Some believe that the most important region of the Shieldlands lies in the south with the cities of Tyrras and Toleda which survived the Days of Fire. The families which govern them may have changed but they can trace their continual rule of these cites for over one hundred years.
They hold no love for each other and protect their holding against both the Orc Khanate and the threat of attack from their own side...
Lisabetta Calabra, Trader and War Smith.The city of Tyrras stands on the western edge of the Shieldlands on the border of The Southern Marches of Elland. The Veneto family rose to power in Tyrras after the old Qadaq senate gifted them the isle as reward for their services to trade. The Veneto have forever been a banking family and their banking concerns have been the biggest in the region since long before the Days of Fire. It is this skill that allowed the clan to rise to such high esteem within the Republic. 12585153663_eb8103c6f8_n.jpg Tyrras' main source of income is interest on the huge loans that they have afforded The Patrician Cities. Early in the war against the Undead, the patricians realised that they needed the steel of Toleda to equip their legionnaires and for that they would need money. To this day the interest on those first loans is still keeping Tyrras in a comfortable position economically allowing the Veneto family a secure seat of power.
Tyrras, like every city needs to eat and the main import here is food from Elland. The mercenary armies of the city are usually split into defensive forces that watch for potential advances from the Orc Khanate and to keep order in the streets. The naval forces of the city maintain defence against the River Clans of the Khanate and the Undead grey fleets.
Within the city walls of Tyrras lies the Iron Bank, few families can claim to have as much invested in the war against the Orc Khanate as those who continually write the checks that allow the troops to be paid for there efforts, and stop the ecomonies of the war from destroying civilisation.
The eastern most Isle of the Sisters is controlled by the city of Toleda and the Calabra clan. It is a power house of military manufacture and is famed for the quality of its weapons and armour. Despite its location in a land beset by enemies both foreign and domestic, the city remains a power in the south and within its walls an enterprising person may find wealth and riches.
In the years after the Days of Fire, the Calabra family negotiated deals with The Patrician Cities to provide the weapons and armour needed by the Last legion to defend the Iron Wall against the threat of the Undead. The Calabra clan rules the city with an iron fist and strict trade rights must be obtained to work within. Many a merchant has tried to pass their goods through Toleda and fallen foul of a freak shipping accident or runaway horse and thus met an unfortunate end ...
Toleda's main exports are the tools of war. Historically, Toleda was home to all of the best weapon smiths of the western Republic and since the Days of Fire the legion's arms and armour have been shipped to the wall from this location. Toleda steel is used by the dukes and counts of Elland in preference to Kingdom made weaponry. In the east, the Janissary units and temple guard of The Theocracy also favour the well made implements of war that come out of the forges of Toleda. Only the Northmen do not see the worth of the city’s weapons, preferring always to use the blades and armour forged in the fires of their own mountain homes. Toleda has therefore been particularly threatened both by the rise of the new magical guilds in Elland and then the discovery of the Vale.
In turn Toleda imports food from Elland and cloth and silks from The Theocracy so the city can be fed and the merchant princes of the city can dress in the finest garments as befits their station.
