Saelmur

Saelmur was a city-state in the Land of the Lions region of south Faerûn, on the northern shores of the Lake of Steam.
==Geography==
The city-state was sat in a natural bay in the Lake of Steam, rising upwards to the crests of four hills, which were capped with various columns, towers, and spires. It was connected to two roads, the Coast Road connecting it eastward to the city-state of Ankhapur and Tyrant's Road connecting it westward to the city-state of Mintar.
==Government==
The city-state was ruled by the Councilium of Prelates, a governing council made up of the high priests of Saelmur's seven largest faiths – Chauntea, Helm, Ilmater, Lathander, Oghma, Torm, and Tyr.
==Trade==
Saelmur produced a variety of fruits and vegetables from the fields and orchards around the city, though as a port city it also produced a great deal of seafood. It produced a variety of different minerals, some of which were hard-to-find and could be made into spell components, including salt, sulfur and the magical zardazil. Other products of the city-state included dyes and inks.
In the late 14 century DR, as the city housed an influx of refugees from Mintar, many of its equipment shops were poorly stocked as demands for all manner of items skyrocketed. Expensive items could be ordered, but the wait for them was often weeks long.
==Defenses==
The armed forces of Saelmur were the Bresmer, who numbered 3,000 by 1370 DR. They patrolled the city, the tent city outside its walls, and the neighboring vegetable fields and orchards.
===Crime===
Saelmur was typically so well managed by the Councilium that thieves' guild would be uncovered and broken up by the Besmer before they could fully form. However, some criminals managed to take advantage of the city's strained resources in 1370 DR. The strongest of the groups to take a foothold were the Scarlet Throats, who made most of their money by running a very lucrative black market.
==History==
Circa -5100 DR, Saelmur began life as one of many garrisoned fortresses that were established by the armies of the First Kingdom of Mir. Sometime in the 25 years following the Mirran army's defeat at the hands of Jhaamdath in , on the plains north of the tiny fishing town of Ankhapur, Saelmur along with the other Mirran fortresses were overtaken by the Jhaamdathan army as they pushed the Mirrans all the way back to garrisons at Fort Saradush.
In , after a year long siege on their eastern fronts, the leaders of Mir and Coramshan came together for negotiation and came to conclude that only unification of their states would ensure their survival against Jhaamdath. United under the rulership of Ukhar IV, the Coramshite-Mirran army unleashed a devastating counterattack against the Jhaamdathans and within two months pushed them all the way back to Saelmur. The fighting continued on into , with Jhaamdath losing Saelmur. Eventually a truce was reached between the two nations, with the promise that both would abandon any claims over the Land of the Lions, leaving Saelmur and others in the region independent.
In the , Saelmur was struck by the Crimson Death and lost 16% of its population from the plague.
Centuries later, during the Eighth Age of Calimshan, Ankhapur tried to convince Saelmur and their neighbor Mintar to unite into a single country. However, these efforts failed for a multitude of regions, such as the general preference among Arnadens for local governance and independence, trade dis-agreements, and difficulties with defenses.
Over the centuries it developed a reputation as being one of the cleanest cities along the Lake of Steam.
Migrant workers from Saelmur, among other places, went to join in the construction of the canal that Innarlith was building between the Lake of Steam and the Nagaflow in the mid-1360s DR. This project was widely seen as bringing much lucrative trade to the Lake of Steam region, because it would have connected the Sea of Fallen Stars to the oceans of Toril through the Lake of Steam. When Innarlith's Ransar Salatis started to find excuses to cut funding for the project, Saelmur paid for its own workers to continue their work on the site.
In the years following Mintar's takeover by Teldorn Darkhope and his Knights of the Black Gauntlet in 1362 DR, many fled east from the city-state to seek refuge in Saelmur. Refugees packed the city's many inns and boarding houses, while others were taken in by the local temples. As the city grew too overcrowded to house further refugees, a tent city was erected outside its western walls. With Saelmur's population pushed beyond expected parameters its sewer system grew overwhelmed, leaving the once "cleanest city on the lake" to be dirty, smelly, and smoky.
