Celonar
Description
Celonar ['seɪloʊnɑɹ] sits on a hill overlooking the Edrain river. A few of the city's taller temples rise above a 30-foot wall that surrounds the city on all sides, obscuring most buildings from outside view. Outside the walls, smaller mud-brick houses with thatched roofs dot the grassy slope, and an army encampment is set up at the base of the hill on the city's southern side. The city's scenic, tree-covered east side abruptly ends on the hill's northern face, a refuse-soaked shanty town appropriately called Blackrun. When one enters the city, the sunlight is immediately dimmed due to the narrow streets lined with tall buildings, some of which nearly touch at their highest stories, forming a tunnel over the street below. Most of the city is dirty and foul-smelling, with the affluent Hilltop and Parkside districts being the only places that are routinely cleaned. Parkside, as the name eludes, contains a park. However, it is contained entirely within the old wall of the city that separates the city's rich from the rabble. The only other areas where one can catch a breath of fresh air are the two market squares, one in Oldtown and the other in front of the Scriosta, an ancient building currently occupied by Halfling Spioradic priests.Social Life
Celonar is a cosmopolitan city at the intersection of many trade routes and hosts significant populations of all the peoples that have a foothold in the region, including Humans, Elves, Gnomes, and Halflings. Until they left en masse after their 3173 riot destroyed a third of the city, Celonar had a significant Goblin population as well. This and other conflicts between lineages and social classes have given the city a reputation for violence and political instability. More positively, Celonar has recently become known for its thriving music scene, as musical venues both aristocratic and humble have moved into space freed up by the destruction of the city's northeast. The city also has a long history of hosting knightly tournaments and, in recent years, the Satyr tradition of the athletic games.Politics
Celonar is governed by the Ruling Council, which is ostensibly led by the Northwestern King Uwe Konig, the descendent of the land’s traditional kings of Celonar's region. Its other members are styled as his advisors and generally represent one of the prominent ancestries or religions in the city. Though there is little political instability in the surrounding countryside, the royal city has endured significant ethnic conflict in the recent past due to both the legitimate grievances of its populace and the machinations of past Ruling Council members.Economics
The city sits at the intersection of the Edrain river and major roads in the overland trade between Dohir and Parthil, resulting in a diverse population. Notably, there is a significant Goblin minority in the city that came there from the many caves in the hills to the east. Economic classes are strictly divided in Celonar. The ruling-class Parkside district is not only socially set apart from the rest of the city, but is also spatially distinct due to the old wall. This means that poor people are worse off in Celonar than they are in most cities. Widespread expressions of class conflict are rare, usually being subsumed by the ethnoreligious strife common in the city's recent history.Religion
Cirithas has no state religion, but the city’s diverse population means that most religions have a foothold there, including all the major regional religions of Vrashyn. Due to the kingdom's history of Human rule, worship of Corellon has little influence in the city walls, though there is a small temple to Corellon in the Parkside district. Ethnic conflicts in the city sometimes take one a religious element, and the leaders of the various faiths have been known to hold seats on the council at various times in history to promote their interests. Dragonborn archpriest Zamal Heirokindar, head of the Hierophic temple in the city, was a member of the council in 3173 AK.Demographics
Government
Celonar is governed by the Ruling Council, which is ostensibly led by the King Uwe Konig, the descendent of the land’s traditional kings. Its other members are styled as his advisors and generally represent one of the ancestries or major organizations in the city and there are usually about a dozen at a time. The countryside is stable, but the city has endured significant ethnic conflict in the recent past due to a mixture of legitimate grievances and the machinations of past Ruling Council members. There is significant tension between the majority Halfling population and the mostly-Elvish elite that came to the city after the Cirithasi conquest. Other groups generally look down on the Goblins, who are forcibly sequestered to their own quarter due to a number of destructive riots in past decades. The elite Parkside district is also physically separated from the rest of the city, though this is intended to keep people out rather than in.
Industry & Trade
Celonar is one of the largest stops along the well-traveled overland trade route between Southwest Laivra and the Dohirin Coast. As a result, it has a wealthy and influential merchant class, and the city is known for its architecture and textile industry as well.
Guilds and Factions
The Messenger's Guild is the largest guild in the city, though there are guilds for many trades including merchants, masons, smiths, and the other typical trades. The city has a growing Adventurer's Guild as well.
History
Celonar is built on the site of an ancient Human city believed to have been built before the cataclysm. A few buildings—including the Spioradic church known as the Scriosta and the old wall on the southern end of the Parkside district—exist from that time. The Kingdom was absorbed into Cirithas in 2986 when its king surrendered rather than risk war with his much larger southern neighbor.
Geography
Celonar is a moderately-sized city in Northwest Cirithas. The Elves call this region and the former kingdom that occupied it Enelduine, the land between the rivers. The old Halfling name for the region is Soilsatir. Celonar is built on a hill overlooking the Edrain river. The surrounding lowlands are highly productive and full of farms, with the exception of the woods north of the city. There are several caves in the surrounding countryside, including an abandoned silver mine to the Southeast.
Founding Date
2400s AK
Population
~8000
Inhabitant Demonym
Celonari
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Related Reports (Primary)
Related Reports (Secondary)
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