Marr Sirque

Marr Sirque [mar SEE-urkh] (Miyarrain: Miyarsouok; Hartheran: Narsik) is a port city in Kahtoynplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigKahtoyn

Kahtoyn (called Bhourdan in Hartraan), also called the Confederation of Kahtoyn, is a political entity in the region of Otekahré. It is unique in the world that it is not a nation in the true sense, since it has no formal governmental structures, no kings or governors, no military or police, no codified laws, prisons or justice system. Instead it is made up of thousands of self-governing polities who follow a common ideology of good behaviour, common standards, and (mostly) friendly com…, the principle trading port in Otekahré.

Historically it was an outlying river city of Miyarris, before rising sea levels turned it first into a coastal city, and today an island a few hundred metres from the mainland.

Like all Kahtoyni cities it is self-governing and follows the idiosyncratic social rules of its mother culture, but the city is much more accustomed to foreign visitors and its people make allowances for the behaviour of its barbarian visitors.

Historically the Hartherans have made numerous attempts to capture the city and its hinterland, all of which failed not due to military resistance, but due to the inhabitants going to great lengths to ignore their captors, despite significant infliction of death and reprisal, or the population simply vanishing. After the failure of four campaigns, the Hartheranplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHarthera

The Hartheran Union, commonly named Harthera, is an imperialist maritime nation state dominating the northeast of Anásthias. It is one of the two great powers of the modern epoch, arguably the most technologically and militarily powerful nation in the world, only matched by the vast size and wealth of its neighbour, viridOrorrMEOrorrOrorrOrorrOrorr government turned their back on further attempts to conquer what they considered a cursed land.

The city has expanded and contracted many times in its history, so the hinterland is littered with the remnants of old walls and dwellings. The city itself is surrounded by a wall, but it is primarily for demarcation and control of animals rather than for military defence. Hartheran observers have often remarked on the city's “laughable” defences, despite the fact that Hartherans have never managed to conquer the city.

Marr Sirque is divided into numerous wards which operate as self-governing and self-regulating communities. The city has formal leadership in the form of the most respected members of the leading communities, but in practice decisions are made collectively and somewhat haphazardly. Despite this, visitors remark that the city is remarkably clean, there are practically no beggars, and while there are a few oustanding public buildings of ancient design, most dwellings are modest and comfortable with no palaces or grand estates.

The docks are operated by a unique guild, who deal with unloading ships, taking docking fees, and act to maintain public order amongst rowdy foreign sailors. While the docks district operates all the comforts and dubious services usual to a thriving port, crime is rare, largely because any captains whose sailors cause excessive offence are unfaced - so that they are essentially barred from the city for an unspecified period.