Jeharoa
Jeharoa is a city in Nioa located on a plateau in the Migdal Mashiq between the Blinding Cliffs and the Sea of Brass. It is one of the oldest mortal settlements in the known world and believed to be a sacred nexus where the gods of the Heavenly Council and the Kōsite faiths once walked as men.
Jeharoa has changed hands many times over the millennia, besieged, captured, and even razed. Yet the city has persevered and rebuilt itself each time, forging a unique blended culture from a thousand fragments. It was originally constructed by the petty kings of the Mashiq during the Mithril Era and was a vassal of the Temekanian Empire.
Demographics
Government
Monarchy (city-state)
Industry & Trade
IMPORTS: woolen textiles; weapons; grain (in wartime timber;
EXPORTS: citrus; sugar; olives (oil grapes (wine dates; barley; wheat; blessed goods;
Guilds and Factions
Few gnolls live in Jeharoa, preferring the freedom that living in the countryside provides. The gnolls keep to their own gods. They have also suffered under Pilgrim rule, as they are now considered second-class citizens ineligible for many rights afforded to humanoids. As a result, many have been recruited by the Qartagonians, who vow to grant them renewed prosperity under the law. They act as scouts and conduct raids on Mashiqi and Pilgrim run villages to help support the Qartagonian cause.
History
Though not the oldest city on Holos, Jeharoa has remained one of the most important across millennia. In the time before the Mithril Era, when history is but a patchwork of myth and story, the first race of beings—the aasimar—were molded from clay on Mount Jeharoa. They were born from the womb of Porcia/b] and baked in the light of Uriah and took their first steps where the city would one day stand. A great and idyllic union between god and creation was formed and lasted an uncountable number of years. However, with the fall of Rheseldar, the betrayal of Zaguna, and the rampage of Valdra came the War of the Dawn when fallen aasimar and their dark patrons battled the true sons and daughters of the Heavenly Council. The elder races of elves, gnomes, dwarves, dragonborn, and tiefling were forged during this tumult, as were the goblinoids and an untold number of monstrous beings. It is said that much of the fighting was done in Nioa and caused the land to buckle and bend into the deep valleys and sheer cliffs the mark the region today.
Later, after the fallen deities had been defeated and sealed away, the Heavenly Council gathered at Mount Jeharoa and one by one ascended to the holy plane known as the Celestial Mountains. With the ascension of the gods came the Mithril Era, when great kingdoms of magic were crafted and heroes battled the remaining monsters unleashed during the War of the Dawn. Jeharoa at this time was founded as a holy site of pilgrimage and first kings of Jeharoa, the Ashkelon Dynasty, was established. The city remained independent for many centuries, though at times it fell within the Temekanian Empire's sphere of influence. At one point, the city was sacked during an ill-fated rebellion against the Temekanian Empire, but was quickly rebuilt and infused with Temekanian architectural elements and culture.
The Palladian Empire, having been the first to truly harness the vestigial powers of the Heavenly Council, rose and ushered in the Palladian Era. Despite their auspicious benefactors, the Palladians sacked Jeharoa when the last Ashkelonian, Queen Mizrim, refused to bend the knee. Much of the Mithril Era’s architecture and art was plundered and destroyed, as was the most important holy site in the city—the Sunstair. Following the rise of the Palladian Empire, Jeharoa became an important part of the Empire’s holdings with each Heir to the Emperor making a solemn pilgrimage to the city and the ruined Sunstair before their coronation. Despite beginning as a conquered ruin, the Palladians worked hard to make Jeharoa a true jewel in their collection of ancient cities. Without question, the citizens of Jeharoa reveled in the Palladian Golden Age and reaped the majority of its benefits.
However, despite the wealth that flowed into Jeharoa, unrest caused by the continued expansion of Palladian Empire continued to grow throughout the region. The Shanindar dwarves to the north continued to resist the Palladian Empire’s influence and the dragonborn taken as slaves throughout Nioa continued to suffer under the yokes of their Imperial masters. When the Sundering Arcana occurred, a great number of slaves revolted and sacked cities from Tanis to Whitehill. Jeharoa was no exception. Much of the western half of the city was completely consumed by flame and ash when a portal to the Plane of Fire was opened. The slaves, whom had formed a new government based in Qartago, then took the ash-covered Jeharoa as their own, and installed a dragonborn emir to rule over the territory. Like the Palladians before them, the Qartagonian Emirates, rebuilt the city but with a few changes. Slavery was outlawed and those who followed the Heavenly Council were forced to pay a tax. The Qartagonians themselves were largely followers of Kōs, a neutral draconic deity that was unconnected to the Heavenly Council.
For the next three hundred years, the Qartagonians ruled Jeharoa with a firm yet peaceful hand. New temples to both Kōs and the gods of the Heavenly Council were constructed as were inns, stables, and marketplaces that catered to the traveling faithful. The rest of the world became accustomed to the dragonborns’s newfound power and Qartagonian became the lingua franca of the Mashiq. Qartagonian dragonborn even expanded into Savia, taking much of the region’s northern coast and setting up a new emirate based at Cape Amberfall.
