Name: Lady Katerine
Name city: Foxport
Description of surroundings: Foxport is located entirely on a stony Peninsula that juts from a similarly rocky coast, like a rude gesturing digit. The seas encircling her are shallow and treacherous-the waters an obfuscating, and beautiful deep blue that hides submerged reefs, old caverns, and abandoned wrecks-wonders and dangers of it's long past a seatown. The industrious people of Foxport have long since carved the safest channels through the beguiling murk, but keep the best ones to themselves. The shore beyond is sparsely populated, though the highest seacliffs often boast the richest manors and townhouses-those who can gaze upon the town from above, whilst not being subject to living in it. And beyond the shore lies miles of dry, tough land where even grass struggles to grow-a place pockmarked with deep caverns and craters, long shadows and colds night, but little readily available mineral wealth-and, where it's said ancient Dragons still lurk in meditative isolation, consuming the unwary.
Description of city, founding and additional information: Foxport was founded, as many seaports are, by tragedy. The Alanis, a sumptuous trading galley bound with gifts and slaves for a distant king of a land that is cursed by the modern inhabitants of the city, was driven into the rocks by one of the frequent and ferocious storms that better the shores of the area. By luck and providence alone, they struck upon the only land they could see-a peninsula high enough to be immune to the waves and wind. Legend says they saw nothing living upon the island but a single desert fox hiding in his hole, and after he had been unceremoniously shot and eaten, they decided it was a good a name as any for their new city.
The Alanis was stripped for supplies, it's planks and masts being formed into the first homes of the crew. Though they dined fine enough on the salted meats and wines at first, originally intended to feed a royal audience, food and water quickly became scarce. Expeditions found underground springs and game in the desert like land beyond, but they were difficult to manage-so, the crew put the slaves to use, hauling water and bringing back meat. Boats were fashioned to harvest the sea-fish, abalones and crustaceans were hauled in by the net load, as soon as nets were able to be spun. And for several years, the flag of their nation flew proudly over the ramshackle city-waiting for rescue. But in time, the servants and their descendants began to grow restless of waiting for a return to slavery-and likewise, did the Crews patience wane. A revolt broke out, during the month of low tides-for the rebel leader Al-Pasha has picked his time well, for the weapons and armor he had collected for his forces slowly over the months and years were secreted in the many underwater caves all along the shore, only accessible at those times. He took the city by force, in a surprisingly bloodless coup-he was, in fact, the only one who died-likely slain by the victory feast, victim of bad shellfish-though people always prefer outlandish rumor to simple explanation. His wife and lover was declared ruler of the city via unanimous decision, and she proved to be a forgiving ruler, though not in the case of those who had mistreated their former captives greatly.
Foxport is today, a small and vibrant town-built primarily on sea trade, where they handle the tons of shallow draft vessels that prowl up and down the shores, loaded with goods and sundry. They are ruled by a single leader who shares unofficial control with a congregate of the richest traders in town-an exclusive club that rules most behind the scenes.
Most of the upscale buildings are rough white marble, though half of the town is made of less rich rock, all quarried painstakingly from the deserts beyond. A good portion of the town is composed of buildings designed to cater to sailors-pubs, alehouses, whorehouses and gambling dens-all with a reputation of unsurpassed quality and to provide an amazingly good time at an 'affordable' price. A city of Sin before organized religion. Foxports docks are also stone, designed to float along with the tides-providing safe haven and entertainment to anyone who can afford it. Given the city is often blockaded by violent storms, they keep impressive stocks of supplies in the underground for riding out the bad ones. The city itself is laid out in a rectangular fashion-with increasingly better architecture and the higher class occupying the central areas, and the poorer on the outside. Sea walls tend to clearly delineate the social strata, with the center being composed of white marble palaces an fort like crenelated walls-and the extreme outer rim usually being wiped away by rogue waves every so often-along with it's miserable inhabitants in wooden shacks.
Author
Topic: Ab Urbem Condita: Citystates [2/6] (Read 1378 times)