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Trantio, formally known as the Principality of Trantio, is an upstart, prosperous and turbulent Tilean city-state.[1a]

History[]

Trantio heraldry as depicted in Man O'War Corsair

The heraldry of Trantio as depicted in Man O' War: Corsair.

Many centuries ago Trantio was not yet a powerful Tilean city, as it was situated inland in a hilly, backwater region, and did not prosper greatly from trade, most of which comes from the Apuccini Mountains to the east with the Dwarfs of that region.[1a][10a]

Trantio was one of the first Tilean cities to overthrow its ruling prince and become an oligarchic republic. This republic lasted a long time, but eventually became decadent. However, all attempts to capture the city by mercenary armies sent by Remas and Miragliano were thwarted by the republic when they suddenly changed sides at the right moment. Trantio became notorious for playing off its rivals against each other in order to keep its independence.[1a]

A New World to Discover[]

This all changed when Marco Colombo returned from Lustria with enormous wealth. Taking over the mercenary army of his patron, Orlando, the exiled Prince of Trantio, he succeeded in capturing the city, overthrowing the republic and becoming Trantio's new prince.[1a]

Colombo proved to be an exemplary prince and was clever enough to keep his gains and establish his family securely as Merchant Princes in Trantio. The city soon began to prosper from trade with the New World and exploited its position to expand its commerce westwards across the sea and eastwards over the mountains. Thus Trantio has become one of the most cultured and beautiful of all Tilean cities.[1a]

Even today Trantio's troops are the most experienced of the Human expeditions to Lustria, and the city is renowned for its lavish culture and opulence.[2a][10a]

Siege of Trantio[]

The rival city-state of Miragliano during the years has experienced humiliating defeats in the Trantine Hills around Trantio.[1d]

The chance to end this affront was taken when the rogue Imperial engineer Aleksander von Helsing abandoned the Empire in search of more open-minded patrons in Tilea. There his groundbreaking work attracted the unwelcome attention of the former Prince of Miragliano, Ricardo Barolo.[11a]

Barolo made von Helsing an offer that he could not refuse. In exchange for an unlimited amount of funds for his research, von Helsing would create one of his miracle machines to conquer the city of Trantio, which has already emerged victorious too many times from Miragliano's attempts to seize it.[11a]

Trantio militia against a Bloodthirster

The Trantine militia face a Bloodthirster in battle summoned by the captive Bray-Shaman "power source" of the prototype Steam Tank Ricardo Barolo.[11a]

But the Imperial engineer refused, as he believed his work should help Humanity, not hurt it. Unfortunately, this choice led to von Helsing's death, as soon after von Helsing's corpse was discovered with Barolo's sword stuck in its back, grim evidence of what happened to those who defied the prince. Barolo stole the engineer's research and Steam Tank blueprints and gave them to his own engineers, demanding that they build a version of von Helsing's miracle machine modified to his own unique specifications. But in spite of his near-limitless funds, Barolo's engineers were equally unable to develop a power source for the machine.[11a]

Yet in the face of Barolo's attempts to "persuade" them otherwise, less than a year after von Helsing's demise, work on the machine of miracles was complete, although Prince Barolo would live to regret never enquiring exactly how his engineers had managed to craft a workable power source.[11a]

Shortly thereafter, the Principality of Trantio was besieged by Barolo's forces. Barolo waited until his neighboring city-state had barely managed to stave off his initial deployment before he unleashed his secret weapon. He led the final charge against Trantio's defenders from his newly built Steam Tank against the weakened defenders. But just when victory seemed to be in Barolo's grasp, the secret of what his engineers used to empower his miracle machine was revealed.[11a]

A Beastmen Bray-Shaman, a foul mutant of Chaos, was unnaturally attuned to the Aethyr and able to manipulate the magical forces that von Helsing had needed to truly power his machine. Driven insane by its incarceration within the Steam Tank to serve as its power source, and with an insatiable appetite for vengeance, the creature tore a hole into the Realm of Chaos with its abilities which allowed a Bloodthirster of Khorne and other such Daemonic horrors to emerge into the mortal world. Then Daemonic onslaught rained havoc upon the unfortunate Trantine defenders.[11a]

