Six-Bridges

Government

Eachna the River Queen, is given the title of Lughlinn Mór, but surrounds herself with a shadow council presumably drawn from the wives of the mercantile elite of the city. A secretive and conspicuous individual, many never see her face, her edicts and commands given to the Lughlinn and Íseal Righ under her rule and disseminated from there. Curiously, there has always been an Eachna on the seat of Six-Bridges since its founding. Many believe this to mean a steady and unbroken familial line of rulers since the caern-rath's founding. Other, though, speak of darker rumors.

Demographics

The city of Six-Bridges covers an area of approximately 165 acres, with a total population of 10,000 people. The city has 24 Lughlinn houses and 4 Lughlinn Mór houses. The peace is kept by 70 guardsmen, another 280 awaiting the call to war.

Most of the tribes come to Six-Bridges for trade at some point. Daoine dominate the static population, but Huldufolk and Boggarts seeking fine silks and furs come down from the northeast while Fwoarians looking to trade pelts, lumber and certain kinds of herbs come up the rivers from the south. There are even a few Digir agents and exiles clinging to the shadows of the inns and taverns, their goals as inscrutable as their motivations.

Industry & Trade

Six-Bridges is arguably the second greatest trade power on the Inis with Unknown that range from the Great Rime river, down the Washer's Shoal and out into the Crescent Bay. Roads across the Sombergold carry their wares and even the nation's capital of Dòchas Ùr must contend with them on the Edgewold road.

• Carachlinn tend to end up here on their routes in great number.
• The Blackspittle Gang running their operations out of the slums are something of a default thieves' guild. Taking it upon themselves to coordinate smuggling within the city. Almost anything is game; up to and including people wishing to flee the slums, albeit at a steep price.
• Aside from the general garrison of lughlinn there is also the Unknown, a gathering of lughlinn, physicians and high druids who have the sole duty of making sure all those that enter the city are clean of disease and those that aren't are relegated to the slums.

Districts

Six-Bridges is approximately 163 square acres.

• 1st & 2nd Wards - Starting in the north and making its way to the south west, the 1st Ward is where all of the caern-rath's íseal righ are housed where as its counter part, the 2nd Ward, extends from the north to the south east pinning Cleaner's Row between it and the slums. The 2nd Ward is where many of the cities established tradesman and their families live.
• The Canals - All of the trade and shops are set up along the canals in the north end of the caern-rath with small carachs carting people below the tiny foot bridges that expand over them creating a network of arteries through which the life-blood of the city flows; trade.
• Cleaner's Row - The lower-middle class housing that runs parallel to the wall surrounding the slums. Mostly domestic housing with a few grocers for convenience. It receives its name for the constant attempts the population makes at cleaning the offal and sewage that leaks up from beneath the slum's walls.
• Rath Abhainn - The caern and rath proper in the southern edge of the caern-rath, directly abutting the southern most wall. Here the River Queen keeps council, rarely leaving her rath, and disseminates her commands via the íseal righ and the lughlinn. This is the military nexus of the city as well, where lughlinn often coordinate their Chrualinn's patrols and times.
• The Slums - Dilapidated houses, crime and offal covered streets, rampant plagues and murders are the general things inhabitants of the Slums have to look forward to on a day to day basis. Most materiel is offloaded at the docks east of the slums, those who work them; beggars all, receiving whatever scraps carachlinn can be bothered to pay them in. Only those with work visas may leave the Slums and enter the city proper, an attempt at controlling both crime and disease. The sewage system in the slums was long ago compromised by the river, and frequently the streets flood with filth until it overflows into the surrounding district known as Cleaner's Row.
• Outset - A small Caern-Hearth a few miles south of Six-Bridges. It derives its name from the large structure at the town's center that functions as a tavern and caravanner, the Journeyman's End. Many a trade route begins in Outset.

Infrastructure

Some of the six bridges that give the caern-rath its name are almost as old as the caern itself.

