Middleglade
"A city too lovely to burn, too cursed to die."
Middleglade is a dream that refused to die. Once the radiant heart of the Elfese Empire that ruled these lands in ancient days; Centuries after their empire's collapse, it endures as both crown and scar, a city of marble bones and living roots, where beauty masks the rot beneath. Wrapped in the coil of the Green-Thumb River like a serpent guarding its own reflection, Middleglade gleams through its perpetual mist as though lit from within by ghosts. Old pagodas dance with new thatched roofs in miles of lantern-lit roads. Its bridges glisten with the polish of ten-thousand years of footsteps. To the Everwealthy, the city is triumph, taken as a trophy, proof of their victory of this place's former masters. To the Elfs who still dwell there, it is a grave they must tend forever, forced to live among the ruins of their own perfection. The air carries a strange sweetness, the scent of flowers growing from battlefields, of incense masking decay. At dawn, the light strikes the city just so, and for a moment it looks alive again, until the mist moves, and one remembers that Middleglade is not living, but trudging along. At the heart of the city stands the Motherbark Tree, vast and unknowable, a living monument older than civilization itself. Its roots worm through every foundation, its pulse felt beneath every cobblestone, binding the city in something between blessing and bondage. Local Druids, a group known as Nature’s Chosen, claim to commune with it, to hear the tree’s slow, deliberate thoughts whispering through the wood. Warnings of famine, war, and worse. Everwealthy rulers show little respect, but they do listen. They remember the Massacre of 91 CA, when a thousand beasts marched from The Grandgleam Forest surrounding the city and erased an entire regiment overnight when they ignored the druid's warnings for them not to enter the woods. Some whisper the tree grows restless, that its roots are shifting, cracking stone, widening tunnels, reaching deeper into the veins of the city as though searching for something it lost. Those who live closest to it claim to hear breathing beneath the streets at night. Few sleep well in Middleglade, and fewer still dream, for the city dreams enough for all of them.
Demographics
As Middleglade was the former capital of the Elfese empire in the days before their exile to Kibonoji, in addition to the commonplace Humans and Dwarfish, more Elfese reside in Middleglade than anywhere under the flag of The Charging Banner. Many decendents of, or with their people's agelessness, actual surviving defectors from the ancient Elfese Empire during the Schism, for various reasons choosing to fight for the human/dwarf alliance and their soon-to-be nation to secure their current place in the world; Rather than choose what their kin would consider the honorable path and leave everything behind bloodied and broken upon their defeat.
Government
Though ran by the same rules and regulations as all Everwealthy territories, led by a governor delegating resources who's guards enforce laws made by The Monarchy and deal out executions on their behalf to those who, Middleglade has a unique secondary body of power, the Motherbark Tree and it's coven of Druids known as 'Nature's Chosen'. These druids while swearing direct fealty to the monarchy, communicate with the motherbark tree through their secretive rituals, drawing ire from the paranoid local community for their clandestine magickal actions despite their group's sterling reuptation and open vow of pacifism; Seeking what would seem exclusively to warn the local government or travelers of woodland-born dangers that would bring them harm to protect the area around the Motherbark, or perhaps prevent the folk of Everwealth who live here from seeing something their rooted ancient lord does not want them to see.
Defences
Built on elevated ground atop a small but jagged plateau surrounded by a running river makes for an advantageous defensive position. Only offensible from hundreds of feet below the city requiring a difficult-climb to access after an excursion through a wide body of water, or having to travel across the singular bridge leading into the heart of the city which was designed to funnel invaders into its many layered defensive positions and ancient Elfese equipment still in operation to this day, such as magickally animated crossbows with deadly accuracy, or many series' of nearly unavoidable pit-fall traps and poison dart tubes.
