Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)

2026-05-08T09:15:09Z

(via JWB)

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{{Infobox:TwilightAgeGroup
|Type = Zu'aan city
|Name = Umny City Zu'aan
|Parent Groups = N/A
|Descended Groups = Unknown
|Areas Controlled = [[Rynnt Rolling Hills]]
|Date Founded = 4E 203
|Date Disbanded = N/A
}}

==History==

If there was ever a city with the main purpose of hunting, it is Umny. The city is obsessed with hunting. It is a small city set in the [[Rynnt Rolling Hills]] and is full of wildlife. Umny has always prided itself on its skills as hunters. This is a city that avidly trades in the best furs and skins as well as the best game meat. Despite its small size, the city is a popular destination for those that have a passion for hunting. They create their own weapons and even their religion is based around the Goddess of the hunt and the moon.

Many cities follow gods as part of their religion whereas Umny has always favored the Goddess Mira. She is a goddess that controls the moon and also helps guide the hunt. Many stories about her circulate around the city and over the years it has formed the culture of Umny. They take pride in the existence of their Goddess and learn from all her stories. Umny started with one single family very long ago. They decided to settle in a little log cabin and the head of the family was an excellent hunter. The area where they chose to set up their home was not too far from a trading route which was amazing news for the family.

The family would trade skins for other supplies and sometimes those traders even decided to settle with the family. Soon the house became a settlement and then a city that boasted trading and fresh meat that was dried by the family using their own unique special recipe. As time went on, the city grew and grew. Finally the size of the city was over 200 strong. They had their own governing body and they enjoyed a religion that was in favor of their lifestyle. They even built up a military and made thick walls to protect them from any dangers that might find the city allowing for the trade route to be actively used at the highest level of safety toward the citizens of Umny.

Though the people of Umny were not afraid of strangers in the past, they have become more wary since the empire’s changes were implemented. The arrival of the kin’toni has brought terror into the hearts and minds of all citizens. They do not allow anyone into their city anymore and trade is done outside the city in the market place that has been set up at the tall thick gates of the city. They believe it’s safer to keep the citizens inside. The old outbreak in the city had caused them to become more cautious. Even the cold war had forced them to behave in a way they were not very familiar with.

They learned quickly that certain threats were to be taken seriously. Umny keeps their gates locked at all times allowing just a small door to allow citizens in and out. Citizens are all branded on their wrists with the symbol of Mira to identify them. That is how the king keeps his people safe.

==Psychology==

Being a hunting town, the city has a very warm and welcoming atmosphere, with lodges and pubs that will serve alcohol and game meat to anyone able to pay in a trade to the proprietor. Often these places are filled with music, singing, dancing and of course, beautiful women. But since there is very little trust left in the city for strangers that might be outside the city walls, the citizens keep the merriment to themselves. Many citizens know one another and are close to each other. They are a closed off community preferring to stay safely behind their walls and away from danger.

During the day time, there is hunting to be done and at night the people of the city will work on skinning, curing and preparing the hides to trade at the market with others that travel just to purchase some of the best tanned skins so that they can make clothes. Apart from the market, the people of Umny have learned to be extremely wary of strangers. When the kin’toni were allowed to roam freely across the land by the empire, the people heard weeping in the middle of the night coming from the gates and so they opened the gates to help those weeping.

Thousands of kin’toni flooded the city. Many died and were turned and just a small number of individuals were left alive because they had barricaded themselves in their homes where they were safe. When the danger had finally passed, the king, who was safe in his tower, ordered for the gates to remain closed from now on, no matter what. The city slowly began to rebuild and restore what had been destroyed. They were able to do so but they wouldn’t trust anymore. They didn’t trust the outside world and it seemed likely that they would never do so again.

Over the years and the previous kings, the city has suffered many losses due to mistakes that the government has made on behalf of their people. They have struggled to put their complete trust in a new king if he was newly elected. It stands to reason that the kings of the past were selfish and just enjoyed the power they were given without giving anything back. That is one of the main reasons that the people struggle with following new kings but the current king’s son seems to have started gathering followers that have faith in his convictions already.

