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Pavona

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Pavona, officially the Principality of Pavona or even the Perfidious Principality of Pavona, is a prosperous city-state situated in central Tilea.[7a]

Located almost in the exact centre of Tilea, south of the Trantine Hills on the fertile plains between the River Remo and the Apuccini Mountains, Pavona is blessed by a much milder climate than the lands of the Empire, enjoying almost year round the kindly favours of the warm Tilean sun.[1a][3a]

Pavona is usually not considered among the major Tilean principalities, lacking a direct outlet to the Tilean Sea.[4a][9a]

People from Pavona are also called Pavonans.[3a]

History[]

Pavona quickly rose to become a serious rival to Trantio for the eastern trade into the Dwarf realms, Border Princes and beyond. So intense was this rivalry that the territory between the two cities became a famous stomping ground for mercenary generals.[1a]

Not only were there many wars, but also many attempts at reconciliation. This led to the princely families becoming entwined through a succession of marriage alliances. The pacts were often short lived, with the marriages ending in poisoning or some other form of assassination.[1a]

Their intense rivalry often seemed to others to be a fatal weakness. However, as soon as a hostile army from any other city appeared on the scene, the two cities promptly forgot their eternal quarrel and joined forces to beat back their common enemy. In this way Luccini, Verezzo and Miragliano have all experienced humiliating defeats in the hills around Trantio or Pavona.[1a]

The End Times[]

During the End Times the fall of the city of Pavona was masterminded by the rising star of the Skaven Clan Skryre, Skribolt.[8a]

Timeline[]

See also Tilean Timeline for events concerning Tilea.

Era of Enlightenment (2000 IC to Present)[]

  • 2494 IC - Pavona is defeated by a mercenary army from the Principality of Verezzo. Prince Borso is wounded in the battle but swears by the healing arts of his new wife, Lucrezzia Belladonna. He dies a few days later. Later, during the Battle of Etobrutti, the mercenary captain Donato took over the command of the troops of Pavona and defeated Verezzo's army. He saved the city and subsequently married Lucrezzia Belladonna.
  • 2497 IC - Prince Donato of Pavona brokers an alliance with Trantio but perishes after consuming a meal of poisonous mushrooms. His widow, Lucrezzia Belladonna, soon remarries, choosing the dashing captain Ranuccio for her husband. At the Battle of Vittoria Viccia, Borgio the Besieger defeats a mercenary army from the Principality of Trantio, assisted by the last minute betrayal of the mercenaries from Pavona who attacked their Trantine allies in the rear. Miragliano is established as the most powerful principality in Tilea.
  • 2513 IC - Poggio, Prince of Pavona and seventh husband of Lucrezzia Belladonna, dies after consuming three bottles of dubious quality wine, leaving Lucrezzia as the city's sole ruler.

Government[]

The current ruler of the principality is the much-widowed Lucrezzia Belladonna, who is rumoured to be a sorcerer and poisoner.[7a]

Layout[]

Warhammer Pavona

Location of the city-state of Pavona[1]

The easternmost of the Tilean city-states, the wealthy city of Pavona remains small in comparison to other Tilean cities. Pavona is noted for its many bridges which are not over rivers, or canals, but high above the narrow, winding streets that meander through the town below them. The streets are haphazardly laid out, the better to confuse and disorient any enemy who managed to force their way through the city's thick walls.[1a][3b]

Overhead, numerous bridges arched above the cobbled streets, connecting the palazzos of the ruling elite, enabling the merchants and nobles to avoid the throngs of soldiers, peasants, labourers, and servants that filled the lanes as they hurried about their own petty affairs.[1a][3b]

The access to the city is guarded by massive stone gatehouses, such as the western gate, populated by scraggly rows of mendicants and beggars squatting beside the tower. The guardsmen tolerated the wretches in exchange for a portion of their alms, another way of supplementing their wages in addition to their skim of the modest tax charged on all those seeking entry to Pavona. Poor and miserable as the beggars are, they sport deformities, mutilations, and ugly sores left by the Red Pox and other noxious ailments.[3b]

Despite Pavona's nearness to the city-state of Remas, there are no temples dedicated to Solkan, the god of vengeance, inside the city, and the only contact with the cult of that God of Law is through his travelling priests.[3c]