In 1369 DR, as Mintar was faced with uprisings and strikes, Saelmar bolstered its defenses.
By the , the high priests of Helm, Lathander, Torm and Tyr – Genas Stoutshield, Santan Argath, Athelstan Meiados, and Thallon Geiros respectively – were in agreement that it was high time Saelmur fought Mintar and liberated it from the Church of Bane. And many mercenaries and sellswords made their way to Saelmur in hopes of being hired by the Councilium for this anticipated war, however, the cost of feeding and housing so many people taxed the city-state's coffers, making it difficult for Saelmur to pursue its aims of raising an army. And the churches were locked in debate over how best to deal with the Banite threat.
Thallon and others argued that Saelmur only stood a chance against Mintar if they could convince others to join them in the fray, such as the nations of Tethyr and Calimshan or the Shadi'ar tribes, particularly the Ala-min. Athelstan, however, grew increasingly impatient and threatened in multiple Councilium meetings to rally his Tormtar forces alone against the Banites.
In 1372 DR, though the churches were still locked in debate, Saelmar was working to organize a mutual-defense pact against Banite attacks with the other city-states in the Land of the Lions. The next year, in the midst of Sammaster's Rage of Dragons, the red great wyrm Balagos flew over the Land of the Lions and unleashed a firestorm in Mintar and Saelmur, killing over half of the population of both city-states.
==Notable Locations==
* The Central Market.
* The Needle in the Loft, a makeshift boarding house for refugees.
* The Knave's Nape, a high-class inn.
* Master of the Blade, a school of swordsmanship.
===Religious===
* Guardian Hall, a Helmite temple.
* The Hall of High Justice, a Tyrran temple.In Dragons of Faerûn it is stated that (as of 1373 DR) the horde of the blue dragon Iryklathagra contained the "...onion dome of Anachtyr (gilded dome wrested from the top of a since-fallen temple in Saelmur...)". This implies that Tyr was worshiped in Saelmur under his aspect Anachtyr, though whether this referred to the Hall of High Justice or a preceding temple is unclear.
* The Lady's Sheaves, a Chauntean temple.
* The Library of High Justice, an Oghmanyte temple.
* The Shrine of Duty, a Tormtar temple.
* The Shrine of the Rising Sun, a Lathanderite temple.
* The Temple of the Bound Hands, an Ilmatari temple.
==Inhabitants==
The majority of the city-state's population was made up of humans, due in part to the influx of Mintaran refugees. It also long had a sizable number of mages, even prior to the Banite takeover of Mintar, due to the great access to mineral substance derived spell components. Many Mintaran mages made their home in Saelmar, hoping to one day return to the city-state.
Saelmar was also among the settlements in the Land of the Lions that the Shadi'ar tribes visited at least once a year, with their younger warriors taking the opportunity to indulge in city luxuries.
==Notable Inhabitants==
* The alchemist Surero fled here from Innarlith in the mid-1360s DR after he was excused for his attempt to murder the clandestine Red Wizard Marek Rymüt.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===Gallery===
Lake of Steam 2e.jpg|2e Map
Lake of Steam 3e.jpg|3e Map
===References===
FR:Saelmur
Category:Cities
Category:City-states
Category:Theocracies
Category:Exports dyes
Category:Exports fish
Category:Exports fruit
Category:Exports ink
Category:Exports salt
Category:Exports sulfur
Category:Exports vegetables
Category:Locations on the Coast Road (Lake of the Lions)
Category:Locations on the Tyrant's Road
Category:Locations on the Lake of Steam
Category:Locations in the Land of the Lions
Category:Locations in Interior Faerûn
Category:Locations in Faerûn
Category:Locations on Toril
Category:Year of Metropolises