Czarna

Czarna: Capital of Czardas (pop. c. 2,700,000), located near the end of the Zaïr River. Czarna, once called Jarna, was one of a few major cities along the plain; it was built in the 100s BCE as the ceremonial capital of the Cvarken Empire after the death of the Empress Veria IV. Jarna quickly swelled to over 100,000 inhabitants, the largest city for miles around, and was said to be a wonder of the world unto itself, replacing Mariosz as the largest city in the Empire. However, it was abandoned en masse in the 300s, perhaps due to a plague or invasion. The exact causes of the abandoning of Jarna may never be known.

In 468, two Kurtzhaft leaders, Levias and Barik, refounded Czarna along with their tribe. However, the two leaders soon fell out, and Levias exiled Barik, who fled to found Adarion over the Zaïr River. Levias ruled as king of the city-state until 494. There erupted a struggle for power between Czarna and the other city-states; a long and brutal war commenced between Czarna and its chief rival Dorji. After two centuries of constant warfare, Czarna won dominance over Dorji, only to be subjugated by the invading Kurtzhaft of Adarion, led by the descendants of Barik. Czarna remained under Kurtzhaft rule for centuries. It had a strategic position but was gutted by the French crusaders when they invaded in the 1100s. Czarna was rebuilt, and replaced Dorji as the capital of Czardas in 1488.

Today, Czarna is Czardas's second largest city, bustling, with a large seaport district, a major trade center, and well over 2 million inhabitants. It is commonly divided into two districts: the North Bank and the South Bank. The larger North Bank contains Congress Hall, home of Czardas's government; it is also the older half. The newer, more developed South Bank contains many of the new office buildings and is the city's major commercial district.