Deva and Lyndyn, the twin cities

There is nothing in the whole Snow Elf Kingdom compared to the sight of the twin cities, Deva and Lyndyn, and the landscape around them. Enclosed between the Northern Sea to the East and the Albine Mountains to the West. This one of the most famous settlements in the kingdom and one of the few permanent ones where Snow Elves can live most of the year without going into Cave settlements during winter.  

The Twin cities

The sight of the Twin cities is a blessing for a sailor or to whoever dares to cross this land during the cold months, they are a refuge against the forces of nature, and also a key location for trade and to track Nord raiding parties sailing across the coast.  

Location

  Deva and Lyndyn are located in the South-East of the Kingdom of the Snow Elves, where the winters are not as harsh as in the north of the country. Both settlements are located at the mouth of the river Andyn (one of the most beautiful places in Teria as many travellers say), close to the frontier with the Kingdom of Cloudia in two hills on opposite banks of the river, thus their name, the twin cities, These two settlements dominate the nearby Andyn valley that lies between the coast and the so called Griffon's nest, the easternmost part of the Albine Mountains.   Their location makes them very difficult settlements to besiege, as each of them are protected by two layers of strong, stone walls and multiple ditches. Deva is located on the western hill, the highest and the steepest of the two promontories, while Lyndyn is located in the smallest yet widest of both hills. In the middle of both mountains lies the mouth of the river Andyn which allowed both settlements to build small docks where fishing and trade ships could dock or take refuge from storms due to its sheltered location.   Their strategic position is key for their prosperity because they are close to the main trading routes across the Northern Sea as well as close to other important "permanent" and cave settlements of the Snow Elves such as Issinnonara, Enmesha or Cayr Adrynor and Cayr Thillanar and the border with the Blatians of Cloudia, the Kingdom of the Snow Elves' most important trade partner and ally.   Being also two of the four permanent settlements that the Snow Elves inhabit through the whole year means that their economy is less dependent on magic or even on an Artificial Sun, though as the locals say : We don' get to see a lot of the actual Sun during most of the winter, since it is raining or cloudy most of the time, and only in autumn, part of spring and summer do we have weeks where we don't see a single cloud.  

Layout

     

History

Lyndyn was the oldest of the two settlements, already mentioned in royal documents from the 12th century BP, in the later stages of the Bronze age in the continent! Some of these royal documents granted the city the rights to trade with the peoples of the South, most likely the tribes of Moria peninsula and the Kallian peoples. The old town, probably located inside the Royal quarter today, expanded considerably in the 5th and 4th centuries BP to mostly its actual size. When the Ikarians annexed the territory briefly during the 1st century BP to the 2nd century AP they helped the local elves expand their fortifications, probably with the help of Ikarian military engineers.   To protect the shoreline and the territories nearby, as well as the silver mines to the north, the Ikarians built a fortress opposite to Lyndyn called Deva, which was the name the native elves used to refer to that hill. When the legions left the region for good, elves from the neighbouring towns, including some families from Deva, moved to the abandoned fort and built a new town.     Lyndyn had flourished during the Ikarian period due to the fact that it was the only port on these latitudes alongside Yemellean to the south. The retreat of the legions and their return to the Kingdom of the Snow Elves, both towns continued to prosper until the Nord raids began in the late 4th century AP. Up to twelve attempts to sack the towns were repelled by the locals between the 4th and 8th centuries, when they stopped. Nowadays, despite the shadow of a possible renewal of the sacking expeditions by their northern neighbours, the cities had prospered selling goods to fellow Snow elves in the interior and also selling goods from the interior of the country to mostly Blatian, Seris and Green Elf merchants.  

Government

Because of their close relation, both geographically and even between their inhabitants, Deva and Lyndyn have a joint government, something not very usual in the Kingdom of the Snow Elves. Their petty Kings are the heads of a citizen assembly composed by the citizens of both settlements. This assembly discuses everything, from the religious calendar, problems related to earth property to choose the officers of the local militia or send embassies to the High King of the Snow Elves.   This assembly is held each 3 months, and in the past, it used to meet in one village or another, changing location each year. But since the time of the Ikarian occupation, when the imperial authorities modelled this assembly after the curia, the local assemblies of the Ikarian cities, the Deva-Lyndyn Assembly has taken place on sacred ground, on a small hill near the Griffin's Nest where a small altar to the gods stands. Each year, the citizens choose the Speaker who will moderate the debates held through the year in the presence of the Two petty Kings, who had the ultimate decision about the questions proposed to the assembly.   These two kings belong to the same dynasty of rulers who had ruled Lyndyn since the Bronze Age, and are themselves also related to the family of the High King. Each time a new King is appointed the High King has to give its blessing, if not, the High King might appoint another member of the family or might let the local assembly elect a person from the current dynasty to occupy the throne. During the Ikarian occupation, when this territory was a province of the Ikarian empire, that blessing had to be given by the Ikarian Emperor.

Inhabitants

  People from Deva and Lyndyn are famous for their hospitality towards friendly nations like the Blatians and Seris, and also towards fellow elves. They pride themselves on being "special" among the Snow Elves for living on the surface year-round. Because of their repeated victories over the Nord, they see themselves as a kind of "sentinel of the Snow Elves," watching over the realm from external threats while their compatriots endure the harsh northern winter in their cave-cities. Though they will never say it out loud. They are famous across the realm for being hard working people, skilled farmers and magicians and honest while striking a deal.  

Economy

The Twin cities wealth relies on agriculture, thanks to the fertile lands of the Andyn valley, livestock farming, mainly sheep and cattle and trade with other Snow Elf cities and with Blatian lands. The fields of the western bank of the Andyn River belong to Deva and are distributed among most of its citizens, the same happens in the eastern bank, in the fields on the eastern bank which belong to Lyndyn.   Fishing is also a very important activity for both towns since it provides fish that the locals can add to their diet, and that can also be useful if harvest are not plentiful. Some of this fish is kept on ice or through magical means and exported to the neighbouring cave settlements where locals die for eating some of the delicious fish captured on their shores such as tuna, roosterfish, trout or sardines.  

The Royal Road

The Royal Road, begun by the Ikarians when Deva and Lyndyn where part of the Ikarian Empire and later expanded by the Snow Elf Kings, is the main artery connecting both settlements to the south, to the border with Cloudia, and to the elven capital, Naritlune. It is recognized by many as one of the most beautiful roads in northern Teria, both for its scenery and its natural beauty. The milestones erected by the Ikarians, indicating distances and directions to the nearest settlements, are still standing (as many snow elves know, Ikarians can read them without problems), and the roads are still maintained by the snow elves themselves.