Modelling update

The table top for chapter 2 is coming along slowly but surely. Things are going to have to pick up soon as I have given my self an absolute dead line; 29th February. The above image shows what is missing so far, the inn and the workshop need to have their roofs finished. Four buildings need slates on their roof's and the Captains tower structure needs finishing also. After that its all polyfilla and painting and a few remaining internal walls.

The captains tower might seem a little ostentatious for it is based on some of the rather grand towers that once stood in some of Germanys old city's. The images below for example show such towers. The lowest image is much as I imagine Takshendal, though with fewer trees.

Game maps

Chapter One.

Chapter two.


Chapter three.

Arms & Armour: customs and weapons technology in Takshendal

The game is based on a faux historical concept, so much of what is available is based on modified historical models. The level of technological competence in the game roughly mirrors the early Rennaisance period (circa 1475) but with a few notable exceptions. Despite the image, there are no gunpowder weapons available (so no guns or cannon) and organized religion plays a lesser role in society.

Takshendal itself might be likened to an Italian city state (a.la Firenze or Venice) with its central plaza, bridges spanning the river and well guarded outer walls. To the north are river yards, dry docks and galley pens and inside the city are numerous districts, each with its own distinct identity. These contain numerous factories and workshops, tanneries, mills and the like, each controlled by various guilds.

The city is guarded, and law and order maintained by the militia. These are quartered in the large towers which dot the city walls, the central Citadel and the Grand Dukes palace. Quite how many militia guards there are depends on the season, but officially there is never less than several hundred guards. The Grand Duke also maintains a small elite force of personal guards.

The city militia is armed with a variety of hand weapons, pikes, spears, halberds, axes, swords of various types and with crossbows and arbalests of differing sizes. Several of the city wall's towers are also armouries, grain stores and stables and the militia maintain these. The militia wear characteristic yellow and black heraldry and are armoured with padded gambesons or occaisionally a chainmail hauberk. There is no actual cavalry but the militia maintain a sizable herd of horses and are able to mount fast expeditions into the surrounding country side. This has not been necessary for some time however and the common perception of the militia is rather one of indulgent corruption than military efficiency.

Any one may own a weapon but weapons are only borne openly in the city by any citizen who can afford a permit issued by the militia, the city council or the teamsters guild (an old tradition stemming from the need to guard transports). Noble men all wear swords, with the side sword being the current fashion (rapiers have not yet been adopted by any one but a few noted fencing experts). Soldiers and guards tend to use bastard swords.

The nobility consider themselves to belong to a seperate military class from the common people. In times of war, noble men will take to the field of battle with their own personal retinue of armed men. Typically this will be a force of less than twelve men-at-arms, but in some few isolated cases, nobles are able to field small armies of up to several hundred warriors. These private retinues are forbidden to bear arms within the city walls.

A nobleman wishing to fight will also bear superior armour. The common chainmail hauberk is often strengthened in a variety of ways, typically with the addition of plates woven into the chain or worn, strapped above it. Full plate mail is extremely expensive and thus very rare. The concept of the noble warrior as a 'chivalrous knight' does not exist, nor do nobles joust each other.

Duels, which are not uncommon, are forbidden by law, but tradition dictates honour amongst men is a paramount consideration and the militia usually accept bribes to look the other way. Custom naturally dictates that the more important the duellists, the higher the bribe. Duels within the militia or with members of the militia are considered a more serious offence with the death sentence applying to any one who kills a city guard.

Women are not actually banned from using or carying weapons, but society generally frowns on women bearing arms. Some few fire brand women make a point of defying this custom but duels involving women are so rare as to be unheard of. A man who strikes a women is generally held to be a coward and without honour. There are no women in the militia at all.

Note. The links are added only to clarify what is meant by a specific term.

The Politics of Takshendal

Takshendal is a city characterized by the contrast between its traditions and its hectic political landscape. Ultimate authority in the city resides in the head of the nobility, currently the Grand Duke of Takshendal; Ranulph IV in whose heraldry the city militia patrols. The Grand Duke is thus the closest thing to a 'head of state' Takshendal has, but his authority, whilst absolute in theory is in practice limited by the Grand Council of the City whose original stated purpose was to administer the Kings orders. Since there is no longer any king of Takshendal (nor has there been for over ten generations) the Grand Council has gradually become the city's real government and as head of the Grand Council, the Lord High Mayor is the real ruler of the city circumventing the Grand Duke by means of influence. Since the Grand Duke commands the militia however, he cannot simply be ignored, thus a strange balance of power exists in the politics of the city.

