The greatest city in the world

Gerrit stared miserably at his boots. They were fine leather, imported all the way from Tassato, but they weren't made for walking through the damp wet forests of Misericorde. For the last two days they had squelched every step he'd taken. He spent half of last night with his legs up in front of the fire trying to dry his feet out.

He'd been excited when he'd been chosen for this expedition - a chance to head up north and meet with the Sand Fishers. Red Eyes, their guide had said the sept wanted a dozen well respected burghers to come to their lands, but he refused to say what it was for. Everyone knew, thought, that there was good money to be made trading with the Sand Fishers. They brought eels, fresh fish and fat crabs to the markets of Holberg and sold them for keen prices. And they never tried to cheat you, not once. So it seemed like it could be a lucrative trip, and there was fierce competition to go. He'd been pretty excited when he'd been chosen.

He wasn't excited now. Squelch. Squelch. Squelch. How much bloody longer? Then he felt a familiar pang of guilt - the Sand Fishers had asked them for land and in return the League had given them Misericorde. The place was a shithole, a great trackless forest wasteland, where the marshes were the only bits not covered in bloody trees. Last night he'd woken up in his tent with a slug on his head! It was hardly the Sand Fishers fault that they lived in this hell-hole. And to be fair Red Eyes had warned everyone about the need to bring good footwear... They kept saying over and over - bring good footwear - and plenty of changes of socks... He was regretting not paying more attention now.

Squelch. Squelch. Squelch. Surely it couldn't be much further?

Finally after an interminable march the party suddenly stopped. Red Eyes was up front, but there were Sand Fishers everywhere now. He recognised one of the young girls, Fleeting Grin was Three Hands' daughter. The girl was not yet three years old but as a sweet Summer Child she was a foot taller than she had any right to be. What was she doing here? He'd met her at the Misericorde Market. Well named too, the kid had the cutest grin you'd ever seen. She could charm candy off a Mountebank. The Sand Fishers were all standing round and pointing at something in a way that implied it was important. He tried to make out what it was, but there were too many trees in the way. Bloody forest. Clearly it was pretty exciting though, given the way everyone else was staring.

"What is it?" he hissed at at Cornelia. "Trees" she said and just pointed.

"Oh Virtues" he said, louder than he intended. He lowered his voice. "They've really dragged us all this way just to look at some bloody trees?"

He was feeling indignant but he kept his voice low enough that only Cornelia could hear him. He liked the Sand Fishers, but virtues he'd left that idiot Malkavon running his shop for three days to traipse all the way out here just to look at trees.

Cornelia turned at him, a curious combination of ridicule and contempt on her face. Clearly she was finding this hilarious.

"Trees - you fucking idiot... Golden trees?... Golden weirwood trees..."

The ring finally dropped along with Gerrit's jaw. He turned and stared around him. As far as the eye could see they were surrounded by great golden trees as straight as spears and tall as mountains in every direction. "Aldones' bloody balls" he cursed, unable to take it in.

Gerrit von Holberg stood there in wet boots, his mouth agape, looking at more money than he had ever seen before in his entire life.

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Overview

The grand contest is over, the four five great cities of the Empire have competed to see which was the richest, the most magnificent, the most extraordinary. Inspired by the words of Aureliana di Sarvos, they have encouraged their "innovators, architects, artists, and preachers" to encourage investment in each city. To build on the momentum, Merchant Prince Fransesca di Matos, met with Harlequin, the League egregore and persuaded him to spread the terms of a grand competition all across the League. The competition would last a year, the winner would be whichever city spent the most wains on commissions and improvements during that time.

The prize? Bragging rights for sure - a chance for one city to thumb their noses at their poorer, less successful rivals. But Harlequin was sure that the burst of civic-minded Pride that winning the competition unleashed would yield other more tangible rewards and so it has proved...

And The Winner Is

In the end the contest is not that close. The beautiful city of Sarvos comes a very respectable second, closely followed by Temeschwar, with Tassato and finally Spiral bringing up the rear. But the winner - by a clear margin is Holberg!

City	Weirwood	White Granite	Mithril	Personal Resource	Total
Holberg	30	135	60	81	306
Sarvos	0	142	0	70	212
Spiral	0	0	10	11	21
Tassato	15	34	15	12	76
Temeschwar	30	94	10	31	165

Holberg - pragmatic, ingenious, innovative and enlightened - and now... indisputably the greatest City in the League. There is a surge of Pride across the city when the results are published by the Civil Service. Holberg didn't just win, it won comfortably; not just the most wains spent on major projects but also, people note... with the most wains invested by individual citizens.

