Korebeg (Ko-reb-egg)
Summary
In the aftermath of a Relentless doomtide, the surviving peoples of Fauverngarz had mostly gathered into a great fortress. Its remoteness, while ideal for stacking the odds of survival, made for terrible living. As the peoples left once more to rebuild their lives, many branched off to return to their ancestral lands. Many more, however, found a new home and sense of unity with those they'd fought and died alongside with. It would be these people that founded Korebeg far away, in the southern central region of Fauverngarz. An immense mountain range to its east, an inland sea to the south, and a vast forest on its westward front, Korebeg wanted for nothing. Although built on a relatively flat plains, its founders were committed to creating a work to surpass any other. They, who'd lived through the end itself, came galvanized with purpose. Great veltron mages flattened and hardened the grounds as miners brought in stones. Masons and mages joined hands in creating hills and hills of solid foundations, then fortifications, and from them arose Korebeg itself. The city-fortress took on a form as much artistic as purposeful, all the learned lessons ironed out into its very being. Its own grandness, however, would bring no end of troubles. Korebeg, as a city-state, stretched taller than its neighbors. In times of hardship, many flocked to them, and those facing danger called for aide. Korebeg answered these challenges again and again. The burden for doing so only kept increasing, and soon the people of Korebeg itself found themselves caught in a vice. They became entangled in protecting others, but the conventions of honor starved them in return. Whether to blame their past queens' incompetence or their own ways, Korebeg would invariably collapse from the strain. The rising turmoil came to a head when Jael Hornbreaker led a revolt. The ruvenek warrior was a veteran warlady, capable against people and Relentless alike. Scorning Korebeg's 'honorable' ways as foolish, she slaughtered the ruling family councils and installed herself as the new queen. Korebeg's directive became securing its surrounding territories, taking the lesser settlements for vassals, and burning down the ones who resisted. For the next several centuries, Korebeg laid in constant warfare with its neighbors. Intermittent peace broke this affair, though only for a few short years before someone started war up again. Long after they'd forgotten why they were trying to invade their neighbors, Korebeg became a nation of conquerors. Their folktales spun dreams of glory, and imagined a Fauverngarz united underneath their singular banner. Generation after generation drank these ideas, and so Korebeg became a menace to all upon their borders. A martially-minded civilization by then, they measured prowess by one's capability in battle. A rift formed between physical warriors and magical mages as a result. Both were exceedingly capable in their own ways, but their hypercompetitive nature likened them to infighting than cooperation. This ever widening rift ended up shattering Korebeg's fearsome strength. Their internal factions happily ripped each other apart as much as anyone else. Whichever queen ascended to the Korebeg throne spent more time keeping those two sides in check than actually ruling. Eventually, the internal strife birthed a third, intervening faction. Between the meritocratic warriors and mages, the royalists sought to subdue internal strife. Their end goal was a more unified Korebeg than a conquering power, per say. More and more Korebeg's strife turned into its greatest problem than their actual rivals. Expanding infrastructure and greater population only worsened the pressure. Eventually, a more literal fracturing happened. The massive clans of the warriors and mages branched out from Korebeg proper. They erected their own cities, creating 'wings' off of Korebeg's timeless fortifications. From the outside, it might appear as one very large, sprawling city rather than three that'd been closely chained together. From thereon, Korebeg remained divided, split between the three factions ever vying for complete dominance. More often than not, their outside rivals simply left them alone, for they'd do well enough destroying each other anyway.Structure
Korebeg became defined by its familial divisions overtime. Great clans staked out both proverbial and literal territories, and it turned into those within the clan versus those outside of it. Navigating the many different clans, their social relations, and their relative powers to each other is a vital necessity. One cannot go far in Korebeg without some kind of political jockeying involved.
Such an affair posed a problem for those less fortunate. As those with power naturally gather and retain more power, they often end up denying it to others. Those who lost out in this arms race ended up subservient to the more militant, powerful families instead. There is a constant undercurrent of suppressing these less fortunate families, and their attempts to overthrow the current rulers. This state of affairs is perhaps closer to the heart of Korebeg's constant division than anything else.
The many clans ultimately align into larger ideological factions. Respectively the warriors, mages, and royalists, these factions determine the governing body of Korebeg. How they get along, and how much they don't, is an ever-shifting battlefield. A city cannot last long without its vital infrastructure, but for as much as it's left alone it is used as a political weapon as well. Conversely, matters pertaining to foreign trade are usually isolated unless one side is trying to gain ground.
It's remarkable Korebeg can even be called functional, though certainly not ideal.
Generally, one's social position within the city-at-large is measured by personal power or social connectivity. The proverbial 'hard' and 'soft' power dynamics are the two measures of one's value. Traditional roles, like family head, chief warrior, mage principle, and so on, are maintained so long as one can defend it. Being usurped is tantamount to simply being weak, but one's underlings aren't treacherous by nature.
Rather, one family leading a clan may be replaced by another family within that clan. How the other, more different families come to support or resist this affects the overall future of the clan. Many of Korebeg's conflicts are drawn along these lines. They can be extraordinarily volatile, inordinately peaceful, or some other lukewarm transition depending on how things shape up.
