Lwyg-Rath

Government

In bloodier years of the past, the Lughlinn Móroften referred to themselves as Ard Righ Dara, or the Second High King. Largely, this was a mockery of the Ard Righ station usually being in Manannan Port (and the office held by an entirely different person). There are usually no more than thirty-five Lughlinn families under his banner.

Demographics

The town of Lwyg-Rath covers an area of approximately 115 acres, with a total population of 7,000 people. The rath has 19 Lughlinn houses, 1 Lughlinn Mór houses and 5 Íseal Righ houses. The peace is kept by 65 chrualinn and another 195 in reserve.

Among the plastered walls and clay tiled roofs of the Inis thousands of different people gather along the streets and the walk ways. Whether on their way to the grand market or one of the many taverns, almost any race can be found here, although in considerably smaller numbers than say Manannan Port, leaving the local Daoine population heavily dominant.

Industry & Trade

It has access to small rivers with plenty of iron, copper, granite and silver mines. A central Sacred Grove temple and many smaller sacred spaces allow Lwyg-Rath a higher access to divine magic and relics.

Districts

The city is approximately 115 square acres.

• High Quarter - The northern most quarter where the few middle class families of the city live. Located between one of the cities two slums; The Shiv and the Fields of Gold and Grain where the Sacred Druids conduct research into better food preservation techniques.
• Inkeep District - Houses the smaller inner fortress just before the main Rath and just south west of the Ríthe Íseal Quarter Lughlinn Mór of Lwyg-Rath, The Grove of Parting Paths dedicated to the Ardruid Unknown and the Sacred Grove's main campus.
• Outkeep Quarter - The primary fortification nearest the southern walls and southern gate, furnished with a small Rath and some siege equipment. Military activity in the walls of the Caern-Rath are controlled from here. Its placed between the Old Kings; where the Caern-Rath's rulers were traditionally buried, the Grove of the Flowering Maiden dedicated to a lesser Ardruid known as Blodeuwedd, and the Middens; the second slum in Lwyg-Rath.
• Ríthe Íseal Quarter -  Where the Íseal Righ are typically located, fine housing and servants quarters with a higher patrol of Chrualinn. The city's Lughlinn, denoted as something of nobility with the civil title Íseal Righ in Lwyg-Rath, server as an intermediary between all other working and serving classes and the Meán-Ríthe.
• Small Quarter - The largest district in the city despite its name, which alludes more to the class of citizens who inhabit it, the Small Quarter houses the lion's share of the Caern-Rath's population running the gamut of low-born peasants to middle-class yeoman. It also houses the Grand Market where all of the Caern-Rath's end production materiel and industry takes place.

Infrastructure

Water mills, farms, one mine for iron and silver, and a small form of tourism as some of the buildings are said to have been home to the Ardruids. The keep is at the center of the city on the Caern-proper and was given the name Rath Déithe.

Places of Interest

In a caern-rath like Lwyg-Rath there are countless places worth seeing, but here are listed some of the highlights to the home of the gods:

• Fields of Gold & Grain  - A large plot of land with a windmill that the Sacred Grove uses to test and experiment new food preservation techniques and agricultural experience. Strange produce and devices can sometimes be seen being tested in the fields themselves.
• Grove of the Flowering Maiden - Less a grove and more a finely cultivated garden of various kinds of flowers, lotuses and belles from across the Inis. All housed and curated in honor of the Ardruid most closely associated with the spring equinox; Ardruid Blodeuwedd, who was said to be born from a flower herself. The dazzling colors are often hypnotic and more than one patron has lost track of time here where the air is so fragrant it almost perfumes the body.
• Grove of Parting Paths - This park is densely packed with trees and large boulders winding their way up the large tier of the caern. Among the roots and stones twist thin trails for those interested to wander and contemplate how Ardruid Elen was able to lay down the tracks for the Menhir Ways that now crisscross the Inis. If they are even thankful enough, they can pay their respects to this Ardruid at her shrine and museum in the grove.
• Grove of Old Mares -  A large pasture at the near-center of the caern-rath adorned with well maintained fences, this luscious grass paddock is maintained for the Ardruids Unknown, its function is largely to take care of the aging beasts of burden of the city. Wounded, ill or old horses and other beasts are sent here for healing, or at the very least, comfort. Some guests can even seek audience with these hob-legged denizens and spend time grooming or admiring them.
• The Old Kings - For most nobility across most of the Inis creating burial mounds has long since gone out of style. For the rulers of Lwyg-Rath, its just became more elaborate. This solemn plot is where all the ruling nobility of the caern-rath have and ever will be buried. Intricately stacked caerns give way to great stone mausoleums all gated in wrought iron and shaded by tall silvery pines.
• The Outkeep - Aside from the curtain wall, the caern-wrath has one more line of defense between its enemies and the caern within; the Outkeep. A large stone fortress armed and bristling with soldiers and warriors. Should the enemy breach the walls and take the fighting to the streets they will find themselves hemmed in by two separate fortified positions for the defenders to strike out from. The Outkeep has its own staging ground for troops and siege weapons as well, in case the central rath is ever lost.

History

Translated it means; "Castle of Gods". Far to the west and possibly the next biggest city, second only to Manannan Port. It goes without saying that many other rulers do not enjoy the name, or that which it implies. It was the second caern-rath founded as the legends say and some say the Ardruids even vacationed here in the Age of Summer, hence the city's name.

The modern history is a little less colorful. During the War of Spears Lwyg-Rath attempted to make a play for power by consuming much of the surrounding territory. This, of course, brought them to blows with North-the-Lake. The fighting was bitter and some argue that the battle was never really well decided, but it was enough to force North-the-Lake to capitulate as a vassal state to Lwyg-Rath.

With a new caern-rath under its rule, the governing body of the Homes of the Gods decided to branch further south, to do so they reasoned they could use carachs much as Manannan Port was at the time to combat what is now Six-Bridges. However, repeated failures to cross the Loch Bán, or even to get a Carach to float longer than three minutes, forced Lwyg-Rath to reconsidered. Instead they ordered North-the-Lake to muster as much of its fighting and working force as it could and march north, where they built Codsdale. Now a fishing village a days walk from Lwyg-Rath, it was originally an ambitious attempt to launch the nations biggest fleet southward. Unfortunately North-the-Lake had secretly been rebuilding its forces and a day after the fleet launched Lwyg-Rath was sieged by North-the-Lake.

Though North-the-Lake never succeeded in breaching its walls, it was enough to force the carachs home and for the Lwyg-Rath to abandon the idea. This betrayal and subterfuge would set the mood between these to caern-raths for the next two hundred years or so, before the end of the War of Spears where the settled into an uneasy alliance.

Lwyg-Rath was the stronghold and center of the Coalition of the United Inisa's army during the Year of Invasions. Afterwards, the argument of which caern-rath was the capital of Inisa Mona was finally settled when the then Ard Righ Cian an Nathair had the capital moved to Dòchas Ùr. To this day it remains a center of pilgrimage for worshippers of the Ardruids and their legends where the highest of nobility across the inisa tend to congregate. It has since formally adopted the banner of the Coalition as the caern-rath's official banners.

Heraldry

An ivory field representing the spiritual purity of its rulers, the green at its center to indicate their faith in the Ardruids and the country itself. The golden triskele is a known symbol often associated with nobility and the Ardruids. A symbol of eternal motion, learning and skill.