Am Alaknyr

Am Alaknyr is ancient drow capital of Lochar. The historic capital of the Alaknyr tribe, Am Alaknyr was expanded as mithral veins were discovered in the rocks nearby and the vast inland sea which connected to the ocean beyond gave access to many trade routes, allowing it to grow in economic power. Hiding underground, Am Alaknyr avoided the worst of the ravages of the war with Delenthor, and it remains the location of both the palace of the First Councillor and the Amphitheatre of the 350 Citizens.

City of Lights
Approaching the city of Alaknyr, whether over land or sea, a traveller will first see a distant glow in the dark. The glow grows as you draw ever closer, until at last Alaknyr crests into sight. The city shines like starlight, a thousand candles, lanterns, and magical flames bathing the city in perpetual starlight.

The city is built into the cavern wall on three tiers, both lower and upper parts criss-crossed by canals and aqueducts, so that the whole city, more or less, can be navigated by boat. It is a city that wears its wealth on its sleeve, with many grand public monuments, large public squares, and elegant buildings built of sweeping spires, all in marble, silver and gold.

The city is filled by many vibrant bazaars and markets, with banners hanging from most buildings and minstrels at every street corner filling the air with song, meaning the whole city thrums with life.

History
Am Alaknyr was effectively founded around -2900 EM, when settlers from the drow Alknyr tribe settled in caverns on the fertile shores of the Vichnameran underground sea.

Over the following 700 years, Am Alaknyr developed into a powerful city-state. It was Queen Arduil ar'Alaknyr who called the Council of Thirteen Sovereigns, offering protection to the rulers of the other twelve major city states of the Alaknyrn Coast in return for their fealty.

High Queen Arduil made Am Alaknyr the capital of her new nation, and it remained the capital of Ardulidyl until the Succession Crisis.

Succession Crisis
During the Succession Crisis, Am Alaknyr sponsored a certain drow princess. In return, one of Emperor Dagdan's first policies was to move the capital of Ardulidyl from Am Alaknyr to the southern Am Lochra.

Years of a Thousand Kings
During the Years of a Thousand Kings, Am Alaknyr remained one of the most powerful kingdoms vying to inherit the Ardulidyl throne.

Occupation and Rebellion
During the Locharni Years of Occupation, Am Alaknyr was a source of constant discomfort and anti-Delenthorian sentiment. It was the sight of several famous rebellions and suppressions, most famously the Chantros Rebellion.

Chantros Rebellion
The Chantros Rebellion began on the 6th of Chantros, 193 EM, as a peaceful protest against rising taxes which had increased the price of bread. Seperatist agitators entered the crowd and publicly proclaimed the evils of the empire, and over the course of four weeks, the protests turned into a violent and bloody rebellion, ending with the revolutionaries burning down the central cathedral of Irisia the Watcher in Am Alaknyr.

Rather than acknowledge the protests, the Delenthorian empress sent in the troops, with armed soldiers marching into Am Alaknyr for only the second time in its history. What followed became known as the Three Day Massacre, the second bloodiest massacre in Locharni-Delenthorian conflicts after the famed Day of a Thousand Tears, with nearly 7,000 civilian casualties.

Republic Era
With the Treaty of Rillaun, Am Alaknyr was named joint capital of the new federation, alongside Am Lochra.

Alaknyri Accords
In 204 EM, the Alaknyri Accords were signed in Am Alaknyr. These accords official defined the recognised official and minority languages of Lochar. The three official languages were Delenthorian, Alaknyri, and Locharni.

Viermikra v. Merhaelkel Debate
Am Alaknyr was the site of the famous Viermikra v. Merhaelkel debate, in which the Republican and Monarchist factions of the 350 Citizens were first formalised.

Major Districts
The city is composed of four ‘quarters’, each of which is divided into five districts. The quarters and their districts are summarised in brief below.

Merchant's Quarter
Primarily composed of the sea front and areas to the east of the city on the first tier, the Merchant’s Quarter is composed of docks, warehouses, markets, and factories, making up the greater part of the industrial and commercial parts of the city.

Districts of the Merchant's Quarter

 * Docks District [1]
 * Warehouse District [2]
 * Bazaar and Markets [3]
 * Textile District [4]
 * Metallurgy District [5]

Civic Quarter
Comprising the western parts of the city in the first and second tier, the civic quarter is the populated part of the city, where the majority of citizens live and work, with small craft shops, parks, squares, and smaller markets.

