Trinsic (The Southern Stone, The Golden Lion)

“Trinsic is a city at war… It was the day it was built stone by stone, and so it shall be, until it falls at the last.”

Location: Southern Britannia, on the eastern coast. Consists of two islands and a river delta area.

Virtue: Honor

Government: Ran by a mayor and advisory council, who are elected, and the Lord General, the head of the City Militia and is appointed by Lord British.

Imports: Basic Necessities, Luxuries

Exports: Seafood, Engineers, Guards

Heraldry

A golden lion on a jungle green background

Geography

Trinsic is the second largest city in Britannia. It lies upon a large river system, fed from a small mountain range to the southwest and the surrounding region. Further southwest the peaks of Mt. Truth and Mt. Courage can be dimly seen, travelling to them and back is a frequent quest by young paladins in training. The land slopes gently down to the sea, but most of the islands are high above water, except for Barrier Isle. Flooding is seldom, rainfall typically

The rivers, which were re-channeled and directed by the Trinsican engineers, connect into one inside the city walls, and split again to form the Isle of the Paladins at the delta, the area is excellent fishing ground. They also form Spirit Lake at the center of the city, where the Monastery lies. The city proper has a large moat, fed by water from the river system and ingeniously channeled. The city structures are all built upon a harder granite foundation, with the more common sandstone making up the walls and buildings, making Trinsic a veritable rock upon water and the most fortified citadel in the realm.

There is also a large bridge that leads to Barrier Isle, a long stretch of land just off the mainland. Barrier Isle is one of the few places in Britannia that supports a small herd of wild horses. The Paladin’s consider them to be sacred, and will look very poorly on anyone attempting to tame or slay them.

Trinsic is divided roughly by the bridges and river courses, in terms of use. The area south is the business district; most of the newer and more services-oriented businesses are located there. The Isle of the Paladins is the home of the Paladin’s Hall, and is the oldest stone structure in Trinsic. An inner wall, separating the northwest and southeast areas further divides the largest city area. The southeast is the old barracks and training district for the city militia, the northwest was originally the Engineer’s quarter. In present day, only the furthest west areas, where the actual guild headquarters are, are referred to this way. At the center of town is the Monastery which doubles as a town hall and mayoral offices, as the monastic order that once dwelt there is long gone. (A small mansion north of the Monastery used to be the Mayor’s offices, but in recent times it was converted to a restaurant, and more recently, a second bank as the needs for one grew.)

Climate

Trinsic is situated in a temperature difference area, where the region goes from temperate to subtropical. It is far enough north that they have cold winters, but also far enough south that that they never get much more than freezing rain. It snows about once every ten years.

History

After the Cataclysm, the southern half of the great continent that would be known as Britannia was a wild and treacherous place. What remained of Mondain’s armies, mostly foul creatures known as orcs, were scattered far and wide in the region, and quickly set out to claim it as their own. Survivors from Montor and Tune abandoned their ruined cities in the interior early 2 A.C. and fled east and north, until they found the ocean. With nowhere left to run, the survivors gathered at the river system for mutual protection, and rebuilt. Their old towns were quickly swallowed by the jungle, and lost to human memory. The remnants of Mondain’s servants, having the jungle and woods to themselves, quickly separated into clans and splinter groups, providing relief to the refugees for many years.

For several decades, the forming town of wood palisades and walls was left in relative peace, aside from the occasional raid from a wandering band of orcs. The first stone structure, built from sandstone transported from the mountain range to the southwest, was the Knights’s Hall on the largest island in 12 A.C. It also acted as the headquarters for the general city militia for nearly a century.  Contact was made with Britain in 8 A.C. when Dupre, a famous hero and friend of Lord British, arrived. Although the King was far too distant to have any effect on the populace, and the paths too dangerous for mercantile travel, Dupre’s time among them, when he trained several warriors and spoke of the King’s vision of a reunited kingdom, was inspiring to the fledgling city.

In 38 A.C., the numerous orc clans of the south banded together under an Orc Lord known by the name of Hekoz. Hekoz was a former rival of Cruuz of the north, and when defeated in combat and forced to flee, he sought to create his own empire in the south. And his first target was the large human settlement, which looked weak and easy to conquer.

