Port Maya
The town of Port Maya is a southern Jakonian Empire town, that while larger than most of its neighbors, is still fairly isolated from greater imperial affairs and politics. They have avoided any real effects from the various wars of conquest and rebellion that the Empire has faced, beyond seeing their young men go off to serve in the imperial army. The town mostly relies on the export of luxury agricultural goods, mostly spices and rarer fruits that cannot be grown in locations further north. These are often exported directly from Port Maya's docks on Lake Okeechobee, and sent along on the Corbett River to the Endless Ocean.
Demographics
Port Maya is nearly completely consistent of Jakonian humans, with a handful of half-elves and various other races that are tolerated by the Church of the One Sun. Even the presence of a halfling is enough to cause comment in Port Maya, which only sees a few brave souls of other races leave the ships that dock here. With the recent influx of dwarves into nearby Refuge, Port Maya has had significant suspicion and hostility towards these migrants, rarely allowing them to stop within Port Maya's walls.
Government
The reigning lord of Port Maya is currently Lord Sydney Littlefield. The hereditary ruler of Port Maya and the surrounding region, House Littlefield has been influential in the region for centuries, and there has not been a time in memory when someone other than the leading patriarch of the house was not in charge. The Littlefields have always been proponents of benign neglect in local affairs, pretty much allowing local towns and businesses to run themselves. Lord Sydney has not changed this policy, and order in Port Maya is paid for by Lord Sydney, who is the final matter in any significant judicial matters or decisions within the township. All of the laws of Jakonian Empire are obeyed to the letter, though some of the more problematic social laws are often ignored in favor of continued harmony in the town.
Defences
The town of Port Maya is surrounded by an aging stone wall, which has seen little upkeep or use over the last century. As it has been quite some time since any force has seriously threatened the town, the wall has been allowed to lapse in funding. The towers have numerous leaks and the walls themselves have some sizable gaps that have only be filled by wooden patching. The town guard itself consists of 150 trained guardsmen and is paid for by House Littlefield, but it is supplemented by force of 50 Imperial Navy marines that have been signed to protect the shipyards and provide security. If the city was truly threatened, a militia of around two thousand could be mustered to help protect the walls. The north bridge over the Corbett River towards San Lucy is also fortified, with gates on either end, but both gates are in poor repair and are often out of use.
Industry & Trade
The primary manufacturing taking place in Port Maya is the construction of frigates and corvettes for the Imperial Navy. Iron goods produced in Refuge and wood from Stiltown and San Lucy are brought in to help create small escort ships for the fleet. The town produces roughly three ships a year for the Imperial Navy and performs repairs on countless more. The shipyards are independently owned by competing owners, but each are compensated handily by the Empire. Beyond the shipyards and a few assorted blacksmiths, there is little industry within Port Maya, and the city mostly relies upon the export of spices and luxury fruits such as bananas and pineapples from its harbor. Most of the business conducted locally are from those seeking to purchase these items and trade them to locations abroad, both within and without the Empire.
Infrastructure
Ample docks and facilities along the Corbett River and Lake Okeechobee are the most prominent features within the town itself. These docks and the dredging within the lake allow ships of considerable size and stature to make it down the river and service the docks here. These efforts must be constantly maintained, in addition to the bridge crossing north towards the rest of the empire. The roads are all paved with bricks or cobblestone, and several shipyards have been recently established by the Imperial Navy for the reconstruction of the fleet. Numerous warehouses, some even magically cooled, are present for the short term and long term storage of the crops harvested outside of the city before they can be exported to other lands. The city rests on a major road intersection, and paved roads lead to Refuge in the east, Stiltown to the south, and San Lucy to the north. A ferry also takes authorized individuals to the major naval base and town of Clewiston to the west. The ferry is operated by the Imperial Navy, and no one is given permission to travel it without documentation from the fleet.
