Brekon (city)
| Brekon | |
| Other Names: | City of Glory |
| Society: | |
| Nation/Territorial Area: | Brekon |
| Population: | 1.1 Million |
| Languages: | Common, Orcish, Goblin, Giant-kin languages |
| Deities Worshipped: | Valok, Maleki |
| General Alignment: | Lawful Evil |
| Head of City Government: | High Cleric Mukhar Zhakhir |
| Races: | |
| 40% Orc, 20% Goblin, 20% Giant-kin, 20% Other | |
The city of Brekon lies directly on the coast and it is no more than a few days journey from the city of Red Gate, which belongs to the Confederation of The Seven Cities to the southwest of the nation of Brekon. The southern gate of the city, which faces Red Gate, is constantly bustling with traffic and rarely ever closes at night. Brekon is known for its shipbuilding and a few other more illicit activities, the least of which is the cultivation of dire animals for manufacturing blood fury crystals, a potent narcotic. There are also vast natural resources within the nation's borders, most of which are in the form of ores which are crafted into weapons and armor that are exported to anyone who will buy them. The Seven Cities buy up much of the ore, for they have little of their own, and the Kurathene Empire generally buys the finished products.
History
Early Period (Pre-Orcish Destruction - P.O.D.)
The earliest inhabitants of the land now occupied by Brekon were goblinoid creatures directly descended from the first of their race created by Maleki. A small city by the name of Yurshnut was ruled jointly by an advanced goblin tribe and its related larger hobgoblin cousins. Though there were other settlements of much smaller size, Yurshnut shined as an example of perfectly tuned chaos holding a civilization together for several continuous centuries. No other goblinoid city on the surface has ever since achieved that level of success.
Historians speculate that this small city might have grown in size to rival even some of the nearby human cities in the remnants of The Kurathene Empire to the north, but subsequent events prevented this. During the peak of Yurshnut's growth, The Great War rapidly approached its climax, and put the inhabitants of Yurshnut on a collision course with fleeing orcs. The destruction of the orcish nation of Dobrekan forced the entire bulk of the race across the continent in blind retreat. At a pivotal point, it looked as if the orcs would be pushed into the sea, but in time they pulled together and streamed into the area of Yurshnut to begin the decline of that city and the rise of a new one.
The Orcish Destruction was most remembered for its extraordinary decimation of life and its effects on the entire landmass of Negaria. Less remembered are its local effects. The terrified remnants of Dobrekan's citizenry moved quickly to enslave the local goblin population in order to fortify the area so they could defend against what they thought was an impending attack from literally every other civilization on the continent united against them. Though the war drew to a close before that due to the intervention of Mikon and the creation of good-aligned dragons, the damage done to the civilization of Yurshnut was permanent.
The new city was renamed Brekon by the orcs, derived from their words for "final place" and insinuating in the vernacular of the time the idea of a coffin or tomb. It grew in size and scope until it controlled much of the land around it. Aside from the other orcish nation of Dubunat which was also in its infancy at the time, this place became a haven for the displaced orcs.
The Goblin Uprising of 517 A.O.D.
For a little more than five centuries, the city of Brekon flourished and began to trade with its surrounding neighbors, Dubunat, The Kurathene Empire, and Toran Shaarda. The society's economy revolved around slave labor and trade, and to some extent this would always be the case well into the future. During the first centuries since the founding of the city, however, the slave population was exclusively comprised of goblins and hobgoblins descended from the subjugated tribes encountered during the orcs' flight from Dobrekan.
The plight of the slave population was of no concern to the orcs, and their laws, both civil and religious codified the institution of slavery and regulated it. From the goblinoid perspective, however, the situation was not so rosy. Slow anger simmered beneath the surface of their population for centuries, and over time a leader named Tarak Abu-Ni began to emerge as a quiet motivator and director of insurrection. Tarak's methods were slow and patient, but ruthless, performing seemingly random assassinations of orc trademasters and politicians but not too many to arouse suspicion. For his work and adoration by the goblinoid citizenry, Maleki granted him immortality and the powers that go along with it, and he used them to gather even more followers to him.
