Lapur is an ancient city. Its brownstone buildings and narrow cobbled streets
are built upon the bones of a city older yet. Beneath those streets are miles of
black and twisty catacombs where the crumbling remains of Old Lapur beckon the
adventurous and the secretive. Some of the catacombs are utilized by the city as
a sewer system, others as granaries and public storerooms--but there are many
parts that remain an unexplored mystery.
Lapur (in its most recent incarnation) began as a small and unimportant town
growing out of the ruins of Old Lapur some fifty years after the last Chaos War.
Its inhabitants made their living by wood cutting, charcoal burning, subsistence
farming, and harvesting the useful plants from the nearby forest. As the years
passed, some enterprising soul began to explore the surface levels of the
catacombs and sell the odd and curious items that were found there. These
artifacts brought good money and soon the scavengers cleared out the upper
levels of the catacombs--even then the lower levels were considered too
dangerous by all but the most foolhardy. Unwilling to lose their best source of
income, some of the more unscrupulous scavengers began to make "fake artifacts"
and sell them to gullible collectors instead of knowledgeable wizards.
Many of the great trading houses of Lapur thus got off to rather shady
starts. However, once Lapur gained its foothold in trade, it needed no further
assistance from forgeries. Whatever one might say about the morals of the early
traders, no one has ever doubted their courage and ingenuity. Other towns and
villages were also becoming cities, and cities needed goods and services that
villages lacked. Sibikhas might need salt fish, Monuntial might need grain; the
fine linen of Chimlevtal might fetch a fortune in Rodeki, and Rodeki copper
bring an equal fortune in Jhans. Lapurian merchants dealt in everything and with
everyone. Lapurian crafts guilds were also springing up about this time. Along
with the usual smiths, carpenters and masons, Lapur boasts such outré
establishments as the Clockmaker's Guild, the Worshipful Association of
Printers, and the Astrologer's Guild. In the course of their dealings with other
cities and their myriad forms of coinage, Lapur's moneychangers have established
something closely resembling a modern bank which will hold a depositor's money
for safekeeping and make investments. (Sorry, though the bank pays dividends on
specific investments, interest hasn't been invented yet...except on loans...).
Lapur at its beginning was governed by an hereditary nobility consisting of
eight to ten families, each of which was responsible for a section of the town
called a "ward." The head of the family was addressed by the title of Warden;
other family members held lesser posts and titles. The Wardens met in council
every year to determine city policy, and there were usually at least one or two
junior houses scheming to unseat one of the established Wardens. One of these
unseated noble families, the House Jarrek, left Lapur and founded the colony of
Morya half a day upstream. (The Jarreks were wiped out to a man when the Rirorni
tribes conquered Morya and made it their own some hundred years later.)
For many years Lapur feuded with its erstwhile colony, until at last, about
fifty years ago, the Wardens hired a huge mercenary army and brought the Moryan
Charioteers to defeat at the Battle of Hyorn Forest. Morya was forced into a
peace treaty, and in a monumental display of the cunning which made them famous,
Lapur conned the Moryan leaders into pledging to defend Lapur and its allies
from further incursion by Rirorni or Delarquan forces. A large mural depicting
the historic signing of the Charter of Mutual Defense decorates the Guildhall,
Lapur's main public building.
Unfortunately for the Wardens, the cost of the mercenary army beggared most
of the city's old nobility, and many families were completely ruined when they
were unable to pay off the loans they had taken out through the city's
moneylenders. Sons and daughters of the great merchant houses quietly married
into the impoverished nobility, and though the old noble families retain their
titles, it is the guilds and companies which actually rule modern Lapur. The
Merchants' Council, where representatives of all the major companies and guilds
meet monthly, is where the real governance of the city takes place, though all
new laws are still rubber-stamped by the Warden's Council at year's end. As may
be imagined, some of the nobles dream of regaining their former power, and
political scheming in Lapur is as common as fleas on a dog. For all that, Lapur
is considered a pleasant town; its slums are not too wretched and its palaces
reasonably modest. The city has no standing army, though the lesser sons and
daughters of Moryan nobles are often hired as city guardsmen. Lapur has always
preferred to hire someone else to do its fighting for it, and its contribution
to the defense of the other Charter Cities is generally in the form of money or
supplies, rarely soldiers.
