The second city of the Aelkan City States: Erakan.


[hider=Erakan]
[IMG]https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYAmBPA4zrb2FawSl4_6JguKjfx3oR3zdKx6TyXcFauPXL_jY4Sg[/IMG]
[color=LightGreen][b]Name:[/b][/color] Erakan
[color=LightGreen][b]Summary:[/b][/color] Powerful City-State
[color=LightGreen][b]Location:[/b][/color] [img]http://i.imgur.com/yCb2RD1.png?3[/img]
[color=LightGreen][b]Type:[/b][/color] City
[color=LightGreen][b]Description:[/b][/color] : Erakan is modeled heavily after Ekrech.  Thus, the buildings that make it up are largely domes.  However, there are many spires throughout the city, tall towers that stretch high into the sky.  It does not have the numerous waterfalls or bridges that Ekrech has, but is still beautiful.  However beautiful Erakan is, it is not the same as Ekrech.  There are numerous slums in the city, making up the majority of the city, beside the city center, where the Eurak branches.  There is much lawlessness and gang fighting that occurs in Erakan, a result of poor leadership and maltreatment of the populace.
[color=LightGreen][b]History:[/b][/color] :  Erakan was the second Aelkan city to be founded, roughly a hundred years after Ekrech was built.  Erakan was meant to be a second Ekrech, a furthering of the great city and its ways.  For a time it was as so.  It was beautiful, it was peaceful, it was Ekrech.  That changed during the Great Orc war, though. 
      Some centuries after Erakan was founded, shortly before the Aelkan cities fell under the control of the Orvellan Empire, a great horde of Orcs descended upon the cities from the East.  This was nothing new, as this had occurred numerous times before.  The Aelkan Guard along with the cities’ militias were raised and began to march towards Erakan, the target of the Orc horde.  Word was sent from Ekrech, the leader of the Aelkan Alliance, to hold in the city until reinforcement could come.  However, the Tarsark of Erakan was young and foolish, believing that he could bring great honor and glory to both his city and himself by defeating the Orc army on his own.
      So he marched east, across the Eurak, to meet the Orc horde in the desert.  The resulting battle was disastrous, with nearly the entire army slaughtered, including the foolish Tarsark.  The Orcs did not halt there, though.  They crossed the Eurak and marched into Erakan, which was left nearly completely unguarded.  They slaughtered the Erakan people and burnt much of the city to the ground.  Some of the citizens were able escape, fleeing to Ekrech or the other cities, but most fell to the Orcish blades. 
      Eventually, the rest of the Aelkan army arrived in Erakan and drove out the Orcs, killing many of them.  Erakan was in ruins, though, as the result of a foolish commander’s mistake.  The city was never the same after that.  It was rebuilt, though it lost much of its beauty.  Not long after the sack, the Aelkan cities became part of the Empire.  Much of Aelkan culture was lost in the fact, as numerous Orvellans flocked to the famous city to aid rebuilding it.  Ever since then, Erakan has chafed under the rule of Ekrech, seeing that it should be a free city.  The Empire always kept it at bay, though.  Now that it has fallen, though, who can say what will happen?
[color=LightGreen][b]Governance:[/b][/color] Erakan, like the other cities, are ruled over by a council comprised of a Aelkan Priest, a Tarsark, a Ealindal, a Karsark, and a Norvali.  The five are meant to balance each other out and restrict each other from one ever gaining too much power.  However, in recent years, the Tarsark Uknar has risen in prominence.  He rules over much of Erakan.  It is whispered that he is the King of Erakan and that the rest of the Council is just a ploy to deceive the other cities.
[color=LightGreen][b]Culture:[/b][/color]Erakan, 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. Ever since the Destruction, a large majority of the city has had to struggle to survive, by any means necessary.  Thus, crimes are an often occurrence, gangs control the streets, and illegal practices are common.
      The only societal distinctions in Erakan are the wealthy and the poor. At least, this is as it used to be.  Now, though, a hidden class system has begun to arise, subtle enough to not anger the other cities but prominent enough to effect the lives of Erakans.  There is much outrage on this fact, resulting in riots and violence in the streets, violence that the Council has desperately attempted to stamp out, to avoid attracting the attention of the other cities.
[color=LightGreen][b]Populace:[/b][/color] Erakan 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. 
      Erakan is also the home of many Orvelli natives, as many of these foreigners came to Erakan to aid in the city’s reconstruction after the Orcs burnt it down. Thus, the city’s culture has slowly but steadily begun to change, resulting in the shift in power currently happening.
[color=LightGreen][b]Religion:[/b][/color] The Aelkan people, both of Erakan 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] Erakan, like Ekrech, does not have many surrounding natural resources to create a booming or even stable economy.  Erakan, however, does not have other cities for it to rely on to create its wealth, as does Ekrech.  As so, the majority of the city’s populace lives in poverty.  However, there are a select few, the rising “noble” class, that do command a vast wealth.  These “nobles” are merchants and other characters who have grown involved in numerous illegal activities or otherwise less desired fields of work.  This ranges from supporting gangs, accepting bribes for voting members of the Council, smuggling illegal substances, selling and purchasing slaves to investing in taverns, brothels, or other businesses of vice to assassinating political opponents, which is seen as a great sin in the Aelkan church.  The Erakan economy reflects how far the city has fallen from its once glorious days.
[color=LightGreen][b]Diplomacy:[/b][/color] Erakan once was well-liked by its neighbors.  It shared a close bond with the other Aelkan cities, united by their heritage.  They were fierce enemies of the desert lords and the Orcs, those that would destroy their city and did.  Yet after the Orcs burnt down the city, relations between Erakan and the other cities have been strained, especially Ekrech.  Some Erakans whisper it was the other cities fault that Erakan fell, saying that they would not offer support until the last minute, rather waiting until the city fell to offer aid.  As such, tensions between Erakan and the other Aelkan cities, specifically Ekrech, are extremely high, especially with the hidden changing of power in the city’s Council.
[color=LightGreen][b]Military:[/b][/color] Erakan, like all of the Aelkan city-states, has a military primarily comprised of the Aelkan Guard, who are devoted to protecting the cities of the Aelk and Eurak.  There is also a local militia, to be called upon when the city is in dire need, such as when it is under attack.  However, the Tasark has begun to secretly raise his own army, a personal unit of bloodthirsty fighters loyal specifically to him.  As of now, he uses them in the pretense of quelling the unrest ravaging the city, but many predict that if a war breaks out, they will fight for the Tarsark rather than Erakan or the other city-states.
[color=LightGreen][b]Plot Hooks:[/b][/color]-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.  With the power struggle occurring in Erakan and the personal believes of the Tarsark Ulnar, Erakan may declare war against Ekrech to either declare itself truly free or attempt to replace the elder city as the leader of the Aelkan Alliance.
-A Power Struggle: In the shadows of the political elite, there is a power struggle occurring in Erakan.  The Council is divided, as the Tarsark Ulnar has begun to claim more and more power for himself, all but ruling the city by himself.  The Karsark stands with him, supporting him on the council, yet the Aelkali Priest, Ealindil, and Norvali oppose him.  Despite being outnumbered on the council, Ulnar rules over Erakan with an iron fist, much to the discomfort of many of its citizens.  Not only does this power struggle provide a chance for players to get involved with intrigue, but also support (or oppose) the rising opposition rising against Ulnar in the city.

[/hider]