Liesech
Geography/Topography
History
Rise and Apogee
The Bouwengracht family has tacitly reigned in Liesech since its very beginning as a citystate. Back when Liesech was just a large fishing village, Otto Bouwengracht was an ambitious fisherman who direly desired a better, wealthier life. His ambition led him to fish further out in the bay. When he eventually reached the area at the centre of the bay, known as the Eye of the Sea, he came upon an otherworldly creature called the Filth Grazer. The creature felt the fisherman’s ambition and offered him a bargain; she promised advice and access to superior intelligence that would help Bouwengracht raise a superb coastal city, the most wealthy ever known. In exchange, what she asked seemed very little in the eyes of Otto Bouwengracht: the filth of the city.
She wanted to eat all the rubbish produced by the city, including the corpses of the dead. Otto Bouwengracht’s part of the bargain was to instate a cult that would secretly serve the creature’s gluttony under the guise of blessing the sea for all the wealth it provided to the city.
Otto Bouwengracht accepted. True to the creature’s word, he quickly became a famous businessman whose wealth boosted the development of Liesech. He developed tremendously advanced techniques to expand the territory of Liesech, constructing channels and ditches that would prevent floods and optimise transport and logistics. Naval construction also accelerated, and under the Bouwengracht family's rule, Liesech became a major maritime power in only a few generations. They began sending more ships across the seas to explore and gather wealth, and after a few more generations, Liesech had reached a state of wealth and opulence that no one in Etharis could ignore.
That was the moment when the Bürach Empire turned its imperial gaze on the small city. Liesech had become a major trade hub between the nearby regions of Etharis, especially the Bürach Empire and the Charneault Kingdom. These two powers benefited greatly from the improved trade routes, but the Bürach Empire couldn’t bear the taxes applied on all the supplies that passed through Liesech’s harbour. The Charneault Kingdom, on the other hand, favored Liesech’s independence, fearing that an annexation would worsen their position.
Annexation by the Bürach Empire
The Bürach Empire could not leave Liesech in peace, fearing their autonomy might inspire independence movements inside the empire. Leading Bürach aristocrats made a deal with the countess Analita von Raiza, a powerful vampire who was held captive in the Bürach Empire. In return for her freedom, she was to enter Liesech and use her vampiric powers to take control of the Bouwengracht family. Once done, she would open the city to the annexation. Knowing that most vampires crave to hold power over territory and a population, the Bürach aristocrats hoped this bargain would let them absorb Liesech’s wealth while keeping Analita von Raiza under control. They were right, but not entirely.
The Red Morning
Analita von Raiza was a higher vampire, allowing her to notice the magic in action around Liesech, and in particular the Bouwengracht family. It did not prevent her from fulfilling her mission, but shortly after the annexation—and once she understood where the strange magic around Bouwengracht family came from—she saw an opportunity to strike a blow against the Bürach Empire and spoil the jewel that she had so compliantly handed to her former gaoler.
On the morning of the next annual ceremony of the Nurturing Sea, the entire Bouwengracht family was found slaughtered, their blood entirely drained out.
The Weeping Pox
The bargain between the Filth Grazer and Bouwengracht family was therefore broken, and Analita would not allow it to continue in any other form for she wanted to replace the creature’s influence over the city with her own. But the ancient creature was cunning, and enacted revenge against both the Bouwengracht family and the vampire: it infected the corpses of the Bouwengracht with the virulent Weeping Pox. The Bouwengracht family was given a lavish funeral inside the Froth Church, the main church of Liesech, and the disease spread from there to devastating effect.
Analita von Raiza had not expected the Filth Grazer to give the city up easily, but she was nevertheless furious to see her new flock die by the thousands. She was immune to the pox and powerful enough to challenge the creature. A terrible battle ensued. The fight lasted for an entire day and caused giant tides which wreaked havoc on the harbour. At the end of the day Analita von Raiza came back, exhausted but alive. None know for sure who won the encounter or if the Filth Grazer exists, but Analita has never returned to the Eye of the Sea. Instead she spends most of her days within her den atop the High Belfry, the highest building and main place of power in Liesech.
As the Weeping Pox spread quickly in the city, the Bürach Empire deployed troops outside to place Liesech under quarantine. However, it was too late, as they learned later that the disease had already spread outside Liesech.
Symptoms
The symptoms of the Weeping Pox are both an eloquent manifestation of the Filth Grazer’s devious mind and a metaphor for Liesech’s course in history. At first a sick person will be subject to fever causing sharpened senses, overexcitement, and a sense of wellbeing. But soon these symptoms will transition to delirium, burning fever, insatiable thirst, and weltering lesions that have given the illness its name. Beyond this, nearly all who contract the disease die shortly after. Most people succumb to the pox in a few days while the most resilient may hold on for almost two weeks.
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Culture and the Mundane
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