Cities Under Grace
The Cities Under Grace was a security alliance on the continent of Tinturbean on Magicians' End which operated during the Age of Shadows.
The initial leadership came from the northern city of Yendle and it took inspiration from the Defenders of the Common Grace, a movement whose influence had continued to spread in the Age of Shadows even after the collapse of the Second Popular Ascendancy.
Structure
The Cities Under Grace operated in a largely independent manner, coming together mainly for the purpose of mutual security with a secondary interest in shared trading arrangements. The rules they operated under were relatively light, except in times of war and were discussed at irregular meetings known as congresses, that took place in different member cities only at the request of two or more members. The term "congress" and some of the ideas it embodied were later passed on to the Congress of Concerned Citizens which effectively inherited many of the traditions of the Cities Under Grace.
Culture
The culture of the organisation borrowed heavily from the ideas of the Defenders of the Common Grace, encouraging independent thought and an aversion to arcane leaders with a natural suspicion of magic. But the Cities Under Grace were much more pragmatic in their attitude and did not hold the extreme moral objection to magic which could be found amongst many of the more zealous Defenders of the Common Grace. Arcane aid was acceptable when it was needed, provided it did not attempt to subvert the will of the people, as expressed in their votes.
History
The Cities Under Grace played their most signifcant role in history during the Age of Shadows when the alliance was formed. Acting as an organised group to oppose the mailgn influence of the Justice of the Shadows they were vital for the maintenance of civic society during the darkest days of that benighted era. Their finest hour was undoubtedly the marshalling of the forces they sent to the Holy Battle of Oroth and their conquest of the Shadowlands.
Sidelined during the Limit Protectorate and under the Loyalist Thaumatic Army Council they played an important role in the establishment of the Third Popular Ascendancy and acted as a counterbalance to the Jewelled Queendoms after the Third Popular Ascendancy collapsed. In later ages their significance declined but they continued as a political entity until relatively recent times, only finally surrendering their autonomy to the currently active Congress of Concerned Citizens, which takes a lot of its philosophy and territory from their legacy.
Territories
The structure of the Cities Under Grace was fluid, but the following cities, were all notable participants in the alliance for a significant period of time, or at key moments in history.
Yendle; Quarowl; Greystow; West Anchor; Voltbend
4635 APC - 6375 APC
Type
Alliance, Military
Predecessor Organizations
Successor Organization
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Power Structure
Confederation
Economic System
Mixed economy
Official State Religion
Location
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Comments