Yet von Helsing earned his vengeance from beyond the grave when Barolo was driven insane in the grasp of the Greater Daemon of the Blood God. he was still screaming when the Daemonic incursion ended and all of the servants of the Blood God were dragged back into the Realm of Chaos.[11a]

What became of Barolo and his damaged Steam Tanks is unknown, but rumors claim that its blueprints have been carried to the Ten-Tailed Cat Inn in Taalagad by a witness of the hellish battle.[11a]

Timeline[]

See Tilean Timeline for events concerning the whole territory of Tilea and sources for the below entries.


Age of Exploration (1492 to 1999 IC)[]

  • ca. 1493 IC - Marco Colombo returns to Tilea from his voyage to the continent of Lustria in the New World, then uses his newly aquired riches to take command of the troops of the exiled Prince of Trantio Orlando on his recommendation. Colombo then proceeded to capture the city of Trantio itself. The ruling clique of the city-state was quickly overthrown by the city's new masters. Colombo married Orlando's daughter and sole heir. After carrying out a campaign of vengeance against Orlando's old enemies, Colombo was in a position to restore the Principality of Trantio with himself as the new prince. Marco used the rest of his wealth after he became prince to monopolise the Old World's trade with Lustria.
  • ca. 1970 IC - The Siege of Trantio. Corentin of Brionne distinguishes himself as a standard bearer cutting down the heretic traitors under the lead of the pernicious mercenary-princes of Tilea, as they turned against the River Tarano, the crossing was suddenly impossible thanks to the blessings of the Lady of the Lake.

Era of Enlightenment (2000 IC to Present)[]

  • 2104 IC - The classicist Marcelli Verdallo published in the Trantine Press his book Forma di Malevola, this text have yet to be published in the Empire due to its assumptions concerning the nature of ratmen.
  • 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 attack their Trantine allies in the rear. Miragliano is established as the most powerful principality in Tilea.
  • Before 2519 IC - General Brazino Inneundo die of mushroom poisoning during the siege of Trantio against the forces of Luccini, for which many accuse Lucrezzia Belladonna to be responsible.

End Times[]

  • 2519 IC - Trantio fell to Chaos in the early days of the End Times. The city was engulfed for three days and three nights in a swirl of perfumed murk. No two stones lay together when the storm lifted; the Daemon-wrought destruction was so complete not a single building survived and every person trapped within now served, in manners both horrific and diverse, before Slaanesh's silken throne.

Government[]

Trantio flag

The flag of Trantio as depicted in Man O' War: Corsair.

Since Marco Colombo defeated the corrupted Trantine republic that had overthrown Prince Orlando, the princes of the city have been expected to be master merchants as much as they have been expected to be regal. The true ruler of the principality at present is the Merchant Prince Ettore Rinaldo.[8a]

Citizens[]

Trantines, also called Trantios,[2a] are considered northern Tileans, and as such tend to use the Imperial Calendar or one of its many variants as well as the Verenean Calendar. This is especially the case in the city-states of Miragliano and Trantio, for they more frequently deal with Bretonnians and Imperial folk.[5a]

Militia[]

Trantio militia

The militia of Trantio stood little chance against the Ricardo Barolo prototype Steam Tank.[11a]

According to legend, after the mercenary captain, Fernando Pirazzo recruited his army in Tobaro, he sailed to Remas to barter for armor and weapons for his men. He bartered with a merchant who had made a deal with an Estalian blacksmith for some cheap armour. Many of them disliked wearing black-wrought metal and decided to "bronze" it into the colours that Pirazzo flew on his flag. Soon after returning home from the New World as a rich man Pirazzo started to trade for this armour and it became the style that Trantio Militia would wear into battle.[2a]

Rivalry with Pavona[]

