The Magnanimous City of Myr is located on the Sea of Myrth, just off the Narrow Sea. It stands as one of the Free Cities, an ex-member of the once powerful Kingdom of the Three Daughters, and the oft-rival of Lys, Tyrosh, and Pentos. It is run by a council of magisters, made up of the wealthiest and most influential of the city's denizens.
Myr can be found on the edge of the Narrow Sea, off the coast of the Sea of Myrth. To the north lie many towns and villages, as well as the river Myridhos - the northmost border of Myrish claim. To the east once lay the mighty principalities of the Rhoynar, though these were cast down centuries ago by the rising Valyrian empire.
To south are the Disputed Lands, where the people of Myr have warred with both Tyrosh and Lys since the fall of the Freehold.
People[]
Some maesters believe Myrmen are descended from the Rhoynar, as many of the Myrmen share their olive skin and dark hair, but this theory is disputed. Myrmen speak a dialect of bastard Valyrian, and the Common Tongue spoken with a Myrish accent can sound sultry.
Myr is ruled by a conclave of magisters known as the Myriad, chosen from amongst the most wealthy and noble men of the city. The magisters give lavishly to passing Dothraki khals to prevent their khalasars from sacking the city.
A slave city, Myr has three slaves for every freeborn. The slaves in Myr are collared and branded. Despite this, slaves of exceptional ability can find themselves purchased by the city itself, and allowed to serve in quasi-freedom as they devote their time to their craft. There are those in the city who have Unsullied in their service.
The Myrmen fight often with Tyrosh and Lys over the Disputed Lands, though they will not risk the lives of their citizens in this, preferring to hire free companies instead. Despite this, noble-born men of Myr are often expected to train in one of many martial arts, serving in the honorary army called the Myrmidons. The Myrmidons have not fought in true battle since the Bleeding Years, when they attempted to defend the city from Volantene conquest.
Myrmen often use crossbows, and bravos can be found in Myr as well. Myrish pirates often have nests in the Stepstones.
In Myr, intellectual pastimes are seen as the most fulfilling, with games like cyvasse incredibly popular among the nobility. There are bloodsports in the city as well, including a yearly celebration wherein young Myrmidons test their skills against warriors of every race and nation.
The city also boasts over a dozen zoos, the greatest of these rumoured to house more than mere beasts.
Economy[]
Myr is considered to be among the most advanced of the Free Cities, and is famed for its arts and learning. Their main exports are finished goods, such as carpets and lace. The best glass and lenses come from Myr, and lenscrafters from Myr are considered to be without equal in all the world. Myrish lenses are known to have been used in in Winterfell and Castle Black.
The artisans of Myr, many born as slaves, are greatly renowned. Goods from Myr include pale green nectar wine, carpets, screens, blankets, mirrors, and lace. Myrish lace and tapestries are said to be worth their weight in gold and spice. The tapestries woven in Myr are more costly than those from Qohor. Myrish paintings and miniatures are regarded highly, and have a vivid style. Myr also produces thin stilettos and fire wine. Myrish fire is a healing herb used to treat cuts.
Important Sites[]
The Compendium (also known as the College, the Institute, or the Arcanum) is the center of learning
The Compendium was built for beauty, rather than defense, as its place behind the city walls already affords it all one could require. The structure is eternally under construction, as the best and brightest of Myr's architects are put to work expanding upon its already impressive display.
in Myr, and collects all the inventions, discoveries, mysteries and artifacts brought to and discovered in the city. Possessing vast funding thanks to donations from magisters through the centuries and products sold by its members, it operates separately from the Myriad, but often overlaps in both influence and power.
The Hall of the Silver is the official gathering place of the Myriad, Myr's council of ruling magisters. No weapons of steel, iron, wood, stone or bronze are allowed within; this rule is kept fiercely, but also pedantically. So long as the offending item isn't made of one of the aforementioned materials, it is perfectly fine to bring into the Hall - which has led to more than one horrific maiming or brutal slaughter through the centuries.