The head of this boiling cauldron is the royal throne, sat upon by the Queen of Korebeg herself. As with those below, her seat is protected by her ability to keep it. Extensive personal ability, and unrivaled social power, are vital necessities. Few queens ascend without the support (at least, on their face) of the three factions. It is her seemingly ubiquitous reach that earn both respect and obedience for the throne. Without the prestige of the throne, and the traditional, culturally-heavy presence it wields, Korebeg may have shattered long ago.
Demography and Population
Religion
Once the seat of Faunvergarz's many divinities, Korebeg's descent into imperialism disenfranchised many of them. In the wake of their departure, the more martially minded goddesses are all that remained behind. The likes of hunting Relentless, as well as proving one's strength of arm, only deepened as a result. Hence, Korebeg became a seat of worship for those like Borlken, the Great Hunter who braves the wildernesses.
The remaining goddesses who kept a presence themselves had to carefully navigate Korebeg. Lest they offend and lose followers in one portion of the population, they worked hard on becoming accessible. Trials, challenges, and other measures they set out were specifically built to enable 'every faction' the ability to participate. The goddesses mindfully do not show favoritism that is not first earned. Hence, they have avoided being submerged into political traps for the most part.
Worship in Korebeg turned into a largely private, familial matter. One would beseech a goddess or even divine ancestral, then work to earn their approval. Depending on what a person needed, the prospective divinity would change. Some maintain traditional, unwavering worship, but most people switch as needed. That is, call upon a goddess for a task related to their domain. Trying to ask Borlken for advice on hemp farming would be not only strange, but an insulting waste of time.
No singular religion exists, nor dominates, for the most part. Various sects, cults, orders, and the like do exist, with some being the traditional 'keepers' of a given faith. They make it much easier to commune with divine powers, and so command a certain respect. Those who wish to, for one reason or another, can bypass them but it'll be harder gaining divine notice. More personal effort is required, per say.
Agriculture & Industry
Being on the relative southern edge of Fauverngarz, Korebeg has little in the way of arable land. What does exist is taken up by cold and freezing adapted plants, slow-growing trees, and other 'exotic' forms of ice-aspected life. Intersped with very useful plants like the cindermoss, the land provides but often not enough for sophisticated, large-scale populations.
The invention of hothouses helped to change the paradigm. By carving out and fortifying good pieces of land, hothouses could be built ontop. The warmer temperatures let things like wheat grow much faster and more abundantly. Their best locations were near hotsprings, geothermal vents, and other natural fissures rich with heat. As their technology improved, farther away ones were built, powered by fire crysium, woods, coals, and the likes.
These large farming complexes dot the regions around Korebeg, particularly toward the mountains. Hardwork and constant upkeep lets them pump out all sorts of plant matter, becoming a vital backbone. So vital, in fact, none of the three factions allow for any sort of conflict near them.
They explicitly go out of their way to ensure the hothouse farms are well-kept and happy. When they aren't, the amount of pressure they can exert is tremendous. In some ways, a nascent, fourth political faction exists because of the farmers' incredible influence.
Ranching by extension took off around the hothouses, as the regular feed or plant waste could sustain small portions of livestock. Those that produce furs and milks are kept the most, as they're regularly useful investments. Some richer ranches will cater to harder-to-keep animals, their products more of a luxury market item than a core necessity. These arrangements allow civilization-staples like milk and eggs to be on the regular menu for Korebeg, despite its largely permanent-winter climate.
Wilderness hunting is by far the largest staple, as all sorts of migratory animals and Relentless appear. Active huntress parties ensure a steady flow of meat, furs, leathers, and anything else that can be harvested.
Fisherwomen toward the farther south along the coast of the Long Sleep Sea provide all sorts of sea-based options as well. From simple crustaceans to the monstrously huge, their caravans are ever rich with harvests. Thanks to the cold, freezing and transportation are supremely easy. The long supply lines to Korebeg, for the most part, go undisturbed as a result.
The nearby mountains have long provided raw, veltrony materials. Anything from coal to multitudes of metals, along with crysium and others, have flowed out of them. Unlike the farms, these mines are hotly contested, and ownership of the supply chain is vitally important for a clan. The most powerful ones secure their own mines, and so have a steady bedrock as their foundation.
The veltron-goods end up in the various refineries and smithies strewn across Korebeg. There they'll be processed into anything and everything needed by people, from the humble nail and henge to unbreakable armors and bone-shattering hammers. The quality of these goods vary quite extremely, as skilled smiths are reserved by powerful families for their exclusive use. That said, as a whole, Korebeg's smiths command skills and developed technique that is quite the envy of their neighbors.
Education
A curious two-tiered education model sits within Korebeg. Young children are usually taught within the home family and clan first. Once they're able to hold a sword and a conversation, they're sent to very large, broadly open 'public schools'. These schools are jointly operated by many clans, and so represent a mixing ground of their respective teachings. In this way, their children begin building social bonds, as well as exploring their own unique strengths. It acts as the proving grounds upon which they first build their reputations.
Once they've spent some years in public school, prospective candidates are taken back to the private clan schools. More extensive, specialized training is provided, turning them into stellar examples of a clan's values, fortitude, and capabilities. Hence, the limits of what they know are usually found in their public schools and what a clan has available to teach.
The rest, as is tradition, is learned first hand out in the wildernesses or upon the stones of Korebeg.
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Training Level
Semi-trained
Veterancy Level
Trained
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Location
Comments