To further complicate matters, the Grand Council is itself dominated by several factions and city guilds vying for influence. Currently the most powerful of these by far is the Merchants Guild whose combined wealth is greater than any others and whose high standing members control the Grand Council. This set of affairs has been the status quo for several generations and subsequently, there are naturally competing factions within the Merchants Guild also.

Currently, the most influential faction in power is the House of Wormpole , the head of which is the aging matriarch Adriana Arabella Wormpole.

Religion

Most people in Takshendal accept without question the principle of The Creator. Fervour in worshipping The Creator differs widely from person to person and naturally several schools of faith have emerged over the years. These include the Church of the Almighty, the Church of Humanity, the Church of the Divine Grace and the Church of Holy Law. Each of these is established in the city with several centre's of worship, but none have a monopoly of power and each church maintains its own interests as best it can. An ecclesiastical council exists to mediate any conflicts between the various churches, but this has very little authority beyond inter religious debates.

The Church of the Almighty. This is the strictest of the four churches. Its followers shun any display of human pleasure and regard indulgence of emotion as a sin. They believe The Creator requires absolute obedience and constant prayer and the faithful must pray at last three times a day. Colourful clothing, laziness, rich food and 'frivolous arts' are all forbidden. This church has only a few followers in the city but these few have a loud voice and often stage demonstrations against anything they disaprove of. As a consequence thay are not very popular. The Church of the Almighty is run by a small group of fire brand clerics all of whom take their guidance from the Great Father who is regarded as the Voice of The Creator on Earth.

The Church of Humanity. This is a popular church but with very few followers. The faithful believe the Creator intended life to be lived in the pursuit of absolute happiness and as a result they shun labour and profit and renounce all worldly concerns. The Church of Humanity teaches free love, and its ceremonial orgies and decadent abandon attract much criticism from the other churches who view the neglect of life as distatefull. Once a church has been acquired by the Church of Humanity, it is allowed to fall into gradual ruin. The Church of Humanity is run by a nebulous group of clerics who have no over all leadership but who form councils to deal with any problem that arises. Of all the churches they are the only ones who accept women as priests.

The Church of the Divine Grace. The most popular and sedate of the four churches. The Church of Divine Grace teaches that The Creator made all things in balance, thus equlibrium is the perfect goal for the faithful. As a consequence of its teachings, the church allows two schools of thought regarding all things, the Light and the Dark. Each church has two alters, one to the good in men and one to the darkness. The faithful must choose for themselves which path to take, but always to understand that The Creator's will cannot be explained by a simple choice of personal morality and that all life is a balance between good and evil. The Church of the Divine Grace is run by an established clerical beaurocracy which takes its orders from a Grand Council of priests. In its turn the Grand Council takes its lead from the Head of the Council, known as the First Father.

The Church of Holy Law. A small order who's followers believe that sacrificing themselves to help others is a divine duty. The Church of Holy Law is close in ideology to the Church of Divine Grace, but its followers shun the notion of recognizing the darkness as worthy of consideration, arguing that The Creator gave men a choice in how to to live their lives. The Church of Holy Law operates several several monastry's within and around Takshendal and though it is run by an independent clerical beaurocracy it still recognizes the First Father as the ultimate authority on the divine will of The Creator on Earth.

There are several cults also operating within Takshendal but most are short lived. Only two have survived long enough to be universally known. The Followers of the Dark Lord and the Sunflower People.

The Followers of the Dark Lord believe that The Creator is in fact two opposing aspects of itself and the dark aspect, a power unto itself, rewards anarchy and selfish behaviour. The cult is ideologically opposed to the Church of Holy Law but due to its followers belief cannot maintain the internal structure needed to survive. As a consequence the faithful are nearly always fighting amongst themselves and the cult rises and collapses into chaos regularly. All the recognized churches shun the Followers of the Dark Lord.

The Sunflower People are a strange band who through the teachings of their founder believe The Creator is dreaming and all things are a part of this dream. They have no organized churches or clergy and never meet in large numbers. Their only common practice is in the wearing of yellow robes and in a chanting meditation through which they believe they can speak to The Dreaming Creator. They have no ideology as such but they do practice a form of self medication through spiritual cleansing. Who their founder was is a mystery for he never revealed his identity, leaving behind only a handful of lessons in the art of meditation, passed down through generations.

Ethnic groups

There are four distinct ethnic groups living in Takshendal. The 'City born', the 'Country folk', the 'Southerners' and the 'Marshlanders'.