It was written that the orcs were as many as the leaves on the trees, as they surrounded the crudely constructed wooden walls and gates. Many heroes were made, and died as well, the three days the city was under siege. Most of the city was burnt to ashes, and nearly half the population died in the battle, more later to famine, sickness, and disease. But the city’s militia prevailed. The militia captain Trin, the son of a knight of Montor and a powerful warrior in his own right, slew Hekoz in personal combat. Demoralized, the remaining orcs fled, spreading tales of the fierce warriors whom dwelt upon the rivers, and for many decades the fear alone kept the hordes at bay.

After the battle, the survivors gathered to decide what to do. One faction voted to brave the dangerous journey north and settle in Britain, closer to civilization. The other, lead by Trin, wished to stay and rebuild. Trin, who had embraced the knightly ideals of the ancient order of Akalabeth, and had also drawn inspiration from the Ancient Liturgy of Truth, envisioned a city of pure stone, which the armies of chaos would strike against and fall like rain upon a roof. His charisma and power alone convinced the militia to stay. Trin served as the Lord of the city until his death in 93 A.C., and the city gained its name in his honor.

Skill of arms did not build the city alone, A craftsman and inventor known as Carnex, with a group of fellows schooled in engineer and construction, created the blueprints for the new city. They planned to divert the rivers in the area into a large moat and lake, which would have towering walls built on the opposite side, so that the city would be invulnerable to siege. The stone would come from the nearby mountains again, which were rich in sandstone deposits, as well as the distant Fire Mountains, known for their granite, which were invaluable in building solid foundations. Plans were also made to expand the fishing industry, so that Trinsic would have a reliable food source that couldn’t be cut off from the mainland.

Two of the major parts of Trinsic’s culture were established in this period. Carnex and his group were the founding fathers of the Order of Engineers in 40 A.C., whose headquarters still reside in Trinsic, and specialize in the altering of landscape for defensive operations, and war ready structures. They are second to none in this. The other was the creation of the Order of Paladins, lead by Trin. Unlike the knights of Montor, the Paladins sought perfection both in the art of combat, magic, and ethics, ‘so that Trinsic shall ever be protected, by and from all known forces.’ Most of the surviving knights joined the Order, and the Knight’s Hall was subsequently renamed in 42 A.C., and the island upon which it lay the Isle of the Paladins.

The massive project of rebuilding the city took over three years to plan. Trenches were dug, in which the rivers would be diverted. Hard granite stone quarried and cut from the Fire Mountains far to the west, made up the key foundation blocks for the walls, ramparts, and structures. Sandstone, easier to obtain from the Copper Mountains to the southwest, was plentiful, and despite high maintenance is the primary stone of Trinsic.

A footnote to this period in history was the arrival of a monastic order from the Great Forest far to the north in 61 A.C., the Order of the Purple Fists. The political turmoil in Yew at the time had lead the Order to leaving, and they sought settlement in Trinsic. (See the entry on Yew for further information.) Trin admired their philosophy, which was peaceful, but fully in support of self-defense. And like himself they followed a variant of the Ancient Liturgy. The monks developed the island at the center of town into a garden, which was favorably received enough that the engineers built them a monastery just north of it in 75 A.C., where the Order dwelt in peace for over a century.

In the meantime, work continued upon the reconstruction. The hordes of the jungles were no fools, and attacks were consistent over the years. The numerous workmen’s deaths by monster raids led to the myth that “the blocks were mortared in place with the blood of fallen heroes.” Despite the opposition, the outer walls and ramparts were completed in 79 A.C., making Trinsic the only walled city in Britannia, and curtailing the effectiveness of minor raids. Dupre visited the city again to witness the celebration of the completion of the walls, and stayed for many decades, in a place of honor among the Paladins.

After Trin’s death in 93 A.C., the city leaders decided to adopt a more Britain system of government, an elected mayor for local city affairs. The position of the Head of the Order of Paladins, which was renamed the Lord General, remained in command of the City Militia, however, by far the largest in the realm to today, and still wields considerable political power. A council made up of the various guilds in the city was also constructed to mediate matters with the mayor. The position of Lord General was offered to Dupre, but he turned it down.

