Chixilub (/tʃɪksɪlub/)
A major port on the eastern coast of Leandris, the city of Chixilub is the largest city in Leandris. Established in the a century after the conclusion of the Feloran-Aeillan Wars, Chixilub cebame one of the few commercial hubs in Leandris, and indeed one of the safest such hubs that existed in the early chaos of the post Imperial period. Chixilub would become one of the chief independent centers that the continent had. Despite the growing influence of foreign corporations, Chixilub has maintained its independence and indeed became one of the most powerful independent centers on the continent.
Old Port: The Old Port is the beating heart of Chixilub. Originally a simple fishing fishing village, the Old Port is an old town, and it shows it age, with many of the buildings still standing being centuries old, and carefully maintained by the people living there. The Old Port has sustained modest damage on account of the occasional attack made by deniable assets reporting, allegedly, to the Leandris Company.
Council Hill: The second eldest of the city's neighborhoods, Council Hill is often seen, incorrectly, as the more prestigious of the two elder neighborhoods. Its buildings are newer, larger, and more often made of stone than the Old Port's, and it is the current seat of the governing council. However, locals know that the Old Port is older, and it is more respected, at least among native Leandrans.
Southwall: The third of Chixilub's neighboorhoods, and the one established just after the city wall surrounding the older parts of the city were finishing completion, westwall is a very chaotic neighborhood. Originally constructed by the various workers brought in to help construct the wall, Westwall has slowly evolved into more an artisanal town with many of the city's artisans having homes here. Westwall is also believed to be the heart of the city's criminal underworld, with many legitimate businesses serving as fronts for the black market.
Mudflat: The Mudflat was established around the outside of the wall, particularly to the north and west of the city center. Mudflat is deeply impoverished, being composed largely of poorly constructed huts populated by the city's dispossessed, those who would trade a spare hand on the various ships that make port, for a meager reward.
Netton: Netton is the youngest of the city's neighborhoods whose founding came with the pushing away of traditional fishers from the Old Port. Netton is a neighborhood with a distinctly maritime feel, with the neighborhood overwhelmingly populated by small time fishers who are eager to hock the day's catch on the local market.
The Company Docks: The Company Docks are a growing segment of Chixilub, owned by the Leandris Company. It is a place where wares from both Felora and Galisea can be found. It is viewed by many locals a cesspit of the company's influence, and a worrying sign that the Company may try and take Chixilub over.
The Sacred Grove: Some of the only greenery in the city, the Sacred Grove is at the heart of Council Hill, and serves as the religious center of the city. The services of the grove's religious caste can be procured here, and they are legendarily charitable, taking no payment for some of the lesser services, and reduced payment for more significant magical service.
The Tower of Adsila: The Tower of Adsila, once established by a famous wizard of the same name, has since become the home of a library utilized by most of Leandris' spellcasters. It has thus become one of the focal points of arcane spellcasters in the continent, and indeed is one of the largest concentrations of knownledge therein.
Slasher's Alley: Established near Southwall, slasher's alley is a jumbled tangle of small streets worming their way near and around one of the larger market squares in the city. It is also the semi-tolerated heart of the black market in the city where a number of morally and legally questionable goods and services can be acquired. It is also the best place for adventurers to look for work.
The Maw: An installation made into the city's southern wall, the Maw is a door constructed into it, made from the jawbones of a kraken that had attacked the city two centuries ago. The Maw's opening to a relatively nice part of the estuary has made it a popular destination for leisure seekers and a number of taverns have been set up near it.
Neighborhoods of Chixilub
The city of Chixilub has five major neighborhoods, though many more may spring into existence as existing neighborhoods grow, and have subcultures that become increasingly distinct from one another. The various neighborhoods of Chixilub are ogranized around the Old Port, from which the city has grown, radiating outwards from its original settlement.Old Port: The Old Port is the beating heart of Chixilub. Originally a simple fishing fishing village, the Old Port is an old town, and it shows it age, with many of the buildings still standing being centuries old, and carefully maintained by the people living there. The Old Port has sustained modest damage on account of the occasional attack made by deniable assets reporting, allegedly, to the Leandris Company.