Obviously everyone in the city always thought that Holberg was the greatest city in the League, but it's still nice to have it established as a matter of indisputable fact. Harraldens - fine artisans who have been making banners since 238YE - produce a beautiful ornate banner that proudly displays their new moniker and it is installed in pride of place over the main entrance to the city. Just in case anyone from Sarvos, Tassato or Temeschwar should happen to be visiting and be unaware of the fact that Holberg is, in fact, the greatest city in the Empire.

And that's when someone points out that it's all well and good being the Greatest City in the League - in the Empire even. But what would it take for Holberg to be.... the Greatest City in the World!?

High Walls

• There is another opportunity to raise the level of fortification in Holfried even further without increasing the upkeep

One of the first things visitors to Holberg remark upon are the extraordinary walls that protect Holfried. A truly immense fortification, the largest anywhere in the Empire, it is surely one of the wonders of the world. The latest upgrade of the defences to their current impregnable size has literally only just been completed.

Raise the Walls

Commission Type: Fortification

Location: Holfried, Holberg

Cost: 500 thrones, 1 year

Special: No commission slot needed

Effect: Increases the level of fortification of Holfriend, without raising the upkeep

"But... and hear me out..." says Steffan of Kirkby's Architects... "What if they were bigger?"

Technically speaking, that's fairly straightforward. In theory it is possible to build on top of the existing fortifications to make them even more impregnable, but it's complicated by the presence of the true liao auras that exist on the walls. Holbergers are very proud of their Virtuous areas - anyone who suggests messing with those is going to get pretty short shift indeed. Fortunately the architect has a crazy plan that forestalls any risk of that happening.

The most basic principle of any fortification is that you want the walls to be as high as possible to make it harder for the enemy to get over them. Obviously there is more to it than that - for example, Holfriend now sports an impressive set of additional barbicans outside each city gate, with walled roads linking them back to the city itself. Crenelations, battlements, drawbridges, portcullis, murder-holes, moats, bulwarks, ramparts, parapets - Holberg is home to a wealth of engineers and architects who are masters of all these arts. But... when it comes down to it - what you really want is for your curtain walls to be as tall and as thick as possible.

What if, says the ambitious League architect, instead of going up we went down? The unique location of Holfried half-way up the mountainside mean that much of the surrounding land is solid bedrock. It has to be of course, to support those immense walls. At the time the walls were built, little thought was given to the possibility of excavating a deep embankment in front of the walls, as is traditional with most fortifications because removing that much mountain side would be just too expensive. White granite is dear, but even so, removing 20 feet of bedrock all the way round the walls is just too expensive to contemplate.

Too expensive for anyone but the greatest city in the world!

The plan is charmingly simple, it doesn't require any white granite, or any materials. It would need the permission of the Imperial Senate of course, but it wouldn't need one of their limited number of seasonal commissions - Kirkby's architects stand ready to provide all the oversight needed to excavate the stone. It would be insanely expensive, but nothing great without cost as someone once said. There are a few little flourishes included by the architect; he plans to include a small additional area near the main barbican for six shops to be outfitted. His idea is that tourists will want to descend into the entrenchment for the best possible view as they tour the looming curtain walls that protect the city.

It would take a year to complete the plan and cost five hundred Thrones - it's an awful lot of labour. But it would raise the effective level of fortification of Holfriend and best of all, the plan is so simple, that it wouldn't change the upkeep of the fortification in anyway.

Best of all, the League architect's plans aren't time-dependent, so Holberg could attempt this improvement at any time.

Flower Gardens

• Four commissions slots and 50 thrones are needed to make Holmauer a garden city and give it the Uplifting quality

Expanding the fortification would make Holfried even more impressive, but what about the other half of the city, Holmauer? The sprawling suburbs of the city are a region unto themselves. They were devasted by the lengthy Druj siege, turned into a sprawling ruin of destroyed houses and makeshift barricades. During the Spring Equinox 380YE, the Imperial Senate commissioned architects to restore Holmauer, turning the region into a beautiful park as per the ambitious plans of architect Katarzyna Von Carstein. The Park was later cursed by Skathe, but ultimately that only made local residents more proud of the area. Lots of cities have parks, how many cities have a park that's cursed by the eternal of Spite? Only the greatest city in the world, that's who!

