Goneril (City)

Goneril City (North Common Pronunciation: [Gone-EE-us cite], literally: "City of the He-Gonean") is the capital of Empire of Goneril, located on the Mudvayne River just below the Strand of Orc. The city is an independent municipality not part of any province, and its population as of 1441 is just over 3 million.
Located in the north central part of the country, the city lies at an elevation above sea level of about 1,310 metres (4,300 ft) on the plains at the northern foot of the Parjure Mountains. It is the cultural, industrial, and financial heart of the country. It is also the center of Goneril's road network, and connected by highway to Icewinton, Harvest Eye, Traitor's Pass, and, subsequently, to the southern half of the Empire.
==History==
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The city was founded in 1202 FA as an initially nomadic centre for the training of monks. Around 1500 FA it settled permanently at its present location, the airable land between the mouth of the Parjure Pass and below the Mudvayne River. Before that it had changed location 28 times, with each location being chosen ceremonially. In the 15th century SA, Goneril grew into a major industrial center with the discovery of natrual oil and coal in the banks near the mountain.
===Pre-1202 settlements===
Red ochre rock paintings are to be found on the north side of the interior city walls facing the river. The paintings show humanoid figures, horses, eagles and abstract designs like horizontal lines and large squares with over a hundred dots within them. The same style of painting from the same era is found very close to the northwest of the city at Profound Babel, or the The Deep Tower, as well as along the ridge of the northern mountains near Ulgrof's Pass, indicating a common nomadic pastoral culture predating the Harmonian/Discordian war. The Deep Tower itself, however, is only 1000 years old.
===First and Second Ages===
Founded in 1202 FA as a yurt monastery, then Örgööil (He-palace-yurt), was first located around 250 km from the present site and was mainly intended to be the seat of the first Eye Praetor of Grummish.
As a mobile monastery-town, it was often moved to various places along the river, as supply and other needs would demand. During the Corrilian-Grummish wars of the 13th century FA, it was even moved to central Goneril. As the city grew, it moved less and less.
By the begining of the Second Age, the number of humans in the city outnumbered the number of orcs and dwarves. The city was completely incorporated around the third year of the age, and made stationary by the warlord Marrian Ganth, who seized it as his kingdom by raiding horses. He fortified the city some distance from the river, and claimed the land between the mountains and the Mudvayne River (at the time running several miles north of it's current location) as neutral territory in the conflict between the Harmonians and the Discordians.
Around 400 SA Barron Ganth came to power with the help of the Heroes of the Legends of the Ages, who assisted Ganth on his mission to eject the influence of either the harmonic pantheon or the discordic pantheon from his state. Many of the older parts of the city date from this time, and along the inner walls of the central city the doings of the heroes are depicted in bas relief. Since then, the city has been redesigned around Ganth's vision of an antithesist "Throne of Prime."
==Politics==
===Government===
Goneril is a self-described Self Reliant Material State, with a pronounced cult of personality organized around Barron Ganth. Barron Ganth's current rank is Supreme Magistrate, though at various times in his tenure he has been called Mayor, King, Chief, and Supreme Emperor. He has ruled constantly since 390 SA. The legislature of Goneril is the Supreme Assemby of People's Tribunes, currently led by President Nabokil Omarov. Each legislative district elects a People's Tribune. There are also Tribunes of the Military, whom Barron Ganth appoints to positions of five-year command over each of his 21 legions.
In practice, Ganth's government is still feudal. Ganth appoints crown representitives to each of the administrative districts, usually members of his family, and those representitives hold a vast amount of sway over the election of Tribunes to the People's Assemby. The purpose of the Assemby, then, is less about providing democratic representation to the people of the provinces and more about providing arbitration between the provinces without recourse to factionalizing the empire.
===Ideology===
The Throne of Prime is the official state ideology of Goneril. It teaches that "man is the master of everything and decides everything," and that insiders to the Prime Material Plane are the masters of the Prime Material Plane. It has also been translated as "independent stand" and the "spirit of self-reliance." It has four main tenents:
#The people must have independence in thought and politics, economic self-suficiency, and self-reliance in defense.
#Policy must reflect the will and aspirations of the masses and employ them fully.
#Methods of production, construction and destruction must be suitable to the situation of the country.
#The most important work of the state is molding people ideologically and mobilizing them to constructive action.
==Geography==
Category:Locations
Category:Cities
Category:Northern Continent