City of Besseem
Large walled city that stradles the great canal of Nysisus. (See
Nysisus and Muriel).
Demographics
Prediminantly Human at 55%, followed by Elves 17% and half elves 13%. The next largest demographic is Gnomes at 4% and the remainging 11% are a mix of all other races.
Of the 88,000 residents 75,000 live within the walls of the city and the remaining 13,000 live outside. This population is poor and live in makeshift squater's housing.
Government
Besseem is ruled by a monarch, the Queen Superior. Her rule is guided by the Bessemer Concord, a sort of constitution. Under her are the Lords Major and the Lords Minor. There are 4 major lords and 16 minor lords who serve at the queen's pleasure. Under the laws of the Bessemer Concord the Queen is the highest law and judge. The laws she creates may be vetoed by a 3/4th agreement amoung the lords. Each of these lords is also a leader in a knightly order. These orders defend the city and environs around Besseem.
Reporting to the lords major and minor are the Councils of the city. Each ward has a council made up of promenent citizens and guild masters. These councils run the functions of the city. There are three wards outside of the city that have no representation by council.
Defences
Besseem is surrounded by massive 40' walls that are 25' thick with passages and parapets surrounding the city. There are 20 towers 80' tall stocked with weapons. Atop each tower is a ballista that can cover 180 degrees. Each tower has stores for 3 months for 12 guards to defend that tower.
However, the canal is the most important asset in the city and it is protected by three fortresses armed with a mix of medium and small cannons with wide coverage. Any ship that has hostile intent in the canal is going to be assulted quickly. Each of these forts are staffed with 30 gunners.
Besseem has not been assulted by land in 200 years. It has been the victim of a few pirate raids under false flags over the centuries and their canal defenses make short work of these ill advised plans.
Infrastructure
The city's main infrastructure is the canal that bisects the city. In the center to the west is the Lake Urcha, an artifical lake that is unually deep (shallow end is 18' deep, deepest point is 45') so even ocean going ships can enter and tie up. Opposite the lake is the harbor. This area is mostly for loading and unloading local ships, fishing boats, and for ships in dry dock. All along the canal ships can moore and unload. The city is raised up about 16' from the surface of the canal. There are ramps every so often connecting the canal level to the city. There are underground storage rooms located along this area. The city was raised to avoid flooding long ago.
The city has a stormdrain system that empties either into the lake or the harbor. The storm drains are sized between 3' in diameter upto 12' for the main lines that empty into the water. In some locations there is freshwater delivered to public cisterns, but it's orignin is something of a mystery. The rest of the city gets it water from wells.
The city has several main paved roads. the main ones around the castle seem to be a form of impervious synth stone. The other paved areas are of cobble stone in more recent times. The rest of the city is unpaved and has either wooden sidewalks, gravel or just dirt tracks. There are three ancient bridges crossing the canal. These canal bridges have towers and automated sections that lift up to allow boats to pass through. Like the canal these are fully automated and automatons are housed in the towers that provide periodic maintenance to the bridges. The bridge senses and anticipates a ship's size and movement and then opens the bridge. The opening is wide enoug for just one boat so captains will coordinate their movements to avoid collisions and traffic jams.
Besseem has a few dry docs for repairing vessels but they rarely produce any new ships, and when they do they are gally size or smaller. Wood has to be imported so it is an expensive place to build a ship.
Districts
West Castle District
This district is centered around the main fort at the west gate. The castle gates are open from dawn to dusk. Hundreds of guards and knights are based here. The surrounding area is full of inns, taverns and brothels that cater to the travelers and the soldiers. This area is ripe for fights and is dangerous at night.
Knight Square
This area is well to do and home to many lords of the city who are also knights. Situated here is one of the canal forts, the fighters guild and many shops to outfit a warrior.
Barathus
This district is primarily middle and lower class servants and workers. This is primarily residential with the ocassional shop at street level. Areas along the canal house more of the taverns and inns for sailors that come ashore. This eastern side is more lively.
Kuthe Town
This section of the city is the least well served and is primarily poor families in substandard housing. there are few shops ans services here.
North Trade Ward
Home to the merchant's guild this area is the main shopping district of the city. Every building has retail space on the street level and several floors of appartments or housing above. Some of the buildings here reach up to 7 stories.
East Bank
This ward is a mix of wealthy and middle class homes and a few businesses. This area is home to the city servants and administrative classes. Banks and financial institutions can be found here.
Harbor
This area is home to industries, shops and workshops. Manufacturing and industrial processes are performed here. it is sparsely populated and home to a few workers. Is active from before dawn to a little after dusk.
