York

The city of York has an interesting and ancient history. In the year 999 (R.S.T.) a tribe of gnomes was living in the foothills next to Sargun (Capitol city of the dwarven Empire) They had been employed by the dwarves for 1000 years as builders of siege engines and other devices that the dwarves used for mining and warfare. The dwarven king Leo had a great working relationship with the black hill gnomes, who were led by Mallar Guardia. When Leo died, he was replaced by king Geo, who immediately began harassing and taxing the gnomes. There was an unfortunate incident where a gnomish elder named York was being insulted and chased away from the dwarven regiment that he had been working with for 200 years. In his rage he decided to play a joke on the dwarves and he placed small clockwork knives on all 21 of their catapults. Each was designed to run on, and using the same clockworks used to make cuckoo clocks, at midnight each one would piston out a small very sharp dagger blade. He positioned them so that they would cut the main tension cable. Alas poor York, he knew not that the dwarves were soon to go into battle. In a terrible coincidence of poor timing, it so happened that at a very critical point in a battle with a legion of goblins, all 21 catapults stopped working. This was enough to turn the battle and the dwarven regiment was slaughtered. York was caught, tortured, convicted and executed for his actions. His flesh was burned off and his skull put on a pike held up for all to see. This proved to be the final straw for the gnomes who had had enough bullying by the dwarves and they all packed up quietly in the middle of the night and left to find a new home. They left traps on their homes and some ingenious trap or other killed anyone who tried to enter. After 50 dwarves lost their lives, the gnomish homes were placed off limits and buried under a half a million tons of clay. To this day, there are rumors of treasure, and an occasional brave band of dwarves dig their way into a gnomish house, so far no dwarves have ever returned alive.

The gnomes made the arduous journey over the Moradin mountain range and then followed the Golden River to where it emptied into the ocean. There was fertile ground here, some caves, nearby islands just off the coast, and a small vein of metal ores. After defeating the orcs who lived here, the gnomes built their home and founded a city here, naming it "York" after their fallen martyr. The site chosen was the one directly over the metal ores, 30 miles away from the Golden River, but there was a small feeder creek that ran that direction and the islands served to form a relatively calm bay for shipping. The city grew and grew, quickly exceeding it's original walls, and within 10 years it was home to 6000 gnomes and over 3000 other humanoids. Human, dwarves, elves, halflings, half breeds, and underground humanoids are all welcome in York. A council of elders, led by a "Mallar", rules the city the form of government is like a Greek republic, the council gets to vote, the Mallar gets to vote and landowners also get to vote. The city has evolved into boroughs and continued to grow at a rapid pace. In 1215 R.S.T. the official population count was 54,000 inhabitants.

They are the starters of fashions, inventors of science, industry, and art. York is world renowned for clock making, engineering and construction of siege engines. They have invented a secret construction technique that they call C-beam construction, but no one knows what that is supposed to mean. Somehow they use this to create buildings that are stronger than those made anywhere else in the world. They have built several buildings that are over 3 stories high, and they have 2 towers made from white stone. The twin towers are both 23 stories tall and each has a spire on top that goes up another 2 stories. They are right next to each other in the main downtown section of the borough of Olde Towne. These towers represent the height of gnomish construction and engineering. They are a source of wonder and awe, and many tourists come every year JUST to see the towers.

The main language spoken in York is a dialect of English called Scottish. High-class persons can be understood plainly by those from other parts of the Empire, but many of the lower classes speak with such a thick accent that they cannot be understood by anyone who has not studied their dialect.

York is a key component to the Londres Empire. There is a trade wind that blows 6 months of the year from Babel to York and the currents are good all year round. There is a strong shipping alliance formed between Babel and York. They have a monopoly and Babel will not ship with any other city. Sumer on the same island will ship with anyone, but they are less active and only conduct 20% of the shipping from their Isle. The Isle has many unusual crafts and goods to trade; some of them cannot be found anywhere else in the known world. York is also the conduit through which the dwarven Empire communicates with the Londres Empire. Trade agreements, peace treaties, and other official functions between the 2 nations are usually conducted in York.

 The Current leader of York is Mallar Jules, both he and his minister Elder Edward attended the peace treaties held by Lord Ion. Mallar Jules is well liked by many leaders and was seen giving advise and council to at least 5 notables persons at the conference. When the fight broke out in the main hall, he immediately started organizing people to leave safely, while staying himself to make sure injuries were at a minimum.