Uthâri
Uthâri is a large city located on lake Ritaru in the Soundless Sea. Once a great merchant hub, over the past centuries it has fallen into ruin. The Uthâri Guild of Merchants runs the city, and they hold control over the trade district and ports. The Guild is in charge of policing and crime prevention, but only applies these services to the inhabitants of the inner city. Outside the walls, the city is rampant with disease and crime, and most people don’t have basic needs for living. The only reason this goes unchecked is the cheap prices of land: even the poorest person has a roof over their head.
Without trade from Uthâri’s sister city, Sôbea, the city would have collapsed long ago. Due to pirate activity in The Moaning Sea, trade by sea to Southern and Western Ilucin is not safe using oceanic shipping. Thus, the Marble Road was created connecting Uthâri and Sôbea through the Soundless Sea. In order for shipping between the two cities to persist, the ports of each settlement must be well maintained, as well as connections to the Marble Road.
The lack of policing in Uthâri make it one of the best places to find illicit goods. It’s largest export does not consist of goods, but flesh. Uthâri slavers are known throughout Ilucin for their dark trade, and this does not help brighten public image of the city.
Demographics
Uthâri has a diverse array of people who live within its limits. The most predominant race are olive skinned humans, who are native to the Soundless Sea. Other than humans, the demographics are hard to pin down. Since most of the Uthâri Guild of Merchants are humans living in in the inner city, they are the only ones from who demographics are collected from. All of the populus outside the walls are unregulated, and no solid numbers on race can be determined. This unregulated nature means races of all kinds live in the slums of Uthâri.
Government
The Uthâri Guild of Merchants are the ruling people of the city. They function as a Oligarchy, with the head of each guild taking up a position in the government. These heads, called the Leaders of the People, are the absolute power in Uthâri. They are headed by the Duke of Uthâri, who is elected from within the heads of the guilds. There are no public ballots, and issues with the government are usually dealt with before it reaches the Leaders.
Because of their background in trade and their ties with business in Uthâri and elsewhere, most decisions are made to maximize mercantile profit. This usually comes at a cost to the people.
Defences
Uthâri shows signs of great defenses in its past, but these have fallen to ruin in recent years. The wall of the inner city, once manned twenty four hours and lined with siege engines is now crumbling and unguarded. The only guards who patrol are lookouts who watch for advancing forces.
Uthâri’s greatest defense from a land attack is actually its slums. Dense and surrounding the walls, it would slow approaching attackers and keep them at too far of a range to attack
The place in which Uthâri is weak is its port side. Due to this, most of the defence budget goes to upkeep of anti-ship trebuchets and ballista. When the city was originally built, there were no walls erected on the shore side as naval combat was not a predicted problem. Now, the Guilds don’t want one built as Uthâri has not been attacked by sea in centuries and the nobles enjoy their waterfront view.
The city garrison consists of companies of archers, footsoldiers, cavalry and a small navy. It has been decided that mercenary groups native to the Soundless Sea would be hired in times of war, as this is cheaper than having a standing army.
Industry & Trade
Uthâri is known for two exports: slaves and drugs. The lack of government restrictions in trade mean that it is one of the few civilized areas where the exchange of these illicit goods is allowed.
On the trade front, Uthâri’s connection to Sobea means that a large portion of goods moves through the city on a daily basis. Ships come into port, offloading their goods to caravans which then set off by land for Sobea.
Even though many different goods move through Uthâri, not many of them are sold there. The better markets that fetch higher prices exist in more civilized cities from Sobea all the way to the northern areas of Akroma.
Infrastructure
The inner city has many civil luxuries expected in a wealthy city district. Running water is found in most large buildings, allowing nobles to bathe and drink without leaving their homes. Most waste water drains into Lake Ritaru, but there has not been any environmental issues from this to date. The inner city of Uthâri is well known for its bath houses. A center of social life, the hot springs bath houses are situated on gives the city its largest source of heated water.
The roads in the inner city are also well maintained. Made of cobblestone, there are few potholes and the width is enough for two carriages to ride abreast. A group of street sweepers are employed to keep the roads clear of dust and dirt, as well as garbage free.
One of the more commonplace structures in the inner city are gardens, maintained by the guilds situated near by. A sort of competition has arose between guilds: the one with the best kept gardens is said to be the most well off.
Once you leave the walls of the inner city, the civil services change immensely. The Uthâri guild of merchants can’t get away with providing no infrastructure to the slums, but what they do provide is the bare minimum. Public well pumps are the only source of water, and citizens wait hours in peak times to fill their buckets and barrels.
The main roads leading to the inner city are cobblestone, but they are not kept as clean. Streets not connecting to the inner city are dirt and narrow, surrounded by abodes on both sides.
History
The City of Uthâri was built in direct response to the advent of piracy on the Moaning Sea. After Sôbea became one of the trade giants of Southern Ionin, they needed a safe route to send goods north. The piracy issue prompted the creation of the Marble Road across the Soundless Sea. The goods traveling over land were at risk from many threats, so mercenary guilds were created to guard caravans traveling the desert. This was still a better alternative to shipping overseas.
The traders built a small port city at the northern end of the road, since after the Moaning Sea was avoided trade by water was feasible. When word of a small port city came to the Pirate Isles, they mustered their forces to besiege the city. Because there were little defences, the pirates believed that this would be an easy raid. They were incorrect in this assumption.
A captain, going by the name Uthâri, caught wind of the plan to sack the city. He informed Sôbea, and this information allowed them to mobilize before the pirates. When the enemy arrived, the city had been fortified with troops and vessels, and no battle even occurred. The raiders knew they would lose against the overwhelming odds stacked up against them.
Because Uthâri’s information had saved the fledgling settlement, he was to be awarded lordship. However, when the word was sent out to find him no one answered. The crew who came to give the information was questioned about their captain, and they knew not of someone going by that name. In memory, the city was named after him, much to the dismay of the nobles. Rumor had spread that the information came from the pirates themselves, and their shining bastion to the north had been named after a criminal. That bitterness has fallen away over the years, and the City of Uthâri has stood strong.
Because the city was founded in the name of trade, it was ruled by those who had financed its construction. The walls and port had been made without the money of any government, and the first buildings were funded by the guilds that would occupy them. People were permitted to settle outside the walls without restriction, and soon a shanty town had formed around the city. This wealth gap was the beginning of the city’s downfall.
Before long, the shanty town had grown to immense size. The people living there started demanding rights from the city, but Uthâri did not grant them anything, The guilds knew those who lived in their inner city deserved to be there. Those on the outside had no rights in return for almost infinite freedom. The only laws were not to obstruct the four roads into the city, and never to enter.
Before long the city began to implode, and today it is a shell of its former self. The main exports are slaves and drugs, and those who come there from the south do not stay long. The people of the outer city are still ignored by the rulers, and the inner city is still held to be a paradise. How long this will last no one knows.
Image Gallery
Slums of Uthari
Port of Uthâri, the Palace of the People visible in the backdrop
Maps
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City of Uthâri
Type
Large city
Population
4500
Location under
Owning Organization
