Imperial City
The Imperial City is the largest city in the known world. With a population at times exceeding one million, it has fallen a bit into decline with outbreaks of disease and losses from war. The buildings of the Imperial City are tightly clustered, and tall, taller than most seen anywhere else in the known world, some stretching nearly twenty stories into the sky. Among it all is the wealth of the Fruitlands, constantly growing in gardens and curated medians in the streets. The wealth of the Fruitlands is nowhere more apparent, as massive fruits, vegetables, and grains grow in every corner, street, and yard, and vines crawl up the sides of all buildings, constantly being cut back by their inhabitants. Despite the sheer size of the Imperial City, it remains the City Where No One Starves.
Government
The enormity of the Imperial City's population makes it nearly impossible to manage as a traditional town or city in the Empire. Nominally, the city is under the direct control and rule of the Emperor, but in practice he appoints a Guardian Mayor to act as his hands. The Guardian Mayor is the final word on all decisions in affairs in the city and oversees the vast bureaucracy that actually manages things. The bureaucracy of the Imperial City is one of the largest and most intricate in the entire Empire, running everything from sanitation to law enforcement to customs. Over ten thousand people are involved in the constant maintenance and upkeep of all elements of the bureaucracy, and the Guardian Mayor has numerous department heads who oversee the whole affair and report back to him.
Defences
The Imperial City is predominantly protected by the existence of the Fruitlands Wall. Having overgrown its own city fortifications centuries ago, the Fruitlands Wall offers protection to the entire region. There are a few individually walled off portions of the town, including the halfling district ("Short-town"), and the banking district. These walls are meant more for internal security than protection against invasion. The Fruitlands Wall is protected by the bulk of the Imperial Army, while approach from the sea is watched by the Imperial Navy, the impressive fortifications, and the massive siege weapons located at Fort Truth at the entrance to the Imperial Bay. These are the exterior defenses, and there are four different citadels built within the city itself, with large armories and training yards meant for the Imperial Army.
The Imperial Army are the main protectors of the outer limits of the city, but within the city itself is the Imperial Policing Unit. The enforcement arm of the Imperial City bureaucracy, these are the people who keep the day to day peace and investigate any crimes that occur. There are over five thousand guardsmen that make up the Imperial Policing Unit, including armed guards, bureaucrats, and investigators. They are well armed and equipped, and most are locals recruited from the city itself, entirely human in presence. They are skilled at their knowledge of the urban byways of the city, and in an emergency can be called up as reinforcement regiments for the city's defense.
In addition to the Imperial Army and the Policing Unit, the Imperial Navy maintains their largest presence in the Imperial Bay, the largest protected harbor within the Jakonian Empire. During peace time, nearly one hundred warships of all sizes are typically present in the harbor or in the local shipyards. During wartime, these ships provide regular combat patrols to the surrounding shipping lanes. The Imperial Marine detachments for these ships are full prepared to be activated for the defense of the city, and consists of nearly twelve regiments of highly skilled soldiers.
Lastly, due to cutbacks within the Imperial armies, two of the four garrisons in the city have been abandoned, used exclusively by the Policing Unit to hold prisoners. That said, all four of these garrisons possess massive armories, including spoils of war and weapons used in past conflicts. Its said that in the vastness of these armories there are over a million weapons of all shapes and sizes. In the case of a catastrophic invasion, the city is authorized to hand these out to citizens to form a militia. It is roughly estimated that well over sixty thousand citizens could serve as decent soldiers in such a situation, and an additional sixty thousand as less suitable ones. The very threat of such a massive militia has given pause to many invaders over the centuries, which is why the Imperial City has never been captured by an attacking force.
