Vicus (VY-cus)
Demographics
The town of Vicus is a haven for the lesser races all across Chromaticos, and even more so for those with an interest in agriculture or physical labor. Only two dragonborn families reside within, and their influence does not spread much further than the roads of Vicus itself. The rest of the population is a combination of humans, dwarves, tabaxi and a small group of tortles.
Government
Two dragonborn families that live within Vicus each control a part of it. Both families control a stake of 50% of the land that Vicus lays on, and so they split control over it. The Lorgath family runs the financials of the town and are responsible for the taxes, bookkeeping and overall spending of the town. The Wrythil family supervises the labor and exports for the town, keeping track of whose producing what crops at what time of year, which farmers will have lesser yield for a specific year as well as the hiring of additional farm hands.
The laws within are based primarily on respecting the foundation of the town: the love of farming. It is illegal for farmers to interfere with another family's fields, crops or overall property in any way that will affect their output for the year's harvest. Other examples of Vicus law include abstaining from physical altercations on the days of a festival, refusal to honor trade agreements regarding farm equipment/labor and failure to provide sufficient notice of employment resignation. Honoring the virtues and characteristics of farming is a very important ideal to the population of Vicus, and they uphold this with a strict fist.
Breaking a typical law will only result in an average punishment. The dragonborn families are even lenient when it comes to breaking more serious laws, such as disrespecting an upper-race-individual. But when it comes to breaking a law that disrespects farming, then the town lays down their harshest punishment. Tourists are exempt from this, due to the nature of their visitations, but permanent residents are exiled from the town, forbidden to return. Even passing through as a pitstop can warrant a death sentence from the farmers who were wronged if they find the lawbreaker within their town.
Industry & Trade
Vicus has always been a farming town. The climate, soil and nearby resources lend themselves to the agricultural side so heavily that any other industry tends to fizzle out within a few years of starting. The few professions that remain outside of farming are the town doctor, a few teachers for the schools in town, the clergy for both Tiamat and Bahamut, and the Council of Dragons representatives in Town Hall. On occasion, a family with knowledge in a side-trade such as woodcarving, metalworking or herbalism may create something to aid in an area of farming, but as a whole, the town's focus has always and will always be farming.
Their exports and imports reflect this focus. The little town exports more than 50% of the food available in Chromaticos. This number alone is what allows them to prosper despite their limited population and engagement in other areas of trade. One other notable export that they ship out is incredible wines of different varietals. A minority of the families in Vicus have vineyards on their land, with each family providing something unique to the wine they produce. The Lorgath family even owns two separate vineyards, one for ice wine and the other a special type of wine known as Mino Drago. A bottle of Vicus wine is often viewed as a prize wine and a symbol of status.
A majority of items that Vicus imports are for the farms. Building materials, tools, heavy equipment and seeds for certain prize crops. Other items that are brought in are usually delicacy or beer related. There are a few inns in town that will sometimes make specials out of other region delicacies for their dishes. And when there is food, a restaurant always needs beer to go along with it.
Infrastructure
The townspeople that have inhabited Vicus have always been some clever folks. In the early days they used ditches dug into the ground to funnel water to their crops, along with digging wells to have easier access to drinking water. Eventually they figured out how to install piping and integrated it with more advanced irrigation techniques. The result has been the prosperous economic and agricultural growth of the town.
Most recently, the small band of tortles that have made Vicus their home have created a unique watermill design. The individual sloughs of the wheel are carved and cut in such a manner to resemble a fish's body. The resulting product allows the sloughs to turn under the smallest of water currents, such that even mills stationed in near-stationary water can still turn. These mills have been installs at numerous spots along the river running just east of Vicus.
History
Founded in 37 EoD by a batch of farming dragonborn families, Vicus has stood the test of time as one of the longest living settlements of Chromaticos. The town originally started off as a trade outpost within the most favorable territory of the continent. Being smack dab in the middle led to a great number of travelers that would pass through and buy produce. The amount of passerby also made opportunity for trading, and after a few years, the founding families created a tavern and inn to provide sit-down meals in addition to selling food to travelers. The inn, Graceful Reprieve, stands to this day, offering the same service and smile from the first century of Ruxan.
The town was threatened for a number of years by the ever-growing threat of gnolls, particularly the Kharne Clan. Many times the Crimson Tide would roll across the plains and hills, strike the town, pillage their food and escape with a company of kidnapped women. For a period of time, it looked like Vicus would be abandoned. The defenseless town just served too great a target for the gnolls to repeatedly attack. It was such a prime target, that the Kharnes wouldn't wipe the town out in one swoop, instead allowing them to recuperate and recover some damages before striking once more and inflicting further pain. Eventually this was put to a halt by several factors that drastically reduced the gnolls numbers. However, the damage to the town was done by this point. Their population had dwindled, and migrants avoided the town like the plague.
The resurgence of the town was brought on by the Tinderhoof family, a group of prominent minotaur farmers that had migrated from the northern reaches of Ruxan. Because the original ruling families had abandoned the town, the land was dirt cheap for them to buy several plots of land and plant crops from different regions. Fruits from the far north, desert vegetables, all of the delicacies that had to be bought previously were now being farmed and sold at complete profits. The record profits revitalized the Graceful Reprieve and brought numbers back to the town. Despite all the good they did for the town; the hands of jealousy and strife came into play. Different dragonborn families migrated in and immediately usurped the lands from the Tinderhooves, using their degree of royalty/higher racial standing as a basis. Once all was said and done, the Tinderhooves were left with nothing more than a small patch of land, incapable of being used for anything but grapes.
The circumstances that followed the Tinderhooves are what created the basis for Vicus' current-day laws regarding respect and care for ones' fellow farmers. Once the dragonborn family that married into the Tinderhooves nearly ended the bloodline, the remaining dragonborn that had any semblance of respect for the minotaurs managed to purchase the remaining lands. Then, through negotiation with Dragon Lord Aida (before her disappearance) the two families that had purchased a majority of the land exiled the other families that created the hardships for the Tinderhooves. The only family spared for this was the family ultimately responsible for their fate, but that family was eventually managed through the actions of Simeon Tinderhoof years later. The two families that now owned the entirety of Vicus enacted their new laws, hired workers and gave them portions of the land for their own possession and ulitimately formed the community that Vicus is now today. Those two families are the current owners; the Wrythill and the Lorgath.
Founding Date
37 EoD
Type
Town
Population
~475
Inhabitant Demonym
Vy's
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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