Nadir is a city in the south of
Arakmat province, nestled up against the desert mountainside of the
Great Mountains. It is best known for having been a partner in the Emirate of
Zendir before being absorbed into the Sultanate.
Geography
The city of Nadir lies due east of the capital city of Arakmat, at the opposite end of the Arakmat desert. The city owes its existence to strategic location, coupled with the startling presence, in this arid region, of not one but two artesian wells. Travelers heading out the Greater Gate to cross the desert must depend on these wells as being the last sure location of water before that journey, and those coming from the opposite direction know that they must reach this city to refill their waterskins and barrels. On the opposite side of Nadir, away from the desert, the Lesser Gate opens onto a single road that leads into the mountains. This road passes the first ridge of peaks, which share the desert's lack of moisture, and leads to the lush slopes further north and east where many small farms grow the coffee that supplies Nadir with her favored brew.
"See this scar? That's m' souvenir from th' hidden Dracon city. Had t' kill five of 'em getting' away. No, ma'am, I ain't never goin' back there again! That's why I'm willin' t' sell y' m' map for only 500 crowns. Buy me 'nother drink, an' I'll tell y' 'bout this burn mark on m' arm. That's what th' spittle from a Lamian does t' skin." -"Draggy" Stonesmith, drunken adventurer.
Culture
Roughly 65-75% of the population is Dorin, 15-20% Human, 5-10% Lizardmen and Dracons, 5% Dwarves and Gnomes, and a smattering of Halfings, Giants and other races. The mixture of desert races in Nadir largely reflects that of Zenith, the Dorin bastion on the northern edge of the desert, but includes a slightly larger portion of dwarves and gnomes, owing to her location at the foot of the mountains to the east. Dracons and Lizardmen are not as plentiful as they are in the city of Arakmat , but neither are they uncommon in the city. They are tolerated and even respected for the most part, and rumors hint that much more of the population is Dracon than appearances indicate.
There is a surprisingly small percentage of elves and other fae races in the city. They have little reason to love this land, where the only trees that grow are inside the city, and only a few days journey away, across a short stretch of desert and through Magic Hollow, lie the forests of Lylles. Indeed, the name the early elven cartographers gave to this city on their maps translates in Common to "Leave if you can!" Elves are rarely more than temporary visitors, and the sea-races are generally considered as mythical by citizens of this arid land.
A very small number of Katta still live in the city, but they are hated by the Dorin majority, and, even more than Rodenti, they are banned from most business establishments. These proud, stubborn descendants of the former Katta slaves are possibly the only race you will never see drinking coffee in Nadir, owing to their bitter memories of the treatment of their ancestors while harvesting and processing the crops.
For all other races, though, coffee is an important part of everyday life. The smell of roasting coffee wafts from homes and businesses throughout the city, giving Nadir a distinctive, delightful aroma, even to the relatively unrefined noses of humans. Hot, strong, heavily spiced coffee is served in small cups and sipped slowly while residents discuss the latest rumors. If you want to sound like a native, order your coffee "hot as a dwarf's temper, strong as Aslan's honor and black as Jorel's heart."
The city is a hotbed of rumors and unlikely tales, spread and embellished each brightening by citizens as they share extravagant conversations over small cups of their native brew. It is a point of honor to be able to tell the most unbelievable tales, and if someone is foolish enough to doubt the story, even more honor is earned by being able to prove that the tale is true. Anyone with a scar will likely tell you that he got it from fighting his way out of the hidden Dracon city, or he was marked by falling onto a jagged diamond the size of a giant's fist in a mysterious cave in the mountains. The tales of Dorin adventurers usually reflect their twin obsessions with fighting and hunting, but stories about treasures and lost loves, or anything else, really, are welcomed as long as they are well told. This makes Nadir a bard's delight, where only a Katta or Rodenti singer would be unwelcome.
Points of Interest
The Zendir Caravansary
A short distance outside of the Greater Gate, on the south side of the approachway known as the Shining Path, sits a low, massive structure built from stone cut from the nearby mountains. This building houses the supplies, wagons, livestock and temporary quarters for employees and clients of the Zendir Caravansary, Nadir's second-largest business. Originally painted in the rich blue and gold colors of the company, continuous exposure to sun and sandstorms has faded the blue roof to a shade that reflects the nearly cloudless sky, and the golden walls to the same bleached yellow as the surrounding sand. The doors are wide enough to allow four wagons to pass through at once. The slightly domed roof is held up by thick stone walls on the exterior, and is supported by frequent but unevenly spaced stone pillars on the interior, which give the place a maze-like feeling. Many native Arakmatians, accustomed to the wide-open skies and vistas of the desert, find the building's claustrophobic interior unbearable for longer than a few hours. The ability of Rodenti workers to endure such conditions has led to their becoming the "new katta" of the Dorin businesses. Though the word slave is carefully avoided, the majority of the workers inside the building are paid little, worked hard and given little respect. Supervisors and guards are almost invariably Dorin, while the Rodenti are relegated to caring for and cleaning up the livestock, running errands, carrying messages and any other menial tasks that are needed.
Jumble-town
Across the approachway from the Zendir Caravansary, on the north side of the Shining Path, is Jumble-town, a confused muddle of small tents, makeshift shelters, crude corrals, and rickety carts, wagons and barrows. This hodgepodge is made up of nomads, lone travelers, beggars, thieves and merchants too poor to afford the Zendir rates for guards, guides and supplies. The pathways, like the desert dunes, are ever-shifting between these poor wayfarers and the temporary stalls of distressed merchants trying to buy, sell or trade with each other before they begin their journeys across the sands. When threatened by invading armies or the fierce desert storms, the residents of J-town are permitted to find refuge within the city walls, on the Common Ground.
The Common Ground
As travelers enter through the Greater Gate, they walk into a wide park which surrounds the Greater Well (*), an artesian well from which water shoots several feet into the air and falls into a large rock-lined pool. The water from the Greater Well is freely used by all. In fact, it is a crime to sell water in Nadir, and anyone convicted of this offense is banished, thrown out into the desert with nothing but the clothes they have on when arrested. At the southern edge of the Diluneh Sika, as the Greater Well is called in Arakmatian, are a number of enclosed public baths. Here newcomers and natives alike can meet others, relax in shaded pools and wash the road-grime away.
The Coffee Grounds
The estate of the family that founded the city and established the coffee trade in the city is officially called the Adél Nádir Ail-bayit (**). Locals, however, refer to the estate and the adjoining land which bears the warehouses and drying sheds as "The Coffee Grounds". The mansion, in which the Dorin owners of the Nadir Coffee Trading Company live, is a breath-taking display of opulence, and a must-see for visitors to the city. The estate is patrolled by a private guard force, which also provides escorts and guides for visitors who wish to tour the grounds.
Greater and Lesser Churches
Just as there are a Greater Well and a Lesser Well, Nadir hosts two churches. The Greater Church, devoted to the worship of Aslan, God of Honor, welcomes its members just inside the doorway with a large statue depicting the god, in the form of a Dorin, in a battle stance with his Graw'lak drawn. This is the church that the Dorin majority attends. The Lesser Church accepts worshippers of Ioannes, Diana, and Carmelya. Each church is located just north-east of their respective wells.
Social History
Although there are no documents that bear the name of Adél Nádir, the name Nádir has been used by the family/pack of the Dorin founders from the earliest recorded documents in the city's archives. It should be noted, however, that it is the Nádir family/pack that controls those archives, so early documents may very well have been either forged or destroyed, depending on whether they support or dispute the Nádir family/pack claims.
It is clear that the founders employed fellow Dorins as foremen to oversee the numerous Katta laborers and slaves in the patterns when Katta were still subject to slavery. Nearly all of the Katta left the city following their "emancipation", or perhaps more accurately, the reluctant capitulation of the slaveholders to the Imperial Law, which could have destroyed the family, the company and even the entire city if they thwarted the Emperor's will. Most of the Katta emigrated to the city of Kyathis, while others dispersed throughout the Empire, but a few hardy, or stubborn, souls remained, unwilling to let the Dorin racism drive them away. In this respect, they represent an oppressed citizenry analogous to the Dracons in the rest of the Empire.
Economy
Nadir is still only a small city, roughly 30,000 citizens, because it's economy is based primarily on a single product, but in addition to the usual assortment of stores and inns there are other businesses. A former smithy has been transformed into a glass factory, turning the plentiful desert sands into decorative containers in the forge that once made swords and horseshoes. A small tea exporter processes leaves from the same mountain slopes that produce the coffee, and a jeweler, through an arrangement with the Nádir family, has apparently discovered sources for precious stones and gems in the mountains, which he gathers on periodic trips into the mountains, then uses to create remarkable baubles and adornments.
The mountains just east of Nadir are very treacherous, probably filled with orcs and goblins and, according to rumor, even some of the mythical Lamia. This inhibits the development of resources there, though it hasn't affected the coffee business. One rumor that frequently emerges among non-Dorin citizens speculates that the Nádir family/pack deliberately spreads the other rumors to discourage adventurers from entering "their" territory, and even use their private army to "discourage" trespassers into the mountains in the name of defending the city.
*- Scientists believe that the water comes from a large underground river fed by runoff from the mountains. Part of the waterflow, they say, is pushed up through a hole in the rocks, under pressure from the river's main flow. The pool that is formed apparently has some outlet that allows water to seep back into the main channel of the river, for the pool depth remains fairly constant in spite of being constantly fed by the well. Nadir has another, smaller well, called the Lesser Well, which is located near the Lesser Gate. The Lesser Well, or Disid Sika in Arakmatian, is much less spectacular, merely bubbling from a rocky outcrop before flowing a few feet to a small stony basin.
**- Ail-bayit is an Arakmat word for a home or shelter, a far too modest word to describe the mansion and associated outbuildings of the estate. Adél Nádir is allegedly the name of the Dorin who discovered the wells and founded both the city and the coffee trade within it. There are no records, even in the cities own archives, which validate this tale, but the residents generally accept its validity.
Nadir
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