Jeli Empire
The Jeli Empire is the current name that the Grand Messer has decreed for the whole of the territory controlled by the city-state of Zinda. It is not a true Empire - it consists simply of the island that Zinda is on, which is the only place where the Jeli flower can grow. To protect their monopoly, the Zindans have placed outposts around the island, and fight off any who attempt to establish a foothold. They have also attempted to spread to a few nearby islands, but have not been successful in growing Jeli on any of them.
This has led to tensions with the Grungs from the islands to the north of Zinda. After a few ships - the Zindan's called them thieves and smugglers, while the Grungs claimed to be fishermen who were chasing the Tikoloshe - were destroyed, the Grungs sunk one of the Zindans, and they have been gearing up for war since.
Structure
Lords of Diwan
The Lords of Diwan1 are the heads of the wealthiest merchant families in the city. These rulers each represent a specific trade, and the one controlling the Jeli trade is the de facto leader of the group. They meet regularly in the Vault of Justice, where they determine the direction of the city.
Day to day management of the city is done by the Magister, appointed by the Lords. The Magister wields more power than most realize, effectively dictating all policy not directly addressed by the Lords.
- Grand Messer Amos Nir is head of the Kings of Coin and represents the Jeli Trade. He is the wealthiest, most influential leader in Zinda.
- Madame Kit Mata represents the Grocers’ Trade.
- Messer Solenn Avim represents the Weavers’ Trade.
- Myx Nargis Ruba represents the Tavern Keepers’ Trade.
- Myx Massimo Ain represents the Smiths’ Trade.
- Madame Samira Arah is the newest member of the Kings of Coin. She represents the Jewelers’ Trade and oversees the Silent Verse as head of security for the Kings of Coin.
- Messer Jacapo Sur is the Magister.
Culture
The Jeli flower is central to the culture of Zinda. This opalescent moonflower has graceful pink leaves and wide petals, and it’s used to produce a sweet black wine, as well as providing dyes, fabric, and ingredients for various medicines. The flower was first discovered in the jungle around Zinda 7 years before, and quickly became the most important crop to the city, surpassing the other wines that had been made in the region for hundreds of years.
The city's most important festival, held at the height of summer, is the March of Vice. This has celebrated the various wines of the city, and the Goddess of Revelry that they credit for the wine. For the last 6 years, the festival has shifted to exclusively celebrating the Jeli wine, and in recent years, mentions of the Goddess have been non-existent.
History
The Empire was once the city state of Zinda, until the Jeli flower became the primary crop of the island. Jeli trade, and trade through Spelljammers, made Zinda the wealthiest city on the planet.
Approximately 400 years ago, a group of seafaring explorers came across the Jetty and established a fort looking over the harbor. The Jetty itself is of unknown origin, and many of the people of the Empire treat it as a natural feature. The explorers soon expanded the fort into a village, and more and more of them left the sea to settle in the area. The climate and soil was ideal for grapes, and the fish in the harbors are plentiful, and the village quickly grew to a town. As they began trading with other islands, they grew to a full city, prosperous but not more so than other islands. For several centuries, the city experienced a peaceful coexistence with their neighbors, building an extensive trading network.
A hundred years ago, the interlocking trade network was disrupted when a spelljamming ship landed near Zinda, and sailed into the harbor. They appeared as a sailing ship, and tried to hide their origin by pretending to be a sailing ship. They were given away by the dwarvish members of the crew - while the mostly human Zinda traded and interacted with a number of different species, dwarves were not one of them. A few particularly sharp traders who knew the extent of their world, talked with the dwarves enough to realize they couldn't possibly be telling the truth about their origins. A trader named Solin Nir snuck into the ship, and came across another creature they had never seen before, this one a short, feathered being that he later learned was a Dohwar. The Dohwar explained where he came from, and Nir was quick enough to grasp it and see an opportunity for profit. The Dohwar had tried the wine the Zinda made, and was willing to take a load with them, to judge whether it would be a viable trade good. The Dohwar kept the planet's existence secret, to ensure that they did not have competition.
The Zindans and the Dohwar hid the existence of spelljamming from the rest of Carida, and Zinda grew wealthy. That changed upon the discovery of the Jeli flower. Nir's grandson, owner of the majority of the vineyards around the city, brought the flower back from the volcanic slopes. It flourished in the vineyards, and proved to be an extraordinarily useful. Controlling the plant allowed them to greatly expand trade both on and off Carida, and they soon went from wealthy to the richest civilization on the planet. At this point, they transitioned to an "empire", establishing outposts around their own island and others nearby. They have absorbed several villages and towns on the nearby islands, and appear to be ready to absorb more.
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