Garden City

Commission Type: Folly

Location: Holmauer, Holberg

Cost: 50 thrones, 1 year

Special: 4 commission slots needed

Effect: Gives Holmauer the uplifting quality

Limitation: The opportunity is lost if not begun before the end of the Autumn Equinox 386YE

The beautiful parkland is now dotted with clusters of aesthetically pleasing buildings, homes, and businesses which make it a highly desirable alternative to the cramped conditions in Holfried. Everyone wants a building that fronts onto the park - and when that real estate was gone, people started bidding on the surrounding streets.

And that set Katarzyna Von Carstein to thinking... what if instead of Holmauer being a part of the City of Holberg that was famous for having a cursed park, what if the whole region was one great parkland. What if the entire area was remodelled? What if, instead of residents of Holmauer going to the Park, the city planners brought the park to them? Instead of roads through the streets there would be tree-lined avenues. Hedges instead of walls around properties. Instead of private gardens for rich town houses, properties would be arranged around small communal park areas. And flower beds just everywhere, a riot of colours of every imaginable hue visible from every house and every street in Holmauer.

Such a plan would be impossible normally, but Holmauer is still being steadily rebuilt following the destruction of the Druj, which means there is a small window for some an enormous act of civic planning. Of course it will be a massive inconvenience for everyone living in Holmauer, as streets are ripped up and properties demolished to make room for all this greenery. In normal times such changes would run into a wall of opposition, but right now, while people are still drunk on Holberg's triumph it could be done.

The plan wouldn't require any wains of materials, the kind of construction involved in personal properties mostly uses cheaper materials than the weirwood and white granite needed for major commissions. There would be significant costs, but much of that would be subsidised by local residents eager for the benefits, so it could be achieved for 50 thrones. The weakness is that it would require a vast amount of complex civic engineering, as whole streets would have to be demolished and replaced in some places. That would need four Imperial commission slots. They wouldn't all be needed at once - but it would need four separate commissions for the work to be completed.

Once the work was complete it would make the area an incredibly desirable place to live. Even cursed, the Park is an incredibly popular destination. Turning the entire region into a garden city would give it the uplifting quality. The heart-warming arrangement of greenery would improve the lives of everyone who dwelt in the city and that would make it much harder for them to be impacted by curses and blights that sought to damage morale, spread misery or sow discord. Katarzyna's plan is not to fortify the body but the soul.

Holberg has always been famous for it's engineering, it's high walls and it's clever machinery. But the city's beloved daughter, Lisabetta von Holberg, was the Empress of Flowers. What more fitting tribute to her memory could there be than to turn her beloved Holberg into the city of flowers?

If Holberg's citizens are convinced, they will need to move quickly. The work would need to begin within a year otherwise the burst of enthusiasm generated by victory in the contest will be gone.

As the construction is a folly, it would certainly be possible for the Master of Rings or the Chair of the Wolf to provide any or all of the required commissions. Somewhat unexpectedly, it would also be possible for the Master of the Koboldi to contribute their participate in the project. The koboldi are very enthusiastic about the opportunity to tear down a load of buildings, and restructure an entire urban area. All they ask in return is that they be allowed to throw up some statues of dragons and other glorious creatures of the Summer realm while they are working; they're more than happy to supply the stone for such sculptures themselves.

Open Questions

Synod Priests of Holberg

Claus

Diether van Holberg

Hildebrand Von Holberg, Of The Temple of Nine Fingers

Jonah Yakovitch

Kaspar Yakovich von Holberg

Lievevos van Houten van Holberg

• If a Holberg priest raises a statement of principle in the National Assembly describing how best to commemorate the cities victory it will lead to an opportunity to realise the plan

Not everyone is enthused about Steffan's crazed plan to "raise" the walls of Holberg, nor Katarzyna's plan for a Garden City. Both of these are fine proposals, but are either of them really enough to capture the moment? An accomplishment like this demands something suitably dramatic and impressive to create a lasting monument to the achievement, and apparently raising the largest fortification in the world twenty feet into the air by lowering the ground around it and creating an entire garden city aren't enough for some people.

But what would be better? The critics can't agree on what it should be, and are left scrabbling round for ideas. Holberg is notorious for its engineering and ingenuity, everyone is sure they can come up with something wonderful, if they can just find a way to agree on what it should be.

In the end it's clear they can't agree, and so out of desperation they make a very public plea to the League National Assembly to settle the matter for everyone. If a Holberg priest raises a statement of principle naming some creative idea for commemorating their triumph and improving Holberg then the ingenious citizens of Holberg will devote time to looking for whatever opportunity exists to turn the idea into a reality. If two statements are raised by Holberg priests and both pass then they will jump on whichever idea achieves the largest margin. However if three or more statements on this matter are raised and passed by Holberg priests, then they will abandon the idea altogether, since it will demonstrate that the Assembly are no more able to settle the argument of what should be built than any of them are.

