Mauribon
Demographics
Racial Demographics
- Elves - 75% - 260,000
- Humans - 20% - 120,000
- Dwarves - 5% - 20,000
Since Mauribon is a major trade city, many residents are involved in trade or a related commercial enterprise. There are craftsmen, loggers, fishermen, artisans, dockhands, sailors, jewel crafters, weaponsmiths, armorers, and other such professions rampant throughout the city. There are academic types that come to study at the University located on the southern slope of Maiden's Hill, and others move to this district for political positions.
Government
As the capital of The Elemental Enclaves, the city is directly run by the reigning monarch, the Steward of the Seasons. This is done primarily in connection with the Council of Mauribon who oversee many of the day-to-day operations of the town.
Defences
Outer Walls
Surrounding the three landlocked sides of Mauribon is a 60,000ft. (11.36mi) defensive wall that has been slowly built up and reinforced over the centuries. Roughly every quarter mile, there is a guard tower, with the ones near the main gate fully reinforced and some facing the forest for surveillance. The town guard keeps each of the 45 towers fully manned. Most of the wall is at least 20 feet tall, though it is up to 30ft near the main gates. It is roughly 11 meters long, allowing for defensive measures to be deployed along the wall and city watch and Elven formations to be stationed there. The wall is made of a concrete mixture of local limestone, clay, sand, and seawater and is encased in an outer layer of Limestone bricks, which gives it a beige/cream appearance with a bluish undertone. On the outer side of the water, 7ft wide artificial moats have been dug and filled with seawater, making it difficult for siege engines to make it to the wall. Machicolations throughout the wall allow the defenders to throw whatever they'd like down at the attacking armies.
Town Gates
There are seven gates into the town, eight if you include the water passage that is part of the main gate. Each one is secured with a thick portcullis primarily made of iron, with mithril hidden at key points to add further reinforcement. To disguise where the location of the extra protection, these are encased in a spruce covering. The three rivers running through the city each have defenses to prevent circumventing the walls. The smaller of the two rivers have a permanent standing Mithril grate protecting them. The main river, Maiden's Flow, is kept open for trading purposes, but a series of chains are drawn up at night and during Seige, making it impossible for boats to get across.
Ocean Defense
The massive fleet belonging to the Elven Freehavens protects the shores around Mauribon, mixed with the Rylin merchant fleet and others as the need arises. Within a few days, they can have roughly 200 ships stationed in a defensive formation, a formidable force to overcome. There are watch towers with trebuchets and other anti-ship weapons throughout the waterfront, even if the majority did not have a wall.
Drawbridges
Each of the bridges across Maiden's Flow could be raised to allow ships through and make it difficult to maneuver around the city if the walls are breached.
Inner Walls
Ancient parts of the city, such as Maiden's Hill, where the settlement began, had a long-standing wall that was repaired after being heavily damaged during the Great Storm. This ten-foot-high wall can serve as a second line of defense in an emergency, and for security purposes, those living inside already have standing oak gates guarding it.
Industry & Trade
Trade Nexus
Mauribon's extensive port facilities have made it the top trading hub on the Western Seas. Goods from both the Enclaves and from the Dwarves to the north are traded through the city.
Shipwrights
The city has been renowned for crafting the finest sailing vessels. These ships are not just strong, but are often imbued with millennia of maritime experience and learning. They are designed for both ocean trade and exploration, blending seamlessly with the waves.
Fisheries and Marine Processing
At the river mouth, the Elves manage sustainable, extensive fisheries. Their industries focus on fish (dried, smoked, or salted using minimal salt) for export, along with algae farms in coastal lagoons for food and specialized components.
Woodcraft and Timber
Mineral Refinement and Gemcrafting
The valuable lead, zinc, and especially silver ores from the northern cliffs are brought to Mauribon. Elven smiths, often using magically enhanced forges that burn with pure, controlled elemental fire, refine these metals. Silver is particularly prized for intricate jewelry, ceremonial items, and as a component in magical foci. Fluorite and barite are processed for specific industrial and magical uses.
Durstraidd District
Some of the most renowned blacksmiths have made their homes in the Durstraidd District, where master crafted swords, shields, armor, and gadgetry can be found.
Infrastructure
Mauribon, being nearly 32,000 years old, is one of the most developed cities in the known world. It is located in a key trading location, which has led to its steady growth. The city holds one of the largest ports on the continent and certainly the largest on the western coast. Mauribon is one of the most developed cities on the continent. Due to its key trading location, it has evolved rapidly over the years. The port is currently capable of holding up to 50 ships at one time, with a warehouse district and a market district nearby to store and sell the various goods delivered.
