Manas
Manas is a sprawling metropolis that has outgrown its city walls, with cottages and other buildings extending in all directions around the central walled precincts. There has been a project to build an outer wall around these settlements, but construction has been stalled for some time.
Manas is the capital city of Suilley and houses the court of King Ulrich at Palaz Terondel within the city walls, along with various other institutions of the country’s government. The city prospers from trade and from the stability of the surrounding region, being at the very heart of the king’s authority and power. At the same time, however, the treasury is badly strained as the city helps to fund the king’s distant landholdings and vassal nations.
Like Troye, Manas is an ancient city that charts its history back to the days of the Hyperboreans, although it grew as a trading town rather than originating as a fortress. The city’s stone walls are of great antiquity, but they were built to replace wooden walls that had protected the city for centuries before quarrying ever began for the stronger fortifications. Below the city is a vast Hyperborean-era series of vaults, passageways, and tombs. Why a tomb complex would require such a wealth of rooms, galleries, and winding tunnels beneath Manas is a secret lost with the Hyperboreans, for it is not a common feature of Hyperborean city-building. Throughout the city, a number of holes have been dug deeply enough to break into the vaulted corridors and labyrinthine tunnels below so that sewage and storm water can drain down from the city streets and be dispersed in the labyrinth.
Manas has the vibrant, almost frenetic, atmosphere of a place at the center of events, and this is indeed the case, for the kingdom more and more is becoming the main center of gravity in the Borderland Provinces. The kingdom’s trade roads are safer than average, its guilds are less venal than many, its courts of justice are fairer and less corrupt than one might expect, its coins are well minted, its troubadours have little trouble finding wealthy patrons, and its nobility still considers chivalry to be something more than a fashionable lie. Demolition of old buildings and the construction of larger ones clog the city’s thoroughfares with stone and lumber as the city continues to expand to fit its emerging role as a major power. New merchant houses, not only from within Suilley but from places as far as Bard’s Gate and Endhome, are opening their doors for business. Famous troubadours and jongleurs travel to the city from as far as Troye and Vermis to seek audiences and noble patronage. Manas has even begun to export some of its court fashions, perhaps the most significant mark of any city’s pre-eminence. There are limits, of course; when Manas fashions are worn in Troye, the days of the Kingdom of Foere in the east will truly be ended, but that day has not yet come.
At present, Manas has no formal college of magecraft but it is home to several wizards and sorcerers of note who live in formidable palazzi with arcane wards upon the doors and strange guardians prowling their halls by night. The sorceress Veril of Tourne lives in the crumbling Palaz Tourne, the former home of her now-deceased father, the sorcerer Beinad of Tourne, son of Ylaine of Tourne, the Courghais-born sorceress who advised Ghienvais I when he was still a mere lord-governor, and was an early advocate of the Suilleyn secession. The family is long-lived and not entirely sane. There is also Ciosceppio, who seems to disdain any surname, and whose rune-tattooed bull is, by specific decree of the king himself, not allowed into the city streets any more. The mystical Pytharian and the notable Rhomenides also number among the city’s great mages, both of them solemn and long-bearded, quite satisfactory to the expectations of the citizens of Manas in terms of how wizards should look and behave.
Various factions operate within the city of Manas, especially now that the kingdom has become a major power in the provinces. The trade embassies of Bard’s Gate and Endhome are both making considerable numbers of allies among the city’s mercantile classes. The thieves’ guild supervises criminal activities and several small opium guilds are involved in a savage battle to control sales of opium from Pfefferain. A diplomat from Courghais, while never referring to Suilley as a kingdom, works diligently to ensure that Foere’s interests are represented in the court at Palaz Terondel. Representatives from the vassal courts in Kingston and Tertry promote caravan trade to their countries and petition Ulrich for funds and troops to assist in the interests of Keston and Toullen. Temples of various gods jostle for influence with the citizenry (especially those who are wealthy and/or noble). The quantity of intrigue as all these factions interact is mind-boggling.
