The City-State of Mirmillion was a small polity centered on an ancient Elvish city, located on the northeastern shore of the Lake of Stars, near the Frozen Forest.

Culture

Mirmillion had a lengthy history, with cultural roots going as far back as the Elvish Empire and more recently marked by Bromalnor goblinoids and immigrant humans. The predominant traditions were however those of the wood elves, and the other races in general adopted their values.

A Mirmillite valued his autonomy most of all. The upper-class Mirmillites all received military training and in general had a rather black-and-white mindset: protect my family, my interests, and my city. A heavy accent was laid upon military ability and martial valor, as well as the ability to provide for and defend the family. In general, families were thought of in the extended sense: the large group of people who shared the same name, in the likeness of Elvish houses. These families were also the social constructs that dictated a person's status in society.

Political Structure

Three different types of families existed in Mirmillion: the nobles, the citizens, and the commoners. Only six families, five of which were wood elven, were noble; these families controlled the vast majority of resources, held all important public offices, and made all government decisions. The citizens were more numerous, and supplied the city's artisans and soldiers. The commoners, who were a vast majority and were almost exclusively non-elves, formed the most basic economic layer, either performing menial labor in the city under citizen supervision or living in a village in the city's immediate surroundings, farming the land. Commoners rarely formed "families" in the Mirmillite political sense, and instead simply treated village communities or their immediate relatives as family.

All families had the same fundamental rights and obligations: paying a certain amount of taxes and following the laws, and in exchange being guaranteed some social care and armed protection from any threats. Of course, the commoners had the losing end of this deal, supplying the city with all it needed while receiving only the bare minimum of protection in exchange.

The actual government was run by an elected patriarch or matron, who could serve for twelve years before new elections, where no candidates from the same family could run. The patriarch was technically vested with absolute powers, and generally filled the administrative posts with members of his own family to smoothly run things. However, the patriarch had to take care not to irritate the other families and unite them against him: a coalition of half the families had the legal power to end his term early.

The city's most important institution were its armed forces, the Azure Guard. It asserted its autonomy first and foremost by discouraging any armed annexation, so the army always had to be as large and impressive-looking as possible - and, more often than not, it had to pack sufficient punch to rebuke would-be overlords. Mercantile power was also important to keep the surrounding farms in line. Nearly all merchants were controlled by the noble families, and they could fall back on the Guard as a last recourse using a legal clause called "Necessity of Trade".

History

Formation

Mirmillion was an ancient city, starting as an independent wood elven citadel during the Elvish Empire period, when it was largely left alone and occasionally made bank by assisting imperial forces fighting Bromalnor. Since then, the surrounding areas had all been incorporated into the Bromalnor Empire, and Mirmillion had become a personal vassal state to the goblinoid ruler.

In 1'523, autonomy movements within the city had grown very strong, and both its economic strength - as the administrative capital for a large region - as well as its military strength - thanks to its autonomous militia guard - made it well able to negotiate with the Bromalnor government, which was currently in a weak position anyway. Mirmillion managed to gain autonomous status, paying lip service to Bromalnor by promising not to go to war against it, and officially became a Perennial City-State.

A major of the Azure Guard, riding a fenrir.

Years of War, 864 - 629 b. OW

Mirmillion was in a difficult situation: it was situated directly on the front lines of a long conflict between orcish tribes of Clan Bonecrunch and legions from Bromalnor. The patriarchs had to tread a difficult ground, staying in the careful balance of neutrality by taking care to cooperate with each side just enough to not be invaded, and flexing military muscles when necessary. Though Mirmillion had powerful city walls and mythal magical defenses, it also had vast expanses of vulnerable farmland to protect. Whenever a peaceful deal could not be made - when some wayward orcish tribe or routed hobgoblin battalion decided to raid Mirmillion villages, for instance - the Azure Guard rode in, smashing apart the intruders and killing them without quarter.

During this time, Mirmillion's penchant towards militarism grew far stronger, and Guard officers increased in popular standing. Mirmillite history books received the addition that "military action can solve any hairy issue". During the two centuries of flammable international relations, the Azure Guard was not once defeated in a pitched battle, and the City-State of Mirmillion remained proudly autonomous.

Collapse, 576 b. OW

Mirmillion's Patriarch Gloufort, a human of a rich merchant family, made the same mistake many of his predecessors had done: relying too strongly on military means and focusing too much on their personal enrichment. The large orcish clans had broken apart, Bromalnor no longer bordered the city-state, and there were only scattered orcish herder tribes around; the Mirmillites felt safe in their position, that no one could threaten them and they could focus fully on their personal gains. The citizens abused the commoners, and the nobles extracted high taxes from everyone. Social tensions were increasing.

Simultaneously, the Azure Guard was routinely used to "protect the city's interests": any orcs who came close to Mirmillite farmland were ruthlessly killed, and the Guard occasionally forayed into orcish territory to prevent any potential attacks and perhaps enlarge Mirmillion's farmlands. As a result, the tribes were growing increasingly irritated and forming a network of alliances. Fighting on Mirmillion's borders increased simultaneously with the start of strikes and rebellions of the workers and peasants, until the Azure Guard was overwhelmed. There was fighting between Mirmillites in the ancient city's streets, and orcs set the surrounding villages ablaze. Finally, an orcish host made it into the city, pillaging everything. Mirmillion, an ancient citadel, finally fell to flames and ruin, never to be rebuilt.