Sperrhis

In ancient times, the Elderkin viewed the frozen north of Tyrrell as a dangerous, but rich place. As the focal point of the Field that permeates the whole world with magical power, the poles are where the Field burns brightest. While Elderkin that stay there for long periods would surely blaze out and die, the prospect of exploiting the cold north was still ablaze in the minds of the elderkin. However, it was deemed an exceedingly risky venture for a long time.

During the Second Age, it would be a conclave of ambitious and enterprising Elderkin sorcerers contracted by various Elderkin governments that would first attempt to exploit the riches of the far north. Their sponsors ranged from the great elven empires of Tassendrel and Hvel’Xiren, the dwarven nations of Elruth and the Great Holds, and even the Cyclopes of Elysia. Funded and supported by such benefactors, these sorcerer-explorers would venture up north. The first thing they searched for was a place that offered protection from the Field’s unbridled power. 

In these adventures, they would find a mountainous island just off the coast, with peaks far enough from sea level that the Field wouldn’t destroy any Elderkin that lived there. This mountain island would thus serve as the bedrock of what will become a city-state in its own right. The sorcerer-explorers, accompanied by their retinues of followers and a legion of Lesserkin employees, would begin the work of prospecting and extracting Aurite from the frozen ground. In the first few years, deaths from accidents and monsters were disturbingly common. 

Dozens were killed (though some clandestine sources suggest that the deaths were actually at the low hundreds). The sorcerer-explorers and their followers would be permanently on edge as intermittent food imports kept the operation alive. Their benefactors watched on with trepidation, deathly afraid that their investment in the expedition would become a colossal waste. Eventually, the explorers’ operations would succeed when the first rounds of exporting extracted aurite garnered monstrous profits for their coffers. They showered their subordinates with treasure, just as they had initially promised, and set off to continue their work.

This island’s mountain settlement, which was initially filled with magic research stations and Aurite refineries, would slowly grow as enormous profits poured into its coffers through the export of Aurite to Elderkin nations across Tyrrell. It would seem that there was only success to be found as more and more facilities were built. Skilled mages and researchers would surge towards Sperrhis, contributing to a “brain drain” in many Elderkin nations. The settlement, however, offered great opportunities for those with skills, and so did their workforce grow. 

But then, the Third Gate War began. The island, which had been called Sperrhis by this point, was suddenly used as a forward operating base by forces fighting the foul legions of the Forgotten trying to pierce through the gates that contained them. The Sperrhi gained even more prestige as they hosted the champions that defeated the Forgotten in several such Gate Wars, and, eventually, they would negotiate the recognition of Sperrhis as an independent nation in its own right. 

Little in practice changed, however. The elderkin lived on the mountain’s peak, while the lesserkin dwelt in the portions of the city that clung to the sides and bottom, the latter benefitting less from the barriers that protect Sperrhis from freezing over. In the present day, the Aurite exports continue, but Sperrhis has become politically withdrawn, perhaps in fear that ideas of revolution would reach the lesserkin that form the basis of their Aurite-extraction teams. For now, their workers are content in their frozen, harsh, and deadly working environments, well paid in coin and sufficient dwelling, but could this state of affairs last forever?

I'm an intro to the subject of this section, so that I can break up the white subheading below so we can better accentuate the sections!

Ever since its beginnings as a coalition of explorers sponsored by all the great Elderkin empires of Tyrrell, Sperrhis has been ruled over by a council of its most powerful and skillful magic-wielders, which has seven members. Any Elderkin with the means and skills within the city of Sperrhis could, in theory, become a member of the Council of Seven.

While the Council of Seven broadly represents the interests of the elderkin Sperrhi citizenry, they do have to balance between the Elderkin, who live in relative wealth thanks to constant social welfare, and the lesserkin laborers, who do the work of extracting Aurite from the cold mines and offshore rigs that Sperrhis has under its control. As the Council requires immense magical power and skill for membership, no Lesserkin has any hope of joining. However, a representative for the Lesserkin members of Sperrhi society sits as an honorary, but not true, member of the Council. 

This representative holds no real power over the politics of Sperrhis, but their position does allow the voice of the Lesserkin labor force to be heard by the Council of Seven. Thus, the Council has, for a long time, kept the lesserkin happy and contented by paying them well in exchange for working in such dangerous frozen environments to prevent any disruptions to their Aurite extraction efforts.

Sperrhis itself has changed little from the Second Age. The city is a fusion of all the Elderkin races’ architecture; elven bungalows, dwarven mansions, and Cyclopean spires. It has unchanged and unyielding against the test of time, barriers eternally shimmering in defiance to the howling winds of the north. While it is a barely insulated bubble within a treacherous sea of cold and blazing magicks, life in Sperrhis could be described as both comfortable and exciting as magic is used to keep (most of) the cold away. However, as time had passed, the methods of Aurite extraction had become more and more sophisticated. 

As a result, the mines and offshore rigs are equipped with the latest dwarven technologies bought from overseas. Airships are the most usual method of exporting refined Aurite, though some trade routes that utilize larger dragons to carry aurite still exist. Docks for airships and aeries for flying creatures jut out of the mountain’s sides, allowing ease of access to the city.

As the city is built on top of a mountain on an island in the cold north, Sperrhis is woefully incapable of supporting itself without food imports. Should imports be stopped, the population of 130,000 will surely begin starving in short order. As such, Sperrhis uses its economic importance to ensure that the other Elderkin nations will be incentivized to protect it in any conflict.

The elves of Sperrhis have developed a somewhat ironic relationship to the Field. They live in a place where setting foot anywhere in sea level would spell certain death, where magic is so strong and concentrated to the point that it’s nauseating. They regard the Field as something powerful, yet not necessarily divine, as the Sperrhis has also commercialized it at a massive scale since the Second Age. The Field is like any source of energy: it can be used to benefit society, for individuals to enhance themselves with the power of magic, but stepping in its excesses is to invite damnation. 

As such, Sperrhi mages are some of the most intensely trained in all of Tyrrell, as their environment requires that they maintain absolute control over their power within the Field. A slight misstep in spellcasting that would merely inconvenience a mage in Tassendrel or the Three Dynasties carries the potential of maiming for one in Sperrhis, so only the strongest, most dedicated, and most cautious mages could ever hope to succeed in Sperrhis. 

Due to their harsh, frozen environment, Sperrhis is deeply meritocratic and collectivist. All citizens must pull their weight; maintain the barriers that prevent the city from freezing, clean the streets of hail and snow, and consume only what is needed, for most of Sperrhis’ food is imported from overseas. The lazy and the weak are seen as drains to society, even if they are Elderkin. As such, it is an oft-said saying in Sperrhis that “All work for the good of Sperrhis.”

Ironically, the political elites of Sperrhis, the powerful mages,  the council members, and high and middle-ranked elderkin involved in the aurite and import business live lives of relative luxury. It would seem that the Sperrhi elite have essentially bribed their citizens to ignore their opulence by spending vast sums in stipends to ensure that just about every Sperrhi citizen can at least live a comfortable, if not sunless, life.

The Lesserkin laborers of Sperrhis can also be said to be in a similar deal. As they traverse the cold to mine a treasure that’s useful only to their employers, the Council of Seven has prevented disruption to their mining operations by keeping their workers mostly satisfied despite their deadly working environments. These skilled workers are paid high wages, with “tours of duty” that last a month before being rotated away for two weeks.

I'm an intro to the subject of this section, so that I can break up the white subheading below so we can better accentuate the sections!

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