South Ward
This is a middle class area of residences and shops. Is the lowest density area of the city, but most of the buildings are still 3 stories tall.
Outer wards
The outer wards are squaters buildings that have accumulated over time and in the absense of any major wars that threaten the city. These people are poor and are share croppers, servants, laborers or urchins that eek out their meger livings in the city during the day.
Kurh
The smallest of the settlements this district is the youngest having only been around for a century or so. irrigation cannals funnel human waste to the fields. This area is often violent to outsiders.
Krurum
This area is the largest and oldest outer ward. It has been here long enough to support some local commerce and shops. It is more organized and there self organized protection squads that break up fights and look for criminals who might cause trouble.
Murich
This slum is unusual in that is often visited by regular Besseem citizens. There is a funerary complex near the canal so there are often funeral processions through this part of town. The processions often have paid security to escort them through the ward and clear the streets.
Assets
The city has an enormous amount of storage space along the canal. The city usually has six months of grain and food stuffs on hand, extra building supplies and general goods. These storage areas are owned by the city and leased to warehousers who make the storage contracts.
This city has an expeditionary army of knights and horses to sally forth into the country side to put down any rebelions, hunt monsters or keep other cities from interfering their business.
The city has a mint and they produce a fair number of coins to help regulate trade. Goldsmiths and silversmiths are plentiful and Besseem can craft many treasures. Besseem is a center of trade and has many auction houses, warehouses and markets to trade goods and valuables.
Guilds and Factions
There is growing unrest in the city being cause by an unknown cult. This cult has only been in existence for a decade and its influence is spreading despite efforts to stamp out these practices. The violence often comes as uprisings against aristocrats or the wealthy, quick violent riots. There have also been a few murders of minor nobles that have not been solved.
Each of the districts has political bodies that organize and run that ward. Some are almost fully democratic and regular citizens are elected to these offices. Others are oligarchies of insiders and political movers and wealthy patrons. These councils do not interact much and when they do it under the watchful eyes of the city's lords. City councils can be forcefully disbanded by the council of lords so they have many limits on what they can do. Their primary job is to lobby for funds to maintain their ward of the city. Each council representative can petition the lords or the queen superior for funds and permissions to make improvements in their wards.
History
Founded in 446 as a small industrial outpost on a lake. When the canal was planned Besseem ended up in the middle of it. Over time this city became a metropolis much larger than what is currently standing. That metropolos was divided up in to smaller fiefdoms walled off and run by separate governments. In the year 1900 Besseem expanded their influence and reign to absorb these smaller cities into an empire, establishing the Queen Superior. But as Besseem's star rose and more and more trade and industry was drawn to Besseem these other cities shrank or where abandoned. The current city's walls were first laid out in 2358 and over time the city has expanded to fill this area.
Points of interest
Polytheon
The polytheon is a large civic building built for all of the philosophies to congregate and have spaces for their debates and practices. This city has anemic adhearance to philosophy and is much more interested in the practicality of making money and trading.
Castle Besseem
This castle has grown and shrunk over the years based on the power of the queen superior. It's current configuration is designed as a palace for the queen superior and and meeting hall for the lords of the city.
Mortal Grounds
This is the funerary complex that consists of a series of crematoriums, mausileums, and grave sites. With a population as large as Besseem this area is always active with funerals, mourners and attendents to the processions.
Tourism
There is not much of beauty to see in Besseem, and few great buildings. However, it is a place that drives business travelers to make deals, finance various schemes and plans, or arrange for auctions and wholesaling. These visitors will be on the lookout for distractions.
Architecture
The older parts of the city the first floors of the buildings are often built around the remains of ancient synth buildings. A column here or a wall there that no one could knock down or break when building the new building.
Geography
Besseem is a built on a great rolling plain. The city itself is raised up above the water line of the canal. The area is surrounded by a densly populated agricultural ring extending 30 miles beyond the walls. beyond that are ranch lands and grazing areas for livestock.
Climate
Weather and temperatures of Besseem are comparatively mild, but some seasons are extreme. the deepest parts of the winter can see extensive rain storms that cause flooding in some area of the city and turn the outwards in to mud pits. The summers can see some days in to the upper ninties and low hundreds some years.
Natural Resources
Besseem sits on a fertile plain that has thick top soil. 25 miles away is a granite quary that suppled stone for the walls and defences of the city, smaller quantities of stone are harvested now for construction projects. 45 miles to the northeast is an area that produces marble of average quality. To the southeast are some mines that deliver some small quantities of iron, copper, tin. Most material for the forges of this city are imported.
Founding Date
446
Type
Large city
Population
88,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Bessemer
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Characters in Location
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