In the reckonings of trade, the city of Ren Shaar holds a very strategic position. This ancient city-state controls the junction between the breadbasket of Thule and the continental interior via the least impassable crossroad through the Starcrown Mountains. As a bridge between Vrilerinnen and Lemurian populations, on top of its ties to surrounding Thulean tribes, Ren Shaar is a true melting pot of cultures.
The city's historic reputation as a busy trade hub has garnered it lots of foreign attention, much of which has been undesired. Its location up the Drake Channel and the low river plains has always made Ren Shaar difficult to defend. It's no surprise the Atlanteans who built and once lived in this city were the first to fall during the Atlantean Expulsions, fading into its long and chaotic history. Ever since then, Ren Shaar has changed hands and banners countless times, and today its multi-ethnic populace still holds to their autonomy by a thread. They are a lone elephant surrounded by ravenous lions: Katagia to the west, Lomar to the north, and Quodeth to the east. Yet against the odds, the city still stands; hence its nickname, the Immortal City.
In the struggle for independence, Ren Shaar's only true defense has been the determination of its citizens. Of all the city-dwellers across Thule, only the Ren Shaari people carry a sacred mandate to elect their own monarchs by democratic vote. These elections only happen after the last monarch has died, whether by natural causes, killed by the city's enemies, or was overthrown and executed by the citizens themselves. There are no such thing as crown princes or princesses in Ren Shaar—there is only the Chosen Crown and their hand-picked advisors. Only in this city, even Mithra, god of kings, is held accountable by Kishar, goddess of the people.
Which isn't to say hereditary regimes haven't tried to take power here before, but they never did stand for long. The local culture has always been highly critical and sensitive to the politics of power. Any aristocratic force that has ever come close to usurping the Chosen Crown has faced insurmountable rebellion. Some monarchs have gained popularity from insurgency, as they were themselves involved as appointed generals or rogue populist leaders. Knowing its history, all but the boldest patricians dare try to tame this city.
Recent History
1190 - The Katagian Invasion. Few among the Ren Shaari people remember the name of their previous king. What they do know is the way his glory was robbed: a boulder set aflame and flung from the catapult of a Katagian warship managed to crush him instantly. Only the story of his ill-starred death lived on, and not so much in the song of the bard as it became a drunkard's joke. "Poor fellow, at least it must have been quick," the sober say. And the people were just as quick to forget who he was, because the Katagians had invaded their Immortal City.
But as always, this conquest of Ren Shaar was not fated to last long either.
The Katagian fleet was smart to besiege Ren Shaar during a famine, when state corruption ran highest and public opinion of the state ran lowest. Their strategy for making peace with the crestfallen locals was to nourish their hungry, of which there had been many. Rumor has it that they also brought mages—miracle workers with power over the weather—who could stave off the wrath of Tiamat from what arable land remained untouched by Her salty squalls.
Alas, the fleet admiral received word that resupply from his home city had been denied by his liege, who would see their food stores allocated elsewhere. In consequence, the Katagian invaders were forced to choose between feeding the local people or feeding their own. The admiral chose the latter, but loyalty to his troops would prove to be the wrong choice.
1191 - The Bloody Revel. Hither came Hadar, a fameless warrior at the time. He was once a humble caravan merchant, until one day he arrived in Ren Shaar alone, the rest of his caravan gone missing. Hardened by the harrowing experiences and losses of that perilous venture, he finally settled at a tavern for naught but food and drink to drown out his sorrows. But when the tavern ran out of ale for his thirst, the poor bartender blamed the Katagian invaders for hoarding the rest from him. Now deep in his drunken stupor, Hadar's thirst for ale turned a violent course. Like a raging bull, he burst from the inn and rampaged down the piss-laden streets barefoot. Several Katagian guards who tried to apprehend him were cut down by the tipsy swings of his great iron sword. Little did Hadar know, his acts of madness would light the spark of a citizens' rebellion remembered as the "Bloody Revel".
