Samavra
Beacon of the North
The capital of Vessun is the largest and oldest city in the known world. Vessuna build up as much as out, and the towering, connected buildings are a wonder to visitors from other places.
Demographics
Government
Legalist monarchy
Defences
Samavra has no city walls, but it is undeniable that an invading force would have a rough time just navigating the myriad levels, never mind taking them from defenders. In addition, both The Winter Academy and the Naulori Bridge have wards meant to be activated in times of emergency, the former to act as a shelter and the latter a barricade to keep a force from crossing the water.
Infrastructure
Guilds and Factions
Scobs' Alliance: 250,000 inhabitants and the working animals that support and feed them create massive amounts of rubbish, which someone has to deal with. The Alliance grants licenses and tries to control prices.
Architects Guild: Probably the most powerful commercial guild in Samavra, because the chaotic building style could quickly become disastrously unstable. The call for new sky roads between structures is steady business, but complicated. The Architects also control the City Planning Bureau.
Builders' Alliance: For much the same reason that architects are in high demand, so too skilled builders can always find work. They just can't be afraid of heights.
Architects Guild: Probably the most powerful commercial guild in Samavra, because the chaotic building style could quickly become disastrously unstable. The call for new sky roads between structures is steady business, but complicated. The Architects also control the City Planning Bureau.
Builders' Alliance: For much the same reason that architects are in high demand, so too skilled builders can always find work. They just can't be afraid of heights.
History
Vessuna began settling in the land next to Allulina Bay more than two thousand years ago, and the settlement that would become Samavra was one of the first. Outside the harsh winter months, the land was rich and the fish plentiful, making it a more attractive location than much of the frigid north.
It was only six hundred years ago that Yanamisa the Wise established a hereditary monarchy supported by a legalist bureaucracy. He did so in the wake of the Collapse, a disaster that saw one faulty building topple and take half the city with it like dominoes. Promising a fair and ordered society, Yanamisa and his councilors established the first building codes and created the City Planning Bureau.
Architecture
Most cities spread out over time; Samavra also spreads up. Built and still predominantly occupied by the acrobatic Vessuna, it makes some sense that tall buildings would be the norm, but no other city in the world has the warren of interlocking buildings connected by sky roads at multiple levels. It is said that one can walk from the edge of town to the bay without setting foot on the ground.
The lowest levels along the water are built to withstand yearly floods. They are not meant to be livable, but Borrowers gather here in large numbers, squatting in the basements of the more well-to-do citizens of Samavra. Of course, Borrowers' unique traits mean they worry less about flooding.
Geography
The terrain underneath the city is mercifully level for the most part. In those places where it is not, architects tend to opt for stairs and ladders rather than steep inclines.
Natural Resources
Allulina Bay is a huge estuary with a thriving variety of marine life and is surrounded by rich farmland. Not far up the coast lies Diolopei Cavern, where an arcane tempest in times long past left a saturation of magical energies, useful for crafting, research, and invention.
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by watabou
Type
Capital
Population
250,000
Included Locations
Related Tradition (Primary)
Related Professions
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