The 'City born' are a small insular group who make up the majority of the city's elite. They tend to be tall, muscular and long lived. They generally have grey or green eyes, pale sandy skin and dark hair. Some few have fair hair and a tendency towards freckles. They tend to identify with each other more than most other ethnic groups and regard the city as their own. It is widely understood that these were the first people to settle at Takshendal, though the name of the city does not have any bearing to City Born names. Takshendal means 'Tak's house by the bridge' and Tak is not a common name in the city at all.

The 'Country folk' is a term used in Takshendal to describe all the people who live to the north of the mountains and in the general area around the city. As such it is a very general description since these people have very little common culture and are not disimilar in appearance from the people to the south of the mountains. They are generally short and dark though there are naturally many variations between families. Many citizens of Takshendal also belong to this nebulous group though it is doubtful whether they recognize themselves as anything but citizens of Takshendal.

To be a citizen of the city is a jealously cherished identity and usually supercedes any internal or ethnic divisions when confronted with non citizens. The exception to this rule lies with the nobles who are insular in the extreme and do not consider themselves subject to any loyalties beyond the Grand Duke. All the nobility belong to the City born even those who do not live in Takshendal but in various satelite estates.

Physically, the Southerners resemble the Country folk and at first glance it is impossible to tell them apart. Only in dress and mannerisms do the differences become aparent. Southerners tend to be more tempestuous, passionate and flamboyant in their dress sense but only those who are newly arrived in the city and have yet to adopt local ways.

The Marshlanders are the only group in the city who really stand out. They have pale skin, blonde or bronze hair and many freckles. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes but have a tendency to be stocky in build, especially in their later years. They generally have broad faces and blue, green or grey eyes. Marshlanders originate from the swamp lands to the north of the city, but most of those living in Takshendal have done so for generations.

Naturally, the various groups have interbred over the years and the result is a city with no clear ethnic majority and very little inter ethnic conflicts. There are some youth gangs formed on ethnic identity who roam some of the more run down parts of the city but these are easily out numbered by the gangs formed along street boundries. The common citizenry of Takshendal is far more concerned with the divisions between poverty and wealth than with ethnic identity.

Geography

Takshendal is an independent city state of some one hundred thousand people, straddling the River Weyr. Its authority is undisputed within the range of its riders but it lays little claim to lands beyond. Even so the people surrounding it recognize its strength and accept its laws willingly as they are the only laws known to the region. Takshendal is an ancient city, a vast walled construction whose commanding dark presence looms omnipotent in the mental landscape of the peasants and pervades all around it with a sense of tradition and civilisation.

To the north are extensive marsh regions known as the Salten Reach and beyond that is the Starshine Sea. This marsh area is sparsely populated by small communities of reed dwellers where ancient, weather burned women in blue and white sweaters swap gossip and riding in traditional punts, fishermen spear eels and smoke sea weed in clay pipes. At the mouth of the Weyr is a small decaying port called Haven where rotting boats sink into the mud and sea birds tussle over fish heads. Fishermen of the sea live here, dark faced and salt stained, their children playing with bare feet.

To the south is the ancient town of Castelopea and beyond that the Rapthia Mountains. Beyond the mountains are shadowy lands whose names invoke the aura of spices, warmer climates and exotic drinks. Travellers from these parts are dark eyed, quick featured and avaricious but bringing trade from the south they are looked upon with pleasure and benevolence.

To the west is a long open stretch of anonymous arable land laced with rivers and dotted with myriad farmsteads where people live short uncomplicated lives, tending their fields and beasts. Occaisionally a marriage betweeen old families or the harvest festival will lighten the burden of living in these quiet regions but for the most part, life in the west moves slowly.

To the east the land curves away into a wilderness of forests and marshes. For a few days ride, sporadic farms dot the horizon, but beyond these is nothing but a frightening wilderness climbing ever higher into the eastern reaches of the Rapthia Mountains. Here the villagers speak of 'child demons' and were-people. The moon is regarded as a goddess and tales tell of dryads luring men to the doom.

All around Takshendal the land is moist and verdant, the earth dark and the air wet with mist. The weather ranges from humid to cold in the winters and from bright, warm to temperate during the summers. The cycle of seasons is terrestrial and the over all culture this promotes is Euro/Siberian in nature. Takshendal differs from this by virtue of its population density and the politics this inspires. Its technology and cultural perspective are as the European Rennaisance in nature.


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