Mulladún

A sketch of Mulladún's layout and architecture by tumblr user @thewatchau

Location of Mulladún in Duilintinn by tumblr user @thewatchau

Mulladún is the capital city of House Jackie and one of Duilintinn's six major urban cities.

## Name Origin

Mulladún means "summit fort" in the old Feadhainn Language.

## History

### Feadhainn Era

The first year of Duilintinn’s calendar occurred when the ancient civilization of Feadhainn diverting the Agrona River, revealing the Draoidh Valley and allowing irrigation farming in the Monaidh Plains. This great achievement marked the beginning of the Golden Age of the Feadhainn Era, and was soon to be followed by many other architectural wonders. One such remnant of Feadhainn’s glory is the city of Mulladún, built on the western edge of the Monaidh Plains, just before the Agrona is finally allowed to dip back into the Draoidh Valley.

### Waldren Occupation

In the early days of the Waldren Occupation, Mulladún was repaired and maintained by the imperialist settlers. However, as Duilintinn became less profitable for the trading company, parts of the city fell back into disrepair. While many areas of the city were maintained by its occupants, the entire city would not be repaired and maintained again until a stable city government was established during the Quest for Duilintinn.

### Interim Years

However, when Lord Jackie was a child, the city was overrun with brigands and other foul types. Even so, the future lord dreamed of one day seeing the city for himself and learning more about the legacy of his ancestors, many of whom called the ancient city their home. Years later, one of the first major successes in the quest to found Duilintinn would be the establishment of a stable government in Mulladún, setting the stage for Duilintinn’s future government and first Noble House.

In modern day, Mulladún serves as the capital city of House Jackie.

## Architecture and Layout

Homes and shops can be found on the lowest level, the middle-upper class society lives on the second level alongside political hubs of House Jackie’s major guilds and other public resources such as schools and doctors, and the top level contains House Jackie’s government.

Like most Feadhainn Era architecture, the city features precise interlocked stonework that has yet to be replicated by modern architects and a series of stacked circular structures. In addition, Mulladún was built to resemble the amphitheaters that were a central part of Feadhainn social life. These stadium-style indentations held everything from markets to marriages, a tradition that has survived to the modern day.

As such, as seen in the top right of the sketch, the walls of the city’s crescent-shaped levels have two-story buildings stacked like stair-steps, giving the entire level an amphitheater-like openness towards the sky.  Between these walls are busy, crowded streets lined with buildings and shops like any other city, but none are more than two stories high, allowing the second and third tiers of buildings along the wall to rise above. This effect is especially noticable in the open market courtyards of the lowest level of the city, where actual amphitheaters are located at the very center. Standing at the bottom of one of these courtyards, it feels like the city is slowly rising up to surround you in a sphere of intricate stone.

### Defenses

These tiers also served a defensive purpose. If Mulladún was attacked, archers would stand on the outward-facing tiers of buildings, allowing them to shoot downwards at the enemy without other buildings blocking their line of sight. Small outcroppings jut out from these parts of the wall, similar in shape to a bay window, but built to shield archers firing upon the enemy from a closer range than those stationed on the next level of tiers.

If their foe managed to break into the first level of the city, the archers from the higher levels would continue to use the same strategy. Meanwhile, even if the hostile force climbed to where the archers originally stood, the remainder of the wall would still be too high for them to simply clamber over into the next level of the city. They’d need to siege the second and third level in the same way they sieged the first.

A sheer, triangular tower faces west, overlooking the Draoidh Valley. Similar openings for defensive fire are scattered along the sheer face of the tower, on the off chance that someone would be stupid enough to climb up the side of the valley and then cross the insanely powerful Agrona River in an attempt to attack the city.

## Significant Locations

The lowest and by far largest level of the city is known as the Residential District, and is mostly home to residential areas and marketplaces. Neighborhoods and sub-districts within this level are generally grouped by their closest amphitheater, which functions as both the social and economic center of town. However, since my sketch of the city is not to scale, it’s unclear how many of these residential districts are contained within the lower level of the city.

The second level of the city is considered the Professional District, and contains public services such as schools and doctors, larger businesses, and - technically - the city’s guild hubs. While all three major guilds of House Jackie own real estate on this level, very little takes place in these buildings except clerical work. The Wander Legacy conducts most of its operations from a large stable complex just outside the city, while the Guard Coalition uses their hub in the city as a status symbol more than anything else, conducting most of their operations from a facility located over half a day’s ride to the east called the Whetstone. Only the Mercenary Syndicate conducts most of their official operations from their guild hub on the second level of the city, and even then, they generally prefer to take their training exercises into the amphitheaters of the lower levels or outside the city walls. Additionally, the Craftsmen’s Guild, which is based in Cordoire, has a secondary hub in Mulladún to support House Jackie’s prospering weapon and armor smiths.
Finally, the uppermost level of the city is home to Mulladún’s government buildings. This is also where Lord Jackie would live, if he still remained in the public eye. Like all regional capitals, Mulladún’s government center also holds embassies for the other four Noble Houses