Ziadon (City Designer 3)

[Gandwarf]

Well, I struggled about 16 hours with this map and now declare it finished. See this thread for more cities and the WIP: http://www.cartographersguild.com/sh...newpost&t=2991

I cut and pasted the map together again, so there might be some small artefacts. However, I think I tracked down most.

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So, this is Ziadon (see http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=2977 for its location on my world map).
It is one of five great cities in The Valley, my fantasy world. The city once started humbly as a mining town, as there is a lot of silver to be found there in the ground and mountains. Immense wealth attracted the wizards and from the time they got involved in the city its growth exploded. Mining operations moved farther and farther away from Ziadon, but the city prospered.

New walls were added over the years as the city grew. The last wall dates back only about twenty years. Construction was started during one of severals conflicts with the great city of Sirilion, that lies to the southwest.

A river that springs from the mountains empties into a small lake. The lake itself drains into several tunnels to lower grounds. There's a lot of catacombs underneath the city, most created by extensive mining in the past, and those that are not flooded are used to house the remains of the dead.

Ziadon is very rich because of its silver deposits, but it has always lacked other natural resources. Farmland is scarce and mainly concentrated near the river. It was so valuable to the rulers that large areas have even been walled off. Timber has also been a problem in the past and the forest in the east is the largest planted forest in the world. It is carefully maintained.

During the revolution the wizard that ruled Ziadon was eliminated by Alliance agents and a few weeks later the city was infiltrated through the catacombs by large numbers of Alliance troops. Ziadon was already on the brink of revolt and the garrison was overwhelmed. The palace guard, dark skinned mercenaries from Padras, renowned for their loyalty and battle skill, died almost to the last man protecting the lesser wizards still remaining. Most were able to escape thanks to the sacrifice of the guard.

Ziadon is now ruled by the Alliance and the slaves that once had to work the mines and farms have been freed.