The Great Earthquake in 101 A.C. did not affect Trinsic directly, the city was too far from the epicenter to feel any of it. Dupre was alarmed, however, when news of Britain’s near destruction reached him, and left with a caravan of engineers and provisions to aid the city by the beginning of 102 A.C. His departure was a sad parting, and seemed to many in later years to foretell of dark times to come.

The prophecy would prove true in 156 A.C. when a surprise attack from the south through the Smuggler’s Gate had horrific consequences. The guards on the ramparts had grown lazy and unwatchful after years of peace, and the penalty paid was dear. Nearly half the city was burnt to the ground, and the blow to their delusion of invulnerability was sore indeed. The Lord General decreed that all city buildings would be constructed of stone from that day forwards, and the engineers were again utilized for reinforcement of all the city’s walls and defenses, which took the better part of thirty years to complete.

The orcs had grown thick and numerous once more, and after a decade of sporadic raids, unified into a single army to take the city. For many years the war was waged, with the orcs demonstrating incredible cunning and intuition of Trinsican strategies. The Battle of Stone Hollow in 168 A.C. was particularly horrific, when an entire company of Paladins were ambushed by a far superior force and slain to a man, although their last unyielding stance has been sung of in ballads since that tragic day.

After the battle, evidence was discovered that the orcs had been too well informed, that there could only be a traitor. After a discrete investigation, it was revealed that Sir Aubrey, a paladin of good repute, was in fact funneling valuable information to the orc hordes, in a malevolent plan to take control of the city using the hordes as a force to keep his rule certain. Aubrey fled the city before he could be caught, and was subsequently slain by the orcs he betrayed Trinsic to, as they saw no reason to trust him.

In many ways, however, Aubrey’s plans came to pass. The horror of the event was so deep that the Lord General Rohm declared martial law in Trinsic in 169 A.C., closing all borders during the duration of the crisis. He created a new order of Paladins, known as the Order of the Vigilant Eye, who would root out potential and actual traitors within in the city. The Order of the Purple Fists objected publicly to the increasing oppressiveness, and eventually left the city (some say was expelled on threat of force) in 171 A.C., never to return. (See the entry on Yew for further details.)

Although Lord British was distressed with the brutal change in Trinsic, he had his own problems. In 175 A.C., Magincia embargoed the entire world, causing economic ruin, and plunging Britannia into the Dark Years. As a result Trinsic was largely left to it’s own devices for over a decade, and remained largely ignorant of many occurrences in the world, including the civil war in Britain. (See the entry on Britain for further details.) In addition, sporadic raids by pirates from Buccaneer’s Den and Jhelom kept up the illusion that the outer world was an evil, dangerous, place.

In 179 A.C., The colony of Serpent’s Hold was established upon the Isle of Deeds, and Lord British sent a request for the finest Trinsican engineers in the construction of the citadel. Despite the oppression in the city, a group was dispatched. Several years of construction opened the minds and hearts of those engineers to the world, and the engineers returned to Trinsic determined to end the tyranny. Time had aged the old paranoia, however, and the years of peace that had followed the reinforcement had brought loosening much of the city’s stringent laws. Lord Rohm finally died in 184 A.C., and his replacement, Japheth was a more tolerant man, who reopened the borders and relaxed many of the laws.

The Order of the Vigilant Eye saw their end coming, and attempted a coup in 187 A.C. which failed, the result of which was the banishment of most of the leaders into exile. The Order was officially disbanded shortly thereafter, although some suspect they may still exist, even today. To this day most Trinsicans are unaware of this shameful era of their history, and those who do know speak not of it. (They don’t consider refraining from mentioning it lying, in this exceptional case.) Tragically, Japheth would die in 190 A.C. at the hands of his hated enemies the orcs, who took his beloved in his youth.

Trinsic slowly reopened relations with the world, forming a bond with Serpent’s Hold early, as well as Britain, their old ally. Although the Paladins of Trinsic believed that Magincia and Buccaneer’s Den should be prevented from unifying the ancient kingdom, they bowed down to Lord British to refrain from military action. In 212 A.C., however, following the H.M.S. <name> Massacre, Vesper withdrew recognition of Buccaneer’s Den as a legitimate city, and Trinsic, Britain, and Serpent’s Hold declared war upon them.