One such follower was a hobgoblin cleric of Maleki named Haruk Kav. Through constant prayer, meditation, and training, Haruk lent his help to Tarak Abu-Ni and soon began a large clandestine operation to summon and contain significant numbers of demons from The Abyss in the catacombs and sewers beneath the city. As the summoning project approached a crescendo and harmonized with the chaos on the surface caused by increasingly brazen assassination, Tarak and Haruk called their followers to action and rose up against their orc masters.
The ensuing battles leveled neighborhoods and palaces within the city and raged for weeks. Letting the summoned demons loose on the surface increased that destruction tenfold, and caught the orcs completely off guard leaving them no time to attempt summoning their devils to aid in quelling the rebellion. The orcs also understood that doing so would invite The Blood War to their doorstep, which is the ancient battle between demons and devils that rages throughout the Outer Planes and has done so for untold millennia. Becoming a battlefield in that war would permanently level Brekon and perhaps all of Avlis.
Instead of going that route, the orcs did what they are known for best: they made a deal. The goblins and hobgoblins in the city were given their freedom, and their children and descendants would be born as free citizens of Brekon. However, slavery as an institution would remain and any citizen convicted of a crime would be eligible to lose its freedom if the crime was serious enough (and most of them are). Goblinoid citizens were even permitted to own slaves as long as the slaves were not of orcish blood. Taking this deal created a new normal in the city, which was now regarded as a joint settlement with orcs and goblinoids living together.
The Invader Period
Orcish political games created an insular society over the next century during a time of uneasy peace with the surrounding lands. Internal affairs occupied most of the city rulers' attention. This changed when a series of giant-kin invasions began in 657. Due to lack of control by the Brekonian military in the outlying lands to the north, large populations and settlements of hill giants, stone giants, voadkyn, veerbeeg, and ogres began to build up. In some cases they formed mid-sized settlements on orcish lands unmolested by authorities.
This all came to a head once these settlements took on ambitions for looting and pillaging the jewel of the area, the City of Brekon. The first invasions were smaller and uncoordinate, mostly perpetrated by hill giants with minimal leadership. Later, the stone giants formed alliances with their cousins of the hills and made for sturdier adversaries against the orcs. These invasions were easily repelled. The most trouble came when legions of hill giants and stone giants were led by voadkyn and ogre commanders with additional veerbeeg foot soldiers. The combined might of these giant kin breached the walls of the city multiple times before being repelled, sometimes using aid from devils summoned by the orcs.
Despite Brekon's victories, the invasions kept coming and showed no signs of relenting. The leadership decided that something had to be done. A task force set out to attack the settlements of the giant-kin directly and subdue their leaders into dialogue. Once that was achieved, the orcs reverted to their deal-making skills, which included taking strategic enemy figures as slaves, but allowing the rest of the enemy citizenry free passage in and out of Brekon as long as it is done peacefully.
Secondary groups of orc and goblinoid diplomats approached the giant-kin settlements to set up trade. There were some setbacks and betrayals along the way, but eventually the invasions trickled to a halt over the course of 75 years. Over the next century, the citizenry of Brekon became more diverse as it started to include these giant-kin as full members of society.
The results of these events produced a noticeable difference in city architecture because it now had to accommodate large-sized sentient beings. From this period forward, Brekon's cityscape began to take on its mishapen, multi-sized appearance.
Dubunat Wars
With the establishment of Dubunat as a rival orc nation to the south in the sixth century A.O.D., the two nations constantly set their sites on one another for expansion and conquest. For the next several centuries there were at least two major wars every 150 years between Dubunat and Brekon. Since the city has always acted as the capital of the larger orc nation and lies to the extreme south of the country, it was always on the front lines of any war, subjected to attack and used as a launching pad for southward operations.
The Occupation 812 - 886 A.O.D.
One of the earlier wars initiated by Dubunat was successful in sacking and occupying the city of Brekon, along with large swaths of the nation of Brekon's southern lands. Though the occupation held for a little over seven decades, the government of Dubunat was unable to quell the unrest from Brekon's giant-kin and goblinoid populations and eventually ceded the city back to the nation of Brekon in 886. Historians note that during this same year, Dubunat was suffering from an Underdark invasion by several minor Demon Lords based below western Negaria.