Industry & Trade
The needs of the Imperial City is what spurs most of the local industry and trade. The city is often compared to a voracious beast, consuming all manners of resources in its constant pursuit of development. Producing no raw resources beyond food, the Imperial City has to import lumber, bricks, clay, and anything else required for the plethora of industry within. Steelworks satisfy local demand, but rarely have enough for export. The city depends largely upon the export of foodstuffs from the Fruitlands, to allow it to pay for the goods they require to maintain the infrastructure of the city. The financial sector of the Imperial City is the second most important trade taking place within its borders. The high elves offer the foundation of the entire economic system of Emicara, and the majority of coins produced come from the mints within. These coins are found all over, setting the specifications for all states' currencies. The financial service sector employs thousands of people, organizing investments and making money fortunes in simply trading money. Virtually every major corporation, trading company, or business in Emicara has an office in the Imperial City, in order to access its great financial reserves.
Infrastructure
The Imperial City is a marvel of architecture and engineering. Whenever a new idea has been formed or a new technology has been crafted, it is often implemented into the Imperial City first before finding its way to the wider world. Oil streetlamps, mechanical elevators in buildings, and dockside cranes are just a few samples of technologies that were implemented here first. The sewers of the Imperial City are well maintained and even patrolled, making sure that the city streets stay cleaned. A goodly number of buildings even have dedicated internal plumbing that allows for rapid disposal of wastes.
The true marvel of the Imperial City, however, is not its size nor the engineering. Instead it is what are called the "Farm Streets" of the city. The nature of the Fruitlands means that the region is constantly overflowing with lush products of all types of edible foods to enormous sizes, often ripening once or twice a day. The Imperial City has embraced this nature and although the streets are paved, open medians exist in the middle of each one, in which the foodstuffs are allowed to grow. Although there are farms outside of the city that take advantage of the crops, the ones grown within the city are free to all those who choose to harvest them. It is a tradition every morning to take what has grown outside of one's home and bring it in for dinner. Although this does result in a limited diversity of food, no one in the Imperial City goes hungry.
Assets
The Imperial City is vast and the array of assets and items available is nearly endless. There exist twelve marketplaces, over fifteen hundred taverns, hotels, and inns, almost four hundred blacksmiths, and even over fifty authorized magical item dealers and collectors. Nearly any good that exists can be found at these locations, and it is a treasure trove for any adventurer seeking out items to aid them on their quests. Unfortunately, it is illegal to sell magical items or weapons to nonhumans or halfbreeds in the Imperial City. It is possible to get around this prohibition, a task that's difficult and time consuming, but very few merchants in the Imperial City would let something like the law get in the way of a hefty profit, particularly considering the surcharges they can mount on top of a nonhuman's regular expense. For humans and traders, however, the Imperial City is a city of wonders that offers anything a person could want, assuming they have the time to find it.
The city also boasts the presence of the Imperial University. This is the foremost open center of learning in all of Emicara. With its towering structures maintained by magic, it is the tallest building in the entire city, stretching nearly forty stories in height. Not only do they offer the most intensive learning courses for wizards available, they also offer more mundane training. Engineers, artificers, and architects can all find practical courses of study, using many of the developments in the city itself as part of their learning. Philosophers, artists, and musicians also find schools of education, teaching them the ways of political and artistic thought, and how to avoid offending the sensibilities of the Church of the One Sun. The Imperial University possesses the largest library in the world outside of the Shin Empire, and it is freely available to the students willing to risk the journey into its wood and and paper halls.
Guilds and Factions
The Imperial City has dozens of special interest groups and committees each trying to push and pull the local politicians in different directions. Most of these organizations have very specific goals in certain locations, and rarely care for the affairs of the entire city. These groups include those that simply wish to see a new road through a neighborhood, an old unsightly building demolished, or increased access to internal plumbing or sewers. While important to the individuals within them, they have very little effect on the course of the city as a whole, and are thus the favorite of the Guardian Mayor to deal with, since they require the least amount of wrangling. Outside of the special interests groups are several major factions that strive for a higher level of influence.
