> Thanks for the correction, although, as stated below, it is confusing, > since some cities are also tulas.
Think of the people of a city as a "clan", and the lands of the city as its tula.
The people insode the city will mostly be from the three neighboring tribes (as the cities were formed that way), with a sprinkle of other people (Orlanthi and really "other") to provide leavening. There there is a "City Ring" that mirrors a clan or tribal ring, a local fyrd (perhaps called the city militia, but fulfilling the same purpose), lands and rights enjoyed just as a clan enjoys theirs, a City Wyter, etc..
The "City Clan" is a made up entity. I can't really think of a real-world equivalent from history to compare it to. The cities do not have a "natural" or "organic" origin; they did not grow up from a small village to a great (well, great for Sartar) city, they were created by fiat, and built magically.
I'm sure there are rituals to join a "city clan", more than the famous "Stay in London a year and a day". Life in a city is like living in a super-stead. Instead of one or two bloodlines sharing a cluster of buildings, an entire clan's worth of people are crammed together in an area of land about the size of a large stead. There are *hundreds* of people living together! (The Solars would laugh themselves silly if a Sartarite boasted of the size of his "city", of course, but it really is an alien concept to most Sartarite Orlanthi.)
Because of the nature of a Sartarite city, you can expect the base "government" to run roughly along the same lines as a clan - you have the Mayor (Chief), a Ring of advisors, a few permanent warriors, an armed mob who can man the walls, etc. There are differences - there are more temples in a city than in a clan, and they are more specialized - You'll find Chalana Arroy hospital-temples, Lhankor Mhy libraries, etc., that you just can't support out in the rural areas. Trade passes through the cities, so Issaries has a bit more influence, and Garzeen Silvertongue worshippers will be more prevalent than Harst Bronzetongues. (see Storm Tribe 114 & 117) There are more crafts and craftspeople in the city than in the country, annd more "non-essential" goods available. Food will cost more, manufactured goods less. Actual money will be used, instead of the web of barter and favors that a clan will have - you can't get change for a cow easily! While the "rural" clans will have trouble coming up with actual coins to pay the Imperial tax collectors, the cities will have them (maybe not in abundance, but they'll have 'em).
A rural Sartarite hitting the Big City like Wilmskirk will be overwhelmed by the size of the settlement, the walls (stone!), the hustle and bustle, the smell of refuse in the streets (much more than he's used to at home), the use of money, the availabuility of "luxuries", and the press of people all crammed together. The only time that a rural Sartarite sees this many people are when the entire clan gets together, which is pretty darn rare. City folk live with that many people around them *all the time*! (Most modern people do *not* know what it's like to live apart from people - even a typical modern "Small town" is like a Sartarite city. You need to get pretty out in the country to live like a Sartarite. But take your extended family with you! A typical sartarite stead is a farm with ~50-100 people of all ages and staus (if you keep thralls). While that may seem like a lot, the next stead is more than a mile away, with possibly some bad land in between. But a stead has plenty of room to get away from people - somethinhg you can't easily do in a city.)
Militarily, a city will have a core troop of warriors in good armor (acting as the mayor's bully boys, usually. They may act as a primitive police force, though forget having "Detectives" or "Investigators" - these are the headbreaker and arresting types). All able bodied people can be called up as the militia - Most men and some women will be fighters and man the wall, most women and some men will at as magical support, medical auxillaries, or just Fetch&Carry types. Kids will help with whatever they can - lookout (everyyone knows that young eyes see furthest), Fetch&Carry, gathering up arrows shot over the walls, etc.
It will be rare that the militia goes outside the walls on offensive missions - just as rare as it is for the fyrd to do so in a rural clan. The hardcore warriors are the "City Warband", just as their rural counterparts are.
In short, a Sartarite city is a clan smashed together in a much smaller space than normal, with some specific needs and assets not shared by their rural cousins.
Hope this helps.
RR
He was born with the gift of laughter and the sense that the world was mad
R. Sabatini, Scaramouche
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