The Republic of Lebennin

The southern square of Linhir, as seen during an early construction period.

The flag of the Eastern Hold and the Republic, Luna under the three jewels of the faction (Linhir, Emyn Arnen and the City of Towers).

### Claimed Lands

The two Holds of the Republic (colour distribution).

The claimed lands of the Republic as well as the official cities and builds (constructed, under construction and under design alike) The roads (made and planned) as well as the roleplay sea trade routes appear on the map as well.

### NPCs

Lebennin and Gondor NPCs

**The Republic of Lebennin was** a non-canonical faction, primarily based within the Lebennin sub-biome with an additional presence in Ithilien. Lebennin split from Gondor and became an independent realm in June 2017, distinguishing itself architecturally and in playstyle with the wider Gondorian playerbase. Lebennin reunified with Gondor and Dol Amroth in December 2020 after the Lebennin Civil War, but remained officially independant before completely merging as a Gondorian Fielfdom on November 22nd 2021.

## **Owned Land and Cities**

The Republic owned the entire biome of Lebennin, the southern hills of Ithilien, and a small part of Lamedon north of Linhir where the city proper is located, it was also divided in 2 different Holds: The Eastern Holds and Linhir. Each hold provided a senator to the Council and has at least 1 major settlement; though the number of holds varied depending on the situation and historic time of the faction, 2 or 3 holds were usually the expected number with its corresponding number of senators.

### **The Eastern Holds**

*''The city where all began, the throneless capital, the old forgotten tower of Itharim now rises glorious and shiny up to the skies'' -"The Forlorn" stored the Great Library of the City of Towers.*

The Eastern Holds was originally a combination of the eldest regions of the faction: Itharim, Dawnport, and the City of Towers. It was expanded after the former Gondorian King, Tarixxiv, put Emyn Arnen in the hands of Lebennin. All of these holds were assimilated for administrative purposes.

A few of the core locations were planned builds later cast aside to make resources for Linhir and other larger places like Uirun and Emyn Arnen, but the region still held an important treasury and it was once the hub of the Republic until Linhir became the capital. The biggest city was The City of Towers, a great stronghold created as a shelter long ago, but lately the population has displaced back to Itharim and the Vinchini Fortress. Four major locations can still be distinguished:

**Itharim**, capital of the Northern Holds, famous for its hoards of blue diamonds and athelas. Constructed by Zeradash in the early days of the faction, it is the oldest and once densest city of the republic, and as a result of its age, it was capital of the whole faction until Linhir neared completion, whereupon the Senate shifted over to it. Built and expanded during wartime, it became a symbol of the faction and what it represents in addition to being easily accessible by new members, though the build proper has aged severely and it was pending reforms shortly before the Lebennin Civil War.

   **Vinchini,** a region in the Southern portion of the Eastern Holds. In this place lies Fort Vinchini, which holds training grounds for the Eastern Army. Though currently only the fortress and small amounts of housing are built in this region, the Vinchini Naval Academy along with other builds including a currently unnamed town are under contant contruction and expansion. The area was highly populated for Lebennin as a whole, being right by the Anduin, trade routes are easily accessible and allow for quick and reliable travel. It can be argued that the Vinchini region had a large impact on the faction as a whole, and the claim can be made that it was one of the cultural centres of the Eastern Holds. Vinchini decayed as a whole during and after the Lebennin Civil War. ***The vast majority of Vinchini and its sphere of influence is currently outside the control of both Lebennin and Gondor, due to its uncontested seccession shortly after the members of the monarchist side of the Civil War were accepted as Gondorian.***

**Dawnport** was also a relatively important city. Shrouded with history and initially built by Bublica, it became the central harbor of the faction for a short while. The city shines a dimmer light than it did during its prime, but it is still worth a visit and, unsurprisingly, can be quite comfortable to the occasional visitor. Following the claiming of Emyn Arnen, Dawnport saw scarce trade and focuses mostly on supplying the Lunar Army in Minas Arnen, which provides a temporary relief to its inhabitants. The city did commence an expansion in Ithilien, effectively doubling the size of the city and giving it a second harbor at the other side of the Anduin, but construction was challenged by constant hostilities during the civil war and East Dawnport still remains a partial ruin.

**The Lunar Region** is located in the north-west of the hold. It was originally a hold on itself ruled by Andsnow until it got assimilated into the major group. Probably the most interesting of all the regions, it consists of a total of 3 settlements, from which the most important is Luna's City, also known as The City of Towers. That city was originally created as a fortress where most of the faction was evacuated during the independence war against Gondor. After the conflict ended, the city started growing and now an insane net of tunnels and chambers surround an entire mountain range, and in the center a valley with the city itself lay waiting for times of need. The fortress is controlled by Zeradash, who was the main builder. The City of Towers is rightfully one of the cultural centers of the faction; with features like its Great Library and all the secrets, rooms and elements that are present in the underground, the city is one of the jewels of all Lebennin and it is built and guarded proudly by the highest ranks of the Lunar Army. The city of Towers is also known because it has kept the main faction storages since the war against Gondor; the underground rooms got filled with war equipment, materials, ores, precious stones and coin in order to spend them on faction trades and other matters. Most importantly, strange blue diamonds were also mined here, and all of Itharim's production was stored in the underground. It is said that these diamonds hold incredible material and magical properties, and were used by the elite of the Lunar Army for military purposes. While many of the surface structures have deteriorated and fallen to disrepair, the level of activity in the underground (and the wealth that may be stored) is currently unknown, but it is known that the inner fortress holds considerable war supplies stored since the civil conflict.

Another major settlement is Rivercross, an ongoing major city located at the crossing of the two streams south of the City of Towers. The major feature of Rivercross is Fort Lion, which was expected to potentially become the new capital of the Eastern Holds but ultimately fell to disrepair after the civil war.

**Emyn Arnen** was the youngest region of the Hold, as Tarixxiv gave Zeradash said waypoint and he incorporated it into the faction for new lore and build projects. The land is very unforgiving, and the Lunar and Eastern Armies were constantly fighting against orc raiding parties and hosts that have camped there for a long time, harassing the remaining Gondorian havens and entering the rest of the regions. The main body of the build is the old Gondorian fortress, which was renovated entirely and renamed Minas Arnen. The fortress acted as the main seat of power of the faction in Ithilien, with an ancient throne room made for the Lord of the region used by the Senator of the Eastern Holds, and it was surrounded by an array of towers, walls, smaller castles and other fortifications built to ensure the safety of the Free Peoples further west. Remains of fallen keeps and old battles can be seen spread throughout the land, but in the very center of Emyn Arnen, guarded by hills, mountains and castles, one of the last remaining towns in Ithilien is found, and it provides a key supply, and trading hub for the armies. The ruins of ancient palaces and citadels can also be found in the area, often used temporarily by Lebennin and Gondorian forces as defensive positions.

The current settlements of the Hold are:

* **Itharim**: Capital of the Hold and first capital of the Republic. It is also one of the oldest cities in the biome and it hosted part of the Eastern Treasury.
* **Backwater Village**: A small peaceful village focused on lumberworks. Located east of Itharim, its purpose is merely decorative and roleplay related.
* **Dawnport**: Ancient capital of a hold with its name, it was the main harbor of the faction until Linhir was rebuilt.
* **Luna's city (The city of Towers)**: Former capital of its own hold and a roleplay focused city. It was probably the richest city of the Republic because of the huge underground storages, combined with the need of an intense trade system, the city was prepared for major disaster, with the headquarters of the Lunar Army and provisional senatorial rooms in case a major conflict arrived and desperate measures were needed.
* **Rivercross city**: A big town located on the southern end of the hold. The city was under construction and showed the level of expansion the faction was once achieving. The project was abandoned by Andsnow and retaken by BryanPikachu.
* **Fort Vinchini:** A fort located north-east of the Pelargir border. This fortress was originally intended to be a defensive fortification designed to guard any threat coming from the south into the Eastern Holds. The fortress itself wraps around a bay that connects to the Anduin. The group known as the 'Vinchini Bois' are responsible for the fortress' construction. It became the second headquarters of the Eastern Army and is currently not under the command of either Gondor or Lebennin, but rather ruled by independent groups.
* **Minas** **Arnen:** This location in Ithilien was given to the faction in Summer 2018. Minas Arnen is the fortress that was previously owned by Tarixxiv, located near the Emyn Arnen waypoint. The fortress was improved drastically after it was given to Zeradash, and now the entire region has been expanded so Minas Arnen works as the central seat of south Ithilien and a massive military settlement. The fortress itself has suffered several orc raids and major sieges but it stood strong under the watch of the Lunar Army, and auxiliar keeps and towers were built surrounding the waypoint itself, where a small town populated the valley.
* **Redwall:** A small keep located on top of a hill, overlooking two farming villages and the central plains of the hold. Even though the build doesnt shine for its complexity, its solid fortifications stand the passing of time thanks to the newest designs shared by Linhir's engineers.

### **Linhir**

*''Wait, what? Who in the name of the White Tree gave those dammed rebels the city?!'' -*Angbor, Lord of Lamedon, after receiving the news about the reconstruction of Linhir.

The region of Linhir was a source of pride for the Republic. As a part of the old treaty with Gondor and the intention of reviving Lebennin and its beauty, Zeradash took the rights on the waypoint and made the construction of Linhir a priority. The hold was specifically created to have borders with both the Mouths of Anduin and Dol Amroth, and it is formed by various settlements; being Linhir a huge city and taking a big chunk of the hold. The owner of most of the building projects was Zeradash, who led most of the faction's construction programmes. This hold became the heart of the faction, and in June 2018 it was chosen as the Capital of the Republic. The last Senator was **WhoDis**.

As an interesting fact, Linhir was the only official waypoint owned by the faction until the adquisition of Emyn Arnen. Another curiosity is that, due to the lack of information about this city, some models were taken from other cities like Lothric (Dark Souls series), but the main shape and layout of the city is the same as the one that can be found in books and other titles with a shift of 90 degrees due to the river positioning. The city focuses on the coastal presence as well as an impressive flax industry. In Spring 2019, The Plains (an old hold that inherited Pelargir's territory once the city was lost) were incorporated into this hold due to the lack of population and the fact that only two senators were needed in the faction. After reunification with Gondor occured, a massive building plan was launched in the entire hold to change the unique red colour pallete for a more traditional style from Belfalas. Despite these drastic changes, the structures in Linhir remain starkingly unique compared to the rest of Gondor, and the red colour was kept on the official flag as a symbol of past ideas.

The current visible locations are:

* **Linhir (city and shire)**: Capital of the hold and the Republic, and an impressive city still under construction. With a    size compareable to Minas Tirith, it became one of the biggest cities in all of Middle Earth. Linhir is a massive location; it held the faction guilds, embassies, political centre and also host the Lebennin Armada and the headquarters of the Western Army. The city is a flourishing location with the intervention of the flax industry and the huge amount of wheat fields around the core city, combined with the silver mines and lumber production in the nearby towns and villages. There are 4 villages (Dead Rest, Bymarket, Hillbourgh and Roadstead) and another town (Newport) considered to be part of the shire as well (and also under construction). Inside the city, the old Senate of the Republic can still be found to this day. The Senate is a monolithic structure with the best fortifications in all of Lebennin that acted as the very heart of the faction. It was designed to be a majesctic and deadly structure with multiple defensive layers and the Senatorial chambers at the very top of the central structure. Nowadays it holds a throne and council room for the Lord of Lebennin and is one of the largest bastions in Middle Earth.
* **Uinur:** Uinur is a large generated village that became a trading hub for the southern end of the hold. The village expanded into a town and was surrounded by defensive fortresses, specially aiming at the coastal areas prone to corsair raids. Uirun was not planned to be claimed or built, but it was ravaged by an orc party long ago and that forced Lebennin into establishing a build project to restore it, aiming for Lebennin to be a homing and safe region.
* **Farstead:** A small port located at the northern end of Tolfalas. The town has only roleplay purposes, and it serves as a stop for many merchants... and some marines with other intentions.
* **Linhir's Gardens:** The Gardens are a group of decorative villages, paths and gardens filled with all kind of plants and materials. Located on the road east of Linhir, it is being created and expanded by many players of the Republic, only to play and relax together while building.
* **Greencoast:** A small town located in the southern end of the hold, it serves as a stopping point for all the factional sea routes and trading galleys.
* **Imphleth:** An island located on the Bay of Belfalas; this island controlled the faction's salt production until it was discovered in other territories. Due to its small size, the island and the group of villages located there are ruled from the capital.
* **Andaros**: A town under design close to the Pelargir biome by the main road. This city was originally designed by CrazyShark178, but eventually the terraforming project to a temporary and then indefinite halt. The town was previously meant to be the capital of The Plains until the hold was annexed.
* **Keplan:** A small fortification in the southern end of the hold, constructed to protect the area when the Mouths of Anduin were occupied by Mordor forces. It is now a supply point for Lebennin's armed forces and served a relevant role during the Civil War together with her sister fortresses.

### **Minor Settlements in the faction**

* **The Northern Bastion:** A secret fortress Located in the Forodwaith Mountains. It was a productive mine of precious stones; however, this resource was found in different locations such as the City of Towers, so the bastion fell into decadence. It was finally abandoned in summer 2019, and its location remains a secret to this day.
* **The Eastern Guard:** A small white fortress built in Mordor, by the road between Minas Morgul and Barad-Dûr; meant as an agression to Mordor and an outpost in case of invasion. Few soldiers inhabit that place for obvious reasons, and it has fallen more than once after persistent sieges and was finally abandoned when Minas Arnen became under Lebennin control.
* **The Streams:** This build project had only decorative purposes and was drawn to beautify the biome. The Streams are a series of 4 fortresses that protect the birth of each stream that the Republic claims. The names of the fortresses are Stone, Snow, Water and Earth; from East to West. Their names represent the key components that made the Lebennin biome such a thriving one. Currently, both Stone and Snow are under construction.

## History

**(NOTE: This section is pending some serious changes, updates and clarifications)**

The Confederacy of Lebennin was founded in mid 2017 by a group of players led by Zeradash and Zurisadai who felt that Gondor was not properly looking after the Lebennin region. They first founded the city of Dawnport before Zeradash and Zurisadai founded Itharim. Zeradash opened up negotiations with Gondor in an attempt to become a vassal of the Kingdom but negotiations broke down between the two and Gondor launched ceaseless raids against Lebennin, whose members fled and founded Luna’s City in the white mountains. An accord was in the end reached in which Lebennin became a vassal of Gondor but with extensive internal autonomy.

Following this Zeradash became the effective ruler of Itharim and Luna’s City while Bublica became the ruler of Dawnport. In late December 2017 Lebennin claimed the waypoint of Linhir and Lebennin transformed into a Republic with Zeradash serving as the Senator of Luna’s City and Itharim, Bublica serving as the Senator of Dawnport, and Zurisadai serving as the Senator of Linhir.

After Mordor declared war on Gondor, Zeradash saw an opportunity to gain total independence and threatened war. Gondor was forced to sign the Alliance of the Fair Streams, which made Lebennin autonomous from Gondor as well as gave them control over half of the city of Pelargir, which Zeradash took control of.

On June 22nd 2018 Zeradash merged Luna's City, Itharim, and Dawnport into the Northern Holds due to their declining activity, and Andsnow was elected its Senator. On July 24th 2018 Lebennin violated the Alliance of the Fair Springs by taking over Emyn Arnen, causing Gondor to expel Lebennin from Pelargir. After a failed attempt to spin the remnants of Pelargir off into a new province known as "The Plains" its remaining territory was partitioned between the Northern Holds and Linhir while the Northern Holds took Emyn Arnen. By now Zurisadai had disappeared and Zeradash became the Senator of Linhir.

In May 2019 CrazyShark178 was elected Senator of the Northern Holds in the place of Andsnow. He ruled until resigning as Senator on December 3rd 2019, and in the ensuing election Pikachu33300 was elected.

On July 6th 2020 Zeradash resigned as Senator of Linhir after a long service. In a surprising victory, a newer Lebennin player, MaciejMMMMM, was elected as his successor. Conflict quickly broke out between Pikachu, who wished to maintain Lebennin's independence and Republican form of government, and Macie, who was a Monarchist and wished to join the Union of Nimloth, which was a personal union of Dol Amroth and Gondor. As a result of these tensions on August 6th 2020 Macie declared the foundation of the Dutchy of Lebennin. Bryan quickly contested this and civil war broke out with Bryan being supported by the faction’s veteran players and holding the majority of the builds, including the waypoints of Linhir and Emyn Arnen which were secured by the ex-Senator Zeradash. Macie was supported by a newer group of players and held a handful of enclaves. On September 2nd 2020, Who\_dis21 was elected Senator of Linhir in Macie’s place.

Macie had expected Gondorian backing but Pikachu outmaneuvered him and joined the Union of Nimloth on December 15th 2020. Gondor and its allies soon brought their armies to bear in Lebennin and Macie fled. Lebennin remained in a personal union with Gondor until officially merging on November 22nd 2021.

Despite this a remnant of Lebennin lives on. After Macie was accepted into Gondor on January 8th 2021 a group of hardcore Republicans led by former Senators CrazyShark178 and Who\_dis21 took control over the Vinchini region of the Eastern Holds. To this day they continue to practice democracy and control the Vinchini area although they are not officially recognized by the server admins or any faction.