Despite it’s considerable military strength on land, the paladins of Trinsic found that the sea was a far different territory, and their foes far more cunning than they were used to. While effective, the naval alliance proved to be only enough to keep the pirates at bay for almost nine years, although they were enough to prevent an invasion of Trinsic itself in 219 A.C at the Battle of the Barrier. It wasn’t until 221 A.C., when Jhelom joined the alliance, that the alliance began to beat back the pirates. The Battle of Ocllo two years later shattered the power of the pirate clans, and Trinsic legions burnt Buccaneer’s Den maintaining a military occupation of the island until 235 A.C. (See the entry on Buccaneer’s Den for further details.)

Through the next decades, Trinsic continued to be an invaluable ally to Britain, and Lord British. In 225 A.C. Trinsic began the King’s Roads Project, an engineering project that would lay roads between the major cities. The road from Trinsic to Britain, the King’s Way, was completed in 228 A.C., and subsequent treaties with Skara Brae and Yew lead to the roads being laid between all of those cities, making travel much easier and safer. Several guard posts and towers were also built, adding much needed security to Britannia’s dangerous wilderness paths through the next two decades.

In 250 A.C., Lord British held a summit in the small village of Paws, north of Trinsic, where the Treaty of Unification was signed, forming the Kingdom of Britannia. The Lord General of Trinsic was one of the signers of the Articles of Unification, and officially appointed Lord British with the task of appointing his successors. This event was hailed as the hallmark in history. (See the entry on Britain for further details.)

In 277 A.C., the hordes unified into the Jugdath’Bru clan, under an orc lord named Akaz. He fought a war on three fronts, against Trinsic, Britain, and Jhelom, but after almost two years of war his forces were crushed. His personal force, however, he lead out of the trap to the Fens of the Dead, where he forged a temporary alliance with the ratmen tribes to invade Paws. The burning of Paws was a grievous event in recent history, and the Paladins of Trinsic were ruthless in hunting down every orc, rumors hold that pleas for mercy were ignored at the sign of the massacre in Paws. The dykes of Paws, which kept the water from flooding the town, were heavily damaged during the raid, and the swamp consumed the remnants of the town a year after its destruction. (See the entry on Paws for further details.)

Today’s Trinsic remains an increasing cosmopolitan and powerful city in the Kingdom, but the paladins who fought in Paws now administrate, and to many the old ways have been forgotten, the vigilance relaxed. The increasing numbers of immigrants and foreigners into the city have distressed many native Trinsicans, as the honey-tongued merchants of Vesper and NuJel’m ply their wares, and the city becomes increasingly dependent on imported goods. Trinsic is within a gateway, and whether they open the door further or shut it remains to be seen…

Culture

The People

The people of Trinsic tend to be taller and stronger than the average Britannian, this is likely due to their heavy protein diet. Pale skin is rare, due to the hotter climate in the south. Hair color varies, blonde is very common.

The Clothing

Fashion trends tend to pass Trinsic over, most Trinsicans have a practical view of clothing. Almost all the populace wears armor to some degree. Even tradesmen will wear light leather under tunic, robe, or apron, and no Paladin would consider going out without full armament. Weapons are prominent as well, Trinsicans prefer to be prepared at all times for whatever may happen, even when relaxing in a tavern, although carrying a weapon in hand is frowned upon.

Arts and Entertainment

Trinsicans enjoy arts and entertainment that aids the city and society as a whole, they will usually seek those that develop the mind or body. Theatre has never caught on in Trinsic; they view it as unpractical and serving no use on a whole. Bards are appreciated, although embellished songs are frowned upon, Trinsicans prefer the truth be told, rather than sacrificed for the sake of a good story.

Crafts and Trades

Trinsic is the home of engineers and architects. Large-scale construction projects of any kind will almost always require a Trinsican engineer. Unlike Minoc’s engineers, who focus upon mechanics and invention, or Britain’s, who are concerned with styles and fashion, Trinsic tends to focus on practical, time-weathered designs that do the job.