The Wardens of Lapur, at present, are Arvegon Narantos, of Gull's End Ward;
Mikala Varing, of Riverwatch Ward; Vlad Taltos, of Shreeve Ward and Dockside
Ward (although it is unusual for one Warden to control two wards, it is not
unheard of); Kahlimar Rogirin, of Temple Tower Ward; Semiana Elanit, of Market
Ward; Gaurden Varing-Galton, of Hyorn Ward; Aspin Tekrit, of Blackkettle Ward;
Findin Dalerit-Galton, of Old Eastern Ward; and Torentio Galton of New Eastern
Ward.
The major religions in Lapur are those of Ruhor, the river-spirit of the
Duskblood River, and Jayan, the god of trade and commerce. Jayan's followers are
drawn from the upper classes and from caravaneers, while Ruhor's temple attracts
the poorer laborers and the riverboatmen. The moon god(dess) Karn is also widely
worshipped in Lapur in his/her aspect as the patron of smugglers and merchants.
Lapur is situated between the Hyorn Forest and the Duskblood River. The river
front area has two rough divisions. Upriver is where many of the richer
merchants and the old nobility have their estates and water gardens, and the
location of the palace of Ruhor, the local river god. Downriver you may find the
docks, warehouses, and shipping offices. Downriver is decidedly seedy in parts,
and many an unwary stranger has strolled down a dark alley only to wake with an
aching head and a new berth on a cotton barge.
Lapur is on good terms politically with Dullens, Morya and Khalani. Its major
rivals are Chimlevtal and Rocanis. Relationships with Monuntial might be worse--Lapur
needs the port of Monuntial badly, and thus cannot afford to antagonize the city
much. It was proposed that both Rocanis and Monuntial be invited to join the
Charter. Monuntial did join, but Rocanis remains independent. This benefits
Lapur (an allied seaport, and more "buffer territory" between them and the
Federation) but it remains to be seen whether or not the citizens can put aside
centuries of rivalry, with Monuntial especially.
The Wardens of Lapur still wield a great deal of influence over the city, but
the de facto ruler of the town is Ehrvan Torving, the guildmaster of the
Shipping Guild. As the ones who have final say on what goods go where and how
fast, the Shipping Guild is the most powerful in the city. Those opposing it
have sometimes been known to suddenly lose fortunes when a caravan or fleet
somehow "failed to arrive" at its destination. Torving is a rather young man (in
his early thirties) of average height and build, dark haired and blue-eyed.
Good-looking enough to be attractive to women but not enough to be threatening
to other men, he has a devastating smile and can charm the sour out of a lemon,
as the saying goes. Unlike many of the "merchant princes" he realizes that the
old nobility of the city is still very useful, and cultivates them when
possible. (He is engaged to the daughter of the Warden of Gull's End.) Utterly
ruthless in business and politics, Torving is dedicated to his Guild, his city,
and the Charter--in that order. His far-flung business contacts afford him news
on almost every part of Alastari. He is ambitious and intelligent, and has
far-reaching plans for Lapur's future. Contrary to rumor, he does have scruples,
but it's difficult to tell which situations will bring them into play.
The Lapur Arena is a modest building, and the Merchants and Wardens both
frankly view it as a nuisance and possibly a dark plot on the part of Sheila
Greywand. The Lady of the Isle is not particularly popular in Lapur due to her
decision to lump Lapur in with "all those Northern rabble" in the Free Blades
Arena.
Copyright © by Duel2.Com All Right Reserved.
