Teucra

This Aphygian city was once an outpost where the growing nations of Agrophon made tenuous contact with the ancient Chromatic Sedge. Awed and frightened by its powerful neighbors, the city grew hastily until it was a metropolis which could barely sustain itself. Teucra's personality and relationship with the dragons are dual, and may turn on their heel depending on who's in charge. Some dragons in the Sedge refer to the city as "Twoface." This is in reference to the mispronunciation "Toocra," which the locals hate (they prefer "Təcrə").

Teucra's Glowering Face

The rapid expansion of Teucra was driven by fear and self-defense, in preparation for a possible attack by the dragons. But the Sedges largely ignored the city. Teucra drained a huge amount of resources into a war that never happened, leaving it too big and too poor to give its citizens the life they were promised.
Frustrated, and gold-feverish, many in Teucra set off on the Dorsulgard Skirmishes. Dragons' treasure, vulnerable to tiny pillagers and exaggerated by rumor, was ripe for the taking. By the time the dragons confronted Teucra about its people's banditry, there was so much money pouring in (or expected to pour in) that Teucra couldn't be convinced to cut it off. Once a parasite on Aphygia, the city found a new host in these dragons.
Most of the pillagers kept their treasure close to their chest, and very little has been distributed back to the city. Even at the height of the skirmishes, the health of Teucra continued to decline.

Teucra's Laughing Face

Whether out of compassion or fear, some of Teucra's oft-changing governors have tried to rebuild their attempts at diplomacy. A few dragons are still willing to trade, and even those little efforts have brought life and prosperity back to the city. In the wake of the Dorsulgard Skirmishes, a lot of dragon wyrmlings came to Teucra for shelter, but they leave to go further west as quickly as they arrive. Teucra is reasonably well-liked when it shows this face, though it may have an obnoxious tendency to "forget" its own history, and it's obviously in danger of turning once again.

Precious open space

The buildings in Teucra are tightly packed and often share walls. Each establishment may be repurposed and divided into smaller sections, so that the inside of a complex may be much more intricate than the outside would suggest. In order to enter some buildings, you may need to use a neighboring door. Structures near the middle of the city are usually two stories tall, even though the materials and technology are incomplete for keeping them stable. Most Teucrans are confined to very small homes.
There are a few places to go for some open air. The main roads are wide enough for multiple carriages, but they're crowded during the day unless there's a fight going on. Shrines to dozens of gods are speckled throughout the city, resembling open gazebos in small public parks. The city guard finds it very important to keep the peace in these little oases. Loiterers face severe punishment if they're unlucky.

History

Recently the city has faced terrible unrest. It's right up against the frontline of the war, and with no castles or keeps, its clear that Teucrans never expected to be so close to the crossfire. The Duumvirate hasn't attacked directly, but they could starve out the city if they're patient, and they've already planted a few agents. The alliance between the Duumvirate and the Metallic Sedge isn't completely formalized, but a handful of wyrmlings are taking orders from Ornity, and many more wyrmlings are falsely suspected.
The Chromatic Sedge, the Metallic Sedge, and the unaligned locals are constantly getting into fights and dividing into subfactions. Residents and visitors will see dark reminders of the Dorsulgard Skirmishes. The town's soldiers and arms aren't nearly equipped to fight dragons, but they're more than able to make a wyrmling's day-to-day life a misery.

Population

21,400