Maxaen

Maxaen was founded in the Year of the Sun 1226, as a fortress guarding the mouth of the LightningStroke River.

History

Although the city was primarily military, it grew with record speed, three times requiring expansion of the walls. Though it was primarily a human city, there are permanent communities of dwarven and gnomish stonemasons who for years did nothing but build walls and defenses.

Once the most secure and defensible city in the land, Maxaen's walls were breached for the first time - from the inside.

Nevari spectacularly returned to Crescent with the public ascension of a mortal woman, Dame Aelen Wyer, and the simultaneous destruction of two hundred feet of dwarven stone war wall.

In the aftermath of Cometfall, when the Jade Imperium struck at the heart of the gathering orcish forces, orc refugees gathered in the plains surrounding Maxaen. Though Dame Aelen - head of the Church's healers in Maxaen - several times requested permission to take her healers and supplies out to the refugee camp to provide aid, Field Marshal Wounded Bear, of the Green Rock Riders, refused her request.

Apparently, she got fed up with asking, because after his final refusal, she climbed to the top of the tower parapet (a long climb for a 79 year-old human), called up fire and earth magic, and blew out 200 feet of earthcrafted dwarven war wall.

Her clerics and aides poured through the breach and brought succor to the desperate orcs, many of whom were sick, or starving. Though they were prepared to fight if needed, to defend their aides and enforce order, the settling dust from the wall brought with it a mystical peace over the whole of the camp and the city.

It wasn't until later that the spellcasters of Dame Aelen's group noticed that their holy symbol had changed from the familiar sun-and-moon to a stylized flame atop a pillar.

Nevari had returned and brought warmth to a desperate people, and as the dust settled, so did peace.

The Treaty of St. Kerwyn

This landmark treaty saw the recognition of both Maxaen and the City-State of Haven as sovereign nations. It included provisions around the territory, governance, and military.

Territory

By treaty, Maxaen's territorial claim is restricted to its city borders; there is room for reasonable expansion and farming but no more than that. They thus control a small area around the delta of the LightningStroke River.

Culture

The city itself is composed of two sections - the original Fortress, and the outer Ring.

The Fortress is mostly inhabited by the original human residents and their descendants. Since there has been little work for them, most of the dwarf and gnome stonemasons have departed, relocating to Mt. Daneasus to aid in structural reinforcement and expansion. This section itself is composed of three rings, corresponding to the three original expansions of the Fortress. The innermost section is now the most expensive and prestigious neighborhood in the Fortress, even though it has the oldest architecture and most cramped layout.

The Outer Ring, which was once a refugee tent city outside the Fortress walls, has since become a permanent part of the city. Many of the residents live in the same spot as they or their parents did, now in a permanent building.

Though populated largely by orcs and half-orcs, the Outer Ring is one of the nicest places in the Southlands, with a burgeoning culinary scene (so, so spicy) and several new schools and hospitals. The best medical care in Crescent is available here at the Hospital of the Sacred Flame. Additionally, the headquarters of the Orders of Nevari moved here from their original locations within the Fortress.

Prejudice against the orc and half-orc residents is still the primary source of tension between residents of the two sections, and the area around The Breach is one of the most heavily patrolled areas in the city. Several potential race riots and lynchings have been prevented by the vigilance of the Guardians of the Sacred Hearth.

Political Structure

Maxaen was a city constantly in a state of readiness for war. As the front line in the conflict with the orcs and other monster races, the city was strongly controlled by the military. Thus, in Maxaen, Field Marshal Wounded Bear's word was law.

After the signing of the Treaty of St. Kerwyn, Maxaen was recognized as a sovereign city-state, under the leadership of Dame Wyer. At her demand, Wounded Bear was recalled from Maxaen and assigned to an internal post in the Spire.

The government, originally a military theocracy under Pelor, is now a benevolent theocracy under Nevari, making Dame Wyer the City's executive leader.

Though the Treaty disallows a sizable standing army, the Orders of Nevari are resident here, and are a well-trained and well-equipped force with significant battle experience.

All of the Treaty nations recognize that Maxaen occupies a strategic location on the southern coastline, in relation to the Shattered Isles. Thus, both Crescent and the Jade Imperium have stationed naval forces in the area (Crescent on the sea, and the Imperium in the air).

A door to the Athenaeum for Spiritual Harmony exists in the Outer Ring, near the Hospital of the Sacred Flame.