It began when Hadar's mad act drew the attention of some local ruffians. Jobless, starving, and with a bone to pick against the invaders, they had nothing but awe and empathy for his drunken "revolt". What followed was a domino effect, spiraling riotous violence across the city as more disgruntled citizens rallied to the chaos. Finally, as things started to look serious the admiral himself entered the fray—another mistake. He ended up stumbling into Hadar: the madman's nude self holding a blade poised for the fatal blow. And after the admiral fell, all hell broke loose. The crowd soon overwhelmed the enemy phalanxes and forced the lucky ones to flee the city.
Shortly after the drunkard slurred his name into history, the Ren Shaari victors crowned him King Hadar "the Reveler". Nevertheless, he was only a figurehead for the mercantile elite to run the city in his name. But he also had no reason to challenge such a crafty arrangement. Being king gave him a regular allowance from the royal coffers, with which he could buy the company of fellow carousers and fund their revelries for weeks on end. Ten years and counting, Hadar and his harem's hedonistic rule has allured both locals and visitors to his city with back-to-back parties. As if on purpose, the public eye has shifted away from other threats to Ren Shaar's status quo, including the rumored rise of a populists' faction in the countryside that opposes Hadar's reign. Rumor has it that in all this time, he has never been sober.
1201 - Eve of the Anniversary. Hither comes the tenth anniversary of the Bloody Revel, a festival commemorating the nights of revelry that began on the Inkarni (new year) ten springtimes ago. What was meant to be another day of joy and hospitality for the Ren Shaari people took its sharpest turn when a drunken fracas evolved into a full-blown revolt against their Katagian occupiers. In the ebbing chaos thereafter, the foreign invaders fled the city and into the countryside, leaving the triumphant and hungover locals to restore the Chosen Crown.
Today, the city folk tell glorious stories about the Bloody Revel; about how it brightened those dark times fraught by the Katagian invasion, an awful famine, and divisions sowed between the city and its rural citizens... divisions that continue to this day.
The court of King Hadar "The Reveler" has invited influential merchants and foreign dignitaries to partake in the joyous occasion. Locals and travelers alike are allowed in as well, so long as they can afford to pay the entrance fee of five gold crowns. Beggars and crooks are barred from the palace grounds, as are slaves and bodyguards who would not follow their masters inside. But a committed charlatan could make their way in anyway, whether to crash a royal feast that any starving pauper would die for... or to carry out treacherous schemes against a king who still has powerful enemies in the countryside and beyond.
Three days before the festival begins, dozens of slaves, servants, masons, and guards have gathered at the acropolis for work outside the king's palace. Hadar's many wives and concubines are here to oversee the festive preparations. It is also the last day of this year, and most workers are eager to complete the project so that they may return home to carouse among their kinfolk, as is custom during the Inkarni.
Districts
Acropolis of the Chosen. Mounted atop an acropolis paved with limestone, the king's residence is surrounded by parapets of white adobe peppered with cracked fissures and scorch marks leftover from foregone sieges. The big rock is home to many wild macaques who are commonly seen roaming the palace grounds during the day; the Ren Shaari consider them to be spirits of joy and entertainment. The palace building itself is built low and wide, with only a single story making it easy to repair. It is ostensibly humble and antique, entrapping a serene garden replete with marble pergolas and mosaic flagstones shaped into different animals. Indeed, serene... until dining tables are laid outside and the revelries begin.
Vale of the Chosen. The Vale is Ren Shaar's heritage district. Its weathered limestone buildings—distinct from the pristine white adobe of the northern and quay districts—are encased in cobblestone, except for the grass road leading up to the caved-in entrance of the palatial acropolis. These stone avenues form terraces that slope down the palatial hill, into a former lagoon drained since Atlantean rule. The structures here may be ancient but they are the least prone to fires. Most of the wealthy merchant families have moved into the newer districts, but the Vale is still home to the region's oldest public buildings and artisan guilds. Here be monuments to ancient figures, shrines and temples, luxuriant bathhouses, and even an amphitheater; landmarks that are rarely targeted by history's pillagers and conquerors.