Flaxen Pillars

• In the trackless depths of forested Misericorde, the Sand Fishers have found a grove of weirwood trees
• They are keen for Imperial investment in their scheme to log the weirwoods

There is one other unexpected benefit that arrives at the same time as news of the city's victory is being spread. Technically it's not linked to Holberg's triumph in the contest, but most people think it's more fun to credit this piece of good fortune to the fact that the city has been officially declared the Greatest City in the League. Technically, legally, it's not linked to the City of Holberg at all, but that's a small detail most people airily wave away.

Flaxen Pillars

Commission Type: Sinecure

Location: Misericorde Holberg

Cost: 20 mithril, 60 crowns, 1 season

Effect: Creates a new bourse seat producing 22 weirwood a season

It is Red Eyes who brings word of the find to the city. The Sand Fisher is apparently one of the richest orcs in Misericorde these days, with over thirty Sand Fishers working for him harvesting eels, crabs, and fish for the hungry markets of Holberg. He leads a small expedition of prominent burghers out into the marshes to meet with Three Hands and the other leaders of the Sand Fishers to discuss their discovery and make plans together.

The Sand Fishers were generously ceded the region of Misericorde in Spring 383YE. There was vastly more land there than the small sept required, but it was perfect for their needs: a dense, almost impenetrable forest, with long wet coastlines with deep rocky pools and abundant marshes. They have been slowly spreading out through the region in the years since, taking account of the treasures they have been given.

And that is when they discovered the Flaxen Pillars, a massive stand of weirwood hidden away in the depths of Misericorde. One of the problems with Bourse resources is that they often defy attempts to scry for them so it's possible for them to lie undiscovered for centuries. Especially in a dense forest like the one that covers the entire region. Fortunately, the Sand Fishers have devoted thousands of hours to walking the forests of their new home, mapping out every inch to see what treasures it possesses. Now it seems their Prosperity has paid off.

The Sand Fishers have a clear plan to exploit the Flaxen Pillars, but they are keen for Imperial help. The resource is huge, easily big enough to provide enough weirwood to meet the Sand Fishers needs, and potentially provide a valuable benefit to the Empire on top. The Sand Fishers are eager to share this bounty with their neighbours - "all that is worthwhile is shared with those who deserve it", they explain seriously.

In fact, there is more to the Sand Fisher's plan than just Prosperity. They are keen for the Empire to pay to operate a bourse resource here in Misericorde, because it will mean a huge influx of money and good jobs for many young Sand Fishers. Money they can use to buy things they want in Holberg's markets. They want the weirwood of course, but there is more than enough weirwood to go round. But they need the Empire to pay to develop the site, to clear the surrounding forest so that the weirwood can be logged, dried, and processed. Crucially Misericorde is incredibly damp, what with cold wet winds blowing in off the Semmerlak and the seeping groundwater of the Morass, so they believe that by far the best way to treat the wood is to kiln dry it. To do that they need the kind of investment and resources that the Empire has.

And there is one other crucial factor... the Druj. As soon as they discovered the weirwood, the Sand Fishers knew that the Druj would desire to take it from them once they learned of its existence. Just the presence of the precious wood here in their lands is a danger for them, for it will act as a lure to the envious orcs of the Mallum, one they will not be able to resist given half the chance. They've already been protected once from an attack by the Druj for which they are only too grateful. And they appreciate that the Empire cannot offer them any guarantees; nobody can guarantee safety where the Druj are concerned. But the Empire has beaten the Druj and more than once in recent years. The Sand Fishers believe that if they find a way to make the Flexen Pillars benefit them and the Empire, then the Empire has every reason to make sure that the Pillars are well defended against any attack from the Druj.

After a lot of discussion, the burghers of Holberg are ready to take the Sand Fishers plan back to the Empire. The proposal needs significant investment - it would require 20 wains of mithril and 60 crowns, and need a commission slot. Work would take three months to complete. But once built it would provide a new Bourse seat, the Burgher of the Flaxen Pillars. After the Sand Fishers take what they need, the seat would receive 22 wains of weirwood each season. The Burgher would be responsible for the defence of the Flaxen Pillars and for defending Misericorde against any assault from the Druj.

The Sand Fishers are adamant that they want the seat to be National League position appointed by Tally of the Votes. They're surprisingly knowledgeable in this regard - it appears that they have spent some time studying the legal implications since they first discovered the Flaxen Pillars six months ago. In fact they're clear that they'd prefer a Holberg citizen to take the title, but they understand that legally they can't require that. However, since the weirwood is legally theirs - as the Empire ceded the entire region to them - they are in a position to make demands for how it will operate.