Districts of the Civic Quarter:

 * Lower Residential District [6]
 * Mid Residential District [7]
 * Upper Residential District [8]
 * Traveller’s District (inns and taverns) [9]
 * Queen’s Park (artist district) [10]

Gown Quarter
Comprising the eastern part of the second tier of the city, the gown quarter is dominated by the Alaknyr Univeristy, although it is also home to the Alaknyr Cathedral, the various churches and temples, and the Courthouse.

Districts of the Gown Quarter:

 * Department of Arcanology and Wizadry [11]
 * Department of Natural Science [12]
 * University District [13]
 * Judicial District [14]
 * Temple District [15]

Council Quarter
The highest tier of the city is devoted to the council quarter, housing the various buildings of both local city council and the wider Locharni government (which also has buildings in Am Lochra).

Districts of the Council Quarter:

 * Noble District [16]
 * Council House [17]
 * The Amphitheatre [18]
 * City Council [19]
 * Mikratyrha Headquarters [20]

Local Culture
As is befitting the capital of an international trade empire, Am Alaknyr attracts people from across the known world and thrives on the diversity of its residents. Trade from as far afield as D’Malri in the Nihaya Desert and Dor Ebhil in Khairos of D’Orora passes through this port, before travelling further inland to Delenthor or boarding another ship south to Scarfellan. This trade brings with it diverse other cultures, new people, new languages, and lots of gold, which is rapidly spent on flamboyant dress and elaborate public murals.

One thing on which all Alaknyri pride themselves is the cleanliness of their city. Thousands of cleaners are employed to sweep the streets and clean the canals, and dropping litter or allowing the façade of your house to become grubby will earn you many disapproving looks and public disgrace, alongside a healthy fine.

Drow-Human Tensions. Alaknyri is a majority drow city and the drow-human tensions which thrum under the surface of much of the rest of Lochar are somewhat muted here. There was one human-nationalist attack a few years back, but it was quickly quashed and every person involved in the plot was hunted down and placed in prison, firmly quashing any further action… for now…

Light and Colour in Darkness. Some of the underground cities of Lochar, such as Am Tarryr, embrace the darkness in which they abide, with most of the drow inhabitants living in a world of shades of grey while human inhabitants carry torches to see. Am Alaknyr is the opposite: they reject the darkness with a vibrant culture based around light and colour.

The streets of Alaknyr are perpetually lit with lamps and paper lanterns hanging from every house, candles in every window, street lamps and braziers at the street corners, as well as floating orbs of light which are created by the wizards of the University. The lights are dimmed and muted at night, but even then, the city has a gentle glow, like dying embers.

In the same spirit, Alaknyri prefer to decorate themselves and their environment in vibrant, even gaudy colour. Banners hang from every building, bunting flags are strung across the streets, ribbons wrapped around the lamp posts and strung between houses. The Alaknyri man is the archetypal Locharni ‘peacock’, dressed in patchwork clothes of every colour of the rainbow, often decorated with many necklaces, rings, bracelets and anklets, sometimes including bells. Alaknyri women are more muted, although they are also more likely to wear brightly coloured skirts or sashes than Locharni women of other cities.

The Harbourfolk. A sizeable community of T’initawi merfolk live in and around the harbour of Am Alaknyr. These ‘harbourfolk’, as they are known to the Alaknyri, often come up to the docks to play with children in the shallows and trade with the Alaknyri for treasures they find in the deeps. Local belief states that the harbourfolk helped the first Alaknyri to settle in Am Alaknyr, and as such, the merfolk are treated with an almost religious reverence. If an Alaknyri ever meets a merfolk abroad, they will first try and greet them as a friend, only bringing harm to one in self-defence.

Local Politics
As the capital of Lochar, Am Alaknyr enjoys a complex interplay of both local and national politics. Three major forces hold direct power in the city: the Prince and nobles; the guilds and the City Council; and the national government.

Prince, Steward, and Nobles
The Prince of Alaknyr (Atar-ir Alaknyr) is the official ruler of the city-state of Alaknyr as part of the Lochar Federation. The Prince is always from a Arratwai family, usually the current head of the wealthiest merchant guild in the city, and as a result, often a member of the 350 Citizens, where (s)he will usually be a member of the Council of Twelve. The current Princess of Alaknyr, Vieriira Chessidile ar’Aleanghym, fulfils all of these positions, acting as the current First Councillor.