They believe that he is the reason they might become successful as a city. They are so conditioned to stay behind the walls of the city that any talk of the outside world is a breath of fresh air to many of the people listening and it seems the king’s son is full of talk of glory. The walls of the city is high and the hunters they have are good marksmen so the citizens generally feel safe and cared for which make them happy. Their halls and pubs are some of the happiest places in all of the empire.

==Culture==

The culture of the city is very oriented toward hunting and the moon. They have trophies of successful hunts everywhere in the city. They have enough hides to use them as rugs. They also have moons and half moons decorating every single street of the city. It is in the stones, along the walls and even hanging from rooftops. The moons are even carved into doors and window shutters. They make sure their goddess is present everywhere. The city always smells like tanning wax and drying spiced meat. It is in their culture and meat is one of the staple foods in the city.

They love their meat and they cook several recipes with the meat even making sweet meat pies on the odd occasion where they can get some honey or sugar from traders or hunting trips. Sweet is a rare commodity in the city and they would just about give an entire kill for just a bottle of honey. Those that have the ability to create sugary treats have a gold mine in their possession. They can basically trade for just about anything. The outside world knows that and the traders that pass by will often bring honey comb or sugar cane with them to trade and get more hide and meat.

Hunting trips are a livelihood so the hunters go out every morning in packs to go get game. Luckily the location offers plenty of game to the hunters. The bigger hunts are done on full moons and the entire city gets involved, led by the king. What they bring back is shared in a big feast since they believe it is their goddess that provided the kill for them to feast on. Unfortunately, since their king has suffered with his illness, it is now his son that leads the hunt. When the king’s son, Arturo, leads the hunt he will often fuel his men with passion and drive to get the biggest and best game roaming across the plains.

The people find this hunt far more exciting than when the king led the hunt. That is why the people are becoming far more supportive of Arturo than they ever were of his father. Many whisper that it is time for the king to step down and let the new king take over but this has never happened in Umny. A king doesn’t just step down. They pass away instead. This is how their royalty has always worked and it is part of the Umny culture. They have certain traditions that they must follow and this is inevitably a long and tiresome wait. They know that eventually Proxy will take their old king and they are looking forward to the change that will come from the death of their current king.

It is a morbid thought that the citizens do not often feel the desire to share but they know that they are all thinking the same thing: How much better it would be without the old king about.

==Government==

The city is governed by a king and his royal court. They make the decisions that need to be made. They are also in control of most things that are required to run the city effectively. The king is a fair king and he loves his subjects. He always wants what is best for them. In the past they didn’t have the best king but since no king can live forever, they were saved when these terrible rulers were put to rest and a new king was crowned. The people now love their king and he loves his people but his son who will take his place is not as kind. He believes that they could build a stronger army, get out into the empire and take over other weaker cities.

He already has a small following that agrees with him and wants to do exactly that. But the current king is protective of his people and will never agree to a plan that puts them in harm's way. The current king is weakening by the day. He was diagnosed with poxy and it has slowly been ravaging his body. He now struggles to walk and he knows the end is near. Poxy is a slow death to anyone who gets it. It creates horrible blisters that can burst at the slightest movement. Currently with the king in such poor health, the city is at its weakest but the king’s son is ready to take the throne at any given moment.

Despite the king’s poor health he tries to run the city effectively, taking head of the advice he is given by the court of advisors. He even encourages his son to join in the meetings hoping it will change his ambitious son away from the road that can only lead to the downfall of the entire city. The king’s son is too proud and headstrong though. Many of the citizens are being swayed to think the same as the king’s son. The court of advisors that help the king in matters of the city are chosen from the most loyal subjects and as such, they are valued among the other citizens.

They all have a strong desire to push the city forward and make the right choices. When there is trouble, the king will call a meeting and the court will discuss the best course of action. Each individual has their own ideas and theories as to how things are meant to progress. It is in their best interest to choose the best possible outcome for the city. The city and its values are what lead to decision making. They try to stay true to their goddess at all times and they will do just about anything to keep the city safe.

So far all their decisions have helped the city grow but the citizens are growing restless trapped behind their large walls and they are ready to follow a new king into battle. The drive that the king's son is displaying is pushing the city toward their goals and desires.

