Tarresh
The City-State of Tarresh is situated near the mouth of the Gamberale River. It is the most populous of the city-states and has the largest city. Outsiders sometimes consider Tarresh to be the “capital of Antioch,” though anyone from the other city-states will disagree. Tarresh is known for its steelwork and weaponsmithing, especially the superb quality of its blades. Its only rival in Libynos is the city of Cadua in Alcaldar, which is also known to do some good work.
The city-state gets almost all its iron directly from Shiamun, and as part of the price returns a certain amount of steelwork to that mountain city. Most of what flows back is in common daggers and long or short swords, but those “common” weapons are of a quality higher than what many nobles in distant Akados can ever boast.
In addition to the weaponsmithing, Tarresh has a large and active harbor, the largest in the city-states. Ships from Akados and other parts of Libynos usually come here to trade unless their owners are more interested in agricultural goods, in which case they go to Turkad.
The government of Tarresh is handled by a council of citizens. The various towns and guilds of the city-state nominate members who are upstanding guild members, businesspeople, or leaders in their communities. They must also be educated, reliable, and financially sound. The names are placed on a list of eligible persons and, every two months, nine people are chosen randomly from the list to serve as council members. No one ever has to serve more than two months at a time, so this civil service is not too great a hardship on businesspeople. The list itself is refreshed every five years. The leader of the council is also chosen by lottery and is called the banner holder — literally the person in charge of the city’s banner for the next two months. The banner holder has the right to represent the city-state by making proclamations, entering into agreements, and so on. Other offices are elected by all the citizens.
With so many weapon-makers, the city of Tarresh is also a center for warriors, with mercenary groups coming here to bargain and train, and many individual fighters coming and going. All these have made the temple of Mithras, the warriors’ god, one of the most popular in the city. Vanitthu is another militaristic god with a good following and even the rough Thursis, god of destruction in battle, has enough devotees for a chapel in an out-of-the way quarter. The merchants and traders, on the other hand, favor Sefagreth, patron of trade and commerce but also a god of travel, and of luck. Alongside him, they also worship Quell, the Akadian god of the sea.
Settlement
Tarresh, City-State of
Type
City
Owning Organization
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