Sherr

Morning in the Sherr Central Valley

Sherr is the effective shopping district of the Argent Nexus. In lore, it is the result of the economic project started by Morthrin and popularized by Spirit in the Fall of 300 AS. It maintains an active population of shopowners and workers, and it has recently become the center of intense political debate.

## History

###### Early Beginnings

Sherr, among the other magical islands, was the one quickly utilized to make an informal location for buying and selling goods. It was managed very loosely by Morthrin, who wished to bring aspects of trade from Valarrian culture. However, as it was only occupied by limited business owners, the economy struggled to survive. Small talk even suggested that one of the current shopkeepers had died. However, in light of the recent lockdown issued by the leaders of Mahaq, Morthrin decided that individual cities and towns would have little success setting up manual trade routes, especially in light of the ever present danger of the acolytes. The disturbing revelation of a slaughtered trade caravan on its way to Mahaq solidified this decision. On the 26th of September, he approached Cornemer, who dominated the current, yet vastly ineffective economy, to see if he agreed to an alternative means of centralizing trade. The robot (later known as Spirit), who had recently allied themselves with Corn, was also present for this meeting. Having no means to spend his vast wealth, Corn readily agreed, and the three discussed ways to prepare the island for a new era. The robot, needing no sleep, spent countless hours landscaping the area and preparing roads. Shortly after, word spread of the new changes to the island. The currency was also redefined, as there was a general interest in diamonds as opposed to the slightly less accessible diamond ore. Shops in the following week sprang up, and plots defined by the three were claimed within days of their formalization. Many people traveled to the island, through word of mouth of the robot, and things were looking optomistic for Sherr.

###### The Gnomes of Öldüriji Migrate to Sherr

During the great attack on Öldüriji, many gnomes survived by fleeing deeper into the mines, a maze of tunnels in which no Acolyte could ever follow without getting lost. Now, with the great underground city being overrun with hordes of their zombified brethren, they have been forced to abandon their home, and for the first time for many of them, enter the surface world. Many gnomes distrusted the strange metal man that greeted them, as he was known to associate with Julanar, the cause of their suffering. Yet, the robot seemed genuine, and he offered hope of a new beginning. Ships flying the flag of Sherr City arrived on the shores near Öldüriji, and beckoned the gnomes aboard. With no other choice, they boarded the ships, waiting to see where destiny would take them. When they arrived on the beautiful island of Sherr, they were amazed by the diversity of plants, buildings, and people that lived there. Spirit (previously addressed as the robot) showed them to the shore of Julanar Lake, and told them the land was theirs, as long as they abided by the rules and regulations of the city. The gnomes had a group meeting, and decided they would abide by these terms, and make the lake their new home. Instead of rebuilding a vast underground network of tunnels, perhaps it was their chance to accept the surface, and share their culture with the people of this land. The gnomes began to construct buildings in the style of the surface dwellers, but keeping the bright colors that characterized the halls of their old home. Blue for water, yellow for air, purple for earth, and red for fire. They created a tight knit community, spoke in a slightly different tongue, looked down upon the eating of meat, and mostly kept to themselves. This led to the many of the folks of Sherr City to consider them outsiders.

The growing collection of bright buildings around Julanar Lake was quickly nicknamed "GnomeTown. There were 52 gnome refugees, bringing the population of Sherr City from 138 to 190.

###### The Assembly is Founded and Social Issues Erupt

It had been roughly two months after the revival of Sherr and the regeneration of the economic project that Morthrin had attempted several months prior.  The modern political climate and reality following the death of the gnomes’ beloved Julanar quieted the land’s leaders and, at least for the time being, created an internal and distanced focus from affairs with others.  Morthrin, during this period, decided to focus on growing Mahaqian infrastructure and the scientific emphasis of the Aradian people.  Having a full plate of responsibilities, amongst other worries, he loosened his grip on the management of Sherr, allowing Spirit to take more control of the project and manage the people living there.

Regular business and continued population growth created an ever growing demand for space and influence on the magical island.  Yet, Spirit, driven by his relational personality and bias towards the gnomes of Öldüriji, took a backseat in leading the actual establishment.  While he helped the gnomes become more established in their new home, other influential shopowners and workers came together and discussed the situation.  Having no clear leader, with Spirit away for long periods of time, but still possessing numerous economic concerns, they conversed about the possibility of an alternative leadership.  The more days passed, the more the population agreed that a solution must be found.  And so, on November 22nd, the Democratic Shopowners' Assembly of Sherr was founded, with the idea that it would represent the opinions and needs of the shopowners and residents on the island - at least, until a more permanent system of governance could be established.  The people celebrated the solidity of this foundation, with even the gnomes appearing optimistic for a more representative institution.  The Assembly was comprised of 13 members in all, mostly shopowners.  They began their administration immediately, having meetings three times a week, starting that Monday.

It didn’t take long, however, for weaknesses to become clear.  Days passed.  Casual round table discussions that used to include everyone slowly became official meetings where only the thirteen members had a vote.  Decisions were made.  Their word was law.  People began to wonder if the interests of the greater good were actually something that the Assembly cared about.  Attempts to point out the insufficiencies were silenced through economic and political manipulation, and the rest of the population feared saying anything against this council.

Some shopowners took the new climate as motivation to do what they felt would most benefit themselves.  After all, if the Assembly wouldn’t represent them, they would pave their own well-being.  In the week, starting December 9th, a small collection of shops made a unified move to advantage themselves economically.  Since the gnomes' arrival on Sherr, it had become a well-known observation that they possessed a very strong work ethic, easily rivaling their human counterparts.  Reasoning that the gnomes had lost everything, these shopowners systematically fired their human workers and quickly replaced them with eager gnome replacements.  Other shops, over the course of that week, immediately realized what was happening and followed suit to maintain competition.  The remaining human workers grew worried that they would be fired next.  During this ordeal, many gnomes took advantage of the opportunity to walk to businesses and market themselves as more advantageous.  Silent animosity quickly developed between human workers and the gnomes.

On the night of the 16th, a large group of employed and unemployed human workers met together and discussed how they would deal with this injustice.  Many ideas were thrown about, some civil and some violent.  Despite the arguments of that meeting, however, a decision was reached about their course of action.  On Friday, December 17th, the Sherr Worker’s Union was founded, marching to the Assembly meeting to protest the displacement of them from their jobs.  The ruckus caused many other members of the population, including the gnomes, to leave their shops and homes and witness the event.  Jeers about the Assembly and complaints against them for being biased towards shopowners escalated the situation.  Fortunately, no violence occurred that day, but little was done to quell the unrest on the economic-focused island.  In the days following, no solutions were proposed for the social issues at hand, and so the unrest continues without resolution.