Assets
Port Maya's Pepper Market sells much more than just Peppers. In addition to being the central plaza of the town, a person can buy all locally grown foods and spices, the luxury of which is quite expensive anywhere else. The town is well known for its cuisine and foodstuffs, but is lacking in many other material goods. While several blacksmiths do exist, they service local demand more than wandering travelers or adventurers, and rarely have armor or weapons to spare that are not claimed by the local guard. The general goods stores offer plenty of typical goods that are required by both locals and those passing through, and there are several of them throughout town. Enough people come to purchase rare spices in Port Maya, that there are two hotels located in the city, in addition to an assortment of dedicated inns and taverns.
Guilds and Factions
There are two major factions within the town of Port Maya that are carefully balanced by the House Littlefield. The first of these is the Imperial Navy. With a vested interest in the continued functioning of the shipyards of the town, the Imperial Navy is interested in encouraging the growth of local industry, particularly as the Nasites further north grow more and more unruly. Furthermore, the constant presence of Imperial Navy marines and sailors in the town encourages the growth of a service industry designed to provide them with various forms of relaxation. Those who support this faction are constantly pushing for the reclamation of more farmland, the expansion of city limits, and the creation of new docks and shipyards. Some claim that local organized crime are backing these groups, as they are believed to be the primary providers of the services that the sailors desire most.
The opposing faction seeking to drive the city are the farmers and landowners, who have spent their lives growing crops for sale on the open market. They firmly believe that the town has grown too big and needs to be restrained in further growth. While they are vocally loyal to the empire, they believe that the accommodations for the sailors should be made across the water in Clewiston, where the main naval base is indeed located. They seek to maintain their land and resist attempts to expand the township into the surrounding farms. Elements of the Imperial Navy have accused this faction within the town of being in league with anti-Imperial resistance elements, seeking to undermine the Empire.
History
Port Maya was founded in the year 157 by a collection of farmers from Jakonian lands to the north. Though the people of Jakonia were amply provided for by the wealth of the Fruitlands and Corazon, those lands could only grow certain types of crops, and often to sizes too large to use in the case of spices. Seeing a market opportunity, these farmers purchased spices from the Bahami islands, and sought out land to grow it within. The roads to Refuge and Stiltown did not quite yet exist, and along Lake Okeechobee, they found the suitable environmental conditions they were looking for. They built a small town, named it for one of the founders, and began producing their spices and crops.
Immediately, they were a resounding success, and the city of Liberty began snapping up the spices as quickly as they could be grown. A bridge was built to cross the Corbett River and send supplies north by the wagonload. Port Maya grew quickly, but stabilized after a few years as all of the farming land became occupied. A road emerged, and eventually it was paved by the Empire as it became clear the town was an ideal crossroads between several regional communities. A descendant of one of the original founders was elevated by the Emperor at the time and appointed the first Lord of Port Maya. Responsibilities were expanded to include rule over both Stiltown and Refuge in that collection.
Over the following centuries, the town of Port Maya faced surprisingly few challenges, except for occasional gangs and violent bandit clans that would erupt during times of imperial instability. A wall was built around the town almost as a secondary thought, during a dark moment when it appeared that Shin armies could advance further down the peninsula. In the 800s, as the Jakonian Empire began to crumble, the town welcomed the establishment of a new shipyard and the two that followed it, steering the community in a new direction. The town began to grow once more, and in the late 900s, a fourth shipyard was built, and even more business arrived in the town.
Geography
The town of Port Maya is shaped like an upside down capital "L," resting in the nook between the Corbett River and Lake Okeechobee. The town itself has docks built predominantly along the lake, but also partially on the river. The land here is flat and level, with only a few minor dips and rises in the terrain, and there is little in the way of separation of town districts. The lakeside of the town is where most of the inns and taverns are located, while the Littlefield Manor is built near the Corbett Bridge. In addition to the bridge gates, there are two main gates, the Sawgrass Gate to the south, and Edgar's Gate to the east.
Natural Resources
Port Maya is rich in its soil and in the crops it can provide. The climate allows for year round agriculture and growth, and is rapidly rejuvenated. Only the brief hurricane season towards the end of the year can occasionally disrupt this wealth. Few other natural resources exist, as the ground below is ill suited to mining, and the area has become so well developed that it is rare that hides or leathers can be recovered.
Type
Town
Population
7200
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Mayan
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Comments