Baren

Overview

Baren is the least important of Dosjorya's six cities, and yet it has grown to be one of the larger cities due to its proximity to the Ocean. Bordered by the short, spring fed Galopa River and watched over by Cosaco Tower, Baren has few land roads leading to it; most travel to and from the city involves sailing.

Characteristics

Most everything pertaining to daily life in Baren involves water. Canals have been dug into certain sections of the city, mainly the affluent and merchant districts, that lead to the Galopa River. Flooding is a common occurrence in these areas, so buildings were made to stand on stone columns. the city's citadel sits in this area, as does many other important buildings. Further away from the canals and river, the land floods less often and buildings were built normally with no protections against severe floods. However, most buildings are relatively recent and have been built with a second floor in the event its occupants need to escape to higher ground. The worst flooding events have originated from strong ocean storms that bring rain, wind, and angry seas, which has led generations of Baren residents to attempt to storm proof their city in every way they can.
The most common profession is fishing, with family fishermen catching freshwater fish and hired fishermen manning boats that sail out into the ocean. Seafood is the city's main export, supplying Hasenburg, River's Edge, and Oaklenda as well as smaller towns and villages away from the coast. Unlike other coastal cities like Landfall and Tanfor, Baren relies on this trade and has worked to build this industry to support any amount of growth it might see. Fishing attracts a large number of people willing to brave the risks for good money as those merchants that transport the caught fish sell it to more affluent Dosjoryans. Prices often end up being inflated to the benefit of both the merchants and fishermen, though this places seafood out of reach of the average person, and no other coastal settlement produces enough at competitive prices to truly compete with Baren.

History

Baren was founded soon after the formal end to the war between the Gendirlo and humans, a few years after Hasenburg became the second permanent in Dosjorya. Other villages had been founded in the intervening time, though they no longer exist, making Baren the third oldest settlement in modern Dosjorya. 
Those that founded Baren desired to keep alive what was left of those trades involving the ocean, as some people then still harbored a desire to return to their homes across the ocean. They knew their generation would never be able to cross the wide ocean, and the next several generations would not be able to either, but they hoped that by keeping alive the knowledge of how to build and sail boats large and sturdy enough to sail far beyond the horizon, one day Dosjorya could contact Tyoka and the Iksen kingdom and the two nations could become allies and trading partners. However, the war against the Gendirlo had killed countless men and as they died, so to did some of their secrets. The dream of sailing across the ocean to return home faded after a few generations, and the only knowledge of boat making and sailing that survived was the minimum needed to sail close to shore and navigate rivers.

Type

City