Lys

**Lys**, sometimes called Lys the Lovely, is regarded as the most beautiful of the Free Cities, and enjoys what is perhaps the most salubrious climate in all the known world. Bathed by cool breezes, warmed by the sun, on a fertile island where palms and fruit trees grow in profusion, surrounded by blue-green waters teeming with fish, "Lys the Lovely" was founded as a retreat by the dragonlords of old Valyria, a paradise where they might refresh themselves with fine wines and sweet maids and soothing musics before returning to the fires of the Freehold. To this day, Lys remains "a feast for the senses, a balm for the soul." Its pillow houses are famed through all the world, and sunsets here are said to be more beautiful than anywhere else on earth. The Lysene themselves are beautiful as well, for here more than anywhere else in the known world the old Valyrian bloodlines still run strong.

## Geography

Lys sits on the end a peninsula on the island of Lys, and the city extends onto three smaller islands near the main
isle.  The center island is connected by bridge to the main city, and the other two islands are connected to the
center island. These islands form a protective ring around the peninsula making a perfect harbor. The main city and each island contain their own wall.

## The City

### City of Lights

The city of lights is on the center island. Named for the vast temple that is houses, the entire island is dedicated to R’hllor.  Burnings can be seen there all throughout the night, and armies of priests maintain the temple and surrounding complexes. Built as a massive ziggurat, the flame at the top can be seen for miles and serves the city as a lighthouse.

### Golden City

Situated to the east of the city of lights lies the golden city. Here, the majority of the Lysene nobility lives. It is the least densely populated part of the city, and it takes the better part of an hour to walk there from the main
city. The golden city is a monument to the wealth of Lys. The name is a bit of a misnomer as Lysene nobility prefers shining gemstones to gold. Opals, emeralds, rubies and every other stone known decorate the many manors, gardens, courtyards, and other structures in the city. Great statues and fountains dominate the broad pathways around the island. In addition the fountains do not run water. As a true testament to the wealth of Lys, the fountains run with
lavender. The people don’t need then for water, as every house in the golden city has running water, and many of them have steam baths. Standing above the entrance to the golden city stands a massive statue to the Goddess of Love. The naked woman stands 100 feet tall and dominates the skyline, it is visible from anywhere in the golden city and the largest structure in the city.

### The Shipyard

The shipyard sits on the final island across from the harbor.

## Government

Lys is ruled by seven magisters. Each magister is elected once and serves for life or until they step down willingly.  The Council of Majisters forms laws, hold high court, appoint lower courts, and six
magisters have a specific title and role as well. These titles are Magister of the Army, Fleet,
City, Trade, Law, and Slaves. The final magister is the High Magister, and all of these domains are
his purvue. Only landed men may vote, but each magister is supposed to represent a part of the city in addition to
their electorate. This rarely happens. While the vote is supposed to matter, the same noble family has held the same title for seven generations. The Rogares have held the title of High
Magister for even longer. However, in 370 AC Lysaro Lohar was appointed High Magister of Lys.

Under them are the lower courts. These courts deal with petty crimes, and the judges are appointed for life by the magisters. Judges are usually picked based on party and family loyalty with no real thought about ability.

## Slavery

Lys is deeply involved in the slave trade. In the city, slaves outnumber the freeborn three to one. Lys is most famous for their bed-slaves, and Lysene are known to be famously voracious in their search for comely yougn boys and fair maids with their pillow houses. Lys is also known for the breeding of slaves, mating beauty with beauty, hoping to produce the most lovely courtesans and bedslaves. Aptly, many Lysene worship a love goddess whose naked, wanton figure graces their coinage

## Religion

There are two major gods worshipped in Lys. Most people worship R'hllor, otherwise known as the Red God. The second largest temple to his stands in Lys, and the priesthood looks out for the soul of the city. The other religion is more often invoked at feasts and in pillowhouses. The nameless Goddess of Love and patron of the city is favored by many nobles as well as a more unsavory element of the population.

