Ridgeley

Ridgeley is the official capital of the Commonwealth of Pem. An unremarkable settlement during the Ancient and early Emergent Era, following the Pemblish Civil War Ridgeley has experienced major growth as the administrative capital of the Commonwealth of Pem. Originally nestled within a single valley, the city has since expanded into surrounding areas, with further growth accommodated through the creation of a vast subterranean developments. Whilst Ridgeley is at the forefront of bureaucracy and diplomacy in Pem, it is often seen as lacking in cultural pursuits.

## Economy

Ridgeley's economy is unusual among the Pemblish freehold capitals in that it is dominated by the public sector - almost half of all residents of the city are employed in or by the Pemblish government, either within the Undercourt or various government agencies, or at the various foreign embassies which are located in the city.

Despite being the national capital, Ridgeley is not a major economic powerhouse - the city is 'cursed by adjacency' to the country's former capital of Pembleton, which remains Pem's pre-eminent cultural and economic engine.

However, Ridgeley remains a magnet for wealth from across the Centrelands, in part due to the city's proximity to power, with prominent personages such as Samuel Kite, the Forrall family, and Lord and Lady Duncan Lload taking up residence in the western Mansion District.

The city is also home to a number of trade associations and centres of learning, including the Guild of Cartographers and Draftsmen, the Company of Masons and Architects, as well as the Pemblowe Grammar School.

Ridgeley boasts a major shopping complex, as well as a number of high class retailers catering to the city's unusually large demographic of wealthy individuals.

## History

A settlement on the site of Ridgeley is known to have existed as far back as 1850BGE - with archaeological digs near the site of the Guild Hall suggesting the existence of a small farming community in the ridges. This village was originally known as Bingham - 'the estate of Binga' in early records. Although Bingham was long believed to be an off-shoot of the Okari or Prydowan peoples, earthenware and religious totems found at the site are closer in design to Horde artefacts from both antiquity and the modern day. Some modern anthropologists believe that Bingham belonged to a distinct cultural group who descended from the early Horde people and who migrated out of the then-lush Eastern Basin. They propose that, whilst preserving many cultural elements of the Horde, they may have shunned nomadic life in favour of establishing a small number of permanent settlements in the hills, with Bingham being the best documented.

Evidence of charred stone and preserved ash during excavations of the ancient settlement suggest that Bingham may have burned down, either by accident or possibly by the Okari Kingdom during their raids and expansions northwards.

Following the destruction of Okar and the collapse of the Okari Kingdom, the region was claimed and contested by various warlords. As nearby Pembleton grew in power over the next two centuries it incorporated the area around Ridgely into its "hold". By the time that the Lesser Kingdom of Pem was formed, the territory now known as the Freehold of Ridgeley was considered part of the Freehold of Pembleton - the establishment of an independent freehold in Ridgeley only came about following the Undercourt's victory in the Pemblish Civil War.

The settlement is first recorded under a form resembling its current name in a census taken during the reign of Varrus III. The census refers to the town as 'Ridgeley Magna' - in contrast with the neighbouring village of East Ridgeley - which later fell into ruin and was abandoned. By the reign of King Julian (457-446BGE) Ridgeley Magna was a prosperous market town, thriving on trade along the Tunnelbridge Road. However, under the reign of Fabius VII, this had declined due to intense taxation and Fabius's heavyhanded attempts to regulate and control Ridgeley's blacksmithing industry - which aggravated the already growing civil unrest in response to his failing international wars.

Ultimately. Fabius VII's misguided attempts to control the wealth of his kingdom led to the weakening of monarchical power in cities across Pem - in particular, Ridgeley, Rubellium, and Coltar became hotbeds of republican sentiment. When revolution came, the latter two cities launched separatist movements, the Undercourt and its forces - breakaway troops from the Pemblish Imperial Guard that would later form the basis of the Commonwealth Army - established their new provisional capital in Ridgeley. During the war, the War Undercourt, led by Lord Sawdus, began meeting in Ridgeley's ancient Guild Hall. Following the end of the war, this change was arrangement was made permanent - in part because of enduring Royalist support in the former capital of Pembleton.

## Districts

The undercourt is a district in it's own right, being comprised of the Guildhall on the surface and a vast complex of below-ground facilities. This includes numerous sprawling office spaces for government departments, the Undercourt library documenting a wide array of legal and historical records, multiple chapels, and other unimportant back offices.