Council Hill: The second eldest of the city's neighborhoods, Council Hill is often seen, incorrectly, as the more prestigious of the two elder neighborhoods. Its buildings are newer, larger, and more often made of stone than the Old Port's, and it is the current seat of the governing council. However, locals know that the Old Port is older, and it is more respected, at least among native Leandrans.
Southwall: The third of Chixilub's neighboorhoods, and the one established just after the city wall surrounding the older parts of the city were finishing completion, westwall is a very chaotic neighborhood. Originally constructed by the various workers brought in to help construct the wall, Westwall has slowly evolved into more an artisanal town with many of the city's artisans having homes here. Westwall is also believed to be the heart of the city's criminal underworld, with many legitimate businesses serving as fronts for the black market.
Mudflat: The Mudflat was established around the outside of the wall, particularly to the north and west of the city center. Mudflat is deeply impoverished, being composed largely of poorly constructed huts populated by the city's dispossessed, those who would trade a spare hand on the various ships that make port, for a meager reward.
Netton: Netton is the youngest of the city's neighborhoods whose founding came with the pushing away of traditional fishers from the Old Port. Netton is a neighborhood with a distinctly maritime feel, with the neighborhood overwhelmingly populated by small time fishers who are eager to hock the day's catch on the local market.
Important Locations
The Fish Market: The oldest institution of the city of Chixilub the fish market is, quite simply a place for the local fishers to sell their catch for coin from locals or traders from far away. Some of the best seafood in the Known World is sold here.The Company Docks: The Company Docks are a growing segment of Chixilub, owned by the Leandris Company. It is a place where wares from both Felora and Galisea can be found. It is viewed by many locals a cesspit of the company's influence, and a worrying sign that the Company may try and take Chixilub over.
The Sacred Grove: Some of the only greenery in the city, the Sacred Grove is at the heart of Council Hill, and serves as the religious center of the city. The services of the grove's religious caste can be procured here, and they are legendarily charitable, taking no payment for some of the lesser services, and reduced payment for more significant magical service.
The Tower of Adsila: The Tower of Adsila, once established by a famous wizard of the same name, has since become the home of a library utilized by most of Leandris' spellcasters. It has thus become one of the focal points of arcane spellcasters in the continent, and indeed is one of the largest concentrations of knownledge therein.
Slasher's Alley: Established near Southwall, slasher's alley is a jumbled tangle of small streets worming their way near and around one of the larger market squares in the city. It is also the semi-tolerated heart of the black market in the city where a number of morally and legally questionable goods and services can be acquired. It is also the best place for adventurers to look for work.
The Maw: An installation made into the city's southern wall, the Maw is a door constructed into it, made from the jawbones of a kraken that had attacked the city two centuries ago. The Maw's opening to a relatively nice part of the estuary has made it a popular destination for leisure seekers and a number of taverns have been set up near it.
Demographics
The city of Chixilub is relatively small by the standards of major cities in the Tealestrian Sea region, bearing a population of only slightly more than twenty two thousand individuals. Roughly a quarter of the city's population consists of those bound in servitude under various terms, with most being subject to traditional Leandran servitude, and a small class of enslaved persons, usually held by Leandris Company personnel. The population is overwhelmingly Tabaxi belonging to the primarily to Harai peoples, with substantial Malarai, and Karai ethnicities. Smaller populations of other sentient beings exist, with the most noteworthy being mixed human, elven, and half-elven communities.
Government
The city of Chixilub is governed by a constituent council, elected directly by the people to serve an annual term with the number of terms limited to ten years. The governing council is responsible for legislating, and forming the town's law. Their will is enforced largely through the city watch, who serve as the primary law enforcement agency of the city, as well as performing tax collection as well. The city maintains a very small civil service, with a modest corps of civil engineers serving as its core largely to maintain the city walls.
