Lothier

A relatively small trading town, Lothier is nonetheless an important piece of the coastal network in the Midlands. Built at the estuary of the Muselle river, it is surrounded by marshy land, with the Lothern marshes stretching out to the east. To the north, the Muselle rivers stretches back up into the mountains, dotted along it with Halfling cities and towns. Lothier does much of its trade with the Halflings, having built its own wealth off of exporting wool and textiles from their neighbours. Lothier has resisted foreign dominion across its history, having won a decisive battle against the King of Muerthe a century ago. Now it features as an influential figure in the Hellainic League in the Midlands, resisting the Erengrad Clique in the west. Lothier is ruled by a group of trade guilds, in a somewhat dysfunctional democratic system.

Politics

Lothier, on a domestic level, is hardly functioning. Governed by a council called the Masters, the arrayed members can hardly agree on anything, spending much of their time squabbling and fighting among themselves. Each is the chief of a trade guild of sorts, representing craftsmen and workers in the city. Each derives their strength from the unity and power of their guild, binding members together into strong unions to keep their representatives in power. This also breeds rivalries between the guilds, however, fracturing the city into regions of allegiance and neighbourhood turfs. All of this makes for a passionate and vibrant city, with plenty of room for political manoeuvring and social upset. Agitators can often be found plying one guild or the other, or occasionally entirely new ones, seeking to get support to raise their own representatives to the Masters council. This is dealt with differently according to the circumstance, either supported or resisted by the various factions, creating an even more complicated political situation in the city.

The only thing that can seemingly unite the disparate guilds is threats to the city itself, unifying them several times across history. Most notably was during the Muerthe attempt to conquer the city a century ago. The civilian militias of the city defeated the Muerthe knights at the Battle of the Banners, a resounding victory that halted any ambitions of the King to conquer the coastal port cities. Since then, the two neighbours have had a rocky relationship, mended by Muerthe support in resisting Erengrad and the crusader states in the east. This comes along with good relations with the other trade ports in the Hellainic League, fostering trade and support where necessary. The Masters of Lothier are wary of Muerthe’s growing influence over the alliance, however, and are eager to cut it off as much as possible.

Groups

The Masters

When Lothier was founded, it was built on the backs of craftsmen seeking a city free from noble interference. They turned to the best among them as leaders, eventually becoming a formal ruling council. Each member of the Masters council must be recognized as a Master of their trade, and is elected by the individuals of their own guild to represent them on the council. In theory, this works as a meritocracy, but it has devolved into the usual politics of oligarchy, supporting and maintaining the same cycles of stagnant leadership. This is brought about the divisions between each guild, each having their own desires and goals, and seeking to counter their rivals. Rather than lead, most seeking the post of Master are content to simply oppose the rest of the council, locking it and making any sort of progress impossible. Most Masters live a relatively decadent life, having the respect of their respective groups, and carry a certain privilege into their lives.

Landmarks

Personalities

Baudoin, Master Tailor

For much of its history, the main thing that has allowed Lothier to prosper is its relationship with the Halflings of Muselle. Trading for their high-quality wool, the textile manufacturers in Lothier have developed a reputation for some of the finest fabric and clothing in the world. It should come as no surprise that the Guild of Tailors has earned much of this success themselves, controlling the production and export of any sort of textile or cloth goods. As such, they play a disproportionate role in the governance of the city, having much of the wealth and influence for themselves. Chief among the guild is Baudoin, its elected head and member of the Masters council. The closest thing Lothier has to a true leader, Baudoin is an older man who has sat on the council for several decades. He has little in the way of vision for the city, instead focused solely on keeping and maintaining wealth for him and his guild. His political ambitions are focused on denying his rivals any sort of concession, with his tenure bringing little other than division to the council and the city has a whole. He is being challenged by some new members of the council, notably Morfyl Broithe, who seek to break down the divisions and bring back the cooperation the city was built around. Baudoin is an old man, who has grown quite corpulent with age and the decadence his station allows. His skin is oily and his hair stringy, dyed a red colour. Despite his sickly appearance, he is always dressed spectacularly, in very fine silk or some other elaborate fabric.

Morfyl Broithe, Master Cheesemonger

Among the trade guilds of Lothier, perhaps the most unusual is the Agricultural Union. Linking farmers of all types with other sorts of foodstuff producers, it has allowed for a traditionally downtrodden peasant class to wield its own voice in the city. For most of their history they have been blocked from sitting on the Masters council, rejected due to the disparate nature of its membership and the lack of a unifying trade between them. As such, they are known as upstarts, travelling into the city to lobby for their rights, constantly pushing and pressuring the Masters to recognize them. After a successful siege of sorts, whereby the Union threatened to starve the city into submission, its first member was elected to the Masters table. Morfyl Broithe, a Halfling Cheesemaker, was their representative. Known as an absolute firebrand, she brings with her tremendous passion and ambition for the city moving forwards. Young and optimistic, she has immediately come up against Baudoin and the rest of the council, who reject her ideas of cooperation in the face of preserving their own hoards of wealth. Nonetheless, Morfyl is motivated, and seems to be unwilling to stand down, backed by her long neglected faction. Morfyl is a small Halfling woman with blonde braided hair and a smattering of freckles across her face. She appears older than she actually is, with a very stern expression on her face at most times.