Melanii was once one of the major cities in Zerith. It’s remote location actually served to it’s advantage. The lush fields along the north sea led to bountiful harvests, and an abundance of food for it’s population. Steadily the city grew, becoming a place for caravans and shipping routes, send it’s extra crops far and wide, resulting in a booming economy, and more population. And more farms, and more food. Around 80,000 strong, the system stabilized. It’s stone walls granted it some security from the occasional pirate raid, and a well trained guard protected it from marauders from the south. It was a peaceful life for it’s inhabitants, until the undead army came.
Sweeping through the town like a storm, the undead and the blight they bore killed indiscriminately. Men, women, children all fell to the evil. What’s worse, they also rose, joining the ranks of those who slaughtered them. A few survivors managed to shelter, barricade, and hide, but that was a miniscule few. The city has fallen.
The Origin of Melanii
Melanii is one of the major cities in Zerith. It’s remote location actually served to its advantage. The lush fields along the North Sea led to bountiful harvests, and an abundance of food for its population. Steadily the city grew, becoming a place for caravans and shipping routes, send its extra crops far and wide, resulting in a booming economy, and more population. And more farms, and more food. Around 80,000 strong, the system stabilized. It’s stone walls granted it some security from the occasional pirate raid, and a well-trained guard protected it from marauders from the south. It was a peaceful life for its inhabitants.
The original founder, a human named Tarynn Bayden, was traveling along the coast, looking for somewhere to start a new homestead for his newly pregnant wife, away from the bustling town of Brolin. When he reached D’nari Rock, he climbed to the top of its flat ridge, and as far as his eye could see was nothing but plains to the south and sea to the north. He journeyed back to Brolin, and left for good, with his kinsmen and bride. The soil was soft, the fish plentiful, and the small woods nearby granted lumber for housing. The homestead started, and it was plentiful. As the Bayden family returned to Brolin, month after month with an abundance of crops, soon volunteers came to work the land, and join the family, growing it to a community, then a town. The abundance of food was so plentiful, that as well as along the coast, the budding city began steady trade with Teralis to the south. It is said that the caravans of food were so heavy that the road compacted until it became as stone, forming the great road that connects the two cities. The cobblestone of the road would beg to differ, as would the crew of 50 dwarves that hauled the stone out of their mine at Corvus and laid the road, but it’s a nice tale just the same.
The city continued to grow, reaching a peak population of 112,000, though the crops could only sustain the city, economy slowed, and families left. As the population waned, crops were plentiful again, and the economy picked back up. The population finally reached a balance around 80,000 strong. Now the city of Melanii is a major food source all across Zerith. Its prosperity is relied upon to provide crops to all of the other major cities. Even during the great famine of 534, the city’s rationing and trade kept the world of Zerith from falling to hard times or despair. It is truly a land of plenty, supporting all nations of the world. Excerpt from “The Origins of the Great Cities” by Stillwell Inkblazer, Published 612