Godhzam

It's called a city of shadows, but what casts them? Is it the tall mountain ranges, or is it the rings of walls that separate us from them?

— Logra Xidothe

Godhzam is the city in Pris Xüfonz, located on the eastern shore of Lake Strelish. It is separated by land from the rest of Pris Xüfonz by Ibza Xüfonz, and is subsequently one of the most fortified cities in Pris Xüfonz.

History

Nestled in the shadows of the Dividing Mountains, Godhzam has not always been a large city. It began as a castle belonging to the Baron of Tsaleth, intended to protect the small port on the shoreline. Over time, the castle gained a small town around it, and the walls expanded to envelope it all to protect from rival lords.
At the time of the Central War, Tsaleth was still a barony of no significance. This changed when the war began and expanded to affect many countries around Lake Strelish, and Tsaleth's surprising amount of fortification was extensively used by the locals. Their only issues came from naval attacks, which they warded off with ease while protecting allied transports. When discussions were had about uniting many feudal states around the lake into a single nation, Tsaleth was included at the negotiation table due to its strategic position. With the Baron's permission, they joined the new country of Xüfonz. It is around this time that the town around the castle became known as 'Godhzam', referring to its position in the shadow of the mountains.
While the next 3 centuries were rather peaceful all throughout the Xüfonz, Godhzam maintained its walls partly as a matter of tourism, including the construction of new towers along its length to survey the land. One of these towers served as a lighthouse for the eastern section of the lake, protecting incoming trade ships from down south as they came into the port.
These fortifications came in handy as the country entered into a war over succession in 58 Discovery. As the country divided over which of the two princes to support, Godhzam's leaders remained non committal. Nominally, they supported the ascension of Prince Vaiken, but they did little in the way of giving resources to the cause.
This neutrality changed in 61 Discovery, when the mother of the rival prince Üchla was executed by Vaiken's supporters. Godhzam's leaders, horrified by the event, reached out to the rival prince to offer their allegiance. Maintenance was quickly ordered on all the walls, as the conflict turned into all out war, an "invasion" of Godhzam was launched to enable the opposition to take control.
Godhzam served as a springboard for efforts by the rival prince to claim territory in the south, however these efforts were not successful. The city itself never fell, however, remaining loyal to Üchla. As such, when the war was forcibly called to a stop in 71 Discovery, Godhzam became part of the new country of Pris Xüfonz. This left it a lonely exclave of the country, and its walls became vital as protecting the border of the country from Ibza Xüfonz.
Its position in the south eastern region of Lake Strelish made it a prominent trading port with countries such as Dätsalöl and, later, Kse Feorton. Most curiously, the city has become a hub for illicit tourism by Ibza Xüfonz citizens, who travel to Kse Feorton and take a ferry to the city for a day trip. This is something of an open secret, and while efforts have been made by Ibza Xüfonz to stop this, Godhzam has done nothing to curtail it despite the frigid relationship between the countries.

Type

City

Inhabitant Demonym

Godhzayo

Owning Organization

Pris Xüfonz

Allegiance

Godhzam was not alone amongst southern cities in being horrified at the execution of Üchla's mother, but it is alone in continuing to fight alongside the rival prince when he had his mother's killers similarly executed. While this is because they had no great fondness for Prince Vaiken as an alternative, the reason for this lack of fondness is more debatable.
In lieu of a clear answer for the barons, who have remained tightlipped on the matter, people have taken to speculating. Some say it is because the Baron at the time was closely related to Üchla's mother, and had been unwilling to raise arms against her before her death. Others suggest that the city's relative prosperity, among a Xüfonzayo east that was lagging behind the west, insulated it from the rage of its neighbours and made it more sympathetic to the western cause.
Whatever the case may be, Godhzam remains firmly aligned with Pris Xüfonz, and its walls are maintained to ensure that this will ever be so.

Walled City by Adrien Tutin