The Township of Querra (Kwair-ah)
Also called "The city of Scholars", Querra is an absolutely massive city of free-thinkers and wise-men. It's made up of three smaller cities, also called the three "districts": The Chaos Sector, Port Balancia, and The Savant Quarter, with the "Court of the Council" being in the latter.
Visitors are met immediately with massive walls and armed guard gates. The towers extend hundreds of feet into the air, and any newcomers get the sense that any army sieging this city is doomed to fail.
It's streets are paved with porcelain and tile, its lanterns are always lit, and it has the second biggest port on the Northern Continent. The city is thriving. Newcomers get a sense of awe as everything moves in the city like clockwork, but they would also be given dirty looks and curious stares as anyone new in the city either has to have a political reason for being, be a part of a caravan or merchant party, or be accepted in one of the 3 Universities and therefore in the process of citizenship.
Structure
Querra is divided into three districts and each district has a different School of Thought and their own seat on "The High Council". They are ultimately responsible for everything Querra does - what is researched, taxes, what is imported/exported, political relations, etc.
Directly under the High Council is "Seekers of 9". This group of 9 people are comprised of 3 of each House and are chosen by the current Representatives on The High Council. The Board takes care of the more mundane things like judicial decisions, what is taught in their respective Schools, trade, and managing The Coin Guard. The weightiest responsibility though, is choosing the next Representative from their respective Houses come election time or should the current one die.
Querran law states that every 10 years the seats on The High Council come up for election. On paper, this ensures the scholars each have a chance at representing their house on equal ground and helps deter long-term political agendas, but in practice, its usually given to the person currently holding it provided they are still alive and haven't done something to upset their house.
The High Council takes a vote whenever any order of business has to be done. The vote is by popular vote among the council and is usually settled with a tiebreaker. The Seekers propose new legislature, judicial action, or any other business when they all meet together. The High Council pick the Seekers, and the Seekers pick the High Council.
After the High Council and the Seekers of 9, each House maintains their own order in their districts:
The Savants house and protect the Court of the Council, keep knowledge that is technical and sophisticated, and control about half of the markets.
House Chaos is responsible for the City-State's scouts and Ambassadors, guarding knowledge that is too dangerous for common men, house the City's largest Inn, and control the other half of the markets.
Port Balancia is, of course, responsible for housing the Port, the Courts, control the largest area, and also keep the barracks for the Coin Guard.
Under that, the Coin Guard has authority. The Mercenary Army that Querra employs full-time remain an entity outside Querra, but have all the power of a full-fledged Querran military.
Culture
Querra is, at its heart, a combination of universities. All of the people in Querra are interested in the pursuit of knowledge be it technical, forbidden, or practical. The three Houses or districts teach vaguely similar was of understanding information, but very different ways of acquiring it.
The Savant Philosophy is "Knowledge Through Study". Savants are usually well versed in technical knowledge and perform experiments in the traditional sense to expand on that knowledge. They believe in becoming masters of all that has already been learned before expanding on it. A typical Savant then will be incredibly well-read and usually versed in several written languages and have a good understanding of ancient hieroglyphs.
Savants also believe that the mind itself can overcome any challenge and that the right answer should be made, in spite of emotional attachment or personal cost. This is intended to make Savants titans of logic, but in practice it usually makes them very virtuous people who will do anything for honor, in spite of logic.
The Chaotic Philosophy is "Knowledge Through Trial". Chaosians believe that the hardships of life are the best teacher and although they don't intentionally put themselves in positions of hardship, only accept members who have done so. They frequently send aspiring students on pilgrimages and scour the world for ancient and forbidden knowledge. A typical Chaosian, then, would be one of few people who know of the Lorkin, although they would never speak of it.
Chaosians teach that if a person has endured sufficient hardships, whatever choice they make is the right one. On paper, this makes them look open-minded and accepting, in reality however, this usually makes Chaosians bitter and proud of their own accomplishments.
The Balancian Philosophy is "Knowledge Through Error", which may seem similar to Chaos to the outsider. This couldn't be farther from the truth - Balancian's teach APPLIED knowledge, learning by doing, and to be very hands-on. They are the Querrans people typically meet in their own home towns as they believe in traveling and experiencing the world in a very practical way. A typical Balancian, then, would be a jack-of-all-trades, with a little skill in many fields - especially those like ship-handling, linguistics, navigation, and trades/crafts that require someone to be good with their hands and/or adventurous.
Balancian's are always ready for an adventure and believe everyone can teach them something - and are hungry to learn it. However, they have a fierce disapproval for help in the actual DOING of the task. They believe each person should be as independent as possible and instruct their children this way as well, teaching them that they reach adulthood at 7-8 years old with the responsibilities that caries. Some zealous members have even been known to kick their children out of their homes at that age.
