Edassa
The Free City of Edassa is a cosmopolitan city-state found on the Flamescar Plateau. In the Age of Myth it was a major trading hub for the central regions of the Great Parch and it prospered due to it's location on the Great Ash Road. As with many cities it fell on hard times during the Age of Chaos, until it was liberated by General Kyukain Hammer-Friend. With trade slowly returning to the Great Parch the city has once more risen to prominence, it's position on the Great Ash Road making it an important link between the southern cities of Vandium and Hammerhal Aqsha and the settlements of the Flamescar Plateau.[1a][4a]
Contents
History
Age of Myth
In the Age of Myth the city of Edassa became one of the major trade hubs of the central Great Parch, largely thanks to it's position along the Great Ash Road. This position allowed the city to grow and prosper, becoming one of the grandest cities of the Parch despite having no Realmgate of it's own.[1a]
Age of Chaos
At some point during the Age of Chaos the legions of the Blood God Khorne conquered the city of Edassa, becoming one of countless cities of the Great Parch that fell to the violence of the Khornates.[1a]
Age of Sigmar
At some point General Kyukain Hammer-Friend liberated the city of Edassa and his descendants have ruled over the city for generations thereafter.[1a] Laudine, who would eventually become the First Queen of Edassa, went against her father's wishes and slipped out of Edassa's Palace to track down and slay a Flamescar Lion, a custom required to become a Lioness of Edassa. The lion she slew was mighty indeed and the cloak made from its pelt became the powerful relic known as the Mane of Laudine. It is also claimed that after slaying the beast, she raised its orphaned cubs, thus displaying both might and mercy, the qualities Edassans consider a sign of a good ruler.[4a]
With the coming of Sigmar's Tempest and the successes of both the Realmgate Wars and Blazing Crusade, stability and trade have returned to many parts of the Great Parch. With this trade comes prosperity for the city of Edassa as it's location on the Great Ash Road makes it a vital link between cities to the south like Vandium and Hammerhal Aqsha, and the settlements of the Flamescar Plateau. The city of Anvalor owes it's existence to the stability brought by Edassa and the Great Ash Road.[1a]
A few years ago Jordain, son and heir to Queen Karine, vanished. This has led to a potential succession crisis and the Queen has promised vast sums to anyone that can bring news of the fate of Jordain. All the while cults of Tzeentch seek to exploit the crisis for their own ends.[1a]
After slaying a Chaos Cult that intended to conquer Edassa and defame the great lineages of the city, Annika Firstclaw, Commander of the Lionesses of Edassa, tracks Lizobes Dunam, a scholar she believes to be a member of the cult, to the Free City of Brightspear. Lizobes reveals she was a victim of the cult and a long-forgotten secret about the Mane of Laudine, the Lionesses' greatest relic.[4a]
Society
Culture
The native people of Edassa are dark-skinned Humans[2] who revere a local apex predator known as the Flamescar Lion as a divine beast and see it as a symbol of their city. Even the city's heraldry includes the head of a Flamescar Lion. To many denizens of the Great Parch, Flamescar Lions are nearly synonymous to the city of Edassa.[1a] The Edassans are a bold people and will often joke that whereas other Free Cities converted to the worship of Sigmar, they converted the God-King instead.[4a]
The majority of the city's population is still comprised of native Edassans.[1a]
Military
In the Cities of Sigmar there are many traditional forces of Freeguild Greatswords, drawn from the strongest veterans of the Freeguilds to serve as shock infantry for the cities. The city of Edassa carries on this tradition in the form of the Lionesses of Edassa.[1a]
The Lionesses are the elite soldiers of the city and each member is required to slay a Flamescar Lion before they are permitted to participate in battle. These warrior women wield greatswords much like their counterparts in the Free Cities and wear the pelts of the lions they have slain. This elite fighting force has garnered widespread fame.[1a]
Trade
Edassa sits on the Great Ash Road, making it a major thoroughfare of trade in the central regions of the Great Parch. Goods travel along the Great Ash Road from cities such as Vandium and Hammerhal Aqsha, flowing through Edassa and the lands of the Flamescar Plateau. It is thanks to this trade network that the city of Anvalor was able to be built.[1a]
Religion
Many of the natives of Edassa revere the Flamescar Lions, apex predators of the Flamescar Plateau, as divine beasts. This reverence is part of an old faith that the native people of Edassa have clung to for many years. Elements of this old faith blend seamlessly with the new Sigmarite one and in Edassa the God-King is depicted with the head of a lion. This lion-headed and flaming-maned interpretation of Sigmar is aggressive and territorial.[1a][4a]
Locations
- Edassan Bazaars: The city's position on the Great Ash Road has allowed it to grow prosperous and it's many bazaars overflow with goods from cities like Vandium and Hammerhal Aqsha.[1a]
- Red Sands: The famed colosseum of Edassa.[1a]
- University in Edassa: The city's fame is partially owed to this ancient university.[1a]
- Wells: The city's prosperity and fame are partially owed to an abundance of deep water wells, as pottable water is a rare and vital resource in the Flamescar Plateau and much of the Great Parch as a whole.[1a]
Notable Inhabitants
- Annika Firstclaw: The current commander of the Lionesses of Edassa.[4a]
- Prince Jordain: In life Jordain was the son and heir of Queen Karine. He aspired to fight in a battle that would truly matter, to live up to the example of his ancestor Kuukain Hammer-Friend. For a time he traveled along with Gotrek Gurnisson and died fighting a champion of Tzeentch. Sometime afterward he was reborn as an Anvils of the Heldenhammer. [1a][2][3]
- Queen Karine: The current ruler of the city-state of Edassa, offering vast sums for news about the whereabouts of her long-absent son and heir, Prince Jordain.[1a]
- Kyukain Hammer-Friend: The progenitor of the current royal family that rules over the city of Edassa. In life he was a mortal general who freed the city from the forces of Khorne. He was later reborn as a Stormcast Eternal.[1a][2]
- Laudine: The First Queen of Edassa and daughter of the heroic Kyukain Hammer-Friend.[4a]
Sources
- 1: Soulbound Core Rulebook
- 1a: Chapter Nine: The Great Parch
- 2: Realmslayer
- 4: Soulbound: Artefact of Power
- 4a: Chapter Three: Ancient Relics
