The Trade City of Madinat-Al'ahmar

Brief Description

The Trade City of Madinat-Al’Ahmar was founded near the estuary known as “Nahr Saghir '', right along the coast. The city’s founders, the First 5000 they’re named, were from a long last colonial expedition ship from Yimmu-Audal (The same colonial expedition that Lumaire was eventually founded on). Through struggles and triumphs, Madinat-Al Ahmar stood the test of time and was reunited with the other successful colony of Yimmu-Audal, known as Lumaire. Through a proclamation of brotherhood Madinat-Al’Ahmar became a part of the extensive nation known as The Grand Republic of Lumaire. Through this integration led to speedy development of Madinat-Al’Ahmar, thus allowing for small amounts of trade and an industry to be developed. Madinat-Al’ahmar’s main exports consist of cut stone and a local strain of bamboo.

The Dawn Age

With its position and climate, the surrounding area of Madinat-Al’ahmar was uninhabited for thousands of years except for the local Savannah, which showed signs of very small and sparsely populated settlements. Not much is known about these mysterious people nor is there much evidence telling how long ago they settled these lands. For thousands of years the land was left to nature's will, until the Al-tujjar settled the coastline of the surrounding desert.

The Al-tujjar

In the olden tongue of their culture they called themselves the “Marfar”, but with the rapid spread of Nayulandir language and customs, this name was forgotten and was replaced with Al-tujjar (Merchants). The Al-tujjar people came from the south-western jungles of Haven, being a banished group from the local tribes of that area due to their religious differences. The Al-tujjar believed in a very spiritual and Buddhist-esc type karma system in which spirits judged the person's lifestyle. The other natives that didn't believe in this worshiped dark gods that were said to kill any infidels that tried to destabilize the natural order of things. After the Al-tujjar’s banishment they headed along the coast of a massive inland sea that is in the center of Haven. They became a nomadic group of traders and hunters that mostly dealt with animal skin to make it buy in the harsh wide deserts. With a continued north-eastern push by the Al-tujjar they eventually hit another massive inland sea, and like before, they continued to follow the coast until they hit a very thin land bridge that is today the separation of Haven and Sørgiliste. They could’ve turned around and headed back to their old way of life, but the leader, which history has forgotten his name, decided to push forth to new lands, hoping for new opportunities for his people. With this continued push into foreign lands there was great excitement and nervousness that followed the tens of thousands of Al-tujjar. With a quick stopping off point in a savannah, in which the mysterious civilization of cavemen-esc tools and housing was found, it allowed the people to get their bearings. With one more push they decided to head further north-east, until they reached a hill overlooking the ocean, what is now known as the biggest sea in Rathnir. The people settled due to a local river to the west of them that could be used for farming and the growing of bamboo that they brought along with them from their old jungle home land. From this point on the Al-tujjar developed a seafaring trading culture that mostly sold the rare commodity of bamboo and local grown crops from their fertile river. For hundreds of years this civilization prospered until a ship wrecked upon their shore.

The First 5000

One hundred and Ninety-six years ago a great expedition set out from the shores of Yimmu-Audal. A colonial fleet that was to set up massive amounts of income and trade on the barren continent of Sørgiliste and to cut off trade and grain to the westward civilizations during the Audalien Invasions. Though, the closer this fleet got, the more terrors and disaster that fell upon the crews and colonists. Sinkings, wrecks, anything that a fleet could fear happened. Many thousands died and sank to the deep dark depths of the sea, but one of the biggest colonial ships, holding an estimated 5000 people, led by a captain known as Fajar Ra’gara, was steered off course due to harsh waves and brutal glacier impacts on the hull. With the aid of a skillful crew and a masterful captain, the ship, also known as “Ghrwb Al-shams” (Sunset), survived a brutal beatdown, leading to its wrecking upon the western coast of Sørgiliste. With the waking of the survivors they saw a few hundred men surrounding speaking a tongue that they didn’t understand standing on blood red soil. Through a hard discussion between the two group leaders, the 5000 survivors were allowed to camp outside the native’s town to regroup. For the next few weeks the cultures intermingled and slowly each one integrated until the Al-tujjar and the Nayulandriz (Newlanders) fully combined to make a new combined culture, though it being heavily dominated by Nayulandir, thus being named Nayulandir to make it easier.