Defences
The city is defended first and foremost by its walls, though in an increasing state of disrepair, they remain relative steady, and have been augmented with several imported artillery pieces to defend against ships, and flying creatures that would seek destroy the city. As an independent city, there is no larger national armed forces upon which Chixilub can call to defend itself, and instead it must rely on the city watch as its primary living defenders. The city watch is moderately well trained, and given rudimentary, but effective equipment, though its viability as a defensive force is dubious at best.
Industry & Trade
The city is somewhat industrially underdeveloped thanks in large part to the growing pains it has felt. Its oldest and most important industry, fishing, has been moved further and further afield from the city's core as merchants have muscled in on the old port, though it remains a classic institution. Further attempts to develop more than a rudimentary industry have proven difficult. This is in large part believed to be due to the meddling of powers from the major continents who seek to maintain a captive market for manufactured goods, and thus make use of hired thugs to break up organizing efforts among the city's artisans.
Infrastructure
The city is not a particularly planned city, and as such it is lacking in many of the infrastructural achievements made by similarly sized cities in the developed regions of the world. The largest and most important of these are the city's docks which have been expanded steadily throughout the life of the community, and have throughout remained the beating heart of the city. Second are the city's walls which are the second oldest public works project maintained by the city, extending around the core of the city though slowly decaying as the city continues to outgrow them. There is talk of building paved roads and an aqueduct system by the city council though no major efforts to construct such buildings have been made thus far.
Guilds and Factions
The city of Chixilub is home to intense conflict between a few key factions, each vying for a chance to write the city's future. The most popular of these, and its oldest, are the Independents, who seek to maintain the city's independence from the meddling of foreign powers. This faction exercises its power through the city's governing council in which it has maintained a majority relatively consistently. The second of these factions is the criminal underground, who's primary objective is securing profit, it has been growing in recent years thanks to the influx of pirates that call Chixilub home. The third is the corporate faction, mostly embodied by the Leandris Company, which seek to break the independent government and make it into a port dependent on the various corporations which sell goods there. In particular the Leandris Company, which is by far the most powerful company present.
History
The city of Chixilub was founded by a tribe of Harai fishers seeking a safe haven from the bloody fighting between the various communities upriver. This community steadily grew in its early years as others sought safety, and as Chixilub became well known as a place where all the tabaxi could go and find neutral ground. Though it would never lose its majority Harai character the other socio-linguistic groups would become represented in the community within a century of its founding. Chixilub would formally become a city when a constituent council was founded in AS 2005. It was around this time that the various communities on either side of the Tealestrian Sea would begin to properly develop and establish old trade networks into proper lanes of commerce, and safer ports were needed to secure the lanes of commerce, and Chixilub was seen as ideal as soon as it was discovered. It thus became a focal point on the Til Formen'ya to Artenos trade route especially.
Chixilub in this period of rapid growth and discovery would only grow in importance but would find itself coming into increasing conflict as well. Despite the vast quantities of wealth that flowed through the port, the locals would struggle to benefit, as many ships transiting the sea belonged to large merchant companies. Riots would breakout throughout a decade long period between AS 2162-2172 known as The Years of Flame by the locals. In response a number of corporations took more drastic measures to establish control over trade in the city. These companies would deploy their own hired thugs to secure concessions from the city governments, and as a result much of the Old Port was turned over to corporate entities, driving away virtually all of the fishers who were made to establish a satellite community on the northern banks of the Aylen River. Since the Years of Flame, things have quieted somewhat, but underneath the surface tensions continue to bubble, and it its believed the city may erupt into violence once more.
Geography
The city of Chixilub was established on a relatively stable island situated between the two forks of the of the River Aylen. Over the years, the bottoms of the river, particularly near its mouths have been dredged to make for suitable docks for larger watercraft. This has seen the mudflats surrounding the city shrink over time, though those nearer the joining point of the forks have remained and a steady community has grown there. The terrain is basically almost entirely flat, except for a single hill where the government and sacred grove were established.
Founding Date
AS 1780
Type
Large city
Population
22,140
Inhabitant Demonym
Lubbies
Location under
