Farmar

Farmar is truly a beautiful city. Walking through it shows the magical prowess of the Avar Elves. But over my long lifespan I have also not seen it change that much. It is like they are content to leave the ancient city as it is.

— High Sage Syronikir

Walking through Farmar is the closest one can get to replicating the feeling of seeing the ancient Avaronian capital of Bagor. This is only logical as Farmar is the oldest still standing Avar Elven city and became the successor to Bagor after the Avaronian Doom.
Its in white stone paved roads and its buildings with marble decorations give the city a clean but less colourful look. Luckily the roofs in the city are in either blue or green, which gives some nice contrast. But most of the city's atmosphere comes from the magical lights, devices and effect which are present in almost every street.

Niorath

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This map shows the world of Niorath and its various biomes and nations. The north and south pole areas are still rather unexplored because they are frequently covered in ice. Various species live there but they have not played any major role in the history of the planet. The other continents are much more populated and have seen their fair share of changing occupants.

Some areas of the world are quite different from the normal natural biomes. These are chaos areas, region affected by the dangerous Chaos Tempests who can corrupt the land beyond recognition. Many of these are the result of forbidden magic going very wrong and have often meant the end of the empires that performed the related rituals.

Extra Information

Founding Date

2489 BF

Location

Farmar is located in central Farlis next to lake Ereton

Owner

It is currently the capital of Mervidel

Population

989 785

Primary Races

Avar Elves, Half-Elves, Mofae Elves, Gnomes

Known for

Arcane Universities, Ember Falls processing, magical weapon creation, elegant clothing production

Avg. Temperature

19 °C

Districts

College District

The College District is perhaps the most important part of Farmar. It is home to the Archtower and the Arcane College which was built around it. But it is also home to several other places of learning. The second largest univerity here is the Rovaras University with its main focus on history, law, philosophy, art and literature. There is an university dedicated to the sciences but this one is less popular besides perhaps the biology course.

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Old District

As the name would suggest the Old District is one of the oldest areas in the city. Despite its age there are not many building here that are still in the exact same way as they were during the Avaronian Era. This is mainly because the richest part of the population lives here. Over the years they found new ways to show their wealth by either changing interiors or by covering the outer walls in marble and gold accents. At its core, however, the original buildings still remain.

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Sylveri District

On the western side of the College District one can find the Sylveri District. This one is named after the Sylveri hill around which it is constructed. The streets here are a bit smaller but the great views attracted many of the richer Elves in Farmar. In large part this influx of money has created a distinct architectural style which is often seen as the true current Mervidel style. It involves gold trimmed windows and doors and attempts to mimic nature through lack of straight lines.

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Velith District

In comparison to the richer districts, the Velith District is more humble. It is by no degree a poor district but it has a much more rural feel to it as its inhabitants like to use plants as part of the outside decoration. Just like in the Sylveri district there is a lack of straight lines in any winow or door decorations but it does not uses the same expensive materials. In general the buildings also tend to be lower compared to the larger buildings elsewhere in the city. In this district lives the largest amount of Half-Elves.

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Orleni District

The Orleni District can be seen as sort of the commercial district. The largest amount of shops can be found here and many trade with outsiders also occurs here. Several nations have their embassies located here as well. Most recently the Tinkerer Enclave have made a new brance office here which has been well funded by the Arcane College. Because of this the district has also become a bit of the forefront for Magitech in Mervidel.

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Harbour District

Despite Farmar being located near a gate it has quite a large harbor distict. It has a part for the more expensive boats of the rich but also a part for commercial ships. Most trade is done with settlements around the lake such as Tenevar but some smaller vessels also travel upstream towards Am Vorde or downstream towards Aldhir. Besides the harbour itself there is quite a large part of the district dedicated to housing as well.

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History

Founding

Farmar was founded in early Avaronian history. During this time the Avaronians spread out from their home region and after conquering the current Terios region they took the Mervidel region during the Doromir Wars. Although it is not certain, an old Selefer temple could have stood on the current location of the city.
There is a common myth that even before the city itself was founded another building was constructed first, the Archtower. During this time the building was used for magical research but today it also functions as the seat of Mervidel's government. Why exactly the tower would have been build before anything else is kept secret but many theorise that the location was chosen because it is filled with magical potential.
Whether or not the Archtower was contructed first, the city of Farmar had already grown into an important settlement by the time other parts of current Mervidel were colonised. Due to the size of Lake Ereton a harbour was already constructed early on which allowed Farmar to easily transport goods between the other settlements of around the lake.

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Selefer Wars

The city would continue to grow for many years but as it was still located near Selefer territories some measurements had to be taken. To prevent any large scale forces to quickly march towards Farmar the Handerlith Wall was constructed. This wall served its purpose well as the Selefer attempted to march towards Farmar several times but were forced to take a longer route as the Handerlith Wall proved unconquerable.
However, eventually the Selefer moved the border once again closer to Farmar during the Sanderlith Wars. During these wars the Empire lost its border region around Am Vorde and Tenevar and would only reclaim it several decades later. Once the area was reconquered a new wall was constructed in the Sanderlith mountain pass which would last until the final war between the Selefer and Avaronians. Despite the Avaronians best efforts the Selefer managed to reach and besiege Farmar. Luckily the attack was repelled, an event which would mark the start of the Selefer's final defeat.

Avaronian Era

After the defeat of the Selefer, the Avaronian Empire descended into civil war which let to a split of the Avaronian teritorries. Farmar became the capital of Isdim during this time. During its 200 year existence Isdim expanded further west but eventually it was reconquered by the Empire.
Over the course Avaronian Era Farmar only grew in size and quickly became the second largest population center in the Empire. Even though Isdim was no more a somewhat different culture took root which still lasts to this day.

After the Doom

When the Avaronian Empire ended due to the Avaronian Doom many of the survivors fled towards Farmar. The city could not expand fast enough for the new population influx which caused a large slums to sprout around the city. It would take several decades to fully remedy the issue but eventually Farmar came out on top and grew larger than ever before. For the new capital of Avaronia, the successor nation, many new governmental buildings were consructed during this period in time.
This growth would last until the Covenant War after which Farmar's population started to stagnate. This caused the city to not change much over the last few centuries.

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Landmarks

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Arch Tower

In the ancient center of Farmar one can find a tower which has been part of the city for so long nobody remembers when it was created. Some say that the Archtower even came before the founding of the city itself. Whatever its true origin is it is still a marvel to behold. The outside of the tower was never changed which makes it by far the best way to know what the ancient Avaronian cities would have been like.
The interior on the other hand is ever changing. As new forms of magic were discovered the inside was renewed with the latest new magical innovation. Today it is a true marvel to behold thanks to gravity defying waterfalls, moving platforms and exotic plantlife.
The Archcollege was constructed around it not much later but has been renewed many times over the long existence of the city. Today the tower still functions as a place for studying magic but it also houses the Council of Colleges, the governing body of Mervidel.