Enderwild

Trade hub of the high plains

I've looked into the cosmic blackness of the void and seen the moon's pearl in the cradle of chaos. It hums and vibrates in secret frequencies that echo through me. I am its instrument. As the shifting tide waters answer the moon's unseen power, I am pushed and pulled. Feeling its vibrations I imitate them and speak words of prophecy.

Under clearest night sky I see bright moonshine upon the city of Enderwild. I see a land at the edge of a wasteland, at the end of the world, where order unravels and opposites meet: where man meets beast, light meets shadow, life meets death. Some say that by day the moon descends in the fields of Enderwild and spreads its silver in the high plains. Perhaps that is why the Silver Clans once worshiped the moon. Did the moon speak to them as it speaks to me now? I speak of mysteries.

— Mun-Ra of Azoturia

Demographics

The people of the Silver Clans are largely nomadic and subsist through herding and hunting on the great plains north of Enderwild. Social status is earned through successful hunting and courageous exploits (such as bravery in battle or notable service to community).

A core population of 2000 residents hold their dwellings in Enderwild throughout the year in permanent sandstone dwellings. Among this core population are the merchants, traders, and craftsmen who sustain the trade routes that are so very vital to the economy of the Silver Clans.

All other residents take up temporary lodging in their movable yurts. At the height of the summer season the population of assembled nomads pushes 10000, and the sprawl of tents and foraging herds stretches for miles away from Enderwild in all directions

Government

The nine tribes of the Silver Clan are each ruled independently by their own designated chieftains and councils. These local chiefs are responsible for administering law and seeing to the day-to-day needs of the people within their own regional domains. In order to establish common laws, manage shared resources, resolve disputes between tribes, and organize common defence of the people, the Silver Clan tribes convene a council known as the Court of the Silver Raven, which meets in Emberwild to conduct its business.

Emberwild itself is under the direct control of no single clan. Instead, the city is considered the commonweal of the entire clan and is thus governed directly by the Court of the Silver Raven, who make judicial rulings on matters within Emberwild's local jurisdiction. Executive power is retained by a council leader, called “Xhan.” Chosen annually, the Xhan of the clans handles the quotidian administration of city affairs. The current Xhan position is occupied by a an elder warrior known as Moxammatsa, newly elected to deal with the recent incursion of Vril warriors into the Pachuco Jungle.

Defences

The approaches to Enderwild are defended by a series of hilltop fortifications called tower keeps. These defensive structures consist of a stone curtain wall and a forty-foot high bailey tower capable of overseeing vast stretches of land. Positioned to guard the main roads in and out of Enderwild, the tower keeps are equipped with long-range bolt-throwing weapons that can threaten enemy columns from a distance of over 400 yards. as well as flaming beacons used to send signals about emerging enemy threats to the other tower keeps and allow the Raven Court to muster counter forces to engage besieging armies before they can penetrate Enderwild's defensive perimeter and threaten the way points and forage lands of the silver flats (interior plain of the Enderwild domain).

The center of the city is home to the Raven Citadel, a stone keep built upon a cliff overlooking the plains of Enderwild. The citadel is directly adjacent to Enderwild's busy river port and market district. These critical assets are protected within a fortified wooden palisade that separates the permanent settlement of Enderwild from the surrounding herd lands. The palisade is bolstered by a series of wooden garrison forts that ring Enderwild's citadel defences and house the city's permanent garrison of Spear-Guards (militia infantry) and Raven-Riders (light cavalry).

Industry & Trade

Much of the value of the Silver Clan economy derives from Enderwild's position at the crossroad of significant trade routes. Pachuco merchants move their goods north on the Vale River to market in Enderwild on the shores of the Silver Lake, where traders from many neighboring lands come to do business. For example, the northern Gila River Pass connects the Silver Lake and High Plains with the Forbidden Zone realms of Terragar, mountain stronghold of the Northern Zone, and Doxima, the City of Two Suns. The Silver Clans also welcome merchants from the savage lands of Vrelland, who have been known to sell unusual technological and mystical wares available no where else but the great market of Enderwild.

The Silver Clan exerts regional control over the Silver Lake and regulates the passage of foreign goods on it much as they regulate the roads of the High Plains. All traders are welcome to ply the rivers and shores of Silver Lake in search of profit, but all must pay duty to the trade wardens of Enderwild.

Those unwilling to pay these taxes have been known to contract local Emberwild agents to operate on their behalf. These agents are known as merchant chiefs and they operate with exemption from Enderwild's trade levies. The service of these merchant chiefs is in high demand and the Court of the Silver Raven only sanctions forty-five chiefs to operate at any time. The letter of sanction conveying the very exclusive title of merchant chief is a heritable honour and dearly coveted by all peoples of the Silver Clan.

Infrastructure

The most impressive technical feat achieved by the Silver Clan must surely be their advanced network of roads. Made from ancient stones quarried from abandoned Precursor settlements, these roads facilitate travel between tribal lands and support trade routes across the high plains into the lands of Terragar, Kilran, and Vrelland.

Use of these roads improves overland travel speed by a factor of 1.25. Outlanders, peoples foreign to the Silver Clan tribes, must pay duties on all goods transported on these roads. The basic tax is equal to 5% of everything put on the road at the starting point of the journey and a further 5% of everything arriving at the journey's end. Foreign travelers must obtain road permits before embarking on the roads and cannot receive permits until the initial 5% is paid. All goods are subject to seizure during transit if a required permit cannot be presented upon demand. Goods will be seized at journey's completion if the second fee is not voluntarily paid.

Assets

The tunnels beneath the citadel of Enderwild contain a great granary that is used to store an immense reserve of grain and cornmeal. This surplus is held in common by all of the Silver Star tribes, who keep the reserve in case of an extended period of warfare. Traditionally the Enders of the Silver Clan have subsisted during wartime by moving armies of soldiers alongside their mobile herds of sheep, goats, and cattle. In this way the Silver Clan's war rations walk with them during their marches.

This practice has proven effective through the centuries but the Silver Clan fears the consequences of a long campaign during a bad weather period of poor grazing. To counter this hypothetical circumstance, they have compiled enough grain to feed an army of 4000 foot and 2000 cavalry for 24 moon cycles. So long as Enderwild remains uncaptured, the warriors of the High Plains can sustain themselves for nearly two full years without resorting to scavenge or forage.

Guilds and Factions

Downers White Horns Zelenas Rewan

Enderwild

Alternative Name(s)

Silver City

Type

Large town

Population

2000-10000 depending on the season. Currently 4000.

Inhabitant Demonym

Enders