Due to the tendency for the Prince of Am Alaknyr to also be a member of the Council and Twelve and therefore have responsibilities to the national government, local governance is lead by royal stewards, officials chosen by the current Prince(ss) to represent them in local affairs. The current stewardess is the Right Honourable Shurdra Talinidia ar’Kenrahel.

When the current Prince resigns their position, a new prince is elected by the various noble families of Alaknyr from amongst their number in a bidding war similar to the elections of the 350 Citizens. The noble families include any families of Arratawi or Frynani descent.

Beyond the election, the nobles are typically caught in a constant battle of intrigue, trying to wrest power from the Princess and her steward on one side, and from the guilds and the city council on the other.

Guilds and City Council
Commerce in Lochar is organised through guilds, with several dozen national guilds, each with branches in each of the major cities. The Locharni guild system is a lot looser and less constraining than those in most other nations, making it relatively easy to move from one occupation to another, but they help to organise labour and defend workers from exploitative employers.

In Am Alaknyr, the leaders of each of the larger guilds forms the City Council, which represents the middle (scholarly and merchant) classes in local government and civic issues. The City Council stands in constant contention with the nobles and steward, trying to shape the bi-laws and regulations of the city.

The Council of Twelve and the Amphitheatre
Every Locharni city has its prince and nobles and its guilds and city council, always at one another’s throats as they seek to represent their own issues in local governance. However, Am Alaknyr and Am Lochra are set aside as having the further issue of the immediate presence of national government.

Both Am Alaknyr and Am Lochra have buildings for the Council of Twelve and the Amphitheatre. Every four terms (every 28 years) the Council and the Three-Hundred-Fifty Citizens moves from Am Alaknyr to Am Lochra and back again, distributing national power between the two most powerful cities – the cultural capital in Am Alaknyr and the financial capital of Am Lochra.

Presently, the Council is approaching the end of its third term in Am Alaknyr, and as such, preparations are already being made for the move to Am Lochra in around 8 years time.

Although the Council of Twelve and 350 Citizens do not have direct influence on the local politics in Am Alaknyr (except insofar as members of the Council or 350 include the Princess of Alaknyr and other nobles or city councillors), the national laws passed tend to prioritise whichever city the Council and Amphitheatre are currently resident in, leading to a local prosperity often accompanying their presence.

Defence
Due to its position as current home of the Council of Twelve, Am Alaknyr enjoys a threefold official protection: the Midnight Legion, the First Councillor’s Blackshields, and the city’s Alaknyr Watch. In addition, any noble worth his salt will have a small army at his call, and many of the larger guilds keep mercenary companies on the pay-roll, meaning that Am Alaknyr can easily martial an elite army several thousand strong at relatively short notice to rapidly respond to any threat.

The Midnight Legion
The Midnight Legion (Suurim-ir Tasznyrn) is the official standing army of the city-state of Am Alaknyr. All civilians are required to participate ‘national service’, which must be performed either in the military, the civil service, or the church.

Those who are conscripted into the army undergo a rigorous training regime in a range of weaponry, with a particular specialisation in three aspects of warfare: marine warfare (ships and cannons), phalanx warfare on open battlefields, and guerrilla warfare in the underground tunnels surrounding Am Alaknyr. As a result of this training, the Midnight Legion and the various other state armies of Lochar are amongst the most well-trained and professional armies found outside of Delenthor itself.

The military strength of the Midnight Legion and the other Locharni state armies, especially in guerrilla warfare, is what allowed Lochar to gain its independence from Delenthor. However, despite this military strength, the Locharni still prefer to resolve matters by diplomacy and trade, preferring to remain neutral in foreign wars.

Blackshields
The Blackshields (Vieraonani) are the official bodyguards of the First Councillor, a formidable unit of elite soldiers and assassins, bound by magical oaths to protect the good of the nation with their lives. The wording of this oath is a little vague, however, and has not prevented at least a few cases of the Blackshields murdering the current First Councillor to allow a new election and the possibility of renewed leadership in the land.

Whilst the Blackshields are unlikely to see any battlefield combat, they specialise in neutralising threats before they get close enough to threaten the First Councillor herself, and as such, they often neutralise terrorist or insurgent threats anywhere in the city of Am Alaknyr or its surrounding area.

Alaknyr Watch
While the purpose of the Midnight Legion is to protect the city-state of Am Alaknyr and the Blackshields protect the First Councillor, the Alaknyr Watch

(Shal-ir Alaknyr) is the official guard of the city of Am Alaknyr. The Alaknyr Watch are responsible for protecting the city from hostile military threats and to preserve order within the city walls, acting as both police force and local militia.