Trantio represents a serious rival to Pavona for the eastern Tilean trade into the Dwarf realms, the Border Princes and beyond. So intense was this rivalry that the territory between the two cities became a famous stomping ground for mercenary generals. Not only were there many wars, but also many attempts at reconciliation. This led to the two cities' 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 seeming to others to be a fatal weakness. However, as soon as a hostile army from any other city appears on the scene, the two cities promptly forget their quarrel and join 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 City[]

Dwarf workmanship and skill travels westwards along old trade routes through Trantio into Tilea and the west. This shows Trantio's influence in the quality and ambition of its buildings, many raised using Dwarf techniques of construction. The city's fortifications, gatehouses and towers are particularly massive. Vast quantities of marble were brought down from quarries in the Apuccini Mountains, like the exotic pink-veined Trantine marble for which the city is famous. This stone was used for Grottio's huge sculpture "The Five Graces" which adorns the piazza in Verezzo.[1a]

Central Piazza[]

Trantio roofs, market piazza and madame Rosaria

Trantio's Central Piazza

Trantio's Central Piazza is the square where the city market takes place, it is possible to find everything from consumer goods such as bread and cheeses to the tents of apothecaries like Madame Rosaria, a woman who claims to have been the nurse of the Merchant Prince, Borgio the Besieger.[4a]

Trantine Press[]

The classicist Marcelli Verdallo published in Trantio his book Forma di Malevola, in 2104 IC. This text has yet to be published in the Empire or translated into Reikspiel. The full translated title of Verdallo's book reads: The Forms of the Malevolence, or the Problem of Evil As Seen.[6a]

Countryside[]

Beyond the walls of Trantio lies the Trantine Hills, rich with fruit orchards and olive groves that spread around Trantio. The hills are also well known for the many battles fought by Trantio against Pavona, other Tilean city-states and Bretonnia.[3]

Many abandoned villas dot the hills above Trantio, as in safer and more prosperous times it had been the fashion among the city's wealthy merchant families to build such palaces in the surrounding countryside, both as an ostentatious display of wealth and as a retreat from the city's squalor.[3]

A decline in mercantile fortunes and the ever-increasing number of savage Greenskins plundering in the Apuccini Mountains abruptly put an end to these rural idylls, and the survivors abandoned their country retreats and fled to the comfort of their accounting houses and the safety of high and well-guarded cities. Since then, the abandoned villas have become famous as lairs for predators hiding in the wilderness beyond the limits of the patrols on horseback of the Trantine city guard.[3]

One of these ruins is secretly inhabited by the Vampire known as Lady Khemalla, who has adorned the once luxurious rooms with paintings by famous painters of the past.[3]

Subsidiary Settlements[]

Trantio is a regional centre of political power, wielding significant influence over the settlements listed below.[8b]

  • Torrico - Torrico is an average village whose population is recovering from recent Hobgoblin raids.[8b]
  • Urbimo - Great city-port under the Principality of Trantio.[9]

Notable Trantines[]

Marco Colombo Miniature 2

Marco Colombo, Merchant Prince of Trantio and "discoverer" of Lustria.

  • Giuseppi Cauto - Cauto was a powerful merchant of the city-state of Trantio who got rich thanks to trade with the Empire through the route that passes through the Border Princes. He was murdered by Liliana Falcone, and the assassination was commissioned by Heinrich Klug, a member of a cartel of Marienburg merchants who wanted to make sure his city was the only trade route between Tilea and the Empire.[4a]
  • Marco Colombo - Marco Colombo is best known across the Old World as the Tilean explorer who "discovered" Lustria, with the fortune he acquired there he became the ruling Merchant Prince of Trantio after using his new riches to seize control of the mercenary army that was originally loyal to his patron Orlando, an exiled Prince of Trantio who had sought to regain control of the city-state.[1a]
  • Orlando - Orlando was an exiled Prince of Trantio. It was Orlando's mercenary army that Marco Colombo paid off with the riches he found in Lustria so that he might seize control of Trantio for himself.[1a]

Trivia[]

The city's name and political system could be a tribute to the principality of Trento.

The pink-veined marble of Trantio is probably a play on the famous pink-veined marble of Carrara, Italy.

Sources[]

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