A Rise in Ruk’Aldamawii

As mentioned before the Al-tujjar were banished due to a different religion belief, a more optimistic outlook on the world compared to their old brethren. With the influence and religious combination of both newly intermingled cultures, it created a unified religion called Ruk’Aldamawii. The reason why it was named Ruk’Aldamawii (Bloody rock) was due to a legend that was told by the Al-tujjar. It was said that the area when it was originally settled was normal sand until one very unique day in which it turned blood red. With such an event occurring, the Al-tujjar thought the end was nigh, but that was not the case. Slowly each day passed without any ending of the world, leading to a slow adaptation to the Al-tujjar’s religion. They believed the spirits themselves touched the land and blessed it with their holy might. With this rise in a new religion it caused several small sects of people to combine in certain parts of the town. The Loyalists to Yimmu-Audal made a Yimmu-District to keep the survival of the traditions of Yimmu-Audal, the most famous individual to move to this district was Fajar Ra’gara with his family. Another district was made by zealot Al-tujjar which believed this was an act of direct heresy to the spirits, thus founding the Al-District. With these religious tensions rising an interesting fellow rose to prominence, his name being known as Ahumm. Being a commoner he was not given a last name because there was no last name to give him. Ahumm lived his early life being in poverty and constant struggle with life, the only thing keeping him going was ambition to become something greater. And now, he saw that he could become something great. Through months of court politics, he established himself as the head of this new religion, thus gaining innumerable amounts of power and sway. With this power he declared a theocratic state that would be headed by him. For the next 164 years the government was headed by the Religious head of Ruk’Aldamawii. During this time, the town was given the name of Madinat-Al’ahmar, meaning “City of Red” or “Red City”.

The Falling Rock and the Rising Phoenix

For more than One hundred and fifty years Madinat was ruled by theocracy, and this slowly made it weaker and weaker. The reasons being several, but the main being with the fact that the heads didn’t see much point to expansion of the town, thus leading it see a stagnation, then a slow dwindle. Many Nayulandriz didn’t see a problem with what they called “stabilization” but there were a few that wanted a change. One of these people was a descendent of Fajar Ra’gara, and this descendent’s name was Dante Ra’gara. He believed that Madinat’s stagnation would lead to a collapse in which the town would tear itself apart until only its carcass remained, leaving the survivors to fight for the scraps. Through several bribes and blackmails, Dante was able to gather a surge of support for a reformation to the religion, the government, and the town in whole. The current head of Ruk’Aldamawii, Ahumm III, realized what Dante was planning and named him a traitor to the state and demanded his immediate execution. Though, this didn’t go as planned. As it would be, fate decided to sway in Dante’s favor. Many citizens in the Yimmu-District rose up to fight for Ra’gara, leading to several more callings of support outside of the district and into the main town itself. With this quick succession of thousands declaring support for Dante, it led to a domino effect in which over 80% of the population wanted reform. Ahumm III was forced out of power by a mob, while the mob chanted “Death to all Traitors! Death to Ahumm!”. In a few easy swipes from Dante, he fell the government he had seen as stagnant and corrupt. With his new powers of “leader” of the revolution, he instigated several reforms, reforming the government into a Oligarchical Republic that was run by the richest and most loyal families to Madinat-Al’ahmar.

With a declaration from Ra’gara himself, which stated “We stand here on a ground that was blessed for our people. We the people of Madinat are meant to conquer the world, we the people of Madinat will slay tyrants and bring down empires. DEATH TO ALL TRAITORS! FOR THE REPUBLIC!” he set forth a new age.

The Reunion

A few years after Dante’s overthrow of the theocracy, he led his people to the old ways of the Al-tujjar, the way of trade and bartering. With this brought prosperity and a mass introduction of knowledge, but most importantly, a founding of a neighboring town. This one was larger and nearly 5 times the population of Madinat, thus in the eyes of the Nayulandir explorers who found it, it seemed incomprehensible. These explorers were invited in, and somehow, this strange city's dialect and Madinat’s dialect didn’t seem all too different. With this realization, the information was brought to Dante. With an entourage, Dante set out to this foreign city, named Lumaire. With a meeting between Dante and one of Lumaire’s leaders, it was decided that Madinat-Al’ahmar would become apart of the Grand Republic of Lumaire. While at this meeting it was found out that Lumaire and Madinat come from the same colonial expedition sent out by Yimmu-Audal, thus making both towns sister cities. With this new information, closer ties were established between both governments. Though, Madinat was only one of many cities and peoples to join Lumaire in the upcoming weeks, months, and years, thus growing Lumaire’s size exceptionally. With this growth Dante saw a great opportunity to solve the religious issues within his town that could lead to an overthrow if he wasn’t careful. He decided to convert, with the majority of the higher government as well, to Sakrelism. With a declaration that Sakrelism will also be the head religion, the majority of the populous converted to this more organized religion, calling Ruk’Aldamawii a “pagan” religion.

The Unknown

After the unification of both towns, Madinat developed extremely quickly due to the spread of new building techniques, the disperse of new, hardier resources, and the many skilled craftsmen joining Madinat and deciding to settle within the town itself. Though, this didn’t mean stability for Madinat, with one of the old leaders of Lumaire, Alan the Apostle, waking from his coma and accusing the Triumvirate of treason. Furthermore, with a rise in the Cold War between Yimmu-Audal and Escharia, the rapid bandit problem, and the falling of VIR, it was unsure where Madinat would go from here. What will the time bring? What will fate do to Madinat? Who knows, only the future will tell. The one thing that is certain is Madinat-Al’ahmar’s words, in which all Madinat’s people believe.

'''DEATH TO ALL TRAITORS! FOR THE REPUBLIC!'''