Capitoleum

Some of this includes notes in their purest form. Ignore things you can't understand. :)

Capitoleum is like its name suggests the capitol of much of the Realms. It is under the control of the Governors, the five most powerful noble Houses.

About

Capitoleum is not the official capitol, but was simply the centrum of an empire that broke into pieces about 2-400 years ago. Instead it is the de facto centre for trading and much production and the city has a population at least 10 times larger than the second largest city in the Midrealms. All other major factions of the area have some sort of interest in Capitoleum.

Facts:

• Ruling house(s): Menthell, Haldean, Artipellin, Wyny & Edmyr (the Governors)
• Population: 200,000 (more?)
• Militia: The Stripes (2,000)

Areas of Capitoleum

• Newtown (middle fort)
• Calond (west fort)
• Penvald (east fort)
• Westfield (west mid)
• Bridge (east mid)
• Whitefold (west lower)
• Redfold (east lower)
• Redhill (outer hill)
• Whitehill (outer hill)
• Westgate (west village (gate))
• Scruffle (west, top village)
• Farmgate (west, bot village)
• Northpride (west, top vil)
• Venhouse (west, bot vil)
• Vengate (gate)
• Western Northbrook (north, top, west)
• Greater Northbrook (north, top)
• Northbrook (north, bot)
• Northgate (gate)
• Mercoise (north, east)
• Merchant's Gate
• Eastgate (gate (East vil))
• Western Tristad
• Southerns Tristad
• Eastern Tristad
• Sandwish
• Capital Bay

From my notes

The biggest city in the travelled world. There are myths about all-golden cities in the far south on the Dragon Continent and even about floating cities across the Endless Seas, but people tend to dismiss that sort of dreamery.

There has been people living on the spot of capitoleum for a long time. Before the great city was founded, the two latest settlements were Calond to the west and Penvald to the East. These two towns are largely intact in the remaining (and enhanced) fortifications with the same names.

A majority of the infrastructure and defensive designs were created by Helfram Housetames Uldin who conquered, by force or diplomacy, all the then current noble houses between the years 1382 and 1429, about 300-250 years ago. This originally only included the moat, beginnings of the sewage system, the original canals (with flash-locks) and a large number of independent fortifications.

Helfram managed to appease both the Church of Rahn as well as the Sickle in exchange for support. The lands enjoyed peace and prosperity for all of his reign and that of his son Harald.

Sickle stuff

During the Prosperous Times, the Sickle managed to gain a lot of public support and partly wipe away some of its tarnished reputation by pledging help to the city without demands for compensation. They helped to move the river Wildrun into an impressive moat, move tonnes of soil to enable important buildings to be founded on bedrock and to irrigate the local fields as well as setting up a system of magic enhancement to improve the crops themselves, making the already massive city almost self-sufficient.

The great fire of XXXX was found to have been started by an 11-year old daughter of a noble family, who had undetected magic powers which randomly manifested and burned not just the girl, but the whole estate and most of the family. The fire spread to an oil storage for street lamps and almost took on catastrophic consequences from there on.

The Sickle, which was central in putting out the fire, managed to raise awareness of the dangers of uncontrolled magic as well as creating a strong sense of urgency to report magic use in non-Wizards. When they pledged to cast a powerful detection spell, it was even welcomed.

The Sickle also gave the King a hundred fire-free street lamps to avoid further fires and pledged to continue to deliver lamps to entirely replace the oil lamps (much to the outcry of oil salesmen and lamp lighters). The catch was that the city would have to pay for magic power at a cost similar to that of the oil lamps, a deal the King gratefully accepted.

Some lamp lighters got to keep their jobs, only now they refill the lamps with magical batteries rather than oil.

Despite many a good deed, The Sickle has never completely gained public support even in the city, and some merchant initiatives are to avoid MEP - magically enhanced produce.