Here is the first city of the Aelkan City States.  There will be three to four more but I wanted to put this one down now.  Feel free to make any edits necessary. 

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[IMG]http://worldthought.com/uploads/gallery/category_9/med_gallery_1_9_169018.jpg[/IMG]
[color=LightGreen][b]Name:[/b][/color] Ekrech
[color=LightGreen][b]Summary:[/b][/color] Peaceful City-State
[color=LightGreen][b]Location:[/b][/color] [img]http://i.imgur.com/yCb2RD1.png?2[/img]
[color=LightGreen][b]Type:[/b][/color] City
[color=LightGreen][b]Description:[/b][/color] Ekrech is a sprawling city that stretches for miles and miles.  It is nestled between two rivers, where the Erak River branches from the Aelk River, which flows from the east.  It spreads both in between the two rivers, as well as on both banks.  Thus, the city is one of numerous bridges, stretching over the rivers as well as the assortment of canals and streams.  
    The city is the most powerful and wealthiest of the Aelkan Cities, and is visible through the city’s architecture.  Nearly every building is a large, towering dome, a masterpiece of architectural power.  There are a few slums in the city, located on the far extremities of the city, though even those are considered to be a good place to live compared to some.
[color=LightGreen][b]History:[/b][/color] Ekrech is the oldest of the Aelkan Cities and the most powerful.  It was formed by the first Aelkan people, those that dwelled along the great Aelk River.  The Aelk is one of the greatest water sources in the desert and so the Aelkans began to worship it.  Eventually, Ekrech was founded by these people, as they gathered together out of necessity.  In its early days, Ekrech was not as beautiful as it is today.  It was a collection of farmers and fishermen and those that survived off of the bounties provided by the Aelk.  The was fertile and greatly desired by those that  lived in the desert, cursed to fight to survive in the harsh desert.  So, Ekrech was subject to numerous attacks from both the desert people and the Orcs of the east.  Yet the young city survived and grew more powerful.
      Eventually, other cities began to rise, settled by the Aelkan people.  While they remained independent, free to rule themselves, they remained loyal to Ekrech, which they see as their mother city.  Yearly tributes were paid and military support was promised.  With this newfound source of wealth, Ekrech grew more and more beautiful, transforming into the wondrous city is today.  The Aelkan Cities States had been formed, with Ekrech at their head.
[color=LightGreen][b]Governance:[/b][/color] Ekrech is ruled by the Elder Council, a collection of the wisest and most experienced men in Ekrech.  There are five different men on the Council, each who head a different aspect of the city life.  There is the Aelkali, the High Priest of the Aelkan Church, who is responsible to lead the Aelkan people in their worship of the great river.  The Aelkali is the one person whose power stretches all over the cities, as he is elected from all of them.  Thus, arguably, the Aelkali is the most powerful person in all of the cities.  
     The next member of the council is the Tarsark, the military leader of the Ekrech and commander of the Aelkan Guard.  It is his duty to ensure the safety of Ekrech from the outside forces who would destroy it for the fertile land it sits upon.  The next member is the Ealindal, the intellectual leader of the Ekrech people.  Ekrech has become more and more a city of learning in its years of peace and so the influence of knowledge has grown greater.  The Ealindal is seen as the wisest and most intelligent man in all of Ekrech.
     The fourth member is the master of trade and finances, the Karsark.  The Karsark oversees the financial relations between Ekrech and the other Aelkan cities, as well as other cities that it has come in contact with.  The final member is the Norvali, the representative of the people.  The Norvali is chosen by a vote from all of the citizens of Ekrech, as they believe that they will have the best interests of the people of Ekrech at heart.  All members of the Elder Council serve for life or until they resign.  Each member is elected by the people of Ekrech, except for the Aelkali, who is chosen by the Aelkan priest from all of the City-States.
[color=LightGreen][b]Culture:[/b][/color] Ekrech, along with it sister cities, are based on the principles of Aelk.  These principles state that all life is to be cherished, as the Aelk provides life in death.  Death comes hand and hand with life, but life must be preserved.  It should only be taken when absolutely necessary.  One must provide for others, as Aelk provides for them. Nature must be protected, as it is sacred and easily destroyed.  Aelkans believe they must provide life where they can, taking the form mostly in reproduction.  Thus, Aelkan families tend to be extremely large. The culture of Ekrech was once based on survival, as Ekrech was once a bastion of life in the death-filled desert.  
