Cimmaro
Cimmaro is one of the most violent places in the ESE and on Terra Nova in general. The emirs of the city have been engaged in a bloody feud for the past three decades. While neither emir will admit that the feud exists, at least once per week unusually professional “bandits” stage commando raids against one or another of the emirs or his holdings. Hardened defensive emplacements mar the stunning natural beauty of the city, giving it a peculiar “war and peace” look.
The enormous wealth required to sustain this dispute is derived from the rich gemstone and precious metal deposits in the region. Cimmaro is home to many skilled jewelers and gem-smiths who transform these raw materials into baubles which the feuding emirs sell to Terra Nova’s elite, particularly other emirs.
As if Cimmaro did not see enough bloodshed, its emirs sponsor a very traditional form of circus: Roman-style gladiatorial games. The fighters in these games are either convicts or prisoners of war from the feud. The games also feature gladiators fighting some of Terra Nova’s nastier wild animals, but these fights have lost their popularity due to the efforts of tenacious animal rights protesters.
Sirrano Barjhal, one of the two warring emirs of the city-state, is one of Patriarch Masao’s closest advisors. Some whisper that it was Barjhal who first suggested the so-called “Mother’s Massacre” that has led to so much bloodshed among the aristocracy. Those who watch the emirs say that Barjhal could dispose of his rival Emir Oschar Sethyra at any time, but keeps the ongoing bloodshed in his home city as a personal entertainment. Barjhal has undertaken other lavish fancies, such as building the massive Silver Star Casino in the gambling haven Westphalia. Barjhal spends a great deal of time at the Silver Star, but keeps abreast of most critical events in the ESE and Cimmaro itself.