Industry & Trade
Middleglade is a vital agricultural hub, its fertile lands producing some of Everwealth’s most abundant crop yields. Fishing is also a major industry, The Green-Thumb River flowing around the city's expanse like a verdant blue pupil of a mountainous eye, teems with life. But the city’s most valuable export is its adamantine, mined from deposits within the plateau. This rare and near-indestructible metal is sought after by blacksmiths and warlords alike, making Middleglade a place of great economic importance.
Infrastructure
Middleglade's economy is built primarily around the Green-Thumb river flowing richly with life around its expanse, fueling many facets of industry here; Thusly structures like docks to support fishing, watermills to power looms and smithys, or irrigation paths to water Middleglade's many farms are commonplace attractions.
Districts
- The Green-Thumb Quarter - A thriving agricultural hub, this district is built along the winding banks of the Green-Thumb River, where fertile farmlands, fishing docks, and irrigation networks make it one of the most bountiful areas in Everwealth. Though it feeds much of the region, dwindling supplies and the war effort have forced the kingdom to raise taxes on exports, leaving many struggling to make ends meet.
- The Silken Roads - Once a place of Elfese aristocracy, the Silken Roads have become a trade district, housing markets, apothecaries, and textile shops that attract merchants from across Everwealth. Known for its ornate bridges, paper lanterns, and pristine white walkways, it is one of the few places where Elfese craftsmanship remains untouched, despite the war looming beyond its gates.
- The Lantern Hollow - A quieter part of the city, home to scholars, astronomers, and the reclusive druids of Nature’s Chosen. With libraries carved into ancient trees and observatories built from smooth-cut stone, the Lantern Hollow is a sanctuary of knowledge and forgotten wisdom. However, beneath the district, sealed-off tunnels from the Schism remain unexplored, their contents long lost to time, or perhaps intentionally hidden.
- The Forgotten Causeways - What was once a vibrant boulevard of Elfese nobility is now a haunted ruin. During the Schism, a brutal siege left much of the area burned, its once-lavish estates reduced to skeletal remains of a bygone era. Few venture here, not only due to the ghostly remnants of the war, but because those who wander too far claim to see staircases and passages that should not exist leading into the depths beneath the city, before these witnesses are never seen again. Whether they lead to old storage vaults, abandoned Elfese war rooms, or something else entirely remains unknown.
Guilds and Factions
- The Scholar's Guild - A center of learning and research, dedicated to preserving both Human and Elfese history.
- The Arcane Coalition - Regulators of magick, enforcing Everwealth’s strict laws on spellcraft. Their presence here is heavier than in most cities, due to lingering Elfese magickal traditions.
- Nature’s Chosen - A druidic order devoted to the Motherbark Tree. Though sworn to pacifism, their influence is undeniable.
History
Middleglade is one of the oldest cities in the Three Lands, built by the Elfese nearly nine millennia before the Schism. The beating heart of their empire, a city of elegance, wisdom, and untouchable supremacy. That was, before war, after war, after war. When the Schism began, Middleglade was, despite its importance, among the first cities to fall when the fiery end of the Devils' invasion forced droves of refugees here from across the globe; Forcing them to contest for the land. Its capture was a brutal psychological blow to the Elfese, who had believed their capital unassailable. In their desperation to reclaim it, they launched reckless offensives, exhausting their armies and sealing their own defeat. Many believe their obsession with retaking Middleglade led to their downfall, their forces spread too thin, their once-mighty war machine crumbling under the weight of its own obsession. Now, the Elfese have come back, as conquerors with a vendetta centuries old. And in the underbelly of Middleglade, whispers grow. What if the Elfese never truly abandoned their capital? What if, in their final days before exile, they laid the groundwork for their eventual return? Forgotten tunnels, buried armories, sleeping spells cast upon hidden warriors, paranoid fantasies, surely. Surely.
Points of interest
- The Motherbark Tree - Believed to be the first tree of Gaiatia, its roots intertwining with the very foundations of the city. Some say it still remembers the days when the Elfese ruled, and that its whispers are not of this world.
