City-State of Badenbach

=== Overview ===
The City-State of Badenbach comprises mainly of the City of Badenbach and a few surrounding villages. The satellite villages of Badenbach enjoy almost total autonomy, don't have to pay any taxes and are able to sell their foods on the extremely profitable markets of Badenbach.
The City-State and the city of Badenbach are de-jure ruled by Grand Baron Reeve wa Adelard but in actuality the High Council of the magocratic Shimmerhand Association holds all power.
While the surrounding land seems not to be out of the ordinary, the city itself is packed full of magic, magitech and other fantastic artefacts. It is arguably one of the most diverse places on Ferra, both in peoples and cultures but also in products and services.
=== Geography ===
Badenbach is located in the middle of the Hylthian plains and the city-state's eastern border runs along the Okosor River. The rest of its borders are sparsely marked with border stones and due to the common heritage, historic good relations and close alliance, the border between the city-state of Badenbach and the Confederation of Haystan is not felt in the lives of the average person.
=== History ===
==== Early History ====
Badenbach shares much of its early history with the Confederation of Haystan and the city found its start as a farming village before becoming an unremarkable and humble town.
==== The era of Tranquillity ====
During the era of Tranquillity, Badenbach became recognized for the amount of mages and wizards who frequented its taverns and inns. This in turn attracted more magic users. Soon informal magic academies sprung up in the towns taverns and inns. How this loop began none know and today it is assumed to have been a lucky coincidence.
Eventually, magic users began to settle, established a mage guild and their lucrative quests and exotic needs and products attracted adventurers and merchants. The Shimmerhand Association, the newly founded mage guild, allied itself with Baron Ester Osterlanded, gaining many privileges, among these: exception from tax and immunity from most laws. In turn the Shimmerhand Association drove the meteoric rise of Badenbach.
Soon the city grew to become the biggest city of the Confederation of Haystan and the first true imperial descendant metropolis on Ferra. The Shimmerhand Association by this time was more than just a guild. They have established multiple academies in Badenbach and the rest of the Confederation of Haystan and held considerable influence over all mages in the confederation. They functioned much like a government in themselves.
In the summer of 1226 AsT, Grand Prince Ulrik Fulke began moves to limit the power and influence of the Shimmerhand Association. The backlash was immediate and devastating as the association started an embargo of any magical material or service against the Grand Prince and any noble who supported the move. Grand Prince Ulrik Fulke immediately backpedalled but the damage was done. Seeking further independence from the Confederation, the Shimmerhand Association demanded independence for the city of Badenbach and a sizable chunk of land around it, in exchange for a permanent alliance with both Badenbach and the Shimmerhand Association and the end of the embargo.
Despite the new independence, the influence of the Shimmerhand Association in the Confederation of Haystan never waned.
==== The era of Unrest ====
By now Badenbach has become the larges city in Ferra, housing ~950'000 people. The bureaucracy of the Shimmerhand Association, still home in the city, grew so gargantuan that mealy listing all its departments and sub departments is a near impossible task. Below the shadow of this enormous organisation, smaller, more flexible guilds and companies established themselves to complete quests and tasks for it. These companies often compete with each other for contracts from the association and this competition sometimes spills out into violence.
While the Grand Baron remained the de-jure ruler of Badenbach almost all services were provided by either the Shimmerhand Association or their sub-contracted companies. The Grand Baron rubberstamps the rulings of the High Council of the association and usually remains in his quarters within the Shimmerhand Palace.
Category:Nation