Years ago, a massive sewer system was ordered to help keep the city sanitary. While it is a primitive version, Aren's Great Grand Uncle pushed through an expansion so that even the poorest residents have access to it.
Cobblestone-style roads span most of the city, using the limestone to the north. Dozens of bridges help the inhabitants cross the three rivers.
There are public baths throughout the city, mainly of them in the northern half of the city including saunas due to the volcanic heat found in the mountains.
Districts
Maiden's Hill
This is located on the north bank of the river, Maiden's Flow. It is where Mauri made her abode thousands of years ago (Known as Maiden's Point), and the initial elves that settled in this area made their houses as well. Over the next few hundreds of years, the settlement spread out to the limestone cliffs to the north, and to the Dwarven river to the East to round out the original district. A defensive wall was constructed during the second era when news of the Great Storm broke out and still survives. Due to the ancient nature of this part of the city, many of the Ancestral homes are found in this area, including the Rylin Estate. The western bank has several larger houses that were slowly built over the years and other homes surrounding it. By this point, most commercial enterprises have moved to different parts of the city, leaving this district nearly 90% residential.Maiden's Stand
This district lies on the southern bank and was settled in the second half of the first age, once the Elves began to outgrow the original settlement area. Since the trade routes had recently been discovered with Mauribon being on a major current, a navy yard was constructed to allow ships to be moved in and out to facilitate trade. After the Battle of Mauribon in 700 AoS, most of this area was completely devastated either by the invaders or by being cannibalized for defense. The resulting rebuilding allowed this smaller area of the city to become a commercial center of the town primarily, with a massive port being planned that eventually built up to allow 50 ships at once, a warehouse district, and other commercial enterprises. In the southern tip of the district, many prominent merchants without an ancestral home in Maiden's Hill have made their home.Singing Hills
Originally, this part of the town was used as farmland, but after the Battle of Mauribon, these fields were salted and rendered incapable of growth. Thus, the land was revitalized for housing and became one of the primary residential areas. Prominent amongst this district is the Durstraid market, which is the best place in the city to buy weapons and armor.Warehouse District
Another area that was formerly farmland, the ancient magic used here left it unviable to grow crops indefinitely, which led the Elves to turn it into a Warehouse District.The Lower District
This is where the cities' poorest residents live, though, through the work of Aren's Great-Grand Uncle, even this part of the town has a sewage system and cobblestone roads.Assets
History
Age of Light
Era of Discovery (0-6,000 AoL)
Maiden's Landing
Man Vala, Cir Sil Aur.
At the beginning of the First Age of Light, Mauri and a contingent of Elves left Rillan Aur and traveled down the Envalcir River to explore the world. After over a decade of travel, they made their way to the delta of the river, where the Monour river flows from the south, and the Makor river flows in from the north.
It was here that the Eldrin and her 30 Elves decided to settle and make a home for themselves. With the limestone cliffs to the north and the ocean to the west, the northern banks made for a highly defensible location flush with natural resources.
Among the remaining 24 Elves who settled down, the following Houses were recorded:
- House Rylin
- House Sneha
- House Gwynt
- House Tomder
- House Cordear
- House Argrian
- House Daitur
- House Manura
- House Manbon
- House Aelith
- House Cerania
It was officially named Mauribon in the 111th year of the Age of Light
As the home of the Maiden herself, Mauribon became the center for Elven Culture, and remained so for roughly the first 2,000 years of Elven history. The coastal city began to grow quickly as a trading center for the few ports available at the time, primarily the Republic of Cerania and the League of Valtameri.
Several features emerged that gave it its own unique appearance. First was the The Reflecting Pools that had already begun being sculpted out in the side of the cliff, with the primary cavern visible across the city. Secondly, the waterstones harvested from the nearby oceans were used to light their buildings and decorate the city. Mauribon became an expression of the beauty that could be found in the world due to the careful work of the Elves that lived there.
Battle of the Blood Moon
See Battle of the Blood Moon for the full details.
As the 13th century began, the population had grown to the point that the region around Mauribon could no longer sustain it, so many of the Elven Houses had moved their people out into the rest of the valley, establishing lands that would later form the territorial boundaries of the age of expansion.
There were three exceptions to this: House Rylin, House Sneha, and House Tomder. The three of them had all heavily sought the Maiden's favor, and wanted to stay in the city to stay with the Maiden. However, House Tomder was not happy with just co-existing with the other noble houses; they wanted dominances like their rivals, House Ahgrian, over the region. Thus, they began a drawn-out political campaign to gain control of the city.
When the political campaign failed, House Tomder turned to violence. This battle saw House Tomder seek to uncut the Rylin-Sneha coalition that had become the dominant ruling faction in Mauribon. The goal was to eliminate Aura Rylin and Severin Sneha and then take control. This ultimately failed and solidified the control of the Rylin-Sneha coalition over Mauribon for the next several thousand years.