The Abandonment 1024 - 1182 A.O.D.
Also referred to as the "Independence Period", the city of Brekon initiated a war in the name of the whole orcish nation with the goal of capturing more land to the south from Dubunat to act as a buffer and give space between the city and its nearby emeny. However, the political factions outside of the capital in the nation of Brekon at the time did not support the war. They believed that resources for the country were better used on the northern front to guard against The Kurathene Empire whom they saw as a more dangerous opponent.
The political intrigue and discord grew to such a pitch that the capital city was ejected from the nation, and a new capital was formed farther north in the city of New Fejraka. Left to its own devices and only a small amount of surrounding land outside the city walls (and most of the standing army), the city of Brekon attacked Dubunat anyway and succeeded in conquering a small portion of lands to the south. It declared these holdings the "true nation of Brekon" and labelled the rest of the nation of Brekon as breakaway provinces.
Reunification
A century after The Abandonment, it became clear that the "breakaway provinces" of North Brekon did not have the trade influence necessary to compete with the city itself. Even with the newly budding cultural and economic center forming in New Fejraka, the location adjacent to The Seven Cities enjoyed by the city of Brekon gave it a huge advantage compared to the bulk of the rest of the country which was in large part a desert. After some tense negotiations and pledges to make efforts at keeping the peace with Dubunat, the southern breakaway provinces rejoined with the city of Brekon as the capital once more, but the northern half of the country remained loyal to New Fejraka.
In 1354 A.O.D., the city of Brekon and the southern provinces led a successful campaign to reconquer the north, unifying the country once more, bringing an end to the short-lived nation of North Brekon.
Contemporary Period
From the year 1400 onward, the fortunes of the city of Brekon followed the same course as the nation of the same name. Internal politics gave rise to many rulers of the city, who in turn were the de facto rulers of the nation, and these events closely influenced and mirrored those of the Church of Valok, the main deity worshiped by orcs in the city, as well as the Church of Maleki which traditionally represents the goblinoids and giant-kin.
Districts
The city of Brekon is broken up into several districts, some of which operate outside the walls of the city, which is relatively unusual in western Negaria, but similar to the case with Red Gate. As a general rule, space usage inside the walls is reserved for residence, worship, production of goods, government affairs, and military training. Most trade, farming, and entertainment take place outside the walls because these areas arose after the founding of the city, whose first purpose was a fortification against invasion and had no room for such things.
Garrison District
The majority of the northwestern quarter of the city is dedicated to Brekon's military. It is a fortified location with structures used for both training and housing soldiers. According to common knowledge of the area, it is also set up as a last bastion of defense in case the city is overrun.
This district favors function over form and has a meticulous network of narrow streets designed to confuse enemies but also to allow efficient travel of native units in and out of it. Rumors hold that the streets are trapped as well, but the traps are only activated in times of war.
Hill District
Located in the southwestern portion of the city which is set upon a slight rise overlooking Smelter City, the Hill District is where all middle and upper class residents make their homes. As one of the wealthier sections of the city, it is also the location of many of the higher-end taverns, brothels, and party establishments.
Smelter City
Though it is actually a district located roughly in the center of Brekon, bordering the southern edges of the Garrison and Temple districts, Smelter City is the center of production and crafting, not only for the city but the entire country. Artisans of all shapes, sizes, skill levels, and crafts practice their trades here and fuel the economy of Brekon. Goods produced here are sold to middlemen dealers who cart them out of the city to the market just outside the southern gate. From there, they are purchased by another set of merchants that load them onto caravans bound either for Red Gate, New Fejraka, or Galdos.
Depending on the race and preferences of the workers here, the look and feel of the smithies and crafting stations will vary. The majority of the crafters are orcs, who are known in western Negaria for their fine armor and weapons. There are also occasional goblin and ogre crafters, along with the rare dwarf or human. No matter the race, each piece contributes to the prestige, glory, and reputation of Brekon and the government monitors this district closely for its output.
Southeastern Slums
The majority of the city population resides in this district, including non-orcish races. The slums are broken up into neighborhoods, some which favor goblinoids, some orc, some giant-kin, and the buildings, doorways, and streets are sized accordingly. Depending on the neighborhood, there are occasionally shrines and small market stalls to serve the local population, and these vary according to the dominant culture in the surrounding blocks.
