Waycross
The city of Waycross is the oldest and largest independent settlement in the Jorgan Badlands. Situated on major trade routes for most of its history, it has withstood invasion, rebellion, occupation, and a multitude of raids and attacks. The surrounding fields of cotton and plantations have created it as an economic and cultural behemoth, with its influence seen all over Recfrere and the Mersan Union. Fashions, both in clothing and cultural norms seem to emerge from Waycross at a rapid pace, and anyone who is anyone in the northern nations will follow the trends set here or be left behind by upper crust society.
Demographics
Waycross welcomes all people regardless of their race or ethnicity. There is no overwhelming majority of any racial group in the city, but Jorgan humans make up the largest plurality. Plenty of snallygasters, dwarves, half-orcs, and goblins have also found homes here. Even orc raiders from across the badlands have found this a place to settle down, with entire clans finding refuge in the city limits. This has been even further diversified with the occasional enslavement of travelers and wanderers who break the laws in the city limits. Only elves have found themselves unwelcome here, and the primary banking houses have been relegated to only the smallest of outposts.
Government
Technically, there is no government and no mayor of Waycross. There are no local lords or allegiances that the common people must follow. In practice, Honest Business International is the dominant force in the city, enforcing its own order and rules over the populace. For the most part, this mostly just protects company assets, and people are encouraged to take up arms to protect themselves and their property. The well armed society typically prevents any overt acts of violence or rebellion, and usually there's a detachment of dwarven mercenaries that protect HBI interests. A unique twist is that murder is discouraged, as it is not uncommon for perpetrators of crimes to be sold into slavery as recompense for their actions against their victims.
Defences
Waycross is too large and sprawling to have a true city wall, although this has not stopped past governments from trying. During Jakonian rule, a city wall was built, but eventually it was cannibalized for building materials. Instead, individual estates and homes tend to have their own defenses and protection, including the outlying plantations. The majority of defense of the city rests in making it unprofitable to attack, as local orcs often trade their looted wares here for wealth and the nations surrounding the badlands have also found it useful to have a neutral location. In the case of an attack, Honest Business International has a standing bounty for any citizens or travelers within to take up arms, promising 30 gold pieces per day for any person who takes up arms against an invader. Similarly, raiders have been regularly bought off or eliminated. In a worst case scenario, there are usually two dwarven regiments fulfilling caravan contracts in the region, which are also obligated to come to Waycross' defense in case of a true threat.
Industry & Trade
Cotton is the lifeblood of Waycross. The fields surrounding the city, the factories that refine it into workable material, and the tailors and fashion houses that turn the materials into clothes all work together to create one of the highest demanded exports along the Endless Ocean. The Mersan Union and Recfrere continue to be the largest trading partners with Waycross, but artisans in the Imperial City often take fashion cues from their counterparts here in introducing new trends. Similarly, trade coming from across the Badlands is frequently taxed by Honest Business International, bringing even more money and wealth into the city. As a waypoint between the largest nations of Emicara, much work is done to keep this trade and the money within flowing.
Infrastructure
Despite the lack of any organized governance, the city of Waycross has accomplished ample development, usually with the charity or sponsorship of Honest Business International. This has included paved roads in nearly every neighborhood, including stretching several miles in all directions towards other trading towns of the Badlands. These roads are well by oil lanterns, although neighborhoods typically have to pay collection to HBI to help pay for the maintenance of these lampposts. The buildings of the city are well maintained, and its believed that some of the structures are over one thousand years old in age, including of the ancient old plantation homes surrounding the center of the community.
Districts
Heart of Waycross is the center of the city, and believed to be the oldest part of the town. Several towering buildings hold the main operations of Honest Business International, and its assorted banks. The homes here are believed to be centuries old, housing the majority of urban workers who live throughout the primary urban area. There is only a small market here, as the sums and amounts of goods exchanged in the downtown are typically in too large of amounts to be on display for the people involved. The Hotel Waycross offers exclusive lodging for hundreds of people of all social classes, and is the place where those seeking to do deals affecting the fate of nations have been known to stay.
Sunnyside, on the other hand is the primary residential district and has the largest local goods market, where items from all over Emicara are available for sale for the city's citizenry. Houses for the upper and middle classes are widely available, and most of the people who live here have found trades in local artisanry and fashion, with tailor shops and fashion gurus found on nearly every corner. Several large vacation manors and embassies are also housed here, representing interests from the mountains and the civilized lands to the south.
Lastly in the city proper, there is the Deenwood District, which is the home of the warehouses and granaries that house the majority of food and trade goods exchanged by traders in the Heart of Waycross. Factories for the refinement of cotton are also common, acting as the largest employers, and selling their goods to the finicky tailors of Sunnyside. A garrison camp for mercenaries is also present, with frequent bounties and notices put up here for any adventuring or freelance mercenaries to choose from. A handful of other residences exist, primarily for the poorest of the city, and the most deaths and murders take place here on a regular basis, as locals settle any affairs or issues they may have by the sword.
In a fifteen to twenty mile radius around the city, there are the fields and plantations. While technically not a district of a city, the fields are an important part of Waycross' economy, as the cotton and its refinement make up for the majority of local goods and exports. The plantation homes found out here are often fortified against raids and attacks, each a stronghold in themselves, and where the true aristocracy of the region reside. Entire small villages of enslaved workers surround the plantations, often protected by small palisades.
Founding Date
277 BF
Type
City
Population
48000
Related Ethnicities
Inhabitant Demonym
Waycrossite
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
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