Dirmuth
Government
As the capital of the Wesian Kingdom Dirmuth is uniquely positioned out of all of the Duchy capitals, as it has to tend to the needs of the bureaucracy that runs the nation. As such, the day to day management of the city is left to the Queen and her advisers, though a small council has been formed of low-ranking nobility from the Duchy to manage the city's affairs. This council, called the Civil Tribune, has multiple elected ministers who's job it is to create and manage branches of the Tribune, such as the Economic Branch who's job it is to collect the Queen's tax, as well as ensure all economic policies are being implemented properly. To defend the city a city guard has been formed, comprised of a few hundred individuals who's job it is to keep the gatehouses operational, perform local policing duties and prevent criminals from entering/exiting the town.
Defences
Ringing the city and the castle is a fifteen meter high wall made of mortared stone, with reinforced battlements and imposing towers armed with anti-siege weaponry. To defend this wall a small force of highly trained guards is maintained, though most of their day to day work is policing the citizens of Dirmuth. Additional soldiers can be called up from the local levy, who maintain a high standard of training even in times of peace. Small clay pipes lead out to the southern fields which, during a siege, can be set ablaze from within the safety of the city walls.
Industry & Trade
As the thriving centre of the nation, Dirmuth relies on it's expert craftspeople and material processing capabilities. Importing vast amounts of raw materials for refinement the thousands of craftspeople of Dirmuth turn them into high quality materials and items for export. Many of the outer towns and villages often brag about their selection of Dirmuth tools and, should one break, entire villages have been known to fund a replacement. In addition to this Dirmuth imports a lot of foods from other regions around the Nation, not because they need it to survive but because the numerous chefs and restaurants in the city require only the finest ingredients.
Infrastructure
Dirmuth sits as the 'radiant' capital city of the Wesian Kingdom, with smooth cobbled roads winding through the vast districts of multi-story stone buildings. On it's north-western side the castle sits, looming over the town proper, with it's glistening spires and royal banners. The city wall, a multiple meter thick defensive structure, encompasses the entire city, with four gates enabling travel and trade with the outside world. Unlike many other cities, Dirmuth has a small lake within its walls, which is fed by an underground spring, enabling the city to outlast sieges as well as maintain a population of fish and other critters for eating. On the western side of town, a hundred meters south of the castle, is the Royal Plaza, where a massive bazaar is often situated when the plaza is not being used for festivals or Royal functions. In the South District the Royal Majister's Division maintains a compound for in-city operations as well as to keep a force of Majes near the Queen at all times, as per their operational mandate.
Assets
As the capital of the Wesian Kingdom, Dirmuth is in a state of growth almost at all times, and as such she has gained access to a few expert craftsmen and women. These individuals are capable of creating Bespoke weaponry, and it is said that the Queen herself wields a bow crafted from one such individual. Due to the presence of the Majister compound and with how accepting the local culture is of Majic many Majical stores can be found in the Raincross district, selling Majical components, gadgets and tools. Many merchants maintain warehouses in the Raincross and South Districts due to their position close to the southern gates, and as such a few merchant stalls can be found there as well, though for most trading needs people go to the Grand Bazaar at the Royal Plaza. Situated in the Oldtown district is a tall stark-white obelisk with a glowing Majical crystal near it's peak in a recess, known as the Dirmuth Obelisk.
Guilds and Factions
Royal Majister's Division: Stationed in the city within a compound of their choosing the RMD serves as a political and military tool of the Queen, and answer directly to her. They look down upon the Justicars and their simple Engraving Majic, though they have a hidden respect for them, as they do so much with so little.
Justices: The few hundred members of the Justices within the Capital struggle alongside the garrison to keep public order, with the increasing population, low stability and resilient criminal underworld.
Noble Houses: Many of the noble houses around Wesia maintain a residence within the capital's Smokegate district in order to keep a diplomatic line open to the Queen and their Royal courtiers. These houses are not an organised force by any means, but are to numerous to count individually.
Wes Adventurer's Guild: Established during the rise of the old Kingdom, the Wes Adventuer's Guild was founded to aid the kingdom in it's constant struggle to keep it's lands safe and free of monsters (whether they be man or beast). While it does maintain Guildhalls in all of the major towns and cities across the Kingdom, it has recently come under fire after it's last Guild Master was found to be colluding with the criminal underworld. Now it fights to maintain it's position against rising calls for it's disbandment, a fight it's new Guild Master must fight every day.
Balian Merchant's Alliance: A vast Guild comprised of merchants all along the Great Balian Range the Merchant's Alliance is a powerful force of merchants, fences, money lenders and information brokers.
