Schamedar

Schamedar was a large city, (a town by Calishite standards, ) on the coast of Calimshan that had long been a ghost town but later became a center for religious diversity in that country.

Geography & Layout
Schamedar was located on the road from Manshaka to Almraiven, on the coast of the Shining Sea.

The city contained only four sabbans. The northern-most sabban was Bakkal's Sabban, where the upper classes lived. This was also where the most ornate temples were located. The eastern sabban was Azure Sabban, or the Temple Sabban. On the south of the city was the Scimitar Sabban. This was where soldiers and mercenaries were garrisoned, among smithies and arenas. The Dark Sabban was on the west. It was the cursed area of the city, where only thieves sought refuge. The four sabbans were divided into eleven drudachs

The city had a sewer system that was connected to the ocean and tidal-flushed.

Government
In its ancient past, like so many other Calishite cities, Schamedar had been ruled by genie overlords until the fall of the Calim Empire.

After its successful re-founding until the, Schamedar was ruled by a Council of Vizars, but they all disappeared mysteriously during a period known as the Living Gem War. For a short time period afterward, the city was led by the Seven Satraps. Three of them were Batras el Beza, Daud el Akiil, and Saibh el Moadyph. These three controlled most of the leaders of Schamedar and guided them to do the will of El Kahmir crime family. The other four Satraps were never able to unify against the three in any meaningful way.

Eventually, the people chose an elf renowned for his wisdom to guide them, Syl-Vizar Vatarn Wahrim. The Syl-Vizar formed a new Council of Vizars, primarily from among the powerful high priests of the city.

The criminal underworld of Schamedar was controlled by El Kahmir, who were in turn controlled by El Pesarkhal.

Trade
Schamedar had a well-established fishing industry, but folk most often pilgrimaged here to receive temple blessings or to seek the services of scribes and bookbinders. It was also a good place to come to borrow money.

Schamedar used the same coinage as its neighbor Manshaka, except that they called their copper djenayin "lamps" instead of "spanners".

Being located as it was between Calimport and Almraiven, Schamedar was often a stopping point for the slave trade both by land and by sea. Schamedar itself also sold slaves captured in the Marching Mountains or the Forest of Mir, which sometimes included dwarves and elves.

Defences
The city maintained a small force of 250 amlakkar. They were posted about the city based on their religious affiliations but were supposed to remain neutral in any conflicts.

Notable Locations
The Genies' Quarter was a region of the city that in ancient times was the home of noble jann. At nights of the new moon, the incorporeal remains of the jann haunted the Quarter.

Bordering the Genies' Quarter was the Graveyard of Mealhad, another haunted and dangerous site.

As a small community by Calishite standards, Schamedar did not have many establishments of note outside of its many temples. More than half of the buildings in the city were temples, shrines, or monasteries, and most of the city's old palaces had been converted into temples.

Among its most unique temples was the Temple of Fireeyes, a former draconic temple in the shape of a red dragon that had been converted into a temple of Kossuth. The city also contained a beautiful pyramidal temple dedicated to the entire Mulhorandi pantheon. Even a statue of blue marble dedicated to the elven goddess Angharradh had been erected on connected platforms bridging three two-story minarets.

Inhabitants
A full 70% of Schamedar's citizens were employed by its many temples, at least 3,000 of them as priests. Among the most notable inhabitants were:
 * Syl-Vizar Vatarn Wahrim,
 * Vizar Butrys el Nadhpasha, a former halfling slave,
 * Guttar el Nadhpasha, a former half-orc slave and Butrys' bodyguard,
 * Muham el Israhat, an evil human wizard trying to create an elemental golem,
 * Maaram el Nohdyll, another wizard who saw himself as Schamedar's defender, and
 * Akim, a thief who hid in the city to hide from the black dragon Sablaxaahl Three-Horns from whom he stole a stash of gems.

The most notorious of all Schamedar's inhabitants may have been the wizard-adventurer Shond Tharovin, the man responsible for the Living Gem War.

The city also may have once been the home to the nefarious tiefling lich Shangalar the Black, a member of the Twisted Rune.

History
Schamedar was an ancient Calishite town, dating back to the Calim Empire.

At the end of the Era of Skyfire, in, when the noble genies Calim and Memnon were bound by the elven high magic of Pharos, the janni population of Schamedar tried to resist the pull that would fuse them into the forming Calimemnon Crystal. They hastily used magic that would bind them to the city, and the result was that they became trapped in Schamedar in incorporeal forms that could only appear at moonless nights. They cursed the city, and it became a literal ghost town for millennia.

Over the years, small populations of humans tried to remain, but were largely unsuccessful at overcoming the curse. In, a plague that also effected Calimport slew the people of Schamedar, and in , it was the Cats' Plague that brought death to 90% of the population. In, an occupation of beholders prevented the city from growing.

During the Shoon Imperium, a clan of nobles called the Mealhads tried to reestablish Schamedar. It was rumored that all of them went mad and perished, and their palaces were turned into mausoleums.

After the Age of Shoon, Mulhorandi settlers attempted to make Schamedar their home. They, too, were driven mad or fled the city, but they left behind a pyramid in honor to their gods.

Finally, on Midsummer's Night of, during a tragedy called Midsummer Alight, the entire city of Schamedar burned to the ground in a conflagration started by carelessly tended fires.

Not until the Ninth Age of Calimshan was Schamedar settled again in substantial numbers. At that time, the people of Schamedar struggled to make it known as a religious pilgrimage site rather than the City of the Jann's Vengeance that it had been previously.

The Living Gem War
In the month of Kythorn in, local wizard Shond Tharovin slaughtered or exiled the Council of Vizars and declared himself the ruler and vizier of Schamedar with the power of a magical artifact known as the Living Gem. He claimed that he was being guided by the gem and a cult was formed to serve the strange entity. Vizar Shond claimed that through the worship of the Gem, Schamedar would rise to rule all Calimshan.

In the countryside east of Schamedar, however, a resistance force rose up, led by a group of men calling themselves the Seven Satraps. From nearly a whole year, the battle over Schamedar raged. The sacrifice of an archmage named Yoond Shalshymmyr transformed Shond Tharovin into a gibbering mouther, and he was driven from the city. In his absence, the Cult of the Living Gem continued to maintain power,  until the Seven Satraps raised a force large enough to place the city under siege for months. Ultimately, in, the Seven Satraps were victorious, and the syl-pasha appointed them as the rightful rulers of the city. However, the surviving cult members and the gem itself managed to escape.

Post-Spellplague
After the Spellplague and the Second Era of Skyfire, the Calim Desert expanded so far east that its sands encompassed the fertile plains around Schamedar.

Appearances

 * "The Wild Bunch", Realms of Magic
 * Sandstorm (mentioned only)