The city maintains a small standing garrison, mostly to watch and guard the walls, but also a ceremonial bodyguard for the king, a troop of ranger-outriders, and a few spellcasters to supplement the city’s Wardens.
Additionally, units of the Royal Army are stationed in the citadel, a round tower called the Caerronde (which also contains the royal dungeon) and serves as the city’s last defense. The standing army of Suilley is much smaller than in days past when the Duchy of the Rampart represented a real threat, and many of its units are constantly on dispatch in Keston and even as far as Toullen trying to assist these vassal realms with the daunting task of keeping order. The army also patrols roads and maintains small garrisons throughout the kingdom, so the king’s force here in Manas is not much larger than the city’s own army. It usually is composed of a levied force of 200 trained peasants, 50 men-at-arms, and five mounted knights representing the feudal obligation of one or two barons to provide the king periodically with troops. Additionally, there is one battalion made up of 100 archers and 200 lightly armored infantrymen, and a second battalion of 300 heavy infantrymen. The King’s Cavalry is made up of five troops of 20 riders plus their officers, one unit of 50 heavy cavalry, and a third unit of 20 knights together with their soldiers (a number varying from 30 to 50). All of these forces are supplemented by the private standing forces of the eight dukes and by a small corps of more-powerful individuals who shift from unit to unit as needed. This corps is often referred to as the King’s Scepters and includes sorcerers, powerful fighters, clerics, and often a paladin or two. It is a mixed and often-changing group, but the Scepters are in many ways the troubleshooters and backbone of an otherwise relatively weak army.
The king has the ability to muster a massive army by calling up barons and knights, so the size of the standing army should not be seen as a measure of Suilley’s true power. This is merely the group of professional, full-time soldiers who are ready to respond at a moment’s notice if the king or country is threatened.
The Corps of Wardens is a separate contingent of guards maintained by the city who patrol the streets and respond to disorder and crimes. As with the Royal Army, the Wardens are mostly no more than trained but ordinary individuals who answer mundane problems such as thefts and tavern brawls. For larger matters such as Ciosceppio’s rune-tattooed bull, the Wardens have a small number of spellcasters and clerics who support the ordinary Wardens with considerably more unusual resources. The commander of the Corps of Wardens is currently the knight Sir Orlando Cormont.
The city’s symbol is three white circles arranged as a triangle around a badger on a blue field. This is distinct from the king’s royal arms and represents only Manas itself, and it is proudly displayed on banners flown atop the houses of the city’s wealthy merchants, the towers around the city wall, and the House of Burgesses.
The burgesses are prominent leaders elected by the citizens for terms of two years. It is the burgesses who elect the mayor, pass municipal laws, and undertake specific responsibilities such as the minister of justicators (courts), minister of the curtilage (the walls and defenses), and minister of revenues (gate and sales taxes).
The city’s greatest market is Damozel Square, with the great merchants buying and selling large lots in the center, and small vendors selling to ordinary shoppers around the square’s periphery. Every oddment and tidbit of the world seems to be available here, from diamonds and opium to turnips and flax.
Manas is an excellent place to hear rumors, find employment, and ferret out interesting opportunities. Representatives of the eight dukes are often looking for mercenaries who can solve problems in the countryside such as dealing with dragons and mysterious events. The city’s wizards always require tasks and travels that would be too dangerous for ordinary people. The temples extend their benevolent reach as far into the realm as they can, usually offering such rewards as raising the dead or removing curses instead of paying money, but even the temples dip into their coffers to handle truly strange and threatening events, whether inside or outside the walls of Manas. Caravans always need guards, and merchants always seek unusual items to sell. Even within the city, there are strange mysteries, secret cults, sabotage, bodyguarding, and other interesting chances for gold and renown. Manas is a place where many possibilities converge.
Capital
Manas, City of (Capital)
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Capital
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