Saxa

Saxa is a Codmendish city that lies in the northeastern part of the Zarny mountains. It has a population of roughly 1200 people as of 616, making it the second largest city in Codmendia behind Jaumdeyr. Saxa is well respected by Codmendis for being the oldest permanent Codmendish settlement.

## History

### **Origins:**

Saxa was founded somewhere between -325 and -290 JC. Codmendish legend tells of Codmend the Great, an Egic Chieftain who lead his tribe to a new home. Here there were many giants, they were roughly 8 meters tall, had reddish-brown skin, three eyes and wielded 3-4 meter long maces of stone broken off from the mountains. Supposedly Codmend singlehandedly defeated every single one of them. His sword would supposedly cut right through their maces. It was after him the tribe got its name from. Until the 550s, the Codmendi tribe was based around Saxa and the surrounding region. The chieftain lived in Saxa, but usually had little governance outside of the town.

### **Conversion to Werranism:**

Historically, Saxa was a strong outpost of Aruerism, until the town Elder, Scewmyr converted to Werranism in 273 and the town converted with him, and then after his death in 283 he became St. Scewmyr of Saxa. St. Scewmyr was illiterate and did not know Werran theology, he only knew basic theology. He preached that Aruer let his tree burn because he was a prophet of Arkhas, yet the people misinterpreted him and started worshiping false gods. Thus, Werranism in Saxa was largely built upon Aruerism, and therefore largely a mix of the two. After St. Scewmyr's death at the hands of Aruerists in 283, Werrans in Saxa had no central authority and quickly fell back into Aruerism. Their chieftan, Dorscwynd Covald II, also knew no Werran theology. It was like this for eleven years until a man named Wartyn came in 294. He was a nomad, and former Aruerist who became fascinated with Werranism after visiting Aingz, where he would go on to study Werran theology. After he started preaching in Saxa, most Aruerist heresies died down, and he became well respected. He organised the founding of a church which was complete in 307, the church of St. Lorau. He also led the initiative to rid the forest of banditry, and brought foreign ideas and encouraged the chieftain to make reforms. He is widely considered to be the father of Codmendia.

One group that opposed St. Wartyn were the Scewmyrists. Scewmyrist Werranism is deemed a heresy by most Werran denominations. After St. Scewmyr died and people fell back into Aruerism, there was no central authority on Werranism. One person who tried to fill the gap was Solrisc Kassav who strongly held to what St. Scewmyr's teachings. One thing Solrisc disagreed strongly with St. Wartyn on were the Elders. St. Wartyn insisted that Elders are not needed as they are pagans, but Solrisc believed that their wisdom goes in like with Arkhas' truth. Another thing was that St. Wartyn said worship trees are not holy, which Solrisc also disagreed on. In 309, the chieftain officially banned all Scewmyrists from the city. St. Wartyn was killed in 311 while preaching in a Scewmyrist camp in the woods, telling them to convert to Beruvian Werranism. This enacted a total ban on all faiths that were not Beruvian Werranism, even outside of the city.

## Culture

Being the oldest city in Cordmendia, Saxa has its fair share of landmarks. The most famous one being the Jusceasley Keyne (English: "King's Palace"), a palace built for the king of Codmendia in 371. It lies a bit to the side of the town square, disconnected by a bridge over a steep yet picturesque edge. Another important one is the Church of St. Lorau from 307 and the old cavalry museum from 413. There is also the old Saxa brewery from 391, famous for Saxa ale, a type of ale originating in the region. The city is also home to Scærvinsey's bakery, deemed to have the best bread in Codmendia by food critics. Every year a play is held in the town square commemorating Codmend slaying the giants.