Chammur, in the past also called "fabled Chammur", "Chammur of the Flaming Heights" and "Mighty Chammur", is on the eastern border of Sotat. Even though it is nominally ruled by the King in the capital Hajra, the town is ruled by the Amir (prince), a king in all but name. The city is ancient, having existed for twelve hundred years[1]. The city also straddles the trade routes from Capchen to Yanjing. This has enabled it to grow wealthy. The Living Circle is a foreign religion here, with most people following the Chammuran gods like Mohun or Shaihun.
The city is the setting of Street Magic.
Layout
To the west is the Qarwan river and to the north and east are cliffs where the first settlements were.[2]
The original settlement, now known as Oldtown, was in Heartbeat Heights. The cliffs were orignally settled by shepherds, miners and goatherds. The rocky mazes made a safe sanctuary, but it was only after the trade route was established that the city became prosperous and merchants and farmers moved nearer. Eventually the cliffs became too crowded and the richest inhabitants moved out and built palaces on the nearby open ground, now called Newtown. The wealthiest and most powerful became the amirs.[2]
The Heights are now mainly inhabitated by the poorest residents, such as Evvy and stink from the centuries of continual habitation.[3] The amir's palace is located on top of Fortress Rock, whilst capital punishment is administered on Justice Rock. The city is encircled by walls. The city's markets are known as souks and the bathhouses as hammam.
By 1039 K.F. the farms surrounding Chammur experience difficulties because the soil is drained and full of acid from being cultivated for too long and too intensive.[1]
Currency
Chammur has its own currency consisting of copper and silver davs and silver and gold chams. The smallest coin is a copper dav and three copper davs are one silver dav. Twenty copper davs make one silver cham. Twenty silver chams are one gold cham, the largest coin in Chammur.[4]
Chammuran
Chammur has its own language, Chammuran, which is very different from the language spoken to the west of it, Imperial. Some terms in Chammuri are:
- amir - prince, ruler in Chammur
- belbun - rat (animal)
- bindi - paint, metal, or jewel placed between the eyebrows
- bunjingi - miniature tree form in which trunk is long, with a few branches balanced at the upper end
- cham - large sum of coin in Chammur
- dav - smaller coin in Chammur
- doa - daughter of (noble house)
- doen - son of (noble house)
- eknub - foreigner
- hammam - bathhouse
- hedax - rank similar to lieutenant
- mutabir - head of law enforcement and courts in Chammur
- pahan - teacher, mage
- shakkan - miniature tree form like an elongated S pointing to right of viewer
- souk - market
- takamer (m.)/takameri (f.) - rich person
- tesku - leader of a street gang
- thukdak - Chammuran slang for street rat
- zernamus - parasite like a tick, one that survives by living off the rich
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Street Magic, Cp. 6 (p. 112; Scholastic paperback)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Street Magic, Cp. 1
- ↑ Street Magic, Cp. 2 (p. 35; Scholastic paperback)
- ↑ Street Magic, Glossary