeland and the Urlavis were allowed to prosper once more.

This first part of the city's history is known as the "moving city", because of how the people of the city are constantly on the move. The people of Vyltar remain proud about their mountain heritage, even if it is often brought under scrutiny. Historians try to look for similarities between the culture of the Devian Mountains and the culture of Vyltar. While it is clearly part of the Svati culture group, Vyltar stands out as having many different values compared to the traditional Svati people. Most notably where their views on strangers, family, and honor. The people of Vyltar are much more hospitable when it comes to strangers, viewing them as friends they haven't met yet. It is expected to let people into one's home if they ask, and the two people must be kind to each other. This is opposed to the normal Svati idea of family, which centers around treating one's family as close friends and competing with others. The reason the family ideals are different in Vyltar is because their culture has influences from the Devian people, who care less about direct family, and more about the family clan, or a kachilka. A kachilka is an extended family clan that tracks each person's lineage back to an semi-mythical family founder called an old hero. The descendants of these founders form closely bonded groups with their own microcultures. In the mountains where the Vyltari people came from, these kachilka would've lived is their own plots of land or communities in cities, but in large cities like Vyltar, the dynamic changed to simply a microculture with familial connections. The various families often got diluted in Vyltar and the other large Zrabiy cities due to close proximity with other kachilka and, quite simply, other cultures. Because of this, people in Vyltar were often at most once removed from any other person's kachilka. Close cultural connections between people form naturally from kachilkas, so people in Vyltar treat strangers with kindness, this action being a large part of their culture. This points to a connection with the people of the Devian mountains, who have a similar concept called a kachiyu. Kachiyus also influenced another part of Vyltar's culture that is at odds with the rest of the Svati world, honor. The people of Vyltar defined honorable acts as

The City on a Hill

On that small hill by a river, the city of Vyltar was supposedly founded, though the founding legend does not end with just the creation of the city. The rest of Ileksar's reign is shrouded in mystery, moving the history of the city onto his son – Ubarkich.
Ubarkich supposedly came to power in the year 715. Again, his reign is mostly shrouded in mystery, but what is known comes from the Vyltari Kings List and some oral stories passed down by bards. The Kings list only has a short entry for Ubarchik, saying the following:

[Ubarchik] went to war with the men by the river. The traitor ran him into the river's grave

His entry is cloudy, but it becomes more cleared up when paired with the old oral legends about his rule. Most legends passed down about him tell about how he helped the nearby dryad families survive against an invading hostile nation (possibly the early Akathian Empire). The war with the invaders probably made a strong alliance with the river Dryads, which would be important to the next King's entry. The details of the war are unknow, but there are several theories about what happened using folklore from the people and the entry in the Kings List. One possible scenario is that he was encamped at a river, getting ready for a future battle, but a soldier defected and told the enemy of his position, leading to an enemy raid and running Ubarchik's army into the river. Another common theory is that the toll the war against the invaders left a rift in the Vyltari court, causing a coup against Ubarchik. Both versions are rooted in different forms of the same ancient story; the story of Schaven. In old folk tales, a man named Schaven is often mentioned, referring to a court member or soldier that killed Ubarchik and possibly dumped him into a river. While some claim that Schaven was the traitor mentioned in the entry of Ubarchik, some have suggested that he was a later revision to make Ubarchik's story more dramatic. The entry claims that Ubarchik was killed in 715. He was named the boatman, suggesting that during the war against the invaders, he expanded Vyltar's influence along the Nysniy River.

The next ruler was named Timetran the Child. Again, little is known about the "Child King", but there are connections to be made with his predecessor. Firstly, his entry is as short as the last:

[Timetran] ran the traitors over him to where his fore-bearer lay. Ruled by the Queen

of the river until they joined his fore-bearer once more.
The first thing to notice is the fact that a "traitor" is mentioned again, possibly connecting Timetran to his predecessor. The prevailing theory for Timetran's reign was that he came to power at an early age after the early death of his father. He probably married a powerful dryad, as they their leaders are sometimes referred to as "River Queens" in older texts. This cemented the ongoing alliance between Vyltar and the dryads. The extent to which this was a personal union between the two or the dryads kneeling down to Vyltar for defense is still debatable. He might have faught a civil war against the "traitors" that where mentioned in his passage and the previous one, but it's possible that he lost the war. If the invaders that attacked the dryads where indeed the Akathians, then Timetran would fit neatly into the timeline as the King that fell to the Akathians. The traitors that killed Ubarchik may have been supporters of the rising Akathian Empire. While his entry suggests that he defeated the Akathians, it is more likely that he was defeated or overthrown in a coup or war against the Akathians. While the Akathian may have defeated their main opponent in 811, the year of Timetran's death, there was still resistance to the Akathians in the court, so the Akathian Empire tried to install their own leader to take power...

811 - 853 Gordoia, Great Queen, [(Bierro)?] sister/relative of Wladim [and] Chauvak, she built the cities [temples?] and gave a great name. The far, foreign men flocked to her walls, for her merciful let them all. The man Bierro swore his people with her.

