The Jewel Cities are a famous collective of maritime cities located on both sides of the Sea of Torments. Beryl – the oldest of them by far – as well as Garnet and apparently most of the other Jewel Cities are located at or near the north coast of the southern continent, all linked by a "spiderweb of routes" sailed by coastal dhows. The outlier, Opal – perhaps the youngest Jewel City – is on the southern coast of the northern continent, and is the only Jewel City specified to be located in the north.
The Jewel Cities dialect would become a key language spoken for privacy among senior members of the Black Company during their time in Taglios at least 6,000 miles south. Cordy Mather, a foreigner from the north, observed that the old peasant women in the territories of the Jewel Cities were always wrapped up in black clothing when in public.
Before the The Black Company[]
As revealed in "Cranky Bitch", all of the Jewel Cities benefited immensely from the harsh anti-piracy measures enforced in the Sea of Torments by the marines of the Lady's Empire. The safety of these waters allowed the collective to maintain strong mercantile links with Imperial markets as well as distant non-Imperial port cities like Chimney, Meadenvil, and even Juniper.
Opal was seized by the Lady's Empire sometime shortly before the opening of The Black Company. The Syndic of Beryl was "still upset about the conquest of Opal" when the mysterious legate from the northern empire arrived at Beryl's Fortress Island.
The Black Company[]
At the start of The Black Company, Opal was already under the Lady's direct rule, whereas Beryl and the other Jewel Cities were still independent city-states. Beryl came under the influence of the Lady's Empire at the close of the first chapter of The Black Company, but was still at least nominally independent by the time of the Battle at Charm less than a year later.
The Lady's allies in the Jewel Cities subsequently ferried war elephants over the Sea of Torments, and she kept them at her Tower at Charm. These elephants, as well as infantry from the Jewel Cities loyal to the Lady, participated in the climactic Battle at Charm against the Rebel armies of the Circle of Eighteen. The Jewel Cities foot soldiers were grouped with the Lady's own Tower Guard and together they constituted a force numbering 2,500. They were commanded by Soulcatcher and were stationed on the topmost of the three defensive walls. To their left was Whisper with her 1,500 eastern veterans; and to their right was Shapeshifter (later, Lord Jalena) with his 1,000 western and southern troops.
Shadow Games[]
The Lady herself revealed to Croaker that the Jewel Cities had been fully annexed by the Empire by the events of Shadow Games.
The Silver Spike[]
Both Opal and Beryl were horribly sacked by the Limper and Toadkiller Dog who passed through both places with an army in The Silver Spike. The Lady's successors from the Tower rapidly took control, however. They evacuated Beryl and stripped it of all boats to delay the Limper, and quickly initiated the reconstruction of Opal.