The Alaknyr Watch reports directly to the City Council.

Assorted Mercenaries and Armies
Every nobleman will have a small standing army and most of the wealthy guilds keep mercenaries on the pay roll. These forces are usually used to protect property, but will be deployed to protect the city as a whole if called upon by the Steward or Princess.

Organisations
A number of powerful organisations exist in the city of Am Alaknyr, vying for power with the legal authorities of the nobles and city councils.

Powerful Clans
A number of the clans have sufficient wealth and personal power to exert significant influence on local government and politics. It is generally known that every member of the city council and most of the nobles are in the pay of up to a dozen other families, trying to influence political decision making in their own favour.

Church of the Kasthyarhi
Another powerful force in Am Alaknyr is the Church of the Kasthyarhi. The Alaknyr Cathedral (Linna Alaknyr, also called Felynlinna-ir, ‘the pale cathedral’) is the oldest church of the Kasthyarhi, founded on the site where Kasthyrha’s family tomb, and it has been continuously built upon and expanded as the wealth of Lochar has grown, now being widely counted as one of the wonders of the world. As such, Am Alaknyr is the centre of Kasthyarhist influence in Lochar, and the church has deep roots in the city which allows them to sway councils and nobles to continue to protect the church from taxation and to supress other religious influences.

Temple of the Watcher
The Temple of the Watcher was built at the bequest of the Delenthorian Regent, one in each of the capitals, staffed with Delenthorian immigrants at first but increasingly also housing many Locharni converts.

The Temple of the Watcher is a much more modest building than the grand Felynlinna, and the organisation’s political influence is similarly weaker. The edge that the Temple of the Watcher holds over the various other temples of non-Kasthyarhist deities is that it has become totemic and symbolic of the victory of Delenthor over Lochar and its goddesses. As such, while Kasthyarhism is waning amongst particularly the lower classes, the worship of the Watcher is growing, and the increasing power of the temple resulting from this is beginning to upset the balance of power previously held in the city.

Merchant Guilds
The many merchant guilds of Am Alaknyr hold considerable political influence through the City Council and the Princess, but they also each hold substantial individual influence, controlling and regulating trade in their particular vocations, with the metallurgy and textile guilds practically controlling entire districts of the city.

Smuggler’s Guild
Not strictly counted as a merchant guild, the smuggler’s guild is a loose alliance of black market traders and smugglers who operate through Am Alaknyr. The local authorities’ attitude towards the smuggler’s guild is simply that crime will happen anyway, so it is better to regulate and tax it. In this respect, while the activities of the smuggler’s guild are frequently strictly illegal, they are nonetheless allowed by the Princess and the City Council, at least in so far as they turn a blind eye to their dealings.

Thieves, smugglers, slavers, and black market traders must be registered with the smuggler’s guild to expect any significant trade in Am Alaknyr.

Mikratyrha
On the eastern fringes of the Council Quarter stands the ominous dark tower known as Micartorn (‘poison tower’). Headquarters of the Mikratyrha, the secret service cum secret police of Lochar, this imposing citadel holds many secrets which normal folks can only pray they never discover. No one has ever been seen entering or exiting the Micartorn, leading to widespread rumours that the agents of the Mikratyrha enter and leave by underground tunnels or teleportation.

The Mikratyrha hold no direct influence on the local political life of Am Alaknyr, but their watchful presence does hang over the city, with individuals sometimes disappearing in the middle of the night if deemed guilty of ‘plotting treason’.

Alaknyr University
The Alaknyr Univeristy (Tiedtalyn Alaknyr) is the leading university of Lochar and one of the more respected academic institutions internationally. Specialising in arcane magic (particular conjuration and transmutation) and in natural science, but with students in medicine, alchemy, politics, law, archaeology and history as well, the University represents the pinnacle of Locharni scholarship and acts as a kind of mecca for the scholarly classes of Locharni society.

Professors of the university prefer to withdraw from day-to-day life to focus on their studies, and as such, they hold little direct influence over the political and social life of Am Alaknyr. However, their economic influence is large, with most guilds have contracts to supply either labour or resources to the university’s endless laboratories, and when a professor does choose to hold forth on some matter of local or national politics, the lawmakers tend to listen, knowing that popular opinion will be swayed by the voices from the tiedtalyn.