- The Golden Gate - The city’s only direct entrance, its doors sculpted from solid gold and engraved with the image of the Motherbark Tree.
- Rootspire Keep - The heart of Middleglade, built directly around the Motherbark Tree, Rootspire Keep is a towering fortress of smooth, Elfese marble. Once the seat of the Elfese emperors, it now houses the Count of Middleglade, with frequent visits from Duke Haversham who oversees this province at behest of the King; And who is rumored to have granted the Count his position in an uncertain shadowy deal. Undeniably a monument of conquest. Some Everwealthy stonework was added over the years to keep it standing, but the architecture remains largely unaltered, a silent tribute to the Elfese civilization that once ruled it.
- The Starlit Gardens - A breathtaking grove of bioluminescent plants, said to have been enchanted by Elfese druids to glow in the moonlight. Many who step inside claim to hear faint singing in Elfese.
- The Twin-Brides - Two ancient bridges built parallel to eachother, believed the result of a contest between two Elfese artificers of old to see who's product was finer and built faster.
Tourism
The city being a sort of museum of what survived of its ancient Elfese culture and technologies, many scholars and adventurers are known to make Middleglade a sure-visit in their travels to witness or study it's storied ground. Some may come to take the city's famed 'hot-air balloon' rides to be lofted into the air and see the famed eye-shape the city's landscape is known for, or simply to purchase goods from the city's many markets the neighboring towns they heil from do not possess.
Architecture
Atypical to what one will find throughout Everwealth, where the Everwealthy prefer thatch-roofed rectangular structures of wood and stone or clay bricks nestled along cobbled roads; Middleglade being a... somewhat preserved former Elfese nation, their architecture is the main thing you will see here, some scholar's believing among it's finest examples, likely from lack of surviving comparisons; Multiple-story structures of specially shaped, curved wooden supports called 'pagodas' ingeniously built without nails yet fastened like steel adorned with lanterns, paper sigils, or precious metals towering over both-sides of what would seem Middleglade's every road, roads carved from smooth-white marble met with gravel and dirt paths where war has broken them, trees planted along what would seem their every edge. The city though visibly downtrodden in many places from repairs left un-done from it's tenants being preoccupied staving-off the fires of war for a century is still an artistic marvel, waterways, building placements, seemingly all hand-placed in-attempt to please the eye, believed to be an intentional ancient Elfese projection of status, the seat of their throne being an awe-inspiring display. Some more-recent additions do match standards of Everwealthy design philosophy however, cobbled paths and thatched roofs rising up around the towering Elfese architecture; Growing in prevalence by the day, a sort of visual demonstration of Everwealthy history, deep-rooted Elfese influence slowly overtaken by men and dwarf.
Geography
The city sits atop the 'Iris Plateau' several miles above a large glade thick with woodland wildlife it eponymously rests at the center of. Surrounded by a break in the Green-Thumb River that makes the area resemble a large hazel-colored eye when seen from above.
Climate
A mild climate though consistently humid or misty from the overcast of many trees trapping in moisture from the river and frequent local rainfall, while also obscuring much direct sunlight that would lessen it.
Natural Resources
- Adamantine ore deposits, a rare metal sought for high-quality blacksmithing.
- The Green-Thumb River passes all-around the city, bolstering an abundant local fishing industry.
- Many steel-bark trees, another highly sought after material as despite being as light as wood it has the strength of fine steel. Though quite difficult to harvest, having to use rudimentary tools the modern day affords us to chop-down and harvest what is essentially a massive 3-foot thick steel pole rooted into the ground.
- Dense patches of wild nuts, fruits, and berries.
Founding Date
Between -2000 and -1800 OA
Alternative Name(s)
Formerly '神の目' or 'The Eye of God' to the ancient Elfese, 'The Jade' colloquially.
Type
Large city
Population
40,000.
Inhabitant Demonym
'Glademen'
Owning Organization
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