02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

256 Iron Kingdoms
108.1.141.197
Merywyn was designed to exalt the wealthy and
conceal the poor. Its main concourses and riverfronts
pass along sprawling gardens, ancient libraries, art
galleries, music halls, and theaters. Meanwhile its
crafts, industry, and the cramped homes of the lower
classes lie hidden away in quarters behind tall walls
overgrown with ivy.
Merywyn is more dangerous than its appearance
suggests. Only those with guile and a sharp tongue
could carve a niche among its smiling bureaucrats
and scheming, self-serving nobles. Some among
the Khadoran occupation army’s personnel liken
capturing this city to swallowing a piece of rancid
meat, and they do not feel all that comfortable
here in spite of the city’s beauty, now marred by the
hand of war. Indeed, Merywyn is a hotbed for the
Llaelese resistance. Small underground cells operate
independently carrying out frequent ambushes.
Attacks and bombings target buildings used by
occupation forces so common now that the occupiers
recently instituted an after dark curfew.
winds oF war
the sieGe oF merywyn was one oF the LonGest and most
Protracted aFFairs oF the khadoran inVasion. the core oF the
LLaeLese army retreated to merywyn, reinForced by trooPs From
northern cyGnar, and the caPitaL heLd out For aLmost three
months beFore succumbinG on the 12th oF cinten, 605 ar.
it was a bLoody, brutaL battLe, and the inhabitants suFFered
GreatLy, cut oFF From Food and outside suPPLies.
the city miGht haVe eVen heLd out aGainst the khadorans had
cyGnar not withdrawn From the FiGht. this sParked hostiLity
toward cyGnarans desPite Later word oF attacks on cyGnar’s
own borders. the LocaLs Find it hard to understand that
cyGnar withdrew to Protect northGuard and deePwood
tower, both nearLy oVerrun by FLankinG khadorans. they
onLy recaLL watchinG the soLdiers in bLue and GoLd dePartinG
durinG LLaeL’s hour oF need.
they aLso direct considerabLe hostiLity at Prime minister
GLabryn, whose head was not amonG those GruesomeLy
disPLayed on the city waLLs aLonGside the other eXecuted
nobLes. they had to endure his sPeech oF surrender in which
he weLcomed the return oF the khardic emPire and swore
aLLeGiance to Queen ayn Vanar Xi.
aFter the FaLL oF Leryn, the LocaL branch oF the GoLden
crucibLe aLso FormaLLy recoGniZed the new LeadershiP, and
its wiZards submitted to reGistration. the Face oF the city has
chanGed aFter the LonG and bLoody sieGe; buiLdinGs were damaGed
or destroyed, businesses haVe been ruined, and many LiVes and
Fortunes were Lost. it wiLL take years For merywyn to recoVer.
Noted Persons
Prime Minister Deyar Glabryn, Archduke of
Northryne (male Ryn Alc4/Ari10): The Prime Minister
leaves city matters entirely to Earl Hygrenne. He travels
with a detail of Winter Guard troopers and a handpicked
retinue of gun mage bodyguards. Even with the
occupation he has been allowed to keep his bodyguards
as a reward for his cooperation and the knowledge that
he would otherwise be quickly assassinated.
Earl Jessup Hygrenne (male Ryn Ari8): Obsequious
toady to Archduke Glabryn, Jessup serves as the de
facto mayor within the convoluted city bureaucracy. He
spends a portion of his day listening to the demands of
Kommandant Ivdanovich and trying to turn them into
reality. The earl has an extensive staff occupying an
entire mansion on the Supreme Concourse spilling
out into several nearby buildings.
Kommandant Mikhail Ivdanovich, Count and
Posadnik of Merywyn (male Khard Amk11/Ftr4):
Although not nearly as famous as Kommandant Irusk,
Mikhail was just as essential to the successful invasion
of Llael. Mikhail coordinated supply lines and ensured
the soldiers stayed well equipped, stocked with
ammunition, and fed in the midst of a local famine.
He also commanded the battle mechaniks who looked
to the maintenance and fueling of the warjacks and
Man-O-Wars. Although coming from humble birth, he
made a name for himself at the Khadoran Institute of
Engineering and later as an officer in the Khadoran
Army. Irusk has more than once remarked, “With
Ivdanovich at my side, I would march into the desert
of the Bloodstone Marches in the heat of summer and
not fear for water.”
In recognition for his part in the siege of the
capital, Mikhail recieved the noble title of count and
made posadnik of Merywyn, a somewhat controversial
appointment among the old blood in Korsk. Now he
works to oversee the largest city in occupied territory
and ensure the Khadoran army is prepared for the
fights to come. Mikhail has suggested a major project
to lay rail between Korsk and Laedry and has also
undertaken the task of turning the various lesser
machine shops of Merywyn into true armories for the
servicing of his warjacks.