• Peltry Trail Bridge - The first bridge that made its way over the Nigh Meánach to the peninsula that Six-Bridges now sits on. It was also the first inlet of land-based trade, allowing the Skilti from Skiltona-Rath to deliver furs, leathers and lumbers and so hence its name. Northwest bridge, constructed in AoA 2343.
• Wheeling Arms Bridge - When farms began stretching up and down the western side of the Nigh Meánach, a second bridge was installed to allow access to the new mills being constructed to grind the grains. To this very day the lion's share of food coming in from the Nigh Meánach farms and the ancillary caern-hearths out in Tailté na Bearú cross this bridge. Midwest bridge, constructed in AoA 2365.
• Cartward Bridge - It was not the second or third bridge to be built, but rather was only constructed as the southern most bridge when a series of new farms sprung up on the west side of the Nigh Meánach. While most of the food crosses through the Wheeling Arms bridge, the Cartward helped cut down on traffic and is the preferred bridge of nobility entering the city from the east. Southwest bridge, constructed AoA 2413.
• Bloody Oak Bridge - Primarily constructed of white oaks and was originally called the White Oak bridge due to its dazzling white wooden beams. However, in late AoA 2759 the Long Run in the East broke and many of the Fwoarians eventually scattered. A large portion ran to Six-Bridges for refuge, but could not make it across the bridge in time. Its once brilliant wooden reams now a rusty shade of red in many places, giving it the new, grim name. Northeast bridge, constructed AoA 2727.
• Vigilant Bridge - Another bridge that lost its original name, the Unity bridge was originally constructed to lend trade to those few Fwoarians in the Low Muck and what Huldufolk were open to trade in the north. However, when the slums were condemned and turned into an impromptu quarantine zone, the bridge's nature changed from one of unity, to tyranny. Now known as the Vigilant Bridge, it constricts and monitors traffic between the two halves of the slum straddling the Low-Crossing river. Mideast bridge, constructed AoA 2398.
• Banner Limbs Bridge - The newest bridge, constructed at the behest of Lughinn Mór Eachna, spans the Low-Crossing river at the very southeastern corner of the city. Its true purpose is unknown as the only people allowed to cross it are nobility, but none would wish to do so out into the Low Muck. Officially known as the Banner Limbs bridge, as it is festooned in heraldry of each of the noble families, it seemingly was constructed with extreme haste, fully complete in little over a month. No one can claim to have talked or met and architects that worked on it though. Many venture to label it Eachna's Bridge and look at it with suspicion. Although no one can say why. Southeastern bridge, constructed AoA 2777.

With the construction of the Banner Limbs bridge, Six-Bridges officially changed its name and has proudly featured six bridges on its primary heraldry for over 30 long years.

Geography

Flat plains, the main part of the town is raised on a Caern as is traditional. However, its begun to sprawl into the surrounding lowlands. The Cré Nathair river runs far to the south of the city but joins the southern end of the Great Rime to the Bulthron Delta. Low-Crossing river is the eastern river that runs past Six-Bridges through her slums. Nigh Meánach river is the western river that washes through her farmlands and millyards. Washer's Shoal river is still some distance south by the southern middle of Nigh Meánach.

History

During the middle of the Age of Summer, the Ardruids decided they needed an encampment entrenched between their land routes south and the Autumnlands. To this end, two sister caern-raths were constructed; what is now Six-Bridges and Aryngol. During the Wounding of the Good Son, what befell Aryngol is largely a mystery, but with the influx of terrors and refugees southward, Six-Bridges thrived.

Then as the War of Spears began to pick up, Six-Bridges entered the fray with its chosen enemy being the nearby caern-rath of Manannan Port whom it was originally built to defend the trade routes of. Both armies had ready and skillful carachlinn and what followed was a long and blood river-war that saw hundreds of thousands killed in battle, and even more drowned, over the next two hundred years. Though try as it might, Manannan Port never could conquer their rivals and Six-Bridges remained free until the end.

While war never came to Six-Bridges during the Year of Invasions from the Fomorii Hordes, it was assailed in two different catastrophes. One was a great beast set loose upon the caern-rath; a wolf of immense size known as the Unknown destroyed much of the western wall and leveled two of the bridges spanning the Nigh Meánach river. Later that year, Huldufolk fleeing the Fomorii hordes by escaping through the Screaming Woods assaulted and pillaged the Slums on the northeastern shores of the Low-Crossing river. Despite this, Six-Bridges rebuilt and carries on much as it always has.

Heraldry

WIP