In 302 PSA, the first true test of the Emirate’s confederacy came when a necromancer called Alkazidya or ‘the Shambling One’ appeared in the Ghostdune Desert north of the Niru River Valley. A mighty sandstorm swept through the valley and destroyed much of the Qartagonians’ crops. Despite this dire news, several of the emirates located in the Mashiq did not believe that it was a reasonable threat. They refused to come to the defense of their fellow Qartagonians and remained in the Mashiq. Meanwhile, the Shambling One wrecked havoc and nearly destroyed the capital of Qartago. In fact, it was only the intervention of a group of dwarven mercenaries from the Shanindar that prevented the Shambling One from completely obliterating the most important city in the alliance. Following the destruction of the necromancer’s forces, the emirs of the Niru Valley, the Marrow Desert, and the Ghostdunes declared war on the emirs of the Mashiq. Though few battles were actually fought during the Qartagonian Civil War, the conflict prevented the Mashiqi emirs from mounting a full throated defense of their lands come the Pilgrim Crusade.
In 306 PSA, three young nobles—Prince Lothair the Fair of Reikerk, Lady Alysaria the Lioness of Bellacre; and Prince Rainard the Abdicate of Cavalon—gathered together a force of 30,000 troops. Many of these soldiers had never fought before and were really just pilgrims seeking to visit the Mashiq and its important sites. They were recruited as the army marched—first from the small town of Beacon, up through Reikerk and Faleret along what is now known as the Pilgrim Road. Importantly, however, around 5,000 of them were trained fighters with experience not only in warfare but also in monster hunting. These warriors had cut their teeth driving the remaining goblinoids and beastfolk west to Czeršia and had also, in some ways, been radicalized into believing that any non-humanoid was an abominable being.
When the army reached Solstice, the main port with access to Nioa, the three leaders of the crusade—collectively referred to as ‘the Miraculous Three’—called for all of the army’s livestock and weapons to be sold so they could purchase passage on ships. This caused many of the soldiers to desert, leaving only a force 15,000 strong. Despite this, the travelers now called by all who encountered them, the Grand Pilgrim Army, obtained passage across the Sea of Brass and arrived in Iskendra.
In Iskendra, the Empress Zena Dardannos pledged to aid the Pilgrims by sending her army, the Legion of Kanesh, with them if the Pilgrims agreed to help the Imperium of Iskendra retake several important fort towns in the Kanesh peninsula. The Miraculous Three reluctantly agreed and set out from Iskendra with a bolstered force. This aid from the Iskendrans proved to be a great asset to the Pilgrims, though not because of their manpower. As the Grand Pilgrim Army took the fort towns of Melitan, Perga, and Damizon, the Mashiqi emirs thought that the invading army was simply a renewed effort by the Iskendrans and not some larger threat. When the Grand Pilgrim Army emerged from the Bashari Timberlands, the Mashiqi were largely unprepared. Additionally, during this march through Kanesh, one of the beloved Miraculous Three—Lothair the Fair—was killed while fording a stream during an ambush.
The Pilgrims took Bosra-By-The-Sea in 308 PSA with relative ease. In 309 PSA, the Pilgrims attacked Alameen, the largest city in the Mashiq. After a long and bloody siege, the Pilgrims captured the city, losing some 10,000 men in the process. However, one of the emir’s sons had hid his forced in foothills of the Sulfur Sea and attacked while the walls of the city were still being repaired. The Pilgrims were sure all hope was lost, when Lady Alysaria the Lioness led a daring charge against the reinforcements. The Lioness broke through the battlelines, killing scores of Qartagonians before confronting the enemy commander and slaying him and his wyvern mount. Though gravely injured, this act of bravery rallied the Pilgrim defenders allowing them to snatch victory once more.
Finally, in 311 PSA, the remaining forces of the Pilgrims surrounded the last Qartagonian holdfast in Jeharoa. The siege of the city lasted months years, with much of the civilian population and the Qartagonian defenders dying of disease and hunger. Many of the Pilgrims perished as well, as their siege works were sabotaged by kobold sappers and their camp was constantly attacked by nomadic gnoll cackles hired by the emir. During this period, Lady Alysaria continued to recover from her wounds and gave birth to a son, whom she named Jehoriah. Alysaria then agreed with Rainard to split the captured territory between themselves and two of their commanders—Lord Fulk I of Clarilet and Sir Tarwin the Bold.
Finally, Prince Rainard and his men breached the city walls. After five years of backbreaking toil and devastating warfare, the Pilgrims had made it to their destination. Pent-up frustration, and zealous rage was unleashed upon not only the Qartagonian defenders, but also the Mashiqi civilian population. The Pilgrim warriors ran through the streets like packs of wolves chasing sheep. Rainard and a detachment even cornered a large group of Mashiqi, including women and children at the Sunstair temple complex. When asked how they should determine who was Kōsite and who followed the Council, Rainard reportedly said, “What does it matter? They got in the way all the same.” Then he and his men butchered everyone inside.