History
Initially there was only the Obelisk, created by Fourth Mysterum civil engineers in order to maintain a direct line of communication to the far off capital. Ironically the Obelisk was a troublesome piece of technology that failed constantly, and a small permanent settlement was established at it's base to maintain it's continual functionality. These engineers and their families would be later known as the first settlers of Dirmuth, though their home would not come to any sort of prominence for a long time. When the Cataclysm occurred the strange technical faults in the Dirmuth Obelisk turned out to be their saviour, as many of the other Obelisks detonated as a result of the massive Majical chain reaction. Saved from annihilation and cut off from the Mysterum, Dirmuth had to turn to it's neighbours for aid, something that they were not keen on.
This was, primarily, because they too had just gone through the Cataclysm, and many new technologies no longer functioned, resulting in mass starvation and plagues the likes of which had not been seen since the Interregnum. Thanks to the defensive position Dirmuth was located at and the vast quantities of minerals in it's ground the Dirmuthians managed to strike deals with their neighbours, the other settlements would provide food in exchange for metals and, later, protection. As the years went on and the bonds between neighbours strengthened so to did the number of bandits and monsters in the local area. The now village of Dirmuth was struck by a sudden and terrible raid by the bandits, killing many and stealing a large portion of their crop.
Dirmuth and her peoples were angered by this and would rally the other towns and settlements in the region to arms, utilising their own metal stockpiles and mines to army themselves and take the fight to the bandits. This militia operation should have gone poorly, but the timely arrival of the Wes Adventurer's Guild and their adventures enabled the militia to become a somewhat trained fighting force, with a proper command structure instead of being a mob of peasants. While many did die in the fighting they did manage to cause the bandits to route and flee the region, and Dirmuth was selected as the location for the new Guildhall.
Due to this Dirmuth would grow in size and importance until it became a Barony of it's own right, then dominated it's County and finally was chosen by the local nobility to become the heart of the region, being made the capital of the local Duchy. Since it entered into the vision of the nobility Dirmuth has gone through many wars and many more sieges, though it almost always comes out on top, save for the one time it did not. During the Wesian decline, specifically during the poorly named 'Noble War', a young Baron Dorsite marshalled their force of a few hundred soldiers and marched for the local capital, Dirmuth. This Baron utilised a cave network to gain access to the city, through the lake, and conquered it swiftly and nearly silently that the next day most people did not realise that their city had changed rulers. Those caves were later caved in to prevent another secret assault via the lake, with most knowledge of its entrance being suppressed by the ruling noble. Since then the city has seen many rulers and Kings, though only recently has it become of greater importance as it is now the capital of the entire nation.
Tourism
Like many places across the Charted Realms Dirmuth has an old Fourth Mysterum Era Majical Obelisk, though unlike most of the others the Dirmuth Obelisk is active. Young Majes writing their thesis as well as ancient Majes attempting to unlock lost secrets travel to Dirmuth in surprisingly large numbers, much to the chagrin of the local law enforcement. The Obelisk, along with the picturesque views of the Eastern Basin, also bring merchants and nobles from other lands seeking to admire the beauty of Dirmuth.
Architecture
The buildings within Dirmuth are all multiple stories tall, with many large windows and red-clay tiled roofs. All of these structures have stone brick first floors, with most of the second stories being comprised of wood, though richer citizens have been known to pay for stone secondary stories. The exterior of the stone first floor is decorated with colourful engravings detailing the life and times of it's inhabitants as well as their ancestors/previous inhabitants, often with large areas unused for future generations. Up on the second story exterior a colourful clay can often be found creating sheets of natural colours, sometimes placed in patterns. Internally exposed wooden support columns and a large, central fireplace are common place.
Geography
Situated in the North Balian foothills Dirmuth is situated atop a single large hill that has undergone terraforming to become a large, flat city. The city walls, while fifteen meters high from the exterior of the city are only a dozen or centimetres above the city streets, though it's battlements (both wooden and stone) do still raise a few meters above. Thanks to this the views from the city are breathtaking as it commands a near perfect view over the eastern Wes Basin. Thanks to a natural spring within the city walls a small lake can be found within Dirmuth, which is teeming with fish and crustaceans, a popular spot to visit for outsiders as well as locals, though the restaurants along it's rim are often completely booked weeks in advance.
Natural Resources
Dirmuth has direct access to large fields of grain to it's south, as well as the locally farmed Dilynwr herds. Along it's roads and in the surrounding hills many mines digging for metals such as iron, silver, gold and mithral can be found, the life blood of the city and it's greatest asset. Some Blood-Iron trees grow in small groves near the city, though the local dryads are incredibly volatile and only deal with the woodsmen of the [insert ethnicity here].
Founding Date
3/5/2867
Type
City
Population
35525
Inhabitant Demonym
Dirmuthians
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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