The Coin Guard was a scattered group of leftover mercenaries from The Great Spanch War comprised of Vahlic, Spanch, and Sho Chi-Xu fighters that decided to stay in Querra. They legitimized themselves by banding together and forming the Coin Guard and were "loyal only to the coin", however, after the years went on these not-so-scholarly types eventually had families and became Querran.
The Coin Guard is comprised from those who, upon reaching adulthood, find the scholarly life not for them. Although they are indeed citizens, The Coin Guard remains independent of Querra and have even been known to take on odd jobs for other kingdoms and organizations for enough gold...
Public Agenda
Querra is strictly neutral in all wars in order to further their scientific pursuits, remaining a safe place for those seeking to expand their knowledge. Gaining access to the city is difficult because Querra only accepts scholarly minds - those seeking entry either have to have a reason for being there shortly, and of course, enough money to buy entry, or make a case for citizenship and be approved by the Seekers of 9.
History
Organized about 100 years after Inglaand, Querra was originally an attempt at peace and trade between Span'ce and Southern Inglaand. As a new settlement under the control of Span'ce, Querra facilitated trade from the incredibly prosperous region in the days before the Great Desolation. This quickly became a thriving business, even securing trade from other continents as well, becoming a bustling port.
Although most products were shipped on to the rest of the Spanch region, Querra continued to grow and gain prosperity. This growth fueled expansion as well as the city's evolution. For the next 50 years Querra focused more on acquiring knowledge from overseas as well as locally, becoming a vault of knowledge and trade from several different lands. This action begins the founding of the largest library of technical knowledge as well as the first ever school in Querra, the Mystic Institute.
During the days of the Great Spanch War, the Mayor and other leaders of Querra got to know the leaders and traders of the Al-Zha'ad Alliance, Span'ce's allies in the war. This relationship flowered as more and more information was traded between the Querrans and the travelers and soldiers from Al-Zha'ad. Information like the flora and fauna of Rel'kia was carefully chronicled by a group of Querrans who initially sought to create a world encyclopedia. They would trade their goods and knowledge of local places of stretegic value for plants and wildlife to study further. Eventually though, they learned of the Ancient Ruins that Zaaliq was built on, and became Querra's first ever Expedition.
This was frowned on by the Spanch powers that be, but they allowed it due to the party's lack of military prowess. That Exhibition would go on to discover that Zaaliq was one of the best preserved Great Cities of Ancient Kaldra, and could therefore provide much insight into her history. This team of scholars also found something the head researcher described as "Knowledge Unholy". That Scholar also went on to describe how their Al-Zha'ad partners demanded that it be taken back with them and proclaimed to want no part of it. This was the first talks of the alliance between Querra herself and Al-Zha'ad. Together, the scholars from both kingdoms founded a university to pass on the teachings of Sacred Duty and keeping power too great out of the hands of evil men. So, the Chaos University was born.
At the end of the war the leaders of Querra, assisted by their new friends in Al-Zha'ad, petitioned the leaders of Span'ce for their independence. This Diplomatic caravan was filled with all of the treasures and goods Querra could offer at the time - leaving them penniless. Span'ce, in dire need of the resources after the war, accepted Querra's offer, to the Querrans surprise.
Much needed to be done at this point. With no food, little resources, and no hope for a treasury, Querra was free... but broke. Trade routes were immediately formed and a permanent alliance struck with Al-Zha'ad. It was slow, rebuilding the city up from nothing. Especially since the leaders of the Mystic Institute and Chaos University were constantly at odds. The Mystics knew that they would have to travel, trade, and move around to rebuild their storehouses, while the Chaosians remained stubborn that they would never leave Querra - even on a trade mission.
This didn't sit right with many of both parties, who had to face their starving families. That was when a group of adventurous Querrans boarded a boat and headed for adventure - promising to bring their families back all the riches they could. Their adventures on the high seas would be the chronicled in song and spun by troubadours in all the lands.
And suddenly, every trader, merchant, and sailor wanted to be Querran or at least come to the ports there to trade their goods. This was the beginning of Balanica, the university, and the ports which quickly became one of the biggest on the continent.
It didn't take long for Querra to become the richest and one of the most prevalent cities in Kaldra.
For the pursuit of Wisdom
3rd Day of the 11th month, 630 AF - 31st day of the 12th month, 870 AF
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Alternative Names
City of Scholars
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Querran
Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Democracy, Parliamentary
Economic System
Traditional
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Alliance
Alliance
A marriage-alliance pact exists between the two factions.
Trade Alliance
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