The reigning faction is the forces of House Jakson. Led by the Guardian Mayor himself, House Jakson's first priority is the continued flow of wealth from the city into the house's pockets so that they can continue to pay for the prices of empire. Their main goal is essentially to use the wealth of the city to maintain the power of the entire Empire, channeling the city's wealth into communities outside of the Fruitlands. The policies pushed by House Jakson and its allies therefore tend to drive the Guardian Mayor in that direction.
The Church of the One Sun is based in the Imperial City and therefore is a major influence upon its direction. The Church is given considerable autonomy in the region around the Sunburst Citadel, their seat of power, and the Fellowship of the Palm and the Monastic Brotherhood both have offices there. They are constantly pushing for greater adherence to the strictest principles of the faith in the Imperial City. This includes limiting movements and opportunities for nonhumans, ideally removing them from the city limits altogether. They also are the ones behind legislation to keep women in their social places, and the laws that prevent a woman from traveling without a male in the city is solely their doing. They would like to see the Banking Coalition disbanded, but they are unwilling to place House Jakson in a position of having to choose between the city's wealth and the city's faith.
The Banking Coalition consists of a consortium of banking and trading families, predominantly high elves. They seek to maintain protections for their race and the half-elves in the Imperial City. They also attempt to push back against increased taxation and tariffs, to open up as much free trade as possible. Their efforts are directed at guiding the Guardian Mayor to enable the greater accumulation of funds and money, and to allow them to mint more gold and coinage to increase their own personal wealth. Although they are predominantly self-interested, they are known as advocates for both halflings and elves within the city limits.
The Imperial Navy is another active political force in the Imperial City, despite their nominal loyalty to House Jakson. The city is the main base for the fleet, and the sailors frequently have shore leave and additional time off inside the leisure districts of the port. Imperial Marines, likewise are heavily involved with the city. Many members of the navy have served alongside or at least fought other races and peoples and they chafe at the harsh restrictions for travel for both women and nonhumans in the Imperial City. They have been trying to push for greater legalization of pleasures in the city, and freedom of movement for all of its inhabitants, placing them consistently at odds with the Church of the One Sun.
The Imperial University is a political force all of its own. It is primarily self-interested, but due to the size of the institution, it is unavoidable that its attempts to expand have repercussions in the city's political system. The University seeks for less regulation on magical items and artistic works throughout the city, being fervent advocates for freedom of expression. They also push for more parks and open areas, believing the city to be too large as it is, creating an imbalance with nature. The university is responsible for the preservation of many magical assets in the city, and they have also called for a freer trade in magical items, which is often suppressed by the Fellowship of the Palm. Unfortunately, the openness of the University has often given life to even more radical movements, such as the Union of Laborers.
The Union of Laborers is a fairly new movement, consisting of organized blacksmiths, steelworkers, dockworkers, and nearly any other working class group. They are majority human, and are mostly in line with the social philosophies of the Church of the One Sun. Where they differ is in that they seek to increase wages, and create better living conditions for their class, typically at the expense of the wealthier families. They are extremely xenophobic towards the elves and halflings, and wish to see the Banking Coalition disbanded or at least heavily taxed. They are constantly pushing for new working hours and various other benefits to assist in the betterment of the working human male.
The final faction of note is the Imperial Policing Unit. Although they are the smallest of factions, they are highly influential, making up a strong part of the bureaucracy. They have some things in common with other factions, but their highest priority is towards justice and the equal enforcement of law. They have been constantly pushing to remove exemptions for wealthy or religious individuals, and they seek for every resident of the Imperial City to have the same level of treatment by judges and law enforcement. They have thus found themselves at odds with essentially all other factions except the Union of Laborers, as few are willing to give up special privileges for a concept like "justice."
