Zennon
If the Zennonaize had any inclination for the sea, the city of Zennon would make an excellent capital. Built along side the Wyntyne River as it widens at its mouth in the Zennon Sea, its docks could host a flotilla of ships. The river could be dredged so that even galleons with the deepest drafts could sail up the river and anchor alongside the city walls. That thought, however, has never crossed the minds of the Zennonaize. And while a number of smaller vessels, owned by private fishermen, set out from the city before each dawn, the bulk of the waterfront goes unused. In fairness, few trading vessels want to risk long trip north, around the Nerrid Peninsula and trade amongst the other settlements around the Zennon Sea is sparse.
Instead, the Zennonaize have made use of the ample grasslands that from a rough peninsula between the River and the Sea. A great wall, painstakingly assembled from stones quarried from the a spur of the Rheuthengage Mountains, some forty leagues to the southeast, towers over the southern border of the city. Standing twenty feet tall, with towers twice that every hundred paces, the wall extends the waist of the peninsula, some eight leagues across. Behind this wall lays the jewel of the confederacy, extending for over twenty-two leagues to the north and as wide as nineteen leagues the widest point of the peninsula sprawls a city that is more pasture than paved and contains more cattle then men.
Wide roads cobbled with checkered white and grey stones bisect the huge, fenced in tracks that surround the grazing lands and fields of wheat, into which are interspersed grand villas, often walled in their own right, of the wealthiest of the horse lords. Peach and apple trees line the boulevards, providing shade for the weary and, when in season, treats for the horses that gather beneath them. Fountains and wells, the former wealthier districts and the latter in poorer ones, sit at the boulevards' intersection, providing fresh, if slightly brackish, water to all of the city's residents. Unlike the cities of the Inner Seas where the filth of humanity fills the air with its stench, Zennon's aroma is that of cattle and horses - just as pungent but far sweeter to those that have spent their lives on the grasslands.
Most of the nobles in the Confederacy have their own estates in the city, miniature versions of their own estates further out in the Malpighien Steppes. They maintain ample staff to tend the herds, work the fields, and maintain the houses. Many offer their own dormitories to the staff, especially for seasonal workers. Others, including those employed by the Dono to sweep the wide streets and keep it clear of manure, live in tightly cloistered buildings made of stone, sod, and thatch. Often found in the parts of the city least favorable of grazing - spots of particularly rocky soil or dells that swell with rainwater in the winter, these sections are a warren of haphazard alleys and tightly packed buildings, a jarring juxtaposition to the clean agrarian lines found elsewhere. Interspersed haphazardly throughout the vast city are shops and inns. placed where ever space allows, between pastures and estates, they vary in quality and upkeep from the clean white washed and timber construction fashionable in Wargun to the sod and thatch hovels found in the shanty towns, depending upon the quality of the establishment.
Beyond the stately residences, unkempt tenements, and scattered shops, the city has little in the way of monuments or architecture. Even the Delante Clan's residence is unremarkable except for its vastness, the size of its herds more befitting of the Dono's Estate than any sort of architectural marvel. In the fall, great crowds gather in the center of the city at the Zennon Horse Market where cattle raised throughout the Confederacy is sold and sent to slaughter. Strangely, the second largest estate, the headquarters of the famed Zennonaize Cavalry actually sits just south of the city walls. While it technically belongs to the Dono, any cavalrymen will tell you that their first allegiance is to their clan, the second to the Confederacy, and their last to whomever it calls their leader.
Founding Date
12 AC
Type
City
Population
20,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Zennonaize
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization