Ignaston (Dominaria Supplement)
 | |
| Size | |
| Medium City | |
| Power Center | |
| Conventional-Magical, Consul X, Tier X and The Priesthood of Ignasta, Tier X | |
| Alignment | |
| Lawful Neutral | |
| Adult Population | |
| X | |
| Gold Limit | |
| X | |
| Language & Diversity | |
| Arcadian, Homogenous (X) | |
History
Ignaston, the city of the Fire Cult, and the site of the last successful rebellion against the Arcadian crown. Ignaston was once the trade nexus of Valenia, an Arcadian city built in the early-Third Age to facilitate trade through the X Channel. The city started as a trade town that sprung up around the fortress and harbor of the XIV Legion and the now defunct Interior Fleet. Their fort had been built in one of the island's two hospitable areas, one stabilized by ancient Fire Worshippers, and the other by the elves. In those days, the Island of Ignis Magnus was a dangerous frontier of the Arcadian Empire, and the seditious south made trade passage through the X Channel vastly more dangerous that it had been in the 2nd Age. Valenia grew as the Interior Fleet was bolstered and the XIV brought back up to full- and then over-strength during the reign and campaigns of Emperor Valen Marcinus. The Emperor himself founded the eponymous city of Valenia after his conquest of the Inner Ignis ranges. He took three legions all the way to the steaming X River that nearly bisects the island, conquering the local tribes and priesthood and building a network of outposts south to the Boiling Cataracts and the Colored Caldera. When he left, he gave many of the older Legionary veterans tracts of land around the new city and paid to have their family's shipped in before he left to join the legions massing at Cheseroneus invade the rebelling southern states.
So Valenia was left to its own devices, seeing another imperial visit only after the war - when Emperor Valen laid the groundwork for a new palace overlooking the city. Though the palace was completed on schedule the Emperor never saw it, he died to a Hydra in the mountains outside Sarento. The Interior Fleet was decommissioned and it's ships split between other commands shortly after the Emperor's death, and under the following Emperors the XIV Legion was gradually drained by a combination of competing interests and a complete lack of activity on Ignis Magnus. But as this occurred, the city of Valenia grew. The small port was expanded and immigration from the Arcadian south swelled the population. New and freer trade through the X Channel brought wealth to the city, now the first major stop for many ships on the journey west. The Valenian Palace eventually became the Prelate's Palace and when Empress Aemilia Cotta decided to expand the Consulship in the mid-Third Age to once again include the south of the Empire, Valenia became a full Consul City.
Valenia remained a stable part of the empire after becoming a Consul City. Trade through the X Channel plateaued and immigration to the island slowed to manageable rates. As the city leveled off it developed the surrounding lands. Farms, orchards, plantations, and vineyards thrived in the rich volcanic soil and mining efforts used water from the fast flowing X River to cut deep into the very dormant or extinct volcanoes of the island. Alongside the development of Valenia came the reemergence of Ignis Magnus' native population. The movement of people started as a trickle of traders and craftsmen crossing the X River headed east but within a generation of being made a Consul City (second Consul after admittance) the native's rights to trade and move within the city were protected from prejudice by law and within another generation the natives and their priesthood formally joined the Arcadian Empire as a tributary state under Valenia.
This extreme progressiveness was frowned upon by the ruling elite in Arcadia and especially among the hawking Sarentan Bloc of Senators. The druidic Ignastites and their fire priests, heirs to the legacy of Igneon, had been seen as aberrant for centuries and their inclusion into the Empire coupled with their influence in Valenia was not taken lightly. The situation persisted however, and Valenia prospered in its partnership with the Ignastites. This state of affairs continued well into the later centuries of the Third Age, but came to a head in the years before the third and final eastern campaign of the Wandering One. Emperor Marius Falco, the last of the Sarentan dynasty, saw plots all across the Empire. Would the Wandering One never have emerged from the Heart of Darkness, Emperor Marius' legionary deployments and police actions across the Empire would have been the largest military deployments of the latter third of the Age in any country. One of his focuses was native cultures and non-Arcadian dogmas within the Empire. Along with actions in Felix, Selucia, and the south of Arcadia, Valenia and Ignis Magnus were targeted.
His spies infiltrated the power bloc on the island and uncovered what they presented as proof of the fire priesthood's meddling in the affairs of the Arcadian Consulship of the island. These accusations, while true, were hopelessly overblown. In point of fact, the fire priesthood's influence had been almost entirely helpful and in some cases altruistic on the national level - sending precious metals and stone into the Arcadian economy. The Ignastite tribal structure was very advanced, and their knowledge of rock and metallurgy surpassed much of what the Arcadians could reproduce without massive wealth. But the Ignastite tribes' policy of working alongside the Arcadians was backfiring monumentally. The Arcadian Senate authorized an invasion and sent 2 Legions and a demi-Legion of Marines to Sarento to mass alongside local auxilia.
On Ignis Magnus, word of the impending invasion crystallized the population. The XIV Legion revolted immediately, killing their praetor and legatus and storming the Consular Palace. The Consul sided with the legionaries and quickly moved to secure the city and all of the ships in the bay. They alerted the Fire Cult as well, who subdued the temples of other gods in the city (there were very few, and the clergy were sent out on the only ship allowed to leave) and alerted the tribes to marshal for war. Storms were summoned over the island, tapping into the vast power of the mountains. These storms covered the island's preparations and delayed the launch of the Arcadian Fleet. By the time the storms broke, the island was ready. Dozens of fire ships were the first defense of the island, piloted by summoned creatures into the midst of the Arcadian fleet. These ships proved a short, though vicious defense. The still strong remains of the invasion force landed north of the bay unopposed and marched south for Valenia. The Arcadian force won a decisive victory on the fields north of the town and quickly seized the city - their superior numbers and veteran ranks mauled the defenders' ranks.
The Arcadian invasion should have stopped there, but Consul X of Sarento was determined to carry the island and mark himself for the Emperor's robes. He moved west from the city two weeks after the battle XXX
City
Location
Government:
Guilds and Orders:
Military: Under the Felixine Reform, the XII (Falco), and XIII (Draco) Legions muster from Ignis Magnus. In an unorthodox arrangement, the Cult Pyrae provides most of the Mages in both Legions. They also muster a demi-Legion in place of the city's home guard. This could potentially muster as a full Legion, but would not stand to the same standard.
Judicial System:
City Relations:
Return to Arcadia.
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