History
The site of the Imperial City was once a city of moderate size belonging to the Nameless Empire, known as "Tampa," a name today used only by a handful of human traditionalists. During the Last War, Tampa was destroyed by the Empire's enemies, and like most other major cities, was left in devastated ruins to be fought over by a handful of survivors. It is said that within the ruins there was a particularly vicious collection of bandit gangs and cannibals, who threatened the entire area around them. A powerful wizard, seeing their threat and seeing the potential of the future, cast a great spell that not only destroyed himself, but reverted Tampa back to its natural state, with improvements. Peaceful survivors who returned to the area found that it was flush with edible foodstuffs of all types, including some they hadn't seen even at the height of the Nameless Empire's power. These survivors found that the food grew rapidly, reaching maturity as many as three times a day, and rotting away to nothing if unused.
The result was a paradise, as a handful of people heard the story and settled in the region. No one went hungry, and there was exponentially more food present than anyone locally could eat. It was this that spurred the Fruitlands' conquest by the Jakonians, who arrived with a large, well-armed force that gorged itself upon the feast that was presented. The head of the Jakonians proclaimed this land to be the new capital of their empire, and construction of what would become the Imperial City began. The city swelled in size, reaching a population of ten thousand in 60 AF, easily the largest urban center of any kind at the time. In 83 AF, construction on the Fruitlands Wall began, as it was clear that the rapid growth of the city prevented any true defensive fortifications from lasting. It was completed in 90 AF, marking a new dawn for safety in the region.
As the Empire expanded, so did the Imperial City. Conquered peoples were fascinated by the rumors of the city that birthed the empire that conquered them. The city reached its population height in the 8th Century, when it swelled to over a million people. In the next two hundred years the city has since hit a period of decline, as people migrate away, and losses in warfare take their toll. Descendants of other families have returned home, seeking out new opportunities on the frontier of Emicara. For the time being, the population loss seems to have stabilized, and the people of the city are doing well for themselves. No one is sure if this new prosperity is a sign of a revitalized empire, or perhaps the last gasp of a civilization on its last legs.
Architecture
The architecture of the city is very similar to that of standard Jakonian style, using clay bricks with iron and steel reinforcement for their construction. Where the Imperial City differs in style from the standard is in the sheer size of their buildings. Buildings tower high into the sky, providing residences for hundreds in each building, rather than the more simple single family homes of other towns within the Empire. Most of these buildings are less than twenty stories in height, each with multiple living quarters or offices on each floor. Glass windows provide light, although the shadows of other buildings built nearby often prevent direct sunlight. Buildings over five stories in height typically have a mechanical elevator system, typically powered by physical exertion in pulling a rope or level to cause the elevator to rise. In wealthier districts these are often replaced with magical elevators that rise smoothly, allowing for easy movement through the building.
Geography
The Imperial City sprawls out from a peninsula jutting into the Imperial Bay. The peninsula itself is nearly ten miles in length and averages two and a half miles in width, and is the home to the bulk of the city's population. Like most of the Jakonian Peninsula, it is remarkably flat with few hills or natural rises in the terrain. It's vulnerable to flooding in hurricanes, but the sewer systems typically allow for rapid drainage when the storms have passed. The city sprawls an additional two to three miles to the north and east, with buildings becoming smaller and gardens becoming larger until the main farmland of the Fruitlands is reached.
Natural Resources
The natural resources of the Fruitlands are those of the Imperial City. Thanks to the ancient magic once cast here, a massive assortment of grains, vegetables, and fruits grow rapidly from the ground below. Wherever there is free dirt or grass, crops spring forth, even if they had previously been removed. These include foodstuffs not native to the relatively warm climate of Jakonia, and include methods of delivery one would not expect. This includes the infamous maple syrup bush, which has apparently only a passing resemblance to the near legendary maple trees of the far north. Nearly anything that comes from a plant can be found somewhere within the Fruitlands and in turn, within the Imperial City.
Alternative Name(s)
Tampa
Type
Metropolis
Population
1,310,000
Related Ethnicities
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
~508,000 Jakonian Humans
~45,000 Halflings
~37,000 High Elves
~19,000 Halfbreeds
~1,000 Various Other Races
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