Ethendle

**Ethendle** is a city on the Old Mainland located on the western coast of the Sea of Gods, towards the center of the territory of Nova Spencoria. The capital of the Duchy of Ethendle was founded in the Second Age of Darkness by Vami, First Grandmaster of the New Templars, and became the capitals of his monastic state, the City State of Ethendle, Prussia and the Halcyon Empire in its dying days, the Axis of Evil and, for a time, Nova Spencoria. The city is named after the saint of the God of War, Ethendel. The city has had a long history, despite its relatively young age. It is characterized as the "Grayest Place in all the North."

## Name

The name, "Ethendle," first appeared describing the town some time in the early Second Age of Darkness. The residents of the at that time village of Blitzen as it was known decided to hold a vote to determine the name of their settlement. Fornost was a leading name, but one day a traveler arrived and left the suggestion of "Ethendle," a mismatching of the last two letters in the name of Ethendel, a mortal member of the New Templars and former saint of the God of War. The name was received was met with pride among the new city's inhabitants, and would be in itself the very idea of resistance to foreign aggressors in the hearts and minds of the peoples of the North.

Other names, too, exist for Ethendle. Towards the closing days of Second Age of Darkness, the Voskans invaded and seized the city, destroying the New Templars and dubbing the city "DiMartinograd." It was rejected, as were the Voskans, and they were thrown aside. Again, in the closing days of the Second Age of Darkness, the city was seized and sacked by the Axis of Evil, and the men of North Port called it "Imperium," the seat of their empire. But their attempts, too, were thwarted despite the sizeable garrison in the city's crumbling fortifications. "Imperium," Prussia, and the Axis of Evil burned in the final night of the Second Age of Darkness.

## History

*Main article: History of Ethendle*
Ethendle was founded as a tiny shack by a pond by the Sea of Gods by a disgruntled man named Vami in 1 AoD II. He had come to this place, banished from Ironheart by Paradox because they erroneously figured him to be a Voskan spy, after wandering through the wilderness trying to make his way to Zanarkand to settle there, but found himself starving and decided to stop to find food. Rather than Zanarkand, that pond is where he decided to build his church.

Deciding that he might as well settle in, Vami opted to build and found an Abbey for weary travelers to stop and restore their spirits just as he had. So it was that Blitzen Abbey, the first of three churches by that name, was founded. The early history of the city was plagued by villains and banidtry, until Vami found two things: A divine protector, and strength in unity. These two things, by name, were Saint Meal and the New Templars, which Vami founded in the still rising walls of Blitzen Abbey. Vami recruited friends of his from the foreign land from which he hailed: SpartanCThuett and a Siberian named Osumaro.

## Culture and landmarks

Ethendle is notably gray, and is recorded as being such since its inception as a monastery town centered around Blitzen Abbey.

### Religion

*Main article: Religion in Ethendle*
Since its founding in AoD II 2 as a town and castle around a monastic settlement, the majority faith for most of Ethendle's history was the Pantheon of the Old Gods. However, repeated invasion and occupation by Voskans has brought their faiths to the city as a small minority.

### Architecture

*Main article: Architecture of Ethendle*
There are two main styles of architecture within the walls of the Ethendle: the ancient Ordens style, primarily in the city's military architecture (ironically not in the military architecture of the Order's headquarters in Fort Fornost), and the Imperial Gothic style in almost the rest of the city's buildings.

A noticeable theme on the roof of many a building in Ethendle are crosses, usually inverted in the shape of a sword. This is a dedication to the city's patron, Ethendel, the former saint of the God of War in the Pantheon of the Old Gods.