The Free City of La Gardé is actually two cities resting on either side of the narrow neck of land separating both northern Astoria from southern Lochlann, and the wild Sea of Serpents from the inner Moonfall Sea of Teutanny.
Language: Coppali, the lingua franca of the Continent.
To the east on the shores of the Moonfall Sea is La Somme, the city of Rest. This is considered the lesser of the twins, though it is still an important port of trade with Teutanny and across the interior sea. To the west on the shores of the Sea of Serpents is the greater, La Gardé, the city of the Guard. Through both, a greater share of trade between Lochlann, Astoria, and indeed the rest of the continent passes—which isn’t to mention the constant depredations of pirates and others of ill repute.
The Twin Cities are both ruled by the Doge, who is himself elected by the Council of Twenty, a body chosen by lot among the citizens of the twin cities—ten from La Gardé, and ten from La Somme. This city is remarkable among the cities of the continent in that it wholly rejects the rule of Noble blood. In 984 A.G., the last King of La Gardé—the Tyrant—was summarily executed in a bloody rebellion, and from there the current form of the city’s governance took shape.
Citizens must be landowners or at least business-owners within the city; true egalitarianism this certainly is not.
The powerful Palatial Guard are seen on every corner—not to mention at the Doge’s own palace, set on a hill roughly halfway between both cities, and at the Council’s Chambers adjoining the Palace. The Palats, as they are called, also maintain a fleet of swift warships.
The corruption of the Palats is proverbial at this point. “What’s the difference between a criminal and a citizen?” it is asked, with the traditional response being “The glint of gold and grace”: the gold of bribery can be used as easily as the grace of noble patronage in escaping the iron hand of Palatial Guard justice. Indeed, for a Guardéan, the notion of patronage being used in this way is more scandalous than simple bribery. Most outsiders find this perspective precisely backward.
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The Free City of La Gardé
The Free City of La Gardé is actually two cities resting on either side of the narrow neck of land separating both northern Astoria from southern Lochlann, and the wild Sea of Serpents from the inner Moonfall Sea of Teutanny.
To the east on the shores of the Moonfall Sea is La Somme, the city of Rest. This is considered the lesser of the twins, though it is still an important port of trade with Teutanny and across the interior sea. To the west on the shores of the Sea of Serpents is the greater, La Gardé, the city of the Guard. Through both, a greater share of trade between Lochlann, Astoria, and indeed the rest of the continent passes—which isn’t to mention the constant depredations of pirates and others of ill repute.
The Twin Cities are both ruled by the Doge, who is himself elected by the Council of Twenty, a body chosen by lot among the citizens of the twin cities—ten from La Gardé, and ten from La Somme. This city is remarkable among the cities of the continent in that it wholly rejects the rule of Noble blood. In 984 A.G., the last King of La Gardé—the Tyrant—was summarily executed in a bloody rebellion, and from there the current form of the city’s governance took shape.
Citizens must be landowners or at least business-owners within the city; true egalitarianism this certainly is not.
The powerful Palatial Guard are seen on every corner—not to mention at the Doge’s own palace, set on a hill roughly halfway between both cities, and at the Council’s Chambers adjoining the Palace. The Palats, as they are called, also maintain a fleet of swift warships.