==Military==

Since hunting is such a huge and valuable pass time in the city, the people of the city know from an early age how to hunt and kill effectively. Some of the best marksmen and trappers in the empire are all gathered in this city. The military does not really have a place in the city. They have never actually taken boys from their family to train them as soldiers for the military. The city has never had a need for a military. Unlike other cities, they already have men and women with a fighting spirit that is ready to take the battle to the enemy, should that enemy come.

Instead of fearing those events, the people of the city would actually welcome a chance to defend the city. They are strong people that have taught their children how to use weapons from a young age. All the children in the city grow up knowing exactly how to use a bow and arrows and how to use a blade.
Children are taught from the age of five how to catch a rabbit in a trap. Once they catch their first rabbit they are then taught to skin and tan the hide. That first hide will be fashioned into a pouch that they will forever carry with them for many years.

A reminder of their first kill and the skills they learned during that first kill. Because of this children actually grow up ready for war with an understanding of their weapons and the drive to make that kill. Despite not having a military, the city will join together in the face of danger and become a military power themselves. The city’s hunters have faced many threats together and this has bonded them into a strong unit capable of fighting. During the war, the city mainly kept to themselves and avoided being part of the war altogether. They avoided anything that could hurt or jeopardize their city.

The kings of the past have always shied away from politics of the empire and they kept to themselves most of the time. They often did so for good reason. They were trying to protect their people. They have always done what they thought was best for their people. Umny never really sided with the empire and infact, they saw the empire as the enemy. They were absolutely right to see the empire as a great threat to their safety. When news arrived that the empire had unleashed the dangerous kin’toni on the world, the king of Umny ordered that no one ever trust anyone from the outside and kept the city closed to the outside world.

They had been distant with the empire before but now they had completely closed themselves off from the empire, avoiding any other city that would pose a threat. Any city was now a threat since the empire’s fall since those cities were all part of the war and Umny sees that as being involved in the deadly kin'toni release.

==Religion==

The people of Umny follow a Goddess called Mira. She is the goddess of the moon and hunts. This is one of the few religions that follow a goddess but isn’t an all female culture. The moon goddess has many stories attached to her. One stands out in the religion of when she found the first king of Umny on a hunt. He’d been hunting a beautiful strong beast when the best turned on him and attacked him. The king was severely injured and unable to get home. Lost in the forest and bleeding out, Mira found him and nursed him back to health. She then took him as her lover and they had children together.

This is how the city of Umny came to be. That is how the bloodline of the king came to rule for generations following. It is said that the goddess took no other lovers and now she cares for the city because it is the city of her children. Mira has pride in her children and will always bless them with good game. She teaches the city to only take what they need and to use everything the animal offers in order to keep being blessed. It is a law that individuals cannot hunt for pleasure. They must only hunt for food. Anyone caught hunting for the pure sport will be severely punished.

The punishment for this crime is to be banned from hunting for a number of years. Since this is seen as the downfall of a family name and reputation, the people of the city will avoid going through this punishment and they will instead just do the right thing and only hunt when they need to. The city will have a full moon hunt once a month where they ride and hunt with the goddess on their side under the full moon. Though this is quite a dangerous event to engage in, it is a tradition that hasn’t died out for many centuries, The game that is caught during the full moon is prepared the next evening and they celebrate together as a city at the feast of the goddess.

Where they pray and sing and tell stories about the goddess and her life in general. One of the most important stories that the prophets and elders tell is the story of the goddess finding wounded animals and healing them like she did the king. It sends a message that all life is equal. Many of the citizens will go out of their way to help an injured animal recover. They will not hunt an injured animal and they will only kill that animal if nothing else can be done except to put the animal out of its misery. It is these lessons that have changed the city and made it more prone to caring for nature. They appreciate nature and all her gifts.

They will even give back to nature by helping the sick or injured animals they find.

==Miscellany==

{{NearbyGroups
| Centre = Unknown
| North = Unknown
| Northeast = Unknown
| East = Unknown
| Southeast = Unknown
| South = Unknown
| Southwest = Unknown
| West = Unknown
| Northwest = Unknown
}}

{{CrossSiteAttribution
| User = [https://www.royalroad.com/profile/222890 angelsonggd]
| Holder = angelsonggd
}}

[[Category:3rd-century Twilight Age zu'aan cities]]
[[Category:angelsonggd's contributions]]

Umny City Zu'aan - Revision history

Stevie Lambert: (via JWB)