Khaz Maiessdann

Khaz Maiessdan, dwarven for the "Clan for of the Golden Mother's Hearth", is the clanhold capital for Clan Belgretsson of the Clans of Magnus. The small city is storied, and has a highly insular population, mostly of Dwarves, though well-trafficked by dwarven standards, with quite a mix of the clans represented. The fortress was established by Belgret Magnusson, seeing the need of her followers and children for a place of safety in the Valley of Giants. The city is therefore strongly associated in dwarven culture with her, and her province over customs of romance and marriage. As the hub of the Belgretsson clanhold, it's also the agricultural hub of the entire Atlas Mountains, at least as far as the dwarves are concerned.

Geography

Maiessdan and its surface settlement are built atop a hill in the Valley of Giants which offers commanding views of the territory all around it. The land, gently rolling and relatively temperate, has been largely deforested, and is well-settled with dwarven villages and minor forts, largely arrable.

Both the city and its environs are considered surpassingly beautiful by dwarven standards; between this and the association with Belgret Magnusson and romance, it is a popular honeymooning location for those dwarves who can afford to do so.

Economy

Maeissdann is economically self-sufficient, and does a roaring trade in foodstuffs, both in the forms of raw produce and in processed goods. The city is famous for the quality of its brewers and distillers, as well as for the cured meats, pickles, and preserves produced there. Foods bearing the hallmark of Maiessdan are traded throughout the territory of the Clans of Magnus, and through other holdings of the clan in the Pass of the Tall Folk, some dwarven delicacies even find their ways into the hands of foriengers - Bastonia, in particular, trades almost as heavily for dwarven beers as they do for dwarven steel.

Politics

Maiessdann and the farmlands it controls have made Clan Belgretsson wealthy and powerful. The city's commanding position offers signficant defensive advantage while not being so inaccessible as to prevent the forces that guard it from patrolling and sortieing in defense of the rest of the clanhold. The difficulty in taking Maiessdann, combined with the very real risk of being cut off from agricultural trade with its ruling Clan, has meant that several centuries have passed since the last time any of the other clans went to war with Belgretsson. For their own part, Belgretsson is not a particularly belligerent clan, and has not attempted to press their advantage.