Vunkstag

Capital of the Kingdom of Vunk, the namesake city was not the origin point of a great nation, but like Phurzia, was chosen by agreements among the native peoples to centralise their newly unified power. These organisations were particularly under the ruling Morgveg dynasty, a ruling family of a foreign faith who managed to curb the power of the other clans to form a unified realm and cause the port city to become the capital of their kingdom.
At the end of the Scythe peninsula in the south, Vunkstag therefore has easy access to both the western and eastern coasts of Tzunar, as well as the Yamachai islands to the east, allowing traders from across the known world to meet in its borders. As a result, a not-insignificant foreign community or collection of communities exists, with some merchants gaining enough influence in the city’s running they can rival clan leaders. Vunkstag also has its own National bank, Grand Temple to the White Lion and the headquarters of the Vunkish fleet, all of which play a vital role in the kingdom’s domestic and international affairs.

Demographics

Discounting the native population, a significant number of merchants from across the known world, particularly fishers making use of the cold and oxygenated waters come to trade here.

Government

Effectively an elective monarchy of sorts, the Vunkstag government is constitutional, with the clan leaders and city merchants having substantial say in how the realm is done, with their rights being maintained by the king’s laws. Only members of the Morgveg family may inherit the throne, but the order of sons, nephews or cousins is not quite so. Whoever is elected from among the nobles and merchants is given the lions’ share of the king’s titles and wealth, with excess being given to other candidates to satisfy them before the next election. With the king’s power more limited and dependent on his nobility, the realm is politically more stable generally, though election times can be intense, and with an absence of the taboo or kinslaying in both the White Lion and the native animist faith, relatives may slay one another to remove potential rival candidates.

Defences

With quick raiding ships made from strong bark coated in a waterproof and poisonous residue known as “death’s taste” among the locals, their ships are their main defense against rival rulers from other lands or domestic threats. The residue is the one thing that protects their ships from the deadly aquatic threat known as the Rust, a feral swarm similar to Vrain that consumes anything it comes across in the oceans, making marine travel more difficult.

Geography

At the end of the Scythe Peninsula, the city is surrounded by a harbour and a few miles south of the Clawtip mountain range’s most southern peak, the Straggler. As a result, the city could hardly be in a better strategic position.

Founding Date

-147

Alternative Name(s)

The Pearl in the Snow,

Type

Capital

Population

28,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Capital Vunkish

Location under

Tzunar

Owner/Ruler

Nostroveg II

Ruling/Owning Rank

King

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Vunk

Characters in Location

• Nostroveg II