Port Bazaar. The Port Bazaar is the city's beating heart of commerce. Like lungs to the heart, the quays and warehouses aren't far away. The roads between them are the busiest all year round, through which all manner of goods are transported day and night. Here each public square is a city within a city: a jungle of brightly colored tents brimming with vendors and their merchandise. Even in times of plague these narrow breezeways are packed with market-goers. Circuits of warehouses, vendor residences, inns, taverns, fighting pits, and beggar shelters surround the squares, mere addendums to the great commercial machine. The most standout venue here is the Pantheon building, dedicated to the Seven gods and many more. The accommodation of various deities far and wide is a testament to Ren Shaar's cultural diversity, welcoming people from all corners of Thule, so long as they have something valuable to sell or money to buy.
Upper Shaar. The Upper Shaar sits against the northern slope like a kaleidoscopic reflection of the king's palace. The inclusion of a deep moat provides additional protection to the north wall flanking this extensive district. Wealthy merchant clans own the wide plots of land, where lush groves and villas are built upon and managed by myriad servants. The district is characteristically quiet and sparsely populated. The sand roads are fenced off with palisades to ensure privacy for the residents. Most pedestrians seen out here are bonded to their local estates as guards or slaves.
Lower Shaar. For many a caravaner who has made the crossing through the Starcrown Mountains, the Lower Shaar is a welcoming sight. The main thoroughfare of the district was built wide to accommodate the strapping wains of traveling merchants, typically packed with trade goods and flanked by hired blades. The local enterprises cater to these kinds of customers, featuring handsome caravansaries selling cheap food, expensive parking spaces, vehicle repair services, and appraisers who will put a price tag on anything from a broken wheel to a dead body. For merchants who enter the district without protection, gangs of sellswords stand in the street, looking to provide some muscle in exchange for an exorbitant price that may put the merchant in debt. Often, these kinds of deals surmount to extortion. And when debts aren't paid in due time, the sellswords take off their masks to reveal the cutthroat thieves underneath. Moreover, the East Gate is host to the second-largest slave market in the Claws, also held in the cruel grip of the Crimson Slavers.
Caravan Camps. The Caravan Camps are an open village of tents and wagons which lie outside the North Gate. The red tents hugging the eastern wall belong to the Ren Shaari citizens' army, which polices traffic in and out of this busy checkpoint. The site is frequented by traveling barbarians seeking to make trade with Ren Shaar without the hassle of entering the heart of the city.
The Shadow. This muddy, overcrowded slum is tucked into an earthen depression. The Shadow gets its name from the shade of the eastern wall at sunrise, which is the tallest portion of the perimeter wall. Two main roads flank this district, each laid upon ramparts of dry stone. From the ground, these roads can only be reached by climbing one of several stairways, all of which are check points guarded by soldiers who prevent beggars, criminals, and sick people from leaving the district. Life here is hard, hungry, and brutally short. It's a dog-eat-dog ecosystem where one's labor entails cleaning up after another's mess. To avoid starvation, most people here obey a charitable yet stern authority: the green-cloaked Kisharite cultists known as The Anointed. Every day, after the morning bells toll from the Tower of Scrolls, the Anointed venture out from an underground vault beneath the Pantheon building. Wagons are pulled out for the daily occasion, each carrying pots of warm gruel served to those who have lined up for supper.
North Quays. The North Quays are named for cardinal positioning of the stone quays where, logistically, importing merchant galleys are unloaded before they are put in the South Quays. Of the two shipyards, this district sits closer to the warehouses and the Port Bazaar district. A few structures here lay in derelict condition, ruined by catapult barrages during the last Katagian siege, and have not yet been rebuilt.
South Quays. The South Quays boast many of the hostelries where sailors, marines, and even corsairs can find some respite. Most galleys are loaded either here or down-coast where the flatter shoreline gives way to a beachhead; the sand prevents empty galleys from drifting off or hitting rocks during high tide, but lacks the protection of Ren Shaar's walls. Public parking aside, the South Quays also host a small fleet of canoes that are mostly used by harbor guards for surveying and escorting incoming ships.