Most city residents also know that on practically any corner, especially in the rougher neighborhoods, many illicit substances and services are for sale. A good number of residents make their living, either in solitary fashion or through gangs, selling these wares. The hard life in this quarter of the city has broken countless souls, but also acted as a crucible for other adventurers and powerful figures in Brekon and beyond.
The Sulq
Immediately outside the southern gate of the city is a rolling field of ever shifting tents and temporary market stalls known as The Sulq. If Smelter City is the engine of Brekon's economy, this district is the body and soul. All crafted parts from within the walls of Brekon are brought out to The Sulq through a system of middlemen merchants who trade them down the line. Whatever is not purchased by local citizens is sent onward to more merchants who bargain to get the goods onto caravans heading in to the other major cities of Negaria.
Meanwhile, incoming caravans coming from Red Gate and other directions unload their goods and reverse the process, or switch their goods to other caravans moving onward. This to and fro motion in and out of the district gives the city its life and breath. The sounds of auctioneers running prices, caravan guards clearing the way for their groups, and lone shop owners hawking their goods constantly fills the air until nightfall.
Each night, the tents and stalls get packed up and put away only to come out again the next morning. The marketeers and caravan guards retreat back inside the walls or to one of the caravanserai located outside the walls. These are specialized inns made to receive and hold caravans in their massive courtyards. Those who do not fit in either place camp in the fields outside the walls and light fires for warmth and light.
Temple District
Most of the northeastern quarter of the city is comprised of temples and other religious buildings, which in the case of Brekon also double as government buildings since the country is a theocracy. The largest structure belongs to the Church of Valok and acts as the capitol building of the nation as well as the seat of the Church of Valok. Another slightly smaller building performs the same function for the Church of Maleki, and a third even smaller and newer structure is dedicated to The'ton, whose worship was imported into the city during the occupation period.
As with most other sections of the city, this district's buildings are made to accommodate larger sentient species, like ogres and to a certain degree, giants. Since this is one of the older sections of the city, not all of the streets are widened accordingly, but some construction projects over the centuries have seen to it that the wider streets form a plausible network for easy travel by larger beings.
Government
As a society, Brekon is a theocracy, giving all homage to Valok. Valok and his Church rule the city, controlling all military, trade, and civil law, as well as diplomacy. The head of the Church of Valok is officially the mayor of the city and the Head of State of the nation of Brekon, and by law only those of orcish blood may hold the post. The rest of the clerics in the city function to support the government and religious institutions, and are mainly concerned with getting an upper hand on their political rivals and jockeying for an ever so slightly higher position.
For the normal citizenry, rule by Valok's worldly proxy and his clerics is not a terrible state of affairs, because the principles of the Church stipulate that glory and achievement must be sought out and nurtured in those who are less fortunate (and there are no qualms about putting those less fortunate to work for the advantages of the rich and powerful afterward). This philosophy manifests through outreach by the clerics to normal members of society to provide them with jobs (serving the interests of the Church), training (on how to better serve the Church), and sustenance (so they can stay healthy enough to train and do their jobs).
Secondarily, there is a strong following of Maleki within the city of Brekon, and this is mainly a staple of the giant-kin and goblins who live there. Here, these folk are often considered second class citizens; however, they are always awarded full rights under the law, as are any outsiders. "The Law" is usually loose enough for the Church to handle any matter it needs to. The Valokians consider the Church of Maleki as responsible for ministering to the goblinoid and giant-kin citizens of the city, but in practicality this is not aligned with what the Malekites actually do for their ilk.
During the wars with Dubunat centuries ago, a small following of The'ton sprung up while the city was occupied by its southern orc neighbors, and the remnants of that following still persist. However, officially the Church of The'ton serves no government purpose. In actuality, it acts as an opposition party in the political sense, calling into question the practices of the Valokians and sowing doubt and fear among the populace when it can.
