Fang Julin - Manthrian Town

Name.
Fang Julin

Overview.
Fang Julin is a medium-sized town of approximately a thousand inhabitants that lies in the southeastern portion of the Santharian province of Manthria. It is known by just "Fang" by many locals, but that abbreviation has been despised by the fiercely conservative locals for the past two thousand years, when it started to be used. The town is an old one, founded by Troi Ciosa’s son Thorgeir more than elven thousand years ago, but much has happened over the ensuing millennia, including the town’s near total destruction during the War of the Chosen, its role as stalwart of Avennorian independence in 749 b.S, and its pivotal position as bastion of conservatism in Santharian politics over the past fifteen hundred years.

Description.
Fang Julin is a truly ancient town, even by the standards of the region, and it has remained incredibly historical. Unlike Ciosa or Klinsor which have transformed themselves with immigration and change, Fang Julin has remained very conservative to its roots over the millennia, letting very little change its culture.

The appearance of the town fits its age. It lacks the showy taller buildings of the larger towns of Manthria, and most of the buildings of the town are short and sturdy, matching the short characteristically Avennorian Fang Julians. The streets are well-worn with the feet and wheels of tens of thousands of inhabitants who have trodden on the streets since the days of Thorgeir.

Most of the business of the town is in agricultural trade from the vicinity, though trade in minerals is vigorous from the rich veins in the Tantaryan Mountains. Those ores are processed in Fang Julin, using processes that have little changed since the ore began to flow so many years ago.

Location.
Fang Julin lies between the Caeytharian Mountains and the much smaller Tantaryans, in the southeastern corner of Manthria. The nearest sea, the Yanthian Gulf, lies no more than a hundred strals to the south, though the most direct route is impassable as a result of the Kaimum Marsh.

Fang Julin sits near the western foothills of the Tantaryans, rendering eastbound travel nigh-impossible to those who are not sufficiently equipped to cross over mountains. Thus, most trade from Fang Julin to Port Cael flows south along the Kaimum Marsh road and along the sea.

North of Fang Julin, the Dreeswek flows to the east to the Adanian Sea. The river is easily forded at many points, but the principal bridge lies just north of the town. Further north lies the town of Tynvrith, a major source of Fang Julian ore.

The Caeytharians rise dramatically from the Manthrian plain around twenty five strals west of Fang Julin. There, the burial mounds of many Avennorian heroes are situated in the foothills of the mountains, most prominently the grave of Troi Ciosa. In local legend, during the expedition to the west in which Ciosa died, he said that the land just west of the Tantaryans, the modern site of Fang Julin, would be the perfect place to build a town.

People.
The people of Fang Julin, known formally as Julians or more casually “Fangers” as a derogatory term by their neighbors, are mostly of traditional Avennorian stock. Most families of Fang Julin can accurately trace their lineage back thousands of years, at least to the times of the Glandorians. Most of the lineages are probably exaggerated, as the vast majority of Julian clans claim Troi Ciosa himself as their patriarch. If they are insufficiently bold to claim Ciosa as their patriarch, most of them claim hero of the Third Sarvonian War, Annils Norgerinth as one of their ancestors. The veracity of most of the lineages is doubted by this compendiumist, though their earnestness is not in question.

The inhabitants are widely mocked by Manthrians far and wide for excess pride, and supposed “ancestors” with the oldest of Glandorian settlements in Manthria more than ten centuries ago. “As proud as a Fanger” is the common Manthrian idiom for someone who tries to link themselves to people above their station. The stereotypically Julian response would be the role of the eyes and an insult about Darian blood. Despite that, they are happy to trade and make money from whoever, clearly showing their mercantile Avennorian ancestry, whether or not that includes Troi Ciosa.

Resources.
The resources of Fang Julin are abundant, though not immediately visible upon first glance as most of them lie underground. The soils are not particularly rich and were once rocky and infertile. However thousands of Avennorian farmers, with the help of local Darians, systematically reclaimed and fertilized the soil around Fang Julin. Now the soil is rich, though not as fertile as further inland.

The real valuable resource underground in Fang Julin is the rich veins of ore that lie to the east in the Tantaryans. There, mines like Ironwell have brought back countless piles of ore to be processed in Fang Julin. There was worry in the 11th century that the mines were running short, but new ones were opened much to the benefit of Julians.

History.
11321 b.S – Founding of Fang Julin – Fang Julin is founded by Troi Ciosa’s son Thorgeir, just after Ciosa’s death. The town was the first major inland settlement of the Glandorians in their new home.
~9100 b.S – Destruction in War of the Chosen – The town is left burning in the catastrophe of the War of the Chosen. Only the cobblestoned roads were left once the mages were done battling through the town. Fortunately, most Julians had fled into the mountains before the battle, letting them resettle the town.
1645 b.S – Participation in Great Exploration – As the Avennorians attempt to expand their trading networks, Fang Julin played a crucial role in the construction of ships needed for the journeys.
802 b.S – Participation in Avennorian Civil War – Fang Julin played a vital role in the Avennorian Civil War as the bastion of support for the pro-slavery faction.
749 b.S – The Battle of Pride against Pride – As Avennoria loses its indepencence to the forces of Erpheronia, the great cities generally submit to the superior armies of the Proudmen. That is, all save for Fang Julin. Even after the execution of the Avennorian king in late summer, Julians resist the invading forces as they pass through the region. They are ultimately defeated of course, but the proud stance of the Julians has been remembered over the millennia.