Narel (Nar-ell)

History

Narel as it stands today was formed as part of an agreement between the Aestarans and Ragnvaldr Stálison, a Korsair captain, some decades following the formation of the Aestaran Empire. The Aestarans offered him land, money, and the hand of a noble lady. In return he would assist in protecting the southern coast of the Empire against his brethren's continued raids upon the towns and cities along the ocean and rivers, and trade protect trade routes that run through that area. The captain accepted and he along with a number of his more loyal comrades left the Korsar lands to live in the Empire. He assisted in the formation of the first Imperial Navy and the protection of his new lands from his brethren. When he grew ill some years later, he died without heir, but his wife was pregnant with his child. A war of succession began between two of his captains, who by Korsar tradition believed they would each be the rightful next in line, and his wife, who's traditions demanded his unborn child be his future heir.
The War of Three Sails finally ended in an agreement to split the rule of the land between the three parties, Votsk (the Admiral's son), Lewyn, and Thathok, with some specifics on who heads the government.
Narel grew quickly from that time on as a center of trade between the Empire and other nations outside Harental. It's trade exploded after contact with the Zarrathian trade guilds, and as such it's population swelled beyond its bounds. It is now the second largest city in the entirety of the Empire.

Geography

Narel is a port city located at the mouth of the Vimur Run where it pours out into King's Bay (originally the Bay of Ragnvaldr) where ships from across the world dock, naturally protected from the more intense oceanic weather, to trade their wares in the Empire's port city.
Surrounding Narel is a mix of rolling hills, dense forests used for construction of ships, and marshes formed by a number of river deltas that run along the coast.

Government

The government of Narel is strange not only for the Aestaran Empire, but in general as well. The city and it's lands are ruled by a group of four leaders known as the "High Admirals". The High Admirals simultaneously lead and compete for leadership over their city and lands with each other. These four leaders each head a "ship", an organization lead by them who governs the city. The Admirals are named after the three original Admirals: Votsk, Lewyn, and Thathok; and the fourth Admiral who came to power after one of the ships split: Zamme; there was a fifth ship at one point but it lost power and was overtaken by the other ships.
Each High Admiral rules over their own territory from their own separate seat of power while constantly attempting to undercut and outplay each other. In order to ensure that some form of governance is done, each Admiral takes turns at the head of government, passing on the mantle of ruler at the new moon. This sometimes causes chaotic shifts in the rule of the city with laws that were passed being overwritten or changed by a new Admiral when they take charge.
Due to Narel being the most important part of their kingdom, the Admirals tend to ignore the plights of areas outside the city that do not directly effect it (such as the towns on the edge of the Bare Weald that cut lumber for ships, or the towns on the shore that supply food for the populace), they are more than willing to allow the Empire to govern these lands as they wish and the Empire gladly accepts them as their direct property in turn.

Places of Interest

Flooded District

The Flooded District is much as it's name suggests, flooded. In the wet season the Vimur River tends to overflow, this was an issue for some time before the city was able to create it's significant sewer and drainage system. Unfortunately this did have repercussions, a district along the coast was the site of the end of this drainage system and when the barriers that held the water failed, it flooded, this caused the ground to erode and the already sea-level ground fell further into the sea. Now this district that floods on most high tides is the home to the destitute and poor of the city who cannot afford to live anywhere else. The Flooded District has no direct entrance into the city, instead, a wall was erected to prevent the rest of the city from being effected by it or its inhabitants. Its citizens, due to the conditions often become ill and it is not uncommon to find dead bodies in its streets, whether from the citizens or dumped there from another part of the city knowing no one would care to notice another.

The Tangled Gutter

Narel is an expansive and cluttered city in its own right, but what appears on the surface is only the beginning. Beneath the city is a massive labyrinth of tunnels and chambers that act, at least originally, as drainage and sewer passages, but has since expanded into a home for urchins, monsters, wretches, criminals, and shady dealers. The Tangles is a dangerous place for those unprepared.

Prisoners' Carnival

The Prisoners' Carnival is Narel's brutal court of justice, although in reality it was just a public spectacle of torture and execution. It is located in the most public part of town: the Market. The "judges" of the Carnival boast a one hundred percent confession rate, but it is widely known (and ignored) that those who confess do so under extreme duress.
It also holds an arena, where duels to the death are organized by the Two-Faced, a street gang that operates out of an old gambling house.

Thal Enclave

The Thal Enclave is often mistaken for a tower in the bay, similar to the one that once existed in Everdeep, when it is actually a large coiled tree that sits on an island in the bay, removed from the city. It is the home of the Thal, a guild of navigators and sea-based druids that excel at crossing the high sea. The Thal's headquarters sits on the island but its members rarely make it a home for longer than it takes to find another ship out of the bay, or how long it takes to learn their trade.

The Admiral Beacons

The Admiral Beacons is the name of a number of lighthouses that are built at the entrance of and at several points within King's Bay.

Mariner's Lot

Mariner's Lot is a temple to Lautan on a seaside cliff at the edge of the city. It is formed from a number of wrecked sea vessels, weapons, and pieces of wreckage and extends over the bay.

Organizations

The Thal

The Thal are a group of navigators, ship builders, and sea-based druids that assist ships in traversing the seas for trade or otherwise. They also have their own ships which they use for trade, transport, and combat. They are the best at what they do, both ship building and sailing, and as such their prices are high. Their numbers are maintained in part by the deals they make for their services, although not as commonly done anymore (causing the decline of this faction in recent decades), recruiting from their passengers and making deals for children of those who require their services.
As such, their members are split into two groups: the Sjofodd (sea-born) and the Sjorvet (sea-gifted). The Sjofodd are individuals who are born on a Thal ship. By the old laws of the sea, a child born on their ship was to be given to them, regardless of parentage, to be raised into the Thal. The Sjorvet are those who were not born on board their ship, but were recruited, often as children and sometimes as part of a contract binding their services to a person or organization for a time.
The guild headquarters in Narel, but ask any of them and their answer is always the same: their home is the sea. It is where they were raised, it is where they live, it is where they will die.

The Nightingales

The Nightingales are a widespread thieves' guild, spread out through the north, but many believe that these smugglers' headquarters are housed somewhere in Narel, likely in the Tangles. Regardless of their origin, there is little denying that they play a role in Narel's trading system. As a guild of smugglers and operators of black market sites Narel is a paradise for their practices.

Religion

The people of Narel are varied and many, but they are still a part of the Empire, and as such worship revolves around the Imperial Pantheon. Some small pockets of foreign cults can be found on its maze-like streets, but the majority of its citizens worship: Lautan, Segren, Umos, Lethene, Reshkigal, or Ord. Lautan, being the god of the sea and storms tends to be a oft called upon deity for sailors and fishermen, and their temple, the Mariner's Lot - made from the hollowed hulls of several ships - overlooks the King's Bay on a cliff and extends over the sheer rock wall to sit above its waters.

Demographics

Human Majority; Diverse mix of other races rarely seen in the Empire.

Other Names City of Sails, Port of Five Ships
Nation Holy Empire of Aestara
Region Oeystrand
Size Metropolis
Government Council (High Admirals)
Alignment Chaotic
Demonym Narelites
Adjective Narellan
Ruler(s) High Admirals of Narel

Type

Large city

Population

100,000+

Inhabitant Demonym

Narellan

Location under

Harental

Owning Organization

Holy Empire of Aestara