Lundengaard

> "...and from there we would travel to Lundengaard, home of the dukes of Oscania. A city seemingly so welcoming, yet harbors a grand network of political dissidents, secret police, and thieves just adjacent to the many gardens and chapels the city is so well known for..."
>
>

> - Arkan Brenwurth, 1330 SY
>
>

**Lundengaard** (**Luundengaard)** is the city and capital of the Kingdom of Myria, in the Niffalrad Lowlands. The city lies along the north bank of the Erionst River, atop a large mound. The city is heavily fortified, having only two entrances, both of which are incredibly fortified and defensible.

The city was founded in about 1050 SY by Haunu of Pritzben, a local warlord and leader of a large Djaeni tribe. He named the new settlement *Lund-en Gaard*, meaning "new castle". Over the next few centuries, people began to settle around the initial fortification, until the origin motte-and-bailey type castle structure was rebuilt in the 1300s, being replaced with the Royal Palace of Lundengaard, now home to the kings of Myria.

## History

Legend has it that a man named Haunu and his Djaeni followers were exiled from the city of Pritzben by the local lord, and thus his tribe fled to the northeast, initially to the city of Morovia, where they were rejected. On the 13th day of travel, the Djaenis camped across the river from the future sight of the city, and noticed a small fishing settlement on the adjacent mound. The next day, his followers easily subdued the townspeople and forced them to build a keep, and thus the city was founded.

### Free City of Lundengaard

Lundengaard remained small for the rest of the 11th century SY, although holding some relevance as a place for ethnic minorities (mostly Djaeni) to settle after fleeing Ahremia, Birgolon, and the local city-states.

Only a few years after its founding, the city was taken by the forces of the Empire of Exelon. Although no record of Lundengaard's capture survives, the city was most likely taken easily, considering it had neither walls or an organized militia at the time. Lundengaard saw a period of urban growth under Exelon, and began to attract non-Djaenis and even some merchants who had traveled with their families from the surrounding countries. Many of these immigrants came from Cisalia, fleeing the revolts across the cities in the province.

After Exelon's withdraw from the region in the 1100s, the city once again became free, but now supported a sizeable economy. But it was also during this time that cons of being a free city-state began to arise. Thievery began to become commonplace and a criminal underworld began to develop within the city, just as the city limits began to expand outside the walls, giving way to dense, slum-like districts that attracted only those with the worst intentions.

### Principality of Oscania

Lundengaard was annexed forcefully by the Principality of Oscania, a protectorate of the Grand Duchy of Katemia in 1203 SY. Out of all the Oscanian cities, Lundengaard was perhaps given the most slack on the subject of government, allowing the kings to still rule their local region with only some minor input from Oscanian rulers.

During the latter half of the 1300s, a man named Rufus of Hatsbergen ruled, known sometimes as Rufus the Hag. In 1367, Rufus created a precinct of the city guard which was specifically meant to target the more organized groups of criminals within Lundengaard. The "black guard" would raid the slums on a near monthly basis, ransacking any house they saw fit and would execute many civilians, some completely innocent. Under Rufus' philosophy of "contagious habits", many families were killed - and the public told that they were nothing but a gang of thugs.

This wave of fear would last until the 1410s, when the princes of Oscania got involved and dethroned Rufus, putting a Katemian potentate in charge of managing the city. In secret, the potentate kept the secret police, yet had them operate in the shadows instead.

### Myria

Obscania began to show signs of dissolving into city-states and independent duchies (a situation that had existed during Exelon), when the cities of Brakenhim and Moiresorelle seperated from Obscania in 1444 SY. Leohen Serelle, a Lohnian nobleman and respected member of the court of the city of Lundengaard organized the Myrian League on the 16th of Gadfrala, 1445 SY. With the local communes banded together, Leohen traveled to Aure to secure the support of the Cisalian king, Glidant Nariponis. With this backing, he made a nearly uncontested land claim to the Myrian lands, and independence was finalized on the 27th of Minetas, 1445 SY.