They are not fixed on this outcome however, and they understand that the Empire might prefer the new Bourse position to be an Imperial title, or a League position appointed by auction rather than Tally of the Votes. They are prepared to compromise, but only if tohey have the League's assurance that it is their mutual best interests to do so. Thus the new seat could be made a League national position - or it could be made an Imperial position or auctioned national position if the League national Assembly passes a clearly worded statement of principle confirming that it is in the best interests of Holberg, the League, and the Sand Fishers for the Flaxen Pillars to be appointed in that fashion.

Memorial of Flowers

• Work has begun on the memorial for Empress Lisabetta at the Necropolis
• Anyone who wishes may contribute resources to the project

There's one final matter, that has nothing to do with the grand competition but still relates to Holberg. It's been two years since Frederick di Sarvos met with the Cenotaph and the House of Seven Mirrors to discuss the memorial for Empress Lisabetta. On the eve of the coronation of the new Throne, work has begun in the Necropolis. The project begins quietly; there is no interest in overshadowing the ascension of Vesna Borkovna Prochnost. But every Throne since the First has either been interred in the Necropolis or, for those whose bodies were not recovered - such as Empress Mariika or Emperor Barabbas - or whose wishes were unclear - such as Empress Britta - have memorials that serve the same purpose. Empress Giselle refused this honour, and everyone knows how that turned out... Regardless, even as Empress Vesna is being crowned, the steward of the dead|stewards of the dead will be selecting a location for her tomb in the Black City.

Following extensive discussions with the House of Seven Mirrors and the Cenotaph, Frederick drew up a design that celebrated Lisabetta von Holberg as the Empress of Flowers. The design focuses (unsurprisingly) on flowers drawn from all across the Empire. Cuttings have been arranged from as far away as Segura and Kallavesa, and presented in a tiered decking system that allows visitors approaching the memorial to enjoy the beauty of the Empire laid out around them. The memorial itself is a commanding circular wall of gold-veined green marble that cannot help but evoke the walls of Holberg in the viewer. Inside, a reflecting pool studded with water lilies and rare lotus.

The materials have been provided by those who feel they owe a debt to Lisabetta. Work will be completed by the Spring Equinox. There is still some possibility to make the design more ambitious, if anyone wishes to make last-minute donations to the construction. Following the Winter Solstice, any citizen can donate money, white granite, weirwood, or mithril to the project to allow some of Frederick's more ambitious elements to be incorporated.

OOC Note: A commission has been created in the downtime system that allows players to donate bourse resources or money following the usual rules, after the Winter solstice. The memorial will be completed by the Spring Equinox. Any significant contribution - wains of mithril, weirwood, or white granite, or Thrones of money - will make the final memorial larger and more imposing. If at least ten wains total are contributed, the memorial will effectively be a folly.

Click Expand to see the list of contributions made to this construction.

• 1 wain of mithril and 8 wains of white granite provided by Kaspar Yakovich von Holberg after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 1 wain of white granite provided by Otmar van Holberg after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 2 thrones 6 crowns provided by Magdalena Teyhard von Holberg after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 4 crowns provided by Annie Webster after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 4 crowns provided by Eleri Bronwen's Rest after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 1 crown provided by Fintan Nighthaven after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 1 crown provided by Rhys Nighthaven after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 1 crown provided by Icarus of the Sepulchre of the Red Sun after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 1 crown provided by Richardo Glostari di Sarvos after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 1 crown provided by Rodrigo Barossa de Tassato Regario after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 1 crown provided by Konstantin Rabovich Bolotnikov after Winter Solstice 385YE
• 5 thrones 6 crowns provided by Magdalena Teyhard von Holberg after Spring Equinox 386YE
• 1 throne provided by Rodrigo Barossa de Tassato Regario after Spring Equinox 386YE

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Thanks to Steph Pardoe for her beautiful artwork to illustrate this and the Holberg page

Further Reading

• Schools and sawmills - 384YE Autumn Wind of Fortune relating to the competition (and presenting a Sand Fisher opportunity)
• Half-time score - 385YE Summer Wind of Fortune laying out the situation at the mid-point of the competition
• The money goes round - 384YE Winter Wind of Fortune introducing the competition
• To see what you sell - 384YE Spring Wind of Fortune about the Sand Fishers
• Across the Abyss - 383YE Winter Wind of Fortune talking about the Sand Fishers philosophy