Goutara
This great trading city just south of the Spine is the southern terminus of the Great North Road. With a population of 90,000 the city is an ethnically diverse mixing bowl. As many as 10,000 of the city’s inhabitants are Northrons or Northron Corgerians, 5,000 Danites and Dark Corgerians, 5,000 Mountaineers, 10,000 inhabitants of mixed ethnicity and 60,000 Southrons or Southron Corgerians. Conflicts between these groups, especially criminal organizations, is common. The city is surrounded by a network of lakes and canals which feed the city’s intensely farmed hinterland as well as working as a waterborne transportation network. Besides the Great North Road four other major trade roads feed into the city. The Road to the Setting Sun goes west, the Tomar Road connects to a major river port which is in turn connected to the Sea of Lamps, the Orta Road heads east to the city of the same name and Ortu Road swings southwest heading towards Lao and connecting a number of cities along the River Lao.
The city has a number of permanent enclosed market places including a spice market, a cloth market, a jewelry market, rug market, and glass market. Each of the city’s neighborhoods has an outdoor market that is open for four or five days a week. The city has a huge number of temples representing both northern and southern faiths.
Demographics
With a population of 90,000 the city is an ethnically diverse mixing bowl. As many as 10,000 of the city’s inhabitants are Northrons or Northron Corgerians, 5,000 Danites and Dark Corgerians, 5,000 Mountaineers, 10,000 inhabitants of mixed ethnicity and 60,000 Southrons or Southron Corgerians.
Defences
The walls of Goutara are many miles long, following watercourses whenever possible. The walls typically run about 20' tall with towers every 150' feet.
Industry & Trade
Year round the city is busy with commerce. Silk, cotton, spices, jade, sugar, perfume are wholesaled here for shipment to the lands north of the Spine. From the north gems, steel, furs, copper and tin are collected for sale in the cities of the south. The city's population consumes a great deal of produce from the surrounding countryside including dried fish, flour, jerked meat, fruits and vegetables. The city has many manufacturing enterprises with significant work forces engaged in carpet making, metal working, weaving, pottery
Infrastructure
The city has an extensive network of canals that connect several basins used as harbors. Near the northern and southern gates are extensive warehouse complexes. The city has a dozen in door markets and bazaars.
Guilds and Factions
The city is a complicated landscape with numerous guilds, criminal gangs (usually ethnically based), and religious sects. Slayites, Zalarites, Alyites, Khannites, the Syrican Brotherhood are among the groups operating within the city. The Grave Wardens manage a large necropolis on the city's southern edge where the Palace of the Final Repose acts as the faith's region headquarters and a ceremonial center.
Architecture
The city is a hodgepodge of styles brought in by various different groups. The most prominent building material is backed mud brick used by the city's Southron residents. These structures are traditionally covered with a blue wash. Elaborate iron window grills are used on many structures.
Geography
The city is divided into neighborhoods by major canals. The commercial heart of the city is the Square of the Voyagers where merchant caravans going to the north or coming from the north originate or disperse. The King and his court live in a sprawling palace complex on an island on the west side of the city.
Alternative Name(s)
The Blue City
Type
Large city
Population
90,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Goutarans
Included Locations
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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