Duirt is a city on the southern coast of Urt. It marks the border between Eccles and South Vorus and the southern part of the city is owned and controlled by the Silver Rain Republic
Power in the City of Duirt
The city of Duirt itself is ran by a Council of the Nobles. The leader of each noble house in Duirt has a vote, though votes are weighed so each nation has the same amount of influence (thus since there are fewer Ecclesian houses, their votes weigh more heavily on the final decision). In practice, the heads of the houses do not attend the council in person, but leave this to appointed representatives who represent their interests.
The City of Duirt collects its own taxes from those living and working in the quarter and has its own guards and judges who protect the central quarter. More generally the city decides on the interests of the city as a whole through cooperation, while recognizing the higher authority of the three nations over their respective territory.
(( OOC: The positions in the City Council are not available to players. Positions in the city's guard force are, however, see Income ))
History of Duirt
The Silver Rain Republic is a formation of a dozen large islands and a hundred smaller islands controlled by a single ruling nation, The Republic. This nation ruled itself singlehandedly since the fall of the Empire in the 3rd age. The nation had one fundamental belief and that was that Nature herself had a direct hand in the future of the nation. Thus the many families of the S.R.R. believed in the Literal Spirits of Nature, this belief steamed from an encounter with an actual Spirit of Nature. This Spirit was the embodiment of the Sea and it commanded them to spend forth many ships to spread its influence in the world. And so many ships were built and launched, spreading out in many directions, a dozen or so ships landed along the coast of Urt and they started building small ports and towns to establish themselves in this new land.
Six years after the war between Vorus and Holy Theocracy of Ecclesia ended in Duirt, a 100 ships arrived in Duirt bearing strange flags. During the war the port section of Duirt had been destroyed and the S.R.R. began rebuilding the docks of Duirt and established themselves as the Port Authority of Duirt. Too weak from the war to fight neither Vorus or the Holy Theocracy of Ecclesia contested this from the S.R.R. a declaration was signed and the other two nations agreed to leave the Port Authority alone in this matter and let them handle the Trade of the city. A fragile peace was formed and with it he central core of the city was formed where all three nations can come together without conflict. In this was the city of Duirt was formed into what is known of today.
The peace flourished with a few nay-sayers here and there. Families that saw an opening had thrown all their money into getting onto one of those ships. Or poured their own wealth into joining the fleet in that first armada that dropped anchor outside the small humble port of Duirt, small boats were lowered into the water and soon enough – those passengers that had thrown caution to the wind and travelled were rewarded with a rich diverse land ripe for the taking. The sheer force of numbers alone giving both the Voruns and the Ecclesian church little choice but to comply to the demands of a fair share and trade. The worst bit was that these people in their ships had brought Lawyers. The arguments began between houses and then the factions went away again to their respective camps to consider, but finally the peace was declared after months of negotiations. Mostly through the sheer tenacity of the Silver Rains Republic nation and their complete single-mindedness, not to mention the odd threat or two to starve the other two nations and force them to comply with a barricade of ships over the port mouth. The agreement states that no one faction can simply do a thing without coming to counsel and thrashing it out in the counsel chambers.
A rough peace ensued, the people on the ships moving to the land finally to disembark and make their own alliances and went to go and find their own stake of land. Soon over a matter of thirty years, the city had swelled and the trade routes that the Silver Rains Republic had formed over a millennia of ship's at sea became the route of main trading posts along the entire island and continued on to the island chains. Their knowledge of the sea becoming more than invaluable as securing the foothold of Duirt as an island all by itself.
As more lands were taken, more towns were established, but Duirt City would become the jewel in the tri-nations crown.
History expanded, from inception to present date
The port authority came into being as a means to an end through the Silver Rains Republic constant presence and influence, simply put; to collect taxes to go back into the city's coffers to pay for structural repairs and the ongoing needs of the city that was still in her infancy. Having a sea nation and it's hard people coming and going with their rough lives and rough way of changing things meant that they needed a strong leader to come to the fore to keep this motley set of crews in line. More over, they needed a place that was capable of handling the traffic of trade that was coming and going through the port. A money spinner saw the potential and created the Port Authority; and House Delaan gained their foothold on this ripe land.
Soon enough, the big ships that were moving into the port were given time to pay a docking fee, then a handlers fee for housing and moreover, rebranding the goods – some of which would appear by somewhat dubious means – and shipping them back out to the mainlands to the east and west of Duirt. Funds grew and Duirt experienced a boom period of trade from the various privateering ships that moved in and out of the port in a short span of hours. Dropping off things of unknown origin, or so they claimed - and then moving off to go and find more. This money paid for bigger structural changes within the city and allowed for the defence of the city to be agreed under charter that in a time of war, all difficulties between the factions would cease and all factions would work to the greater good until normal times resumed. Within another thirty years, Duirt swelled yet again, the population meaning that over 2300 sumptuous houses were built and Duirt's bounds were extended. The money from the Port Authority and it's charters provided for a wall to contain the city and protect her from attack. In addition to this, swamps were worked on to become solid ground, the land filled reclaiming it from the mosquito's, however at times these areas – now known as the Ratways and The Maze chiefly are still prone to flooding issues.
