The Second Overthrowing of Ang’Verd

Created by Adam Tingley // Wreckerdwarf

The large agricultural city of Ang’Verd was the setting of many agricultural breakthroughs. Large tools to harvest the farming plots in place of stag labour, careful tapping of reservoirs that would aerate water streams and allow them to cover greater areas and last longer, but most importantly, a dense black soil that greatly reduced the chance of a lost harvest. The steady flow of assured foodstuffs meant that the city would have easily become a hub of calorific exports if it were not for the monarchy. Instead, the gains were graciously coveted by those in charge and kept within city limits. Over time the city became more insular, even by dwarven standards. Being entirely self-sufficient, it simply did not require any assistance from the local city cluster. It took just over three decades of decadence for the population to bloom to have an effect. While food was plentiful, those consuming it built up a much higher appetite than their counterparts elsewhere in the larger dwarven society. Their greed led them into a false sense of entitlement. Habits were established and reinforced throughout these decades that it was almost tradition to gorge on the givings of the harvest without much thought given to possible repercussions. None did this more fervently than the monarchy of the city that threw grand, lavish feasts whenever the harvests came.

The First

Over the course of the following years, the monarchy gave into their carnal appetites and continued their traditions in spite of the populace reaching a plateau. The balance had been found by the rest of the city and the harvests no longer went as far as they once did and each plate was filled to a regular level once more. Throughout this timeframe, the royals granted more and more power to the agricultural guild to better enable them to produce enough excess to fuel lavish royal lives. Unfortunately, this proved to be a blunder that directly initiated the first overthrowing of Ang’Verd. The agricultural guild cunningly used their new powers to lead a coup against the royals. The large populace of the city, who had become increasingly reluctant to draw back from their own calorific ways, were more than happy to support the guild in an attempt to return to their gorging days. And so, on the sixth royal feast day of the year, the guild took up arms and stormed the upper layers, claiming ownership of the city.

The Second

The population bloom wasn’t just limited to those in the upper regions of the city. The outcasts in the depths had also experienced multiple decades of a somewhat relaxed rule. Access to higher quality food, even in the lowest regions, resulted in a huge increase in population amongst the outcasts. However, when the food supply was stripped back to feed the wider city first, it hit the outcasts the hardest. With very little to lose, the outcasts rebelled against the city guard and stormed the barracks with their overwhelming numbers to arm themselves. Led by the one they coined as ‘The Maven’ they were able to push to the upper city and claim control. Ironically, the timing of this second coup was mere hours after the first and took place while the agricultural guild was planning a celebratory feast of their own. From this point onwards, the outcasts vowed to rule the city with a new set of guidelines. The agricultural guild was granted the running of the lowest regions of the city and efforts to establish connections with the wider area began. The most notable change of which was an explicit effort to break the barriers regarding the inclusion of other races within the city walls. Many challenges would await the new leadership and it would demand a level of societal focus that was previously unheard of. However, nothing forces the cohesion of a group like decades of oppression and if change was possible, the outcasts would be the ones to bring it.