Discreetly missing from society is any form of democracy or influence from non-religious orders, such as Andrinor's Trust. In fact, the practice of arcane magic within the city is illegal on pain of death, due to the stigma associated with it for its role in the Orcish Destruction, which killed many thousands of orcs in addition to their enemies. On the other hand, newly uncovered powers from Runic Magic are beginning to surface within the city and are interpreted differently from arcane magic due to their execution and general effects, i.e. they are accessed through a writing system and usually allow the recipient to increase fighting prowess or other related buffing, and not usually associated with raw destructive power.
Religion
Within the city and nation of Brekon there is no separation of Church and State. Thus, as the government goes, so goes the religion. The political institution and religious observances are one in the same here. Refer to above section on Government for more information.
Minor religions also exist within the city, usually from immigrants or passerby. Two common deities seen in the city are Fegall and Gorethar, usually worshiped by visiting dwarves from Deglos and Galdos respectively. Though it is rare, these dwarves sometimes find ways to immigrate to the city and set up shop there to supply the trade of goods and crafts out of the city. Less often, there are travelers from the remnants of the Kurathene to the north who worship Toran and Senath. Any other deity worshiped within the city tends to be incidental and unorganized.
Most ordinary citizens pay sole homage to Valok if they are orcs, though a good number of the orcish citizens also worship The'ton. The goblinoids and giant-kin tend to worship Maleki and in some cases The'ton as well.
Organizations
The Church of Valok
Aside from descriptions referenced in the sections on Government and Religion above, the Church of Valok plays a large role in society. Though it is officially a "church" that acts as a government and outreach program, its other functions include illicit trade, acting as an organized crime syndicate to govern said illicit trade, and a law enforcement agency to keep the peace.
Much of this work is outsourced to other organizations that do the heavy lifting and daily work, such as the Dominators of Valok and the Madams of Neepbee. All of these smaller organizations report into and are managed ultimately by the Church, without whose blessing they would cease to exist. Therefore, it is usually not common to spy a cleric of Valok performing a shakedown, operating a brothel, or executing a mage, but rather one of the smaller sub-organizations doing it in the name of the law and the Church through one of their own members.
Dominators of Valok (The Dominators)
Dominators are the holy warriors of Valok officially sanctioned by the Church to act as law enforcement within the city. Practically speaking, this gives the Dominators leeway to create a law enforcement and local judicial system that they can manage and tweak as they please. Since there are only a finite number of Dominators, the organization recruits and trains town guard and inquisitor agents to do its bidding while the Dominators act as precinct leaders and officers.
Two major divisions of inquisitor agents work for The Dominators within the city. The Office of Crime and Punishment (OCP) tackles everyday crime and murder cases that pique the interest of the political establishment. Most other murders are not investigated unless the complaintant has enough political clout to push through the charges, even though murder is technically illegal within the city. The Dominators claim that they have limited resources to follow every single incident, but crackdowns are known to happen when trends get out of hand, and they can be brutal. The Office of Arcane Inquisition is the bane of any arcane spell caster within the city and for miles around it. Headed and staffed mostly by Dominators and Inquisitors and loyal to The Church of Valok, this office devotes all of its time investigating reports of arcane magic within the city and then executing those deemed responsible.
=Madams of Neepbee
The infamous Madams of Neepbee are a network of brothel owners, most of whom are female goblins and hobgoblins, that run the big establishments throughout the city. They are in fierce competition with other brothel networks to the point of coming to blows often in the alleys and sometimes in full view of public, to the delight of passerby. To most outsiders who are not orc or goblinoid, the merchandise they hawk does not appeal, but the Madams are sometimes also known to host "exotic" species like humans, elves, and halflings once in a while.
Witin the city walls, brothels are completely legal and unprovoked harm to a brothel worker is a punishable offense. The Dominators of Valok are known to strictly enforce these rules through the town guard. The Madams of Neepbee are also closely plugged into some of the more infamous rogues' guilds in the area for the purposes of protection. The slavers of the surrounding countryside are also in debt to them and are loyal to the Madams as long-time clients and buyers.
Notable Officials & Personalities
Landmarks
In Game Developments
There is no online version of these lands in play currently, and knowledge of this information in game is limited to characters that have reason, ability, and circumstance to know. Seek DM permission if there is any doubt.
Technical Aspects
N/A - These lands exist only in the pen and paper version of Avlis, not on any of the current servers.