## Army

The army of Lys is 15,000 men strong. It varies greatly in skill and equipment from the bottom ranks of slave spears to the venerated marine. Every man is willing to die for their city, though. The Lysene army and navy generally work closely. They both have the rank of captain, and his has led to confusion in the past. To distinguish themselves, a captain of the army that is on a ship is known as a master. The ranking army officer on a ship is known as a master at arms. Any man who commands multiple captains is known as a general, and they are assigned as they are needed. Since the armies of Lys are generally ship-born, they lack heavy cavalry to a large degree.  However, even their lowliest soldier is trained to fight from a ship, making them a deadly force as sea.

Of the 15,000 soldiers 9,000 are slave spearmen. Slave spearmen are armored in leather and fight with spears and shields or javelins. These are formed into blocks of one hundred men lead by a captain and pointed at the enemy. One hundred blocks are grouped into a cohort of 1,000 men and lead by an individual commander. Commanders are free men drawn from the nobles of Lys to lead. They generally serve short terms before moving on. Commanders can usually be
spotted because the nobles wear flashy clothing and armor to show rank.

The city commands 500 slave lancers. They are trained to fight on horseback and fight with lance and shield in addition to being lightly armored. Again, they are broken into blocks of twenty and lead by a captain. Five of these blocks are built into a cohort lead by a noble, so they only command 100 men instead of 1000 like the spears.

The last slave units are the slave skirmisher formations which number 500 riders. They fight from horseback and fight from range with bows. They are much more flexible than other slave formations in size and battlefield role. Sometimes, as few as five riders will be attached to a captain. The size of cohorts also varies greatly by
purpose.

The remaining 5,000 men of the Lysene army are all free men. 2,000 of these are known as the Scions of Lys. They are
often the sons of middle class merchants or other professionals. They are far better armed and armored than
slaves, and they are better payed. Rather than the large blocks with few officers, the scions are a more
flexible group. They are organized into blocks of 200 men. Some are designated as cavalry, but most are infantry.
Blocks are broken down into squads of twenty men that are commanded by a sergeant. Since they often operate
independently from ships, each block is made to be self-sufficient.  Blocks of 200 cavalry contain heavy
cataphracts, lighter lancers, and horse archers. Infantry blocks contain spearmen, swordsmen,
archers, peltasts, and runners. Each block is commanded by a captain.

The final 3,000 men are the Lysene Marines. They are the most prestigious fighting force in Lys, and they claim to be the best fighters at sea in the world. So far, no one has proven them wrong. Even noblemen fight in their rank
and file with pride. Marines are taken from the slaves and scion forces if they prove themselves worthy. This means that every marine is a veteran of combat. Marines are all taught to swim and to fight with javelins and short swords. They wear chainmail that is designed with seams across the shoulder and down the
sides that can be pulled apart; this means that falling into the water is not a death sentence. However, this armor is not cheap to make, so losing it for any reason, even falling overboard, it an
offence punishable by lashing. Marines are organized into squads of only ten men led by a sergeant, and all the marines on a ship are commanded by a captain. When a merchant ship goes through dangerous waters, they make take on
several squads of marines at the owner’s expense. This ensures the marines remain in top fighting condition.

## Navy

The Lysene navy boasts 150 warships. Not the largest or best navy in the world, but they have a just claim on having the best crews. The grandest ship in the fleet, *The Bloody Gullet* was finished only six years ago. *The Bloody Gullet* is the largest such ship in the free cities. With 1000 oarsmen spread across three rowing decks, 200 other crewmen, and space for 3000 armsmen, *The Bloody Gullet* commands the harbor of Lys and dwarfs even mighty
Volantine dreadnoughts. Every other Lysene ship tends to be smaller and more compact than the ships of other
cities, though they don’t lack in firepower. In addition the *The Bloody Gullet*, Lys has 8 dreadnoughts, 42 carracks, 89 war galleys, and 11 longships. In all, it could carry twice as many soldiers as Lys had with room to spare.

Oar slaves were one of the few areas that are still dominated by slaves. Everyone else in the Lysene navy was a free man. Lys is one of the only places in the world where commanding in the navy is more prestigious than commanding in the army. It is also one of the most meritocratic institutions. Because Lys depends so heavily on her navy, having competent commanders is vital. Nobility are often commanded by the sons of merchants, and this is seen as routine.  Because of this, the nobility tend to stay within the ranks of the army so they aren’t commanded by lowborns. The result is that almost every Lysene ship has a skilled commander.