Tellemetra

Tellemetra is a large metropolitan city-state situated on the western coast of the Plains of Quint. It is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Quint Cities.

Settlement Information

 * Type: City, Metropolitan
 * Allegiance: Commonwealth of Quint Cities, United Mortal Confederation
 * Population: 430,000
 * 43% Lantian humans
 * 13% Elves
 * 12% Dwarves
 * 8% Goblins
 * 6% Gnomes
 * 5% Halflings
 * 4% Menetari humans
 * 12% Other races
 * Ruling Body: The Assembly

Government
Tellemetra is ruled by a group of plutocrats known as the Assembly. The Assembly consists of over a hundred independent guildmasters, merchants, company owners, trade princes, and other organization leaders. The Assembly oversees Tellemetra's interests and manages government-run administrations, such as the Confederation Mint and the Tellemetra Planeport. The members of the Assembly convene the day after each full moon to vote on any new laws and resolve any inter-member issues, with each member each receiving a single vote per issue. If a member of the Assembly does not attend the meeting, they lose the right to vote on the issue and automatically abstain from voting. However The Five can call an urgent assembly at any time, should an immediate decision be necessary. For the leader of an organization to join the Assembly, their organization must have at least twenty registered members and own developed land within the city limits.

The Assembly is led by an inner council called The Five, each of whom leads one of the five largest organizations in Tellemetra and the surrounding areas. The Five supervise Assembly meetings and mediate any disputes or conflicts between guilds.

Law enforcement is carried out by the Guardianship, who carries out the Assembly's decisions as long as it does not violate the Stewardship of Peace. In addition, the military sections of The Five's guilds serve as Tellemetra's unofficial law enforcement and enforce any laws that the Guardianship chooses not to enforce.

History
Tellemetra began as a colony founded 2500 years ago by the Empire of Lantria with the intention of serving as a coastal base to harvest the resources of the mainland Continent. From Tellemetra, imperial explorers and settlers ventured into the Plaints of Quint, founding several other settlements. Many of these settlements would eventually join Tellemetra to form the Commonwealth of Quint Cities. One such explorer was a Lantian noble named Gillian. Gillian achieved a feat that many thought impossible at the time: traversing through then-named Razorwind Desert and making contact with the nation of Xiu Fan. With Gillian's discoveries, earnest trade began between the settlements of the Plains of Quint and the Eastern Continent. Newfound riches gave rise to several large merchant guilds in Tellemetra who held large amounts of influence with its people. Tellemetra itself also grew exponentially, mostly through the mass immigration of people from all over the Continent who were attracted to the promise of riches. In the span of one generation, the small town of Tellemetra had become a great metropolitan city and the most diverse cultural melting pot in all of Mortium.

Once the Menetari War of Independence broke out, the people of Tellemetra found themselves isolated from the rest of Lantian leadership. Faced with anarchy and the threat of Menetar's armies, Tellemetra's guilds swiftly took control of the city, declaring Tellemetra an independent and neutral city-state and founding the Assembly to replace the local Lantian government. Soon after, almost every settlement in the Plains of Quint followed suit, becoming independent from the Empire. Tellemetra's Lantian heritage has caused some tension between it and the newly independent kingdom of Menetar. Throughout history, Menetar's warlords often attempted to take Tellemetra and other neighboring cities. However Tellemetra's economic power always proved too powerful to match, forming large mercenary armies and even soliciting military aid from neighboring Lantria and the United Dominion. It was during this time that the Great Gem Road began to be formed, and close ties formed between Tellemetra and the other cities in the plains. The Five were also declared due to common infighting between members of the Assembly.

The Great War
When Menetar's Arcanist Guild opened the first planar gateways, Tellemetra immediately became interested with the promise of new riches to be found in Celestium and Abyssium. However the only thing Tellemetra - and the rest of Mortium - found from the other planes was intense, destructive conflict. The abyssals targeted Tellemetra and the Great Gem Road, hoping to plunder its great wealth. Celestials saw Tellemetra's mercantile nature as a haven for greed and corruption, and sought to destroy the city. Towards the end of the Great War, the Assembly offered Tellemetra as a neutral ground to negotiate the ceasefire. The Tellemetra Accords were signed, with Tellemetra's merchant guilds calling for a way to peacefully travel between realms and citing Tellemetra's own history as proof that cultural intermingling was beneficial for all involved. Tellemetra Planeport, the first planeport, was then constructed. To ensure Tellemetra's security as the center of interplanar travel, a pact was formed between the cities in the Plains of Quint, creating the Commonwealth of Quint Cities. The new Commonwealth became a founding member of the post-war United Mortal Confederation.

Current Era
Tellemetra is currently a city of cutthroat capitalism, with large merchant organizations directing the city's society. New organizations in the city must prove themselves competitive or they will be left behind to be forgotten. The larger organizations of the city are constantly expanding operations, buying out smaller companies and exploring new fields. Though this means that a few organizations hold an unbalanced weight in influence and power, this ensures that the Assembly does not become flooded by inexperienced or unsuccessful individuals. Furthermore, the members of the Assembly are held together by the common interest in ensuring the Great Gem Road and good relations with the other two planes remain intact, as the city's very structure depends more and more on never-ending trade between the Three Realms.

Factions

 * The Five
 * Arquan Manufacturing
 * Association of Heroes
 * Blue Herald Banking
 * Culver Museum and Enchantery
 * White Panther Guild
 * Other Guilds
 * Blackbird Mercenary Company
 * Munn Merchant Guild
 * Ygg Performance Company

Districts and Landmarks

 * Bottomleaf
 * Fort Eastward
 * Gateway Bazaar
 * Gillian Park
 * Gillian Lake
 * Tellemetra Planeport
 * Goldburg
 * Assembly District
 * The Assembly Hall
 * Confederation Mint
 * Great Gem Road
 * The Guildfields
 * Iron Aqueduct
 * Marden Fields
 * Tournament Grounds
 * Merchant District
 * Central Exchange
 * Oceanside Fields
 * Old Tellemetra
 * The Coliseum
 * Sansa Port
 * The Marina