Law was established, the people of the City of Duirt having now recognised the fact that they were becoming a full trading commerce continued to thrive, new goods were brought in legally and on the open market stalls were regularly setting up, requiring the market street which had previously been merely known as "the street" to locals changed name to Market Street, stalls that had been there longer found the need to build proper shops and materials were quarried from nearby mines to provide more sound structures. This also meant that the market street became wider to allow for more stalls that would pop up from time to time. As time went on the city would go through many more metamorphosis changes. The docks went from simple wooden pilings and the beach to deeper water into the channels to allow for greater ships and goods to be put into the warehouses that sprouted up along the old beach fronts. Concrete was brought in and dwarfs put their skills to use in quantity and the Dwarven house Dankil appeared, along with the dwarves came sewers as those fine folk came to the conclusion that Duirt would benefit from it. The city grew layers not only on the surface, but down below in the ground that it came from.
The Eastern docks it was agreed would be used for the deeper hulled vessels that needed it and the slightly smaller ones would use the Western docks. Meanwhile, the Elves would continue their fine trade in ship building in the Wharf itself. Tanners Island was next, a small outcropping of land that was to the most westerly island in the now known South Quarter of the City. The Silver Rains Republic giving more money to the city allowed for greater expansions and in answer to this financial challenge and the relative peace, the other quarters began to build as well.
In the Eastern Quarter near to the Slave Market, or the Market of Tears as it would become known; the White Tower which had already been built, began to be expanded upon, workers who wanted to earn enough money to feed their families and send money home to their respective home lands also sent letters which brought more workers in search of a good life in the sun. Feeding into those area's meant more people and more housing, other buildings grew around the Tower to feed into the commerce that began to appear there.
Not to be outdone, the Central Quarter began bigger and greater building projects. What had started as a simple humble building for a church, began to change as artisans moved into the area and tried to curry favour with the noble houses there that followed the Theocracy's One True God beliefs. Soon that simple humble church with the help of "donations" or acts of penance from those seeking to gain a seat nearer to their god, began to grow richer as well and in time, the plans for the Cathedral came into being. Along with that the Folly began to grow as a means to control the populace with chariot races, re-enactments of battles in the past, all as a means to pacify a nation that needed distraction from time to time to prevent tearing itself a part when one family or another got into strife.
The old adage of, if you build it, they will come had been proven yet again.
The early years of Duirt - this is known only to proven scholars
Long, long ago Duirt was a small Hamlet called: Windamore. Windamore was a simple little farming hamlet then with a tiny port for local fishing. The mayor back then made a pack with a Spirit (an honest to goodness Spirit of Nature) to provide the city with fertile lands and bountiful crops; in return he would surrender his first born child into the Priesthood for this Spirit. When his daughter was born and of age he attempted to break the pact and tried to hide her away. The Spirit was angry and cursed the very land to not produce crops for three centuries.
In this way the hamlet got the name: Duirt (the U is silent). Needless to say the Mayor was lynched for his crimes. Duirt survived this period in becoming a fishing village. By the end of the three centuries Duirt had become a large Town and a busy Port city. This began the 2nd age of Duirt's growth. A family of powerful Arcanists took an interest in Duirt and began to form a power base. Over the next half century the Family provided a large army to Duirt and established themselves as a Royal Family; House Darkmoore had been formed.
With the only large army in the area House Darkmoore swiftly moved across the land claiming Towns and Cities like a great fire sweeping across the land. In under a century they had claimed nearly all of Urt and what would become the country of Vorus. In this time Duirt had become a very important city and was made Capital of the Empire. House Darkmoore moved the seat of power into a nearby mountain and established a city inside it. After this it did not take long for House Darkmoore to claim the rest of the world in skilled negotiations. In just under two centuries Novus Utum's first Empire was formed.
The Royal family hired a group of skilled Arcanist and Psions to forge The Crown Jewels; literally a Crown, Scepter, Ring and Amulet, this would allow only a blood member of House Darkmoore to Rule. This helped them control the farthest reaches of the Empire. In this way House Darkmoore ruled the world for a thousand years. This lasted in peace and prosperity until the time of King Dunder Darkmoore. Dunder was not the most stable of people in the best of times. When his daughter; Princess Zarana Darkmoore, was 16 he was convinced she was a product of infidelity from the Captain of his guard and the Queen. In a fit of rage he had the Captain and his closest supporters hanged, when his advisers spoke out he had them beheaded.
The King's Arcanist, Yannia Yris, foreseeing disaster entombed the Princess in a Blue Crystal Coffin to keep her in suspended animation. Yannia then fled the city as Dunder sealed the city and released a lethal poison gas that killed everyone. With the capital sealed and everyone dead the empire quickly fractured.
This began the 3rd age of Duirt, with no orders from the King the city of Duirt continued to grow as a busy Port City. Yannia took the name Bianca Charline, used a Lyre of Building and constructed the Ivory Tower. The country of Vorus was then formed and quickly moved to secure Duirt in its span of influence. Over the next nine hundred years two more nations moved in to try to claim Duirt, and after a recent succession dispute, Vorus split up into North Vorus and South Vorus.
This is now the current situation, Duirt is under rule of Three Nations; South Vorus, The Silver Rain Republic and Holy Theocracy of Ecclesia more commonly known as Eccles.
Recently, the city suffered from a large scale siege, and it is still repairing some of the damages.
