Far away from the liberty and order of the Kingdom of Railor is a collection of cities that is known by all world traveling sailors that ply the Middle Sea. Out beyond the Isle of the 6 Gods, far away from any ally of the King lies a lawless place that feeds on greed, violence and slavery.
The Eleven Cities
Some would argue that the Eleven Cities are free and that there is a freedom to having money. Yet it is known that slaves are captured elsewhere to be sold to the Shi. The Shi are Slaver Lords. It is a title and an honorific. The be signaled out as a Shi means that a person is in possession of a great deal of gold and wealth. Predominantly this wealth comes in the form of slaves or whatever the slaves do.
Not all of the Free Cities are ruled by the Shi elite. Some have other groups of leaders. However, one unifying factor is that the Eleven are not governed by a central government. Each City has its own rules and laws which may change as the elite of each City dictates.
Ironically there is an bay around which most of the cities lie. In the center of this bay there is a large island that is home to the Merchant King of Ma'Gaan. This individual wields supreme wealth and power in the Eleven Cities and yet has no interest in governing the cities. There is no central government or army. Few even know what the Merchant King looks like. His identity secret while he/she/it works from the shadows through agents. The Merchant King influences all in terms of money but leaves all other rules as the people see fit.
List of Cities
Sahuel - Ruled by a Merchant Prince
Zehuel - Ruled by a Merchant Prince
Oritiga - Ruled by a Council of Shi
Polinex - Ruled by a Council of Shi
Kurinat - Ruled by a Council of Shi
Bohkus - Ruled by a Council of Shi
Urvot - Ruled by a Council of Shi and indirectly by a central figure.
Tronosil - Ruled by the Four Great Lords
T'drakka - Ruled by a collection of Warlords
Makos - Ruled by a single Shi and a Bhedeni Warlord
Cauldron - Ruled by the Immortal Warlock
Cities Governed by Shi
Oritiga, Polinex, Kurinat, Bohkus, Urvot and Makos are all cities that have Slaver Lords in rulership of the Cities. Councils of Shi control most of the property in these Cities.
Each one of these Cities except for Makos has a City Guard that is paid for by the Shi and answer only to the orders of the Council. This Guard is made up of career soldiers. Violent men, some of them may have been slaves once, or men that captured slaves. Once way or another, they are all skilled warriors and are paid for their time and their effectiveness. They protect the walls and the streets and stop unwanted fights and arson within the walls.
Urvot is known simultaneously as the City of Riches as well as the City of Lies. It is well known that the Council of Shi here are somehow manipulated by a shadowy underground figure. Despite the intention of many Shi to undercover this mysterious person, they eventually become mired in some sort of mess and cannot leave. Some rumors say that the Lord of Lies is the Merchant King himself. Others like the point towards the Immortal Warlock. Every Shi that has ever tried either ended up dead or bonded to Urvot.
Makos is ruled by a single Shi and a Governor Warlord. The City Guard for this City are all Bhedeni warriors. The Governor Warlord is a outcast Bhedeni tribesman with great prowess as a warrior and a general. Other Bhedeni (African themed tribesmen like Shadi from Raiders of the Middle Sea serier) joined this great hero and formed a militant tribe of sorts. Their economical benefactor is a single Shi of immense wealth. This city keeps no Bhedeni slaves. Captured Bhedeni are added to the Staff of the Governor Warlord.
The Merchant Princes
Two Cities are locked in eternal competition. The Merchant Princes have no peers in wealth save for the merchant King himself. The Prices own the Cities of Sahuel and Zehuel, each are at the mouth of the Bay of Ma'Gaan. The predominant focus of these cities is the accumulation of wealth and powerful connections.
This is how a new Merchant King is chosen and it is a matter of life or death.
When a new Merchant King is chosen by the old King, both Princes go to the King's Island and neither return. This protect the identity of the King in the future. Some say the other Prince is kept as the aide of the King and other say that the losing Prince is executed. None know for certain.
The new King will nominate two Shi or other ruler to take over the positions of the Merchant Princes in Sahuel and Zehuel.
The Four Lords of Tronosil
A collection of non-humans rule Tronosil. One Jhakarti Lord, one Makoo Ruler, one Vorgheesh Chief and one Trepsos Lord.
Technically that is 5 beings but they only ever count 4 votes. I cannot explain this right now. You will have to see how the story progresses in Raiders of the Middle Sea!
T'drakka - The Savage City
A Council of Jhakarti Warlords rules this City. It is a place where the strong members of Clans who are not Chieftans go to gain experience and take part on ritual combat. There is a complex pattern of custom regarding those that fight one another. There is a issue between different castes of Jhakarti that I cannot explain right now. It is it's own article.
The Savage City is not a place for Humans or any other being to be. However there has been one instance of a Vorgeesh Bull Chieftan arriving with his Clan to the Savage City to challenge a Jhakari Lord to single mortal combat. This Vorgeesh was given a pass of the City after that fight, allowed to come and go as he pleases to honor him for his prowess.
Cauldron (The Caulron)
A shrouded City set in a cursed strip of land. The Immortal Warlock is the ruler of this place. It is one Free City that is allied to the rest for the sake of convenience. The Warlock cares not for riches or wealth but often has plenty gold or gems to trade with the Shi. Some say the Warlock is an alchemist and that his gold was created using sorcery. Some believe the riches cursed and refuse to touch it or go near Cauldron.
Yet Shi do go to Cauldron to trade. Riches in exchange for slaves. Nobody knows what happens to them all. The Immortal Warlock has not been seen in decades. Some say it is a myth, yet there are lesser Warlocks in the City.
None bother to find out much more about this City. The population has not increased over the years so people can only guess and gossip about what might be happening to the slaves.
This concludes our closer look at the area in which Kayden, Shadi, Rulaf and Torassh have their story in Raiders of the Middle Sea