     People farmed and fished to survive, and fought desperately for their fertile land.  Now, though, due to the peace brought by the Orvallan Empire, it has evolved into a relaxed, peaceful culture.  They center themselves around learning and amassing knowledge, as well as serving the great river Aelk.  Men and women are seen as equals.  There is no nobility, either, as in Ekrech, it is seen that everyone are equals.  The only societal distinctions in Ekrech are the wealthy and the poor, and even the poor are fairly wealthy in the standards of other cities.  Though the city is one of peace, the fall of the Empire is like to change that.  The desert lords or the Orcs of the east are like to rise once more and attempt to take the city and its fertile land.  The people of Ekrech must hope that the Aelkan Guard is still the great fighting force it once was. 
[color=LightGreen][b]Populace:[/b][/color] : Ekrech is populated by the Aelkans, a human cultural group.  The Aelkans were once a nomadic people who traveled the desert, like the current desert lords.  Fortunately for them, they came upon the Aelk and discovered the life it provided.  Eventually they founded Ekrech, along with the other Aelkan cities, becoming the Aelkan people.
[color=LightGreen][b]Religion:[/b][/color] The Aelkan people, both of Ekrech and other cities, worship the great river Aelk, which flows from the east to the sea in the west.  They see the river as the great provider of life, since all around them is a desert that provides nothing but death.  They believe the Eurak river, which stems from the Aelk, is Aelk’s spouse and the two are meant to give life to all.  The Aelkans see themselves as the chosen, the select few that Aelk chose to provide life to, to allow them to live in comfort and luxury.  Thus, they hold themselves to multiple principles, as can be seen in their Culture.  
     The Aelkans believe in an enemy of Aelk, Kurshash, who embodies the desert.  The two are locked in an eternal battle of life against death.  Aelkans believe it is their duty to give life where they can, to further the war in Aelk’s favor.  Thus war and fighting is often frowned upon and is only practiced in the most direst of situations.
[color=LightGreen][b]Economy:[/b][/color] The Ekrech economy is extremely prosperous.  The city was built upon crops and fish yet has somehow become a merchant powerhouse.  It has no natural resources that are in high demand, such as dye or ore, but has built a merchant empire.  Goods are shipped up and down river from its sister cities that reside by the sea, which in turn import goods from foreign nations.  The Ekrech economy is mostly built upon the Aelkar, the coin that Ekrech exclusively mints.  It is the form of currency for all other Aelkan cities and is largely accepted by surrounding peoples.  Ekrech is extremely wealth and the majority of its populace live lavish and luxurious life-styles.
[color=LightGreen][b]Diplomacy:[/b][/color]  Ekrech is the political powerhouse of the south east.  In a land surrounded by primitive forces based on fighting and killing (desert-lords, Orcs, etc.), Ekrech is extremely civilized.  It is the head of the alliance of Aelkan City States.  It is the center of an undeclared empire and rules over nearly all of the south.  However, is it peaceful and not warlike, preferring to make friends rather than enemies.  The only time it will fight a war is when a foreign force threatens the Aelkan cities, in which all of them unite to repel the enemy.
[color=LightGreen][b]Military:[/b][/color] The military of Ekrech takes the form of the Aelkan Guard.  These are a famed group of warriors, who train from a young age in the way of war.  They devote their lives to the protection of Ekrech and the other Aelkan cities against those that would destroy them.  The Guard tactics typically include forming phalanxes, a wall of flesh and steel.  The military takes a largely defensive role, as Ekrech and the other Aelkan cities have never conquered another people, rather defending their own lands.  The Guard were once a military order of great renown and prowess, yet it often speculated that the years of peace under the old Empire have caused them to grow weak and soft.  
[color=LightGreen][b]Plot Hooks:[/b][/color] -The Vista: Ekrech is a beautiful city, full of wonders and sights that would take breaths away.  If ever anyone needed a vacation from tiresome adventuring and constant fighting, then Ekrech would be the place to go.  Relaxed, comfortable, and peaceful, it is the ideal adventurer getaway.
-The Brink of War: Ekrech and the other Aelkan cities are on the brink of war, if rumors can be believed.  There are whisperings of an Orc army gathering in the East to burn Ekrech to the ground once and for all.  There are rumors told of a desert lord uniting all of the other lords behind his banner to claim the Aelkan lands for their own.  Some even say that the two have join forces to bring down their common enemy.  Whatever the case may be, with the fall of the Empire, war will not be far away.  Warriors will be needed to defend the city, or take it if that is what you desire.
-The End of an Empire: Ekrech, in all but name, rules an empire of city states.  The Aelkan people are united in the beliefs, even if their cities are separate and independent.  But that can all change in an instant.  Some upstart may belief that he should rule all of the cities as Emperor and make a vie for power.  A city may decide the cast of the “yoke” of Ekrech and declare itself truly free.  The century-old bond between the cities could be destroyed at any minute.

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