Pavona University[]

"The answer to all points made by scholars of the Empire is this: ‘Yes, I understand what you are trying to say, but you do know that concept originated in Tilea?'. Not only is it probably true, but it invariably infuriates"

—Professor Morvalli Marmideo of Pavona University[2a]

Pavona University is just one of the many universities of Tilea, and here the famed Professor Morvalli Marmideo is known to teach.[2a]

Palazzo Bensario[]

Placed above the streets frequented by the plebs is the Palace Bensario, home of Prince Bensario and his daughter Juliana Bensario.[3a]

Here the chamberlain, Masario, deals with the paperwork of the prince and recruits of ercenary generals and other men devoted to vulgar money.[3a]

The room where Masario gathers these hired swords is dark, lit only by pairs of pot-like oil jars set at either end of the chamber. What the flickering, dancing light cast by the flames did reveal was expensively furnished. The table that dominate the room is massive, stained cherry-wood imported from across the sea, its claw-footed legs tipped in silver, a great slab of polished black marble set into its surface.[3a]

Stern-visaged portraits glowered down from the dimly illuminated walls, secure in their gilded frames. The polished wood-floor is barely visible, much of its surface strewn with expensive fur rugs, the gleaming black hide of the Arabyan jackal, the dun hues of the Ebonian lion, and the pristine white of the Norscan ice bear.[3a]

Temple of Morr[]

A temple dedicated to the Morr, the god of the dead. Some of the priests who work there are on excellent terms with the chamberlain of the city, Masario.[3a]

Countryside[]

Beyond the walls of Pavona lies the farmlands and peasant villages that lie crowded outside the city.[3b]

The road that leads to Remas to the west of Pavona measures nearly a hundred and fifty miles as the crow might fly. But it is a much longer distance on the ground, for the roads are few and progressively more ill-tended the further from Pavona they become, marks that the land itself is no longer firmly under the domination of Men. Just two days' ride from Pavona the only traces of civilisation are the dirt road upon which people can travel and the occasional ruined traces of some villa or farm house lurking just off the path.[3a]

The days of peace and tranquillity have deserted Tilea, forcing the wealthy merchants from their country villas and back into the overcrowded cities. The wilds are still not quite so hazardous as those of the Empire, but there are enough unnatural things prowling the countryside to make them not so devoid of danger as they had been in ages past.[3a]

In the last years, Chaos Marauders devoted to Nurgle have plagued the forest between Pavona and Remas, but they were dispersed by mercenary troops in the pay of Umberto Gambini, one of the Triumvirs of Remas.[3a]

Skaven Nests[]

The territories of Pavona, like all other Tilean cities, are plagued by the Skaven's shrouded presence.[5a]

  • Queekwell - Queekwell is a Skaven nest near Clan Skaar's stronghold in Pavona. It is a small mining village, typical of any nest of the ratmen that claims allegiance to a nearby stronghold or warren. The sleepy, small town feeling of Queekwell is often interrupted by occasional earthquakes that seem to be centred in the mines themselves. Workers often meet their ends in cave-ins and the like, but Clan Skaar demands that the mining continues.[6a]

Subsidiary Settlements[]

Pavona is a regional centre of political power in Tilea, wielding significant influence over the settlements that are part of its wider principality listed below.[7a][10b]

  • Astiano - Inland town between the settlements of Stiani and Pavona.[10b]
  • Scozzese - A town and a small, independent Tilean city-state allied with Pavona.[10b]

Notable Pavonians[]

  • Bensario - Prince Bensario is one of the most powerful men in Pavona, second only to the ruling Princess Lucrezzia Belladonna. He hopes to form an alliance with Remas thanks to the marriage of his daughter, Princess Juliana Bensario, with Prince Umberto Gambini, a Triumvir of the Council of Fifty, and to then use that alliance to earn a powerful position against the hated city of Trantio.[3a]

Trivia[]

Pavona is the only one of the eight most powerful Tilean city-states whose heraldry and insigna are still unknown.[4]

Pavona is also a real hamlet in Lazio, a region of central Italy. It is a frazione of the comune (municipality) of Albano Laziale. However, its traditional territory is also included in those of Castel Gandolfo and Rome.

Sources[]

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