Minamist
Minamist felt like he had stepped into a completely different realm.As the continent's oldest human settlement, there are few people who haven't heard of Minamist. The city itself is unrivalled in its sheer scale, jutting out into the harbour as it spreads across delta islands and the adjacent shoreline, the stories of it are widely known. Although, not always repeated favourably. The city sits at the end of a river that winds down from the mountains in the distant north. Islands break the wide river mouth into a series of smaller channels leading down into the harbour. The city sprawled across every island, the sections connected by broad bridges.- Prince Hamish, To Poison a Prince
Demographics
Humans and elves make up the population in roughly equal numbers, although one is more likely to be encountered in certain districts than others. Given how spellsters are unregulated, many occupy every pocket of Minamist's classes and professions.
Infrastructure
With the city sprawled across various islands, each area is connected by way of bridges or magic-propelled skiffs. Many of the larger buildings, such as the imperial palace, still stand from that era, making them the oldest human-made structures. Space is a premium here buildings crowd for space, climbing upwards until they become enormous towers that throw the streets into darkness. Some buildings have bridges connecting them to other, equally tall buildings, making for a miniature city above the streets.
Given the contestation of the Udynean Empire over everything the Ancient Domian people claimed as theirs, Minamist shows both periods of occupation very clearly with nothing new being built in the older sectors in centuries, if not thousands of years. Whilst the newer areas have a very distinct style that is more in line with modern Udynean taste, everything tends to have the same glow, be it from the natural sheen of the stone or the glass that makes up shop fronts. Magic is everywhere. From mundane tasks that would take several people to do elsewhere, to shields guarding stalls or carriages, and even shop signs that blaze like lanterns to indicate places that would otherwise have been lost in the shadows.
Districts
Each of the bigger islands is considered part of a different district, with the exception of the Merchant Collective.
The Imperial Sector
On foot, the sole way to approach this sector is across the bridge connecting to the Cleric's Quarter. This path leads a traveller through the city's second-largest square. Makeshift stalls dominate much of the paved area, often leaving scant space for handcarts to move between them. Huge sections of land are reserved for gardens filled with flowers, trees and statues of past rulers. Many palace inhabitants spend their days off here, with few seeking to venture further into the city. Looming over it all are the walls of the Imperial Palace. Standing as tall as a moderate cliff and stretching for miles on either side of a single gatehouse facing the bridge, the walls are made from a single piece of stone by Domian magic. A shallow moat surrounds the wall, