The Free Cities of Ragnen

See also Map:World Map

The Free Cities of Ragnen

## Overview

The Free Cities of Ragnen stand as a beacon of progress and stability. The gleaming brass-topped buildings shine upon the slopes of the Splinter Peaks. But the city of Heronia is just the tip of a vast interconnected underground metropole known as the Underholm.

Dwarves make up the majority of those who live within the bounds of the Free Cities, with their populace split between the Surfacers and the Deepken.

## Relations with other forces

### Lutesanians

Trade between the Free Cities and the Kingdom of Lutesan is at an all time high. With such trade comes a sharing of culture. Many Dwarves from Heronia have made their permanent home in Calatia, and it is a common site to see Humans wandering the Free Cities.

### Sylvan Elves

Although the Dwarves of the Free Cities view the Elves as allies, neither side can ignore their widely different views on nature and technology.

### Orcs, Ogres, Harpies, Goblins

The Orcs that follow the Mother are welcomed as friends among the Free Cities of Ragnen, but the same can not be said for the Orcs who worship the Daeva. It is true the Dwarves favor no religious side, but they are well aware of the Daeva's knack for destruction.

## Population

The Dwarves are insular, focused more on their mountains than the politics of the world around them. They, however, have a great impact on the world at large as t heir technological achievements are famed the world over. Scientific and cultural exchange are rife in the Free Cities of Ragnen.

Wary of people wishing to defile their sacred mountains, the Dwarves are initially leery of outsiders before relaxing down into a measured distrust. Known for the raw power of their technology they are wary of those wishing to use it for evil. So these technologies are guarded until one has gained the trust of the Dwarven whole. A quick way to open the heart of a dwarf is to engage them with an interesting idea or discovery. For though they are cautious they are extremely curious about the inner workings of the world at large.

## Civilization

The Ragnen Range is sacred to the Dwarves for they are the birthplace of their very race. Born of the very stone of the Ragnen Range, the surfacers and Deepken see these mountains as both their genesis and their sacred homeland.

Within the mountains the Deepken produce incredible works of machinery, weaponry, armour and art. Little is known of just how advanced Dwarven machinery has gotten, for only a fraction of it ever meets the surface.

Heronia is the most populous and famous of the Free Cities of Ragnen. As such, it is the nexus from Dwarven society meets the world. Its brass roofed spires are marred by billowing forge-smoke that blackens the sides of the once white buildings. Heronia is emblematic of a Dwarven city. All wrought of stone and brass with smooth edged masonry expertly fitted together like pieces of a jigsaw.

## Religion

The Dwarves seek power through their scientific progress. Their inventions are the envy of much of the world and as such outcast scholars, philosophers and mages travel from all across the realm to take residence in the Free Cities of Ragnen. There any person willing to make a life can explore their ideas free of sanction from morality or religion. As such, many ostracized heretics make their residence within the vaunted heights of the Free Cities of Ragnen. The only requirement be that they keep there heresies quiet behind closed doors, lest they disturb the neighbours.

For the Dwarves do not wish to make enemies of their friends the Euda fearing Lutesanians or the Mother following Sylvan Elves. Nor do they wish to stir the ire or what few Daevic Orcs still reside in the Utic Desert.

So it is that the surface levels of the Free Cities are filled with numerous different peoples from across the realm, living in harmony with one another under the watchful eye of the Dwarves.

## Organization

### The Ragnen Council of Sagery and Science:

For centuries the Ragnen Council of Sagery and Science has been the foremost proponent of scientific discoveries across all of Nevria, perhaps even the Everplan itself. The counsil manages the many lecture halls and laboratories accessible by the surface-dwellers.