| “ | A little splinter of the Union, stuck into Gurkhul like a thorn. A thorn in the Emperor’s pride. | ” |
— Yulwei
| ||
Dagoska is a city-state in the southern continent of the Circle of the World. It is a Protectorate within The Union with a small border with the Gurkish Empire. With tension growing between the Gurkish and The Union, Dagoska feels very much threatened.
Origin
Not much is known of early Dagoska, but it was once an independent Kingdom ruled by a monarch. It was clearly quite an advance society, since the native Dagoskans built impressive defensive walls, and a magnificent citadel, both palace and religious Great Temple.
Government
Dagoska is a Protectorate within the Union, ruled by Lord Governor Sand dan Vurms, and represented on the Open Council by ruled by Rush dan Thuel.
It is governed by a city council composed of:
- Lord Governor Sand dan Vurms, ruler of the city but now elderly and incapable
- Korsten dan Vurms, the ambitious son of the Lord Governor, although title is not hereditary so his future is precarious
- Carlot dan Eider, head of the merchant Guild of Spicers
- General Vissbruck, charged with the defence of the city.
- Haddish Kahdia, representative of the native people of Dagoska
- Sand dan Glokta, upon becoming Superior, although his predecessor Davoust did not attend
The King's Inquisition has a presence in Dagoska, taking a prominent role in the internal security of the city. It is headed by a Superior, and consists of four Inquisitors and some twenty Practicals. It has a reputation for some incredibly distasteful racial views towards the natives; indiscriminately arresting and torturing people to death, as well as tests of loyalty and purges.
Territory and Geography
Dagoska is a city on the northern coast of the southern continent, to the south of Midderland across the Circle Sea. It is located on a thin necked peninsula with a small border with The Gurkish Empire. The city is huddled around steep rocks on a great curving bay, with little or no surrounding farmland. The climate is extremely hot and arid.
The cities land border is blocked by an extensive Outer Defensive Wall and a ditch beyond, which is considered one of the most powerful defences in the world. However, the wall has recently fallen into poor repair. Within the city, a high Inner Wall divides the Lower City where the native population live, and the Upper City for the Union elite. The inner wall has a wide pit in front, lined with stakes, and a narrow bridge and well-guarded heavy gate.
The Lower City is a giant, dusty, stinking slum. The buildings are rickety shacks or squalid mud-brick hovels. The air is heavy with the stink of rubbish and buzzing flies. The Upper City, high above the city, is a different world. The streets are wide and clean, and the neat houses well maintained. It contains elegant squares, stately marble domes, mosaics of coloured glass, and even a few thirsty-looking palms. The marketplace and the Citadel are located here.
The Citadel is a vast and graceful building, rising arch upon arch, dome upon dome. Once it was the seat of the native King and the Great Temple, but it now serves as the administrative centre of Dagoska. It also contains an extension to the marketplace, the Spicers’ guildhall, the bank Valint & Balk, and the local House of Questions; as well as accommodation for the most important citizens.
Culture and Religion
The majority of the population of Dagoska are dark-skinned natives, with a smaller community of pale-skinned Union elite. They speak the common tongue but trading is done in a multitude of languages.
The Native Dagoskans are theoretically citizens of the Union, but are routinely mistreated and mistrusted by the Union elite. Usually hungry-looking and poorly dressed, they are now barred from keeping weapons or entering the Upper City without a permit. Permits are held mostly by natives working as servants to the elite, but there are a few skilled craftsmen employed by the Spicers. Unrest amongst the natives is brutally kept in check by the Inquisition. The Union Elite by contrast are sleek, well dressed, and live in some luxury. The majority of them are merchants.
Dagoska is a major Commercial Centre and bustling port. The marketplace is a crowded bewildering throng, located in a large square in the Upper City which extends into the Citadel. Merchant come from every region in the world to trade in spice, incense, fine cloth, rare wood, and gemstones. Commerce is run by the Guild of Spicers who have exclusive trading rights and takes a cut of every trade.
The natives have their own monotheistic Religion, which is similar but distinct from that of the Gurkish. The Great Temple is in the Citadel, but the native have now been turned out of the temple by the Union elite. Worshippers are called to prayer in the morning by chanting by their priest or Haddish. The native dead are buried, as opposed to burned like the Union transplants.
History
For many years Dagoska was one of the many independent peaceful kingdoms on the southern continent. After the Gurkish Empire conquered most of the Kantic kingdoms, they sent emissaries to Dagoska demanding that they kneel before the Emperor, but they resisted. Later, the Gurkish did control the city for a short time, and took many of the leading citizens as slaves.
Some nine years before the events in the trilogy, The Union and the Gurkish Empire went to war in the First Gurkish War. The war ended in a victory for The Union. The Gurkish also put siege to Dagoska during the war, but the city resisted for over a year. After the war, the Spicers encouraged The Union to annex Dagoska into the realm..
The Union and the Spicers administration of Dagoska has been an orgy of greed, incompetence, and oppression of the natives. Three years ago the natives mounted a rebellion causing a lot of damage to the city, before it was suppressed. Afterwards, the Upper City was declared off limits to the natives, and the Great Temple given over to the government and the Guild of Spicers. Since then native unrest has been quiet.
Uthman-ul-Dosht became Emperor of the Gurkish Empire about one year before the series, and declared his intention to conquer Dagoska.
The Blade Itself
The Lord Governor of Dagoska sends his proxy, Rush dan Thuel, to petitions the Open Council to fund to strengthen the cities defences in the face of a looming Gurkish aggression. He is denied funds, saying the Guild of Spicers have profitable trade licenses, so should fund the defences.
Yulwei and Ferro observe the Gurkish preparations for war, as well as a secret navy fleet. Superior Davoust disappears presumed dead, and is replaced by Sand dan Glokta.
Before They Are Hanged
The Gurkish forces now blockade Dagoska by land, and massively outnumbering the defenders. However, the new Superior Glokta manages to improves the defences before the siege. He also makes a deal with the natives for troops and workers, in return for concessions: to open the Upper City to the natives, and reopen the Great Temple to them.
Two members of the city council, Vurms and Eider, attempt to betray the city to the Gurkish, but are caught in the attempt by Glokta. It is also revealed that his predecessor Superior Davoust was murdered by a Gurkish assassin hidden in the city as a native servant.
The Gurkish eventually succeed in breaching in the outer defensive wall, and the population withdraws to the Upper City, cutting off all hope of escape. The Gurkish ultimately break into the Upper City and the Citadel through some treachery. The remaining Union forces are massacred, and many of the mercenaries enslaved. The commander General Vissbruck takes his own life rather than be captured. The natives, by and large, were spared, although their religious leader Haddish Kahdia was killed.
The Heroes
High King Jezal refers to himself as "Protector of Dagoska" in a letter to Bremer dan Gorst. Whether this means the Union retook the city following the battle of Adua or is simply tradition is unknown.