Kaschar

**Kaschar** is a city in Taruschkan and the largest city in the Duchy of Kaschar. The city is situated on the Maraset river.

## History

While its earliest settlement dates back to the late Corastian Empire, Kaschar came to prominence much later when it was chartered as a fortified town by Deresch I in 330 CR. In 340, Deresch I granted the town to his wife Lurea. Both were buried in the cloister of the Order of Saint Luris, later rebuilt as the Kaschar cathedral.

Over the next three hundred years, the town grew from a fortress to an important trading center along the Maraset near the river's farthest navigable point for merchant barges. In 498, Arenis II granted Kaschar special rights including a degree of legal and economic autonomy that would prove to be the basis for similar rights given to other towns and cities throughout Taruschkan, Kamischkan, and Oravia.

By 600, the city boasted a population of over 20,000 inhabitants which made it one of the most populous cities in Taruschkan, as well as bustling commercial center well-known for its painters, glaziers, and other artisans.

Kaschar was relatively unaffected by the Reschanant-Anaschen wars which destroyed many other towns and villages throughout the region. During the First War of Taruschkani Succession, Haren I besieged the city in 614 but the defenses proved too great and his armies were forced to end the siege by accord. The city continued to flourish as refugees of all classes and religious affiliations settled in and around Kaschar over the following decades. Of particular interest are the Students of Dorim, a radical Valasite movement founded by followers of Dorim Jalmont in 650. Many Dorimins fled to Kaschar to escape persecution after the Treaty of Arnoss in 652 made Valasite beliefs punishable as heresy within Taruschkan.

At the beginning of the Third War of Taruschkani Succession in 661, Kaschar and the suburbs of New City, South City, and Tieran's Crossing held over 25,000 inhabitants, with several thousand more in surrounding villages and farms. As the war progressed, the city council grew dissatisfied with Reschanant rule, particularly Duke Eglan Salanthe, who they forced into exile in 675. While the city did not openly declare for the House of Anaschen, many on the town council sympathized with the Anaschenist cause in hopes that Prince Haeris would respect their legal rights better than the House of Reschanant.

In 678, fearing that Kaschar might violate its longstanding neutrality and defect to the Anaschenists, Crown Prince Myren Reschanant ordered the city to be captured at all costs before year's end. An army of 24,000 soldiers under Dorias Valatin and Arrel Gasecha marched on Kaschar and commenced a siege on 17th Awaiting, 678. The city's defenses held out for another 61 days before royal soldiers finally breached the walls, resulting in a three-day sack and the deaths of over 20,000 inhabitants in the subsequent fires and looting.

After the war, the city was rebuilt quickly with the help of its mayor, Pedra Arentil, though its population did not recover to pre-war levels for another 65 years.

## Geography

Kaschar is located along the Maraset river, which flows southward to join with the Hester along the border between Taruschkan and Arcinia. The city sits at the intersection of the westward road from Arnoss and the north-south road between Mendolai and Tirena. On the west, the Kasmischi Road connects Kaschar with Renuscha and the Upper Hester. As such, the city has been an important trading center for several centuries. Much of the surrounding lands on either bank of the Maraset are fairly flat, with the exception of mountains which run to the northeast between the Laschanar and Arasin rivers and a series of low hills east-southeast of the city. Wild barley, purple heath, and poppies are known to grow in the outlying regions not under cultivation.

## Demographics

At its height, Kaschar had over 25,000 inhabitants. Most were members of the Global Church, while the city's neutrality in the Reschanant-Anaschen wars and political autonomy made it a haven for Valasites as well as merchants and artisans from throughout Corastia and the known world. Irritaschian traders have frequented the city for some time, such that they formed the Wahili Society of Kaschar to organize their merchant activities within the walls.

## Politics

As a free city, Kaschar is the capital of the Duchy of Kaschar but also enjoys a degree of political and economic autonomy that has brought it into conflict with various dukes. Most of the power in Kaschar lies with an elected city council and the mayor. Owing to the influence of the city's numerous merchants and trade guilds, the city council is largely controlled by members of the Felicitous Brotherhood of Kaschar.

Religious minorities like Valasites (including the Dorimins) and Wahili Order do not exercise much direct political power in the city, though their influence is apparent in the many Valasite groups throughout the city and a Wahili school.

## Military

Kaschar is defended by the Civil Guard, which consisted of up to 200 watchmen, and a civilian militia of between 500-3000 burghers depending on the city's needs. At times, these forces were supplemented by ducal or royal soldiers, as in the Third War of Taruschkani Succession when the House of Anaschen garrisoned the city with 1000 men under the command of Karolus Meratehl in 677. Additionally, the city's defenses were augmented by 500 Hontan soldiers under Alleric Sorehl in preparation for the siege.

## Culture

Saint Luris, the city's patron, was a Corastian captain of Hirkani descent. He was martyred along with many of his men in 327 BCR after they converted to the Way of the One. Saint Luris is venerated throughout Corastia but particularly in Taruschkan for his faith and dedication even in the face of death. He is depicted throughout Kaschar as a dark-complexioned man with Hirkani features wearing chainmail and a tabard more typical of later centuries than the segmented armor worn by infantrymen of the Corastian Empire.

Due to its many churches including Saint Luris' Cathedral, Kaschar is known throughout Taruschkan as the City of Bells.

## Influence

Due to the brutality of the royal army during the Sack of Kaschar, the term "Kaschar's quarter" came to be used by Anaschenists when executing Reschanantists who begged for mercy. Other Valasite and later Renewalist groups came to fear that similar destruction could be wrought against them by the Global Church and its allies.

The Evangelical Brethren or Mentites were one such Renewalist movement who fortified the city of Cyrnne in anticipation of an attack by the Ossiric League and eventually waged a preemptive war in 743-744 against neighboring Ossirian cities. Mentite soldiers referred to the destruction of Heilicon at the outset of the war as "Kaschar's quarter" as a tribute to the pacifist Dorimins who were slaughtered by Reschanant forces in 678.