For days, the city burned. Lady Alysaria, from her place in the camp, was reportedly horrified by what she saw. When the smoke cleared was over, Alysaria and Rainard held a service for the fallen Pilgrims outside the Sunstair temple. They then convened a meeting with their commanders and the high ranking prisoners taken during the battle. A disagreement occurred and sources differ on the exact nature of the exchange. Some say it had to do with how to deal with the captured Qartagonian commanders. Others say Alysaria confronted Rainard over his bloodlust. However, when the meeting was over, Rainard and his loyal household guard gathered together outside the city. They then marched to Alameen and then north through the Mashiqi Gates and into the Marrow Desert. Their apparent goal was to take more Qartagonian settlements in the Marrow and eventually capture Qartago itself. However, within months, none had heard from the company and they were assumed to have been lost to the sands.
With Rainard gone, the Mashiq was divided between Lady Alysaria, Lord Fulk, Sir Tarwin, and Gisela; an Iskendran woman who’d married one of the leading captains of the Battle for Jeharoa. The captain died later from his wounds. Lady Alysaria took Jeharoa and became Queen Alysaria the Lioness. Fulk took Tyria and became King Fulk of the Rock. Sir Tarwin became Prince Tarwin the Bold of Alameen, and Gisela became Princess Gisela of the Poppies, after the Poppy River that flowed out of Bosra. For the past fifty years, the Pilgrim nobility of the Mashiq have continued to attempt to assert their dominance over the region to varying degrees of success. The dangerous and unstable nature of the region has caused a great many of them to die, forcing a great deal of intermarriage to ensure Pilgrim control.
Recently, the internal squabbling of the Qartagonians has become muted and a new generation of emirs has come to power. Incensed at the barbaric plundering of the Mashiqi cities, the Qartagonians have rallied a large force comprised of warriors from across Nioa. After months of reconnaissance and light aerial raids, the dragonborn unleashed their new wyvernier air force and massive armies on Alameen and then on Bosra, capturing the cities and executing their leaders. The renewed conflict has caused many of the dormant Pilgrim Orders to issue new calls to arms both in Nioa and across the Sea of Brass. Iskendra has also been dragged into the conflict, with an aerial blockade preventing trade from entering the Mashiq and the Kanesh peninsula. Only a handful of forts and cities remain in the hands of the Pilgrims and their leaders have begun to draw up plans to weather the invasion and take the fight to the dragonborn.
Entering Jeharoa
Through the morning haze, you see a great series of great mounts rise from the barley fields and fallow earth like a fleet of ships on the horizon. As the skies clear, you see first the twinkling lights of morning fires. Then, your vision focuses. Alabaster minarets pierce the clouds. Domes of brass shine like second suns and obscure a great ring of stone and clay buildings. The road before you rises up to a great circle of stone walls and a gate flanked by a pair of larger-than-life sandstone elephant statues. Even the outskirts are filled with souls. Shepherds and herdsmen count their animals before choosing the best to be taken into the city’s markets. Kenku flocks and kobold collectives offer food and water to weary travelers. A dozen children of a dozen foreign races chase each other between the crowds. By far the largest groups you pass are the Pilgrims. Most are common folk, peasants desperate to see where their creators last walked among them. They are tired, sunburnt, dust covered folk. You see a few ancient elders carried on stretchers, their milky eyes searching for one final sign before they meet the divine. You see some in prayerful procession; they raise standards with the symbol of their god before prostrating themselves before the city walls. As these throngs of worshippers enter the city, you see dozens of Pilgrims on horseback. They wear heavy iron plate and an assortment of dented helms. Over the plate you see tabards once died a myriad of colors; now they are stained and ragged. Yet between the armor you catch smiles and congratulatory shouts—they thank the heavens for their safe journey and eagerly march towards the great elephant gates. Inside, you find yourself in a city of cities. Pilgrim shops rest atop Qartagonian ruins. Qartagonian houses hug fallen Palladian marbles. You even pass obelisks and solid palisades that must date back to before the Mithril Era. Faded banners and awnings flutter over the narrow, weaving streets and alleyways. The streets themselves are cobblestones, uneven and slick even in the sun; worn smooth by the centuries. It is somehow warmer in the shaded streets than in the countryside. Little air moves through the city and many places stink with the sweat and funk of thirty-thousand souls. Here and there a breeze can be felt, usually coming off the gurgling of a public fountain. Not a patch of the city seems unoccupied and not an inch of it not covered in dust, grime, or some traveler’s bum. There are a few gardens, orchards, and fields inside the walls, but even they are filled with workers and animals. A rare olive tree or hardy sycamore adorns a few blessed corners but they are always occupied by at least one person taking a rest.Maps
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Jeharoa (map)
A map of the city of Jeharoa in 362 SE
Alternative Name(s)
The Throne of Heaven
Type
Large city
Population
30,000 citizens; ~4,200 transient
Inhabitant Demonym
Jeharoan
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Related Plots
A golden sun disk flanked by a pair of golden seraphim wings on a black field
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