Kindwater
During the Trade Wars, Kindwater was a small backwater trading post south of Haven, on the edge of Human lands. It became a safe haven for deserters and those who objected to the war from both sides. Kindwater was known as a place where Humans, Elph, and Half Giants alike could come to avoid the war and live in peace.
After the fall of Stone, the Elph pursued Humanity back to the territory around Haven. There was a brief pause in the war, as both sides recuperated and counted their loses. Crassus ordered the Stone Breaker to the south, to circle around and enter the plains behind the where the Elph armies were camped on the edge of Haven territory. The only obstacle in their path was Kindwater. As Human forces advanced through the Swamps, preparing to approach the city, the people of Kindwater began harassing the Stone Breaker and his forces. They raided at night in small groups, stealing supplies and sewing chaos among the camps.
As they approached the city, the general resolved to crush the deserters in their path and burn the city to the ground. At the same time a detachment of the Elph army, made primarily of Ghostwood Elph who were used to traversing swamps, advanced on Kindwater from the north. The Elph King had learned of the Stone Breakers gambit and sought to trap the generals army in the swamps, where the Elph army would have the advantage of experience.
The two armies met with Kindwater at their center, and what would go down as the most confusing battle of the war began.
Human and Elph armies advanced through the Swamps on the city of Kindwater, which at the time was little more than a collection of shacks and half floating docks fortified with makeshift walls and towers, and they were met with an army made of veterans from both sides. The deserter army was unexpectedly ferocious. Aided in part by the confusion caused by the presence of three armies, the people of Kindwater were able to repel both armies for several weeks.
Kindwater represented the first time Humans, Elph, and Half Giants fought together. Some historians attribute this blend of forces and fighting techniques to the victory at Kindwater, but most people agree that the people of Kindwater just didn't like being told what to do.
Eventually both the Elph forces and the Stone Breakers army pulled out of Kindwater and fled back to their respective main forces. Kindwater officially declared it’s self an independent city state and claimed a large swath of territory in the swamps and forests south of Haven.
Today Kindwater has a reputation as a city where anyone can come and live how they like. The people of Kindwater do not like being told what to do, and they do not take kindly to people telling others what to do. The only people who can not find a place in Kindwater are Slave Hunters. Though technically Kindwater has the same laws as the other Free Cities regarding slavery, Slave Hunters routinely disappear in the city and its territories, and occasionally reappear minus a few limbs or a head.
In contrast to other Free Cities, Kindwater has very few formal laws, and no real central government. The people of Kindwater enforce what laws they believe are right, and ignore those they believe are wrong.
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