This pilgrimage is undertaken by ex-soldiers, who do so to cleanse their mind, body, and soul of bloodguilt from the atrocities they committed on the battlefield. Magritta is also the place of the Pilgrimage of the Soldier. It was in this temple that the Knights of the Blazing Sun were formed. While the Archecclesiatium is technically the governing council of Myrmidia's cult, it has become the main temple's name by association. This council of high priests governs and administers the cult, seeing its tenets are upheld. The smaller shrines of the Cult of Myrmidia answer to the temple in Margritta where the Archecclesiastium is held. However on hearing a night piercing scream, the survivors emerged to discover that the undead had collapsed and the vampire mere ashes next to the alter of the goddess. The city fell after a three month seige and Nourgul made for the temple of Myrmidia, slaying the priests when they tried to stop him. However their combined forces were defeated in three successive battles, forcing the survivors to reteat to Magritta where they were beseiged. In 1750 IC Nourgul a Necrarch Vampire Lord invaded and razed the lands between the Southern Sea and the Irrana Mountains, forcing the various princes to combine forces against him. Mercenaries from Tilea joined the crusade in large numbers, relieving Tobaro and helping to recapture Magritta. This caused the Ara by crusades as thousands of knights from Bretonnia and the Empire answered the belated appeal for help from the proud and beleaguered Estalians. Soon after, Tobaro was besieged by his forces. Leading his enormous horde he landed in Estalia and captured Magritta. Whether inspired by v1s10ns, delusions, genies, ambition, greed or the evil counsels of the Skaven, the Sultan decided to invade Estalia. He then swept out of the desert and made himself Sultan of all Araby. In 1435 or thereabouts, an obscure Arabian sorcerer known as Jaffar united the nomadic tribes using his charismatic power and ability to summon desert genies. Even so, the worship of Chaos Gods is a matter that would shock and disgust the majority of easy-going Magrittans. Nonetheless, there are some who are only too willing to take advantage of the city's lax laws to practice their unspeakable rites and vile, daemonic faiths, undisturbed by the vigilance that characterises the cities of the north. The natives are hard-working folk, largely ignorant of the dangers and temptations of Chaos, thanks to the city's position in the deep south of the Old World. Like all open ports and trading cities, Magritta has a polygot population. Ships from rival states may be boarded, their cargoes 'inspected' and frequently their captains obliged to sail into Magritta to trade their goods - thus swelling the city's trade and reducing that of its rivals. Hostile shipping is mercilessly sunk, whilst pirates are hounded and captured whenever possible and their crews brought back for public execution in the great market place. To protect their trade, the Magrittans maintain a strong navy, often hiring northern ships and crews to fight alongside their own tireless galleons.
Their southern trade is deeply envied by the piratical Tilean states to the east, who fancy themselves as merchant adventurers, and there are frequent skirmishes between the rival cities. The merchants of Magritta trade goods from the north, as well as the natural produce of their lands, including silver from the Abasko Mountains to the east, while Couronne in Bretonnia is one of the larger markets for imported silks and spices. The Bay of Quietude forms a natural fortress, and the Magrittans control all the land thereabouts, including the bay's twin headlands where two massive fortresses guard the approaches to the port, and serve as its beacons. They are fair, honest traders, and, over the years, have grown to be rich ones. Magritta's reputation is well-deserved, for no pirates are tolerated here, and the Magrittans maintain a strong presence in the Southern Sea. Its quays are usually crowded, and, among the assortment of Old Worlder merchantmen, one can occasionally catch a glimpse of a strangely rigged craft from Araby or even further afield. Built by natural deep-water harbours within the sheltered Bay of Quietude, its reputation as a friendly port with ready markets for all manner of cargoes draws traders from many ports across the globe. Magritta is the largest and one of the most important settlements in Estalia.
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