Formation of the Water Tribe
After several thousand years of expansion across the valley, the Elves had begun to coalesce around one of the four primary elements: Water, Earth, Fire, and Air. Due to their location on the coast, the three rivers, and the importance of waterstones to their daily lives, the Elves around Mauribon and the surrounding areas fell under the Water Tribe banner. The Tribe was more a loose collection of settlements and territories than a central organization for the first part of its history, though it was recognized that Mauribon, the only major city at the time, was its capital. It was here that several temporary leadership councils met to handle complex issues.
Despite her wanderlust bringing her across the world, the Maiden always came back to Mauribon, which continued to be viewed as her home.
Era of the Balance (6,000-10,000 AoL)
War for the Balance (6,280-6,300 AoL)
See The War for Balance for additional details.
Mauribon was the original focal point of the War for the Balance and was targeted by both the Fire Tribe and the Air Tribe with a combined force of roughly 40,000 Elves. With the invasion impending, Aenlin Rylin became the first ruler and Winter Warden of Mauribon in 6,280 AoL. Throughout the first three years of the conflict, the invading forces managed to capture the eastern half of the city on the far side of the Makor River before they were forced out in 6,283 AoL. To date, this is the longest occupation of any part of the city by an invading force.
It was largely due to this war that scholars from the Atheir Academic began working on the first wall around the boundary of the original settlement, and then later for the city as a whole. It was completed at an abnormal speed by using magical relics, which also demonstrated that such a thing was possible.
Over the next several thousand years, the city developed further as it rebuilt the eastern half of the city that was destroyed during the 20-year conflict and began to expand south of the river, due to the need for larger ports and a greater number of trading partners. The city was able to avoid the other conflicts during this era. However, some members of the city assisted with them.
Era of Expansion
Mauribon established its modern-day boundaries over this time, stretching five miles east off the coast where the external wall bridged the smallest distance between the limestone cliffs and the river, taking advantage of the natural barriers.
It was during this time that much of the infrastructure that the city enjoys today was either begun or finished, such as the first sewer system. Industry began in the city with great care taken to avoid disrupting the ecosystem and natural order around it. This made Mauribon a strange mixture of advanced and primitive practices as they sought to maintain the balance in all areas.
The expanse in the use of mithril, waterstones, and magical relics further helped the city to flourish and experience a population boom that made it the largest city during this time period.
Age of the Storm
The Elves of Mauribon agreed with their deity's decision to stay out of the growing conflict with the Fallen, particularly after he raided the research facilities in Cuanaur and revealed some of what he had been working on. This did not stop some of their warriors from marching East to join the fray, and the Winter Warden made it clear that any warriors of Mauribon who wanted to volunteer to fight with their neighbors, the Kingdom of Askel, would be welcomed back.
After the Eldar Conclave in 100 AoS, Mauribon became the new capital of the Elemental Alliance, but remained firmly in the hands of House Rylin.
City of Refuge
Throughout the next few hundred years, the forces of Mauribon were stretched thin across the Enclaves as orc skirmishes at the borders steadily increased. Mauribon had become a city of refuge for those in need to escape the Storm, particularly those who needed to heal or keep their families safe until they could return home. The Elven Valley, protected by the Maiden's power, became a rallying cry to the Sioran and Askely forces whose borders formed the frontlines against the Fallen's forces.
Siege of Mauribon
Despite the exhaustive defensive strategies deployed by the Free Alliance, the Fallen managed to sneak a force of 300,000 strong through the mountains and outflanked the defenses. This battle nearly brought an end to the city. The eastern edge was virtually destroyed once again, the outer walls breached, and the forces at the boundaries of the inner walls were weakened. Auradir Rylin led the defenders and overcame this invasion force, saving the original parts of the city.
Recovery in the Storm
The next decade after the defeat of the invasion force was spent rebuilding and securing the borders of the Enclave. With the initial recovery completed, Mauri and Auradir marched east to join the Free Alliance against the Fallen. Due to the number of warriors and craftsmen that marched with them, the additional recovery took an additional 200 years.
After the birth of Aurathir Rylin, the young scion of House Rylin returned and assumed control of Mauribon in his father's absence, aided by House Sneha.
Aftermath of the Storm
After the defeat of the Fallen, Wardern Auradir Rylin returned and was appointed as the Steward of the Seasons over the entire Enclave. Much time and wealth were spent restoring the city fully to its former glory and then some. While the population was only a fifth of what it once was, the city was ready for a new age.
Age of Restoration
Throughout the age of restoration, Mauribon grew as one of Eldux’s major cities, with its population reaching over 400,000 citizens.
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