Greenstone - The Sky Remembers, The Mountain Endures

The City of Greenstone, also called the Emerald Jewel of the Stormspire Mountains, is the de facto capital of the Eastern Dominance and a centre of civilisation and trade in an otherwise sparsely populated area. Greenstone comprises of the well protected inner city and trade quarters and the diverse and chaotic outer city. Like anywhere in the League of Vakno, life revolves around the accumulation of wealth and there is plenty of opportunity to make coin, but for those who are not favoured by Lugnur, life can be harsh. The Under City, populated by dwarves, gnomes and kobolds is part of Greenstone, yet also nearly like a different world entirely. The city is known for its export of valuable minerals and metals, dwarf made weapons and armour but perhaps most famous for its School of Magical Artifice where magic users never tire of trying to craft, improve or invent magical contraptions that are in high demand all over Mera.

Greenstone was founded 600 years ago as a mining outpost by gnomish and human explorers who found copper and malachite deposits near Zelena Hora, the Green Mountain. Once they secured funds from investors from Zekervest in the League of Vakno a permanent settlement was built.
Over the next 150 years Greenstone was given its name, was fortified and greatly expanded, including the discovery of an underground river, the Grondurkarnzuram (the full dwarven name meaning river hidden in the depth of green stone), later shortened to Durkan River and the foundation of the Under City.
The town survived dragon attacks and lived through three sieges by other nations and not only recovered but grew to prosper even more until it became the major city it now is, with a population of roughly 60,000, a major institute of magic, temples and every other amenity one would not easily expect in such an isolated city.

Just like the League of Vakno itself, Greenstone is a plutocracy although slightly modified. The city is ruled by the Greenstone Council that consists of the 12 richest individuals, the wealth being estimated every 5 years, plus the high priests of the temples of Lugnur, Mandanu and Svarog and the mayors of each of the Wards of Greenstone (Upper City, Inner City, Trade Quarters, Undercity, Stone Ward, Southwest Ward, Market Ward and East Ward). Since Greenstone is a foundation of the League, a governor is appointed by the Vaknoan High Council who can overrule the Council in certain matters, who can cast the tie breaking vote and who has power over the local military and police.

For many centuries Greenstone had no standing army but relied on a militia, now named Civic Guard. Any able-bodied citizen over the age of 17 is required to serve for 18 months, unless they pay for an exemption or to shorten their term. Those of good standing who which to extend their service can do so as a career choice. The Civic Guard is a police force in times of peace. For a few decades now Greenstone has employed a dozen Wyvern Knights and around 150 to 200 soldiers under their command. There are various merchant and temple guards, the Governor’s Guard and, as of recently, about 300 mercenaries of the Crimson Axes under the governor’s command. The inner city is also extremely well equipped with siege weapons and magical wards courtesy of the School of Magical Artifice.

The Zelena Hora has rich deposits of copper and malachite, in the deep other gemstones, gold and small deposits of adamantine ore have made the city rich. Coal, iron, timber and agricultural products are the biggest imports. Bulk trade happens via the Durkan River. Via overland routes, finished wares like armour and weapons and mechanical contraptions are exported and finished goods and luxury goods are imported.

Three major temples exist in Greenstone. In the Over City, a temple of Mandanu, god of justice and nobility, also serves as the high court. In the Inner City, not far from the Trade Quarters, a temple to Lugnur, the god of trade, is where many deals are sealed and fortunes are stored in its vaults. A temple of Svarog, god of artisans and inventors, is located in the Under City where dwarves, gnomes and craftspeople of many other races pray for blessings to their works. Smaller shrines of these three deities and others are dotted around the city

Crime exists within the city of Greenstone, in many forms. In the outer wards, petty crime is common, gambling and prostitution even more so. The Inner City sees the occasional theft or burglary and, of course, extortion and even kidnapping while the Under City’s biggest problem is smuggling. At various times thieves’ guilds have operated in Greenstone and crime has been on the rise but the current governor has begun to crack down on it.

Greenstone has a population of roughly 65,000. Of those, about 60% are human, the rest of the population mainly consists of kobolds, dwarves, elfblooded, halflings and gnomes with members of many other races present in smaller numbers. About 2000 make their home in the Upper City, 8,000 in the Inner City, slightly over 5,000 in the Trade Quarters, nearly 10,000 in the Under City, 12,000 to 15,000 in the Stone Ward, somewhere around 5,000 in the Southwest Ward, and 7,000 to 8,000 each in the Market and East Ward.