The Grand Menagerie is the greatest, oldest, and most secretive of Myr's zoos, hosting animals from across the known world - and some from even further out. It is said that at its height, the Menagerie once held dragons bound in chains - proof of this being found in massive, ancient rooms that have long since gone to disuse. Though no one outside of the Magisters can prove it, there are countless rumours about the Menagerie - some saying that it still practices the black art of Valyria, crafting new wonders to put on display, while others whisper that more than animals are kept in chains; slaves and prisoners bound somewhere deep and hidden for the Menagerie's greatest patrons. Whatever the truth, the people of Myr love the Menagerie too much to question it. Run by one of the Five Families of Myr, it is all but untouchable in the eyes of most.
Politics[]
History[]
The Age of Valyria[]
The city of Myr was founded when a group of Valyrian adventurers took a walled Andal town. From these adventurers came the original five families of Myr - whose bloodlines became known as the Five Lineages. These five great families ruled the city and surrounding lands for a time, as a colony of the Valyrian freehold. Never did Valyria designate for them an Archon, nor were they forced to bow and scrape before the ancient civilization - Myr was held as a shining example of the Valyrian way of life, and ruled itself with little oversight from its mother nation.
As the centuries passed, the wealth and power of Myr waxed and waned; often coinciding with the ability of its rulers. The Five Lineages often traded power between themselves, ruling the city in an endless cycle that saw the tile of High Magister pass upon the death of the previous.
Such a state of affairs, of course, could not last forever.
The Myric Wars[]
Due to both greed, ambition, and the failings of men - the circumstances that prevailed for nigh upon three hundred years came to a harsh and bloody end seven score years before the Doom. A High Magister of great skill and ability (known in the modern day as the Betrayer, for his name and those of his sons and house have been stricken from every tome in Myr) defied the laws and traditions of the time, delving deep into practices ancient and forbidden to find a means of preserving power for his sons.
The ensuing conflicts, called the Myric Wars by the people of the city, brought bloodshed and chaos, heartache and sorrow. The cost in both blood and coin is immeasurable; several houses beggared, dozens more wiped out entirely. The main struggle lasted only a fortnight, but the successors struggled over a period of a half century, until the last of the Betrayer's male descendants were wiped out root and stem. In the end, the Myric Wars saw two of the Five Lineages snuffed out. The office of High Magister was retired, permanently, and since that day the city has been ruled by a council of equal magisters; known as the Myriad.
After the Doom[]
When Valyria fell, the city of Myr was forced to look to its own affairs. For a time, expansion was the ideal - gains taken to the east, north, and south. Conflict with both the rising Dothraki hordes and their sisters to the south - Tyrosh, and Lys - saw these wars of conquest slow, and eventually roll back. Myr began to focus inwards, its long-time pursuits in arts and science becoming the settlement's prime focus.
Then came the Bleeding Years, and the rise of Volantis.
After the Doom of Valyria, Volantis took Myr with an army and Lys with a fleet, and for two generations all three cities were ruled from within the Black Walls. That ended when the tigers of Volantis tried to swallow Tyrosh. Pentos came into the war on the Tyroshi side, along with the Storm King, Argilac Durrandon. Lord Aegon Targaryen flew forth from Dragonstone on Balerion the Black Dread, and Myr and Lys rose in rebellion.
During the reign of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, Myrish pirates seized the eastern side of Tarth. In a battle that followed the Myrish killed the king's heir, Prince Aemon Targaryen.
The Triarchy[]
Main article: The Triarchy
Myr combined its strength with Lys and Tyrosh and defeated Volantis in the Battle of the Borderland. They united, and pledged eternal friendship, forming the Triarchy in 96 AC. The Myrish prince-admiral Craghas Drahar led the Triarchy's conquest of the Stepstones. The Triarchy increased the toll in the Stepstones for passing ships, and battled for the Stepstones against the alliance of Lord Corlys Velaryon and Prince Daemon Targaryen, starting in 106 AC, continuing beyond 115 AC. A High Council of the Triarchy accepted the offer of Hand of the King Otto Hightower for an alliance in 129 AC, pledging to support to King Aegon II Targaryen against his half-sister, Rhaenyra, during the Dance of the Dragons.
The Triarchy did not survive for much longer, as internal conflicts brought them down. An alliance between Braavos, Pentos, and Lorath helped bring an end to the Triarchy.
Recent Years[]
After the end of the the Myr-Pentos War of 189AC, peace and relative prosperity returned to the city for some time. The increase of pirate action in the Stepstones and continued defiance of Pentos, however, have some in the city worrying about the future of Myr and her citizens.
