Medina Mudii'a

Medina Mudii'a

(City)

Titles

Fommok Madinah, City of Brass

Nation

Dominion of Flame, Plane of Fire

Size

Metropolis

Population

6,000,000

Demographics

2,280,000 ifrits, 840,000 salamanders, 720,000 elemental scamps, 540,000 azers, 540,000 fire giants, 480,000 fire elementals, 600,000 other

Government

Sultanate (overlord)

Alignment

Lawful evil

Ruler

Grand Sultana Ayasellah Mihelar Khalidlah II

Leader

Grand Vizier Abdul-Qawi, Yndri Ysalaa, the White Mage

Images of Medina Mudii'a

Source: Planes of Power, pg(s). 37ff. (1E)
Rage of Elements, pg(s). 114–115 (2E)

Medina Mudii'a, also known as the fabled City of Brass, is the capital of the Dominion of Flame, the nation of ifrit genies, and is located on the Plane of Fire. Ifrits also call the city Fommok Madinah.

It is a city of majestic palaces, tall towers, and wide boulevards that provides some respite to visitors of this otherwise inhospitable plane. Even though many ifrits are happy to trade with others, their inherent racial prejudice leads most to feel little compunction in taking advantage of, or even robbing and enslaving, outsiders to the plane who show weakness. Those visitors who convince the city's ifrits that they are not to be trifled with, or acquire an official status such as trader or diplomat, have access to the grandest markets that the Plane of Fire—and perhaps the entire Great Beyond—has to offer.

Districts

The city is divided into eight quarters, excluding the Great Bazaar, and two major regions: the Inner Ward and the Outer Ward. The Inner Ward is a divided into a series of circle-like regions separated by rivers of molten lava. It consists of The Great Bazaar, the Temple Quarter, and the Noble Quarter. The Outer Ward is made up of dive sections divided by huge obsidian walls. Here are located the Burning Quarter, the Mages' Quarter, the Commoners' Quarter, the Slaves' Quarter, and the Galley Quarter.

Great Bazaar

Referred to as the Suq al-Azzmir Marketplace by ifrits, the Great Bazaar, or Grand Bazaar, is one of the largest trading hubs in the Great Beyond, so large it classes as one of the districts of the Inner Ward of the city. One can find almost any good imaginable here, from the mundane, like metals and spices, to the magical.

The principal stock of this great market, however, is the slave trade that flourishes here. Magic is coveted by ifrits and is the primary currency that changes hands here instead of gold. Only water, which is strictly regulated, and items that could be used in the binding of genies are rare commodities. This district is among the most diverse of the whole city, consisting of many fire-immune creatures like ifrits, azers, salamanders, and fire elementals.

Noble Quarter

The wealthiest of the city's districts, the Noble Quarter, or Noble District, is part of the innermost section of the Inner Ward with the heart of it being filled by the Grand Sultana's palace. The Noble Quarter lies at the bottom of the basin that is Medina Mudii'a, though its towers peak high above the city proper, particularly the palace's towers. Beneath these towers, flow marvelous pools of raining sulfur and quicksilver, while haughty palanquins carried by armies of slaves crowd the streets. The Noble Quarter is where you can find the scheming genies plotting amongst sycophants and vying for the Grand Sultana's favor. It is in the heart of this district that the governance of this great nation takes place.

Temple Quarter

Despite being largely lawless toward any deific power, ifrits nonetheless construct buildings in the Temple Quarter, or Temple District, of the city honoring many powerful beings of flame, including images of the grand sultana herself, and her predecessor, the grand sultan. As an effort to ingratiate themselves with divine beings, this section of the city seems to constantly expand with new great temples as well as ancient treasures to fill them. Among the temples here you can find the palace of Ymeri, the Elemental Queen of the Inferno, one of the most powerful beings on the whole Plane of Fire. Despite the grandeur of her temple and the semi-frequent visits, Ymeri has visited the palace only a handful of times since its construction; doing so twice to wreak havoc on the ifrits.

Burning Quarter

The Burning Quarter is one of the few places in Medina Mudii'a that one is unlikely to see an ifrit. Instead, this quarter is made up of many different fire elementals. There is little architecture here and, instead, the primary focus of this district is a pillar of flame. Rumor holds that if ever there is a slave revolt the fire elementals here will simply rain down upon them, incinerate them, and leave nothing but ash behind.

Mages' Quarter

The smallest quarter, the Mages' Quarter, rests on a hill surrounded by powerful guardians and magic that act as a barrier to all outsiders. Here, practitioners of the mystic arts hone their craft in attempts to bind elementals, mortals, and even other genies. Two sorcerers stand out, Grand Vizier Abdul-Qawi and White Mage Yndri Ysalaa, the former being one of the major political powers in Medina Mudii'a, and the latter being possibly the most powerful sorcerer in the city. Yndri Ysalaa is considered to be the power behind the wards that protect the district.

Pathfinder Society

Volume 14 of the Pathfinder Chronicles includes a map of Medina Mudii'a and the Plane of Fire immediately surrounding the city, drawn by the famous Pathfinder cartographer Insitha Avari.

References

Paizo published a major article about the City of Brass in the Plane of Fire chapter of Planes of Power.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.