Queen Gordoia came to power at a time when the Akathian Empire was at its peak The city of Homal was incorporated into the Empire at around the same time, so the somewhat hostile city of Vyltar split the Empire in two. Queen Gordoia likely became Queen of the city not by birthright, but because she was deemed as the "safest" monarch of the city. This is supported by the fact that Gordoia's entry in the List does not call her a "sister", rather a female relative. The word for sister in South Svati is Shiestra, but the word for a female relative is Chna. The word used for sister in Gordoia's entry was "Shina", which is more similar to the word for any female relative. What this suggests is that Gordoia was not part of the main royal line. She instead used her support from the Akathians to take power from the main line, probably with Wladim or Chauvak as its leaders. While there was definitely resistance within the royal court led by the two brothers, the rebels were defeated with support from the then powerful Akathian army. Under the yoke of the Akatha, Gardoia was able to look inwards into Vyltar and improve it without worrying about external threats. The first thing she likely did was use Akathian funds to fortify the city. At least part of the Northern Wall was built by Gordoia, though the dating of the wall is hotly debated. With the city safe from outside attacks, Gordoia began rapidly expanding the city not just to be larger, but to be taller. Many of the buildings on the Vyltarski hill were built by Gordoia, as well as the Gragoran temple on the North part of the city. The rapid construction made the city more appealing to merchants traveling up and down the river. As it was the only major city in the remote region of the Nysniy Valley. As a result, Vyltar was given a kind of charter than gave it exlusive trade rights over the middle and upper bends. A law was also made that forced all merchants going through the city to stop in it for at least four days before moving farther up or down the river. As a result, merchants were forced to stay in the city, which helped it solidify its status as a trade city. Queen Gordoia encouraged merchants to stay in the city by building cheap apartements on the north side of the city. While the new apartaments did go far to encourage trade, they also started another important trend. Previously, the city was mostly populated by the West Svats, but the creation of cheap housing encouraged new populations to move into the city. Among the first immigrants were the forest Svats, who were rivals of the Akathians, and the Ayllu ethnoreligious group from the Devian Mountains. The two populations settled mostly on the southern side of the city, which was then much less urbanized. The Ayllus formed their own small community on the White Mountain to the south of the city, though that settlement would later be destroyed. The Forest Svats settled mostly on the Southern City far from the coast, prefering to live further from the river. They formed the groundworks for the Garib Kar, which is an old term for the Vyltari slum. The influx of new ethnic groups and cultures in the c.ing projects and influx of people created a feedback loop in which the city began growing richer and richer. Despite her many reforms and building projects, she still remained unpopular with the secretly anti-Akathian court. While most of the open anti-Akathians were probably killed or exiled, there was still some resistance in the upper eschelons of society. A letter was sent by an Akathian lord that said,

Great Queen of Menestrik, I write to you from the Akata. There is a sickness within your city that threatens to spread across the realm. The sickness is not in the poor And sick, but in the minds of your lords that have been secretly plotting against Your rule. We encourage you to cleanse the city of sickness to help us fight against This sickness in our own lands. For this task, we grant you fifty well-trained swords And 100 silver coins to pay some sick men to leave. We give you luck of the gods.

The letter, found in 1250, was a landmark find because it was the first confirmable text mentioning a Vyltari monarch. It also confirmed not only that Queen Gordoia was a Akathian collaborator, but also that there was strong opposition to her power in the city. In order to quell the dissent, the Akathian overlords gave Gordoia more power and more land. Still, there must have been resistance to Gordoia's power, as she married an Akathian man named Bierro, probably to bring the Akathian government closer to Vyltar. While it was meant to strengthen control over the city, it probably only made animosity between the Akata and Vyltar stronger, shown by the increase of Akathian weapons and money into the city. The evidence of collaboration with the Akata has only recently been brought to light, as Gordoia was previously considered a leader who was either neutral or enemies with them. By the end of Gordoia's rule, the city expanded to sizes up to five times greater than before, along with a greater importance in the world stage. Her death, according to legend, happened after she took a bath in the baths of the newly constructed Gragoran Temple. The legend states that the water in the baths "glowed a shade of light blue as it consumed her before she disappeared into the pool. The legend has not been confirmed by her corpse being found under the Gragoran Baths, but the city's aristocracy claims that her tomb is in the royal catacombs, right under the Gragoran Temple. The next King of Vyltar would continue her legacy of expanding the city, but not only by building within the walls of the city...

852 - 892 Ieroslen I, the Builder, the King who freed the Vltarsk from the Akathian lords, led the city through the battle of the city with the river choked, both ends closed until the enemy was swallowed by it. Maker of the royal order, Ieroslen was named our King [and?] friend.

King Ieroslen probably came to power as a result of a succession crisis resulting from Gordoia's death. The fact that Ieroslen's actions towards the Akathians was so different from that of his mother (or aunt) is evident of the divisions that still existed between an Akathian and anti-Akathian faction in Vyltar.

Alternative Name(s)

Vyltanarik, Menestrik, vyltaric

Type

Capital

Population

136,950 people

Inhabitant Demonym

Vyltarsky

Owner/Ruler

Griša Urlav II

Owning Organization

Urlavian Dynasty

Characters in Location

• Griša Urlav II