In addition, as the second largest city in Britannia and a major shipping port, Trinsic’s number of secondary businesses have swelled in the last half-century. Many smaller service crafts that would not have existed a century before do now.

In the arts of combat, Trinsic excels, they are reputed to have the greatest schools in the world so far as training. While they do not approach, or even equal, the knowledge Jhelomites have, they are well versed in the standards, and have a far better grasp of tactics and strategic combat. (Chess is not considered an effeminate hobby in the taverns of Trinsic.) In addition, non-combat skills are taught; philosophy, politics, and many other ‘ethical’ pursuits. The Paladin of Trinsic is often a Renaissance man, of many talents. The people of Trinsic do not view combat as the sole art of the truly enlightened.

Magic

Magic is viewed tolerably, as paladins consider themselves both masters of physical and mental forms of combat. Battle magic is extremely favored, and one who masters both magic and arms is highly honored, Paladins are almost necessitated to do so. For the most part little research is done, however, Trinsicans prefer results, and visible ones, and tend to favor sticking with what works. Magical weapons and items are favored, but skill is valued over possessions.

Ethics

Trinsicans consider themselves an extremely ethical and honorable people. They view it as the one division that separates them from the foul orcs and other creatures that they wage war with. They honor their ethics, their city, their rulers, and their life, in that order. Trust is not expected, it is demanded. Lying and cheating are so beyond the realm of occurrence that it would not even occur to most Trinsicans, bribes or graft would be viewed very poorly. (A popular urban legend, told outside of Trinsic, is the last city guard to accept a bribe was slain on the spot, and every city guardsman and paladin go out of their way to spit on his grave.)

The Trinsican code of honor in battle is also well known. They never attack from ambush, they never attack an enemy who is fleeing, and they enjoy the challenges of individual dueling in combat. Trinsicans view honor as the one thing that separates them from the chaos of those they fight, usually the numerous monsters of the interior, and none would ever willingly throw it away, no matter the gain. Fighting orcs typically works well in this, orcs are never honorable in battle anyway, and rarely can adapt their tactics to take advantage of Trinsican honor, but the sea battles against Buccaneer’s Den in the early 3^rd century displayed the downsides of this approach.

Trinsicans one and all are renowned for their stubbornness and tenacity as well, their ability to focus and stick with something, be it an engineering project or an attack upon an enemy camp, is considered phenomenal. While this has obvious benefits in both areas, it also means it is very difficult to change their minds later.

Trinsicans dedication to truth can also have detriments. On a whole a Trinsican is your worst diplomat, they prefer to tell the truth, no matter how bad that would be under the circumstances, rather than exaggerate or evade the issue. This lends itself to a highly perfectionist attitude, which comes off poorly with visitors from other cities in many regards.

Government and Politics

A triad of powers, an elected mayor, his advisory council, and the Lord General rule Trinsic. The Lord General is the head of the city militia and is personally chosen by Lord British to command the city’s forces, and to make executive decisions in crisis periods. The Advisory council is made up of the Guildmasters of the Paladins, Fisherman, and the Engineers primarily, with the secondary guilds filling the gaps. The mayor, while elected, is almost always a veteran warrior.

Trinsic, as part of the Kingdom, is the strong right arm of Britain. Trinsic almost always sides with Britain on any issue and their combined military forces are formidable enough to give pause to any aggressors.

Trinsic considers all in the Kingdom to be their allies, excluding Magincia. They are especially well favored towards Jhelom and Serpent’s Hold, two fellow cities of warriors. While Jhelom’s warriors make a living fighting, which they find slightly distasteful, their courage cannot be doubted. And Serpent’s Hold was founded by the King himself, and provides aid in protecting their interests at sea.

Trinsic considers NuJel’m and Buccaneer’s Den as potential enemies, and their relationship with Magincia is somewhat bitter, they view the opulent city as an open sore on the map, and their membership in the Kingdom galling to the extreme. Citizens from these cities will be viewed with scorn, and the recent influx of NuJel’m sailors in port has brought many bitter arguments to the council meetings of late, who consider this a sign of ill times.

Holidays