Free Cities

Behen, Ghal, Hres, Yahrel, and Khul are known as the Free Cities. A collection of mercantile oligarchies lie in the between the Padishah, two Frontier Legions, near the Commonwealth, and directly bordering Khuland. The Free Cities are anarchic in comparison to the ordered nations surrounding them, surviving only because of lucrative trade routes and skilled diplomacy with their neighbors. Sitting on the edge of desert and jungle, their environment is as diverse as their rulers.

Geography
The oldest city, Behen was found at the edge of the desert. It had been revealed by the shifting sands and quickly occupied by a bandit tribe. As the desert winds blew, an old road rose from the sands. Over time, the bandits settled into taxing the new trading route. Eventually, the fickle winds reversed the desert and the first Oligarchs claimed the land. Suspicious of authority because of their former nomadic lifestyle, the Oligarchs decided to keep a light hand. Knowing their history and wary of their position, harsh laws against theft and murder ruled the land. Other than laws to protect their profit, no mores were enforced. All were welcome, but only if they brought coin and didn’t take it from others violently. Frustrated heirs and merchants who made their fortune in Behen gradually split off to seek their own destinies. Trading posts built by these wanderers grew into the other four cities.

Soldiers of the Oligarchs
A mixture of Oblivionite mercenaries and a very large standing military, both funded by the merchant rulers of the cities, keep the chaotic trading posts mostly free of theft. Draconian punishments prevent offenders from repeating the mistake of being caught stealing. Trade is the lifeblood of the Free Cities. Any domestic threat to the rule of coin is dealt with swiftly for fear of losing their one bargaining chip against the predatory empires watching for weakness. To promote their continuing independence, every city supplies beneficial trading agreements to the neighboring powers. This is then leveraged between the cities themselves, once again turning a profit from goods going in from their economic partners to the other cities.

Maintaining this balance requires a united front against any expansionism. To maintain a mutually beneficial relationship, the five cities meet their fellow Oligarchs monthly to swap information on the empire the individual city has dealings with. These councils trade diplomatic information to best leverage the common interest of maintaining independence. Oligarchs are chosen by informal trader gatherings. Only fear of outside interference keeps the gatherings on track to pick out the most skilled negotiators in keeping the Free Cities from falling under the yoke of a neighboring power. Influence by the Frontier Legions has seen Khul embrace their Hemosan heritage. The conversion of the ruling house is seen with suspicion by the others, vigilant that Autocratic influence does not spread into a full annexation. Freedom from foreigners is thought to be paid for by the five cities having a unifying purpose. Though all cities maintain a small foreign force in the walls, Khul seems more comfortable with foreign lords and their retinues. Newly enforced religious laws only increase the other’s suspicion. Behen’s rulers fear other cities cozying to foreigners in response. Wary of losing their hegemony, Behen now takes a more active role in influencing the other cities policies.

Unrest in the Cities
Within the cities themselves, a growing band of freedom fighters oppose the policies of appeasement. Derided as short sighted by their rulers, the Free Cities Army once attempted to act openly. Most active in Khul, members would claim to defend their people from abduction by Autocratic State Security. Assassinations lead to a tighter grip by city officials and eventually started to spiral into street warfare. Victory was at hand for the FCA but Khul’s council began a crackdown with urgings from diplomats from the Autocracy. Feeling betrayed by the people they wanted to protect, the leadership grouped together in a ragtag rebellion to protect their beloved city. Gathering for a protest and breaking into the council chambers in a daring ploy to convince the Oligarchs themselves placed them right into their enemy’s hands. The Oligarchs looked on apologetically as a State Security force trapped them in the chamber. FCA leaders had been dragged away for interrogation and imprisonment, taken from their homeland.

Only two managed to escape from extradition after overpowering a prison airship. Khul is still a hotbed for the FCA. They will not take the faith thrust upon them by the ASH and are jaded in their homeland. Protests and peace did not work, now disappearances of both officials and ASH sympathizing citizens, along with suspicious infrastructure damage and explosive surprises hint at a darker form of resistance. Similar tactics are seen in the four other cities, targeted at any empire wanting to grind down the independence of the Free Cities. Killings are increasingly common, often bearing signs reading out charges alleging a betrayal of their homes. This is responded by mass arrests, though individual guards are said to turn a blind eye with regularity. Coupled with the sudden appearance of unnatural creatures rumored to have been let loose, the larger states now give greater attention to the area than every before. The Legions fear the monstrosities, princes of the Commonwealth and the Padishah are intrigued, while Khuland sees possible opportunity in the escalation. Brutality is common by supporters of neighboring states against the natives as well. Rumors of a shadowy ASH conspiracy to provoke or cut their teeth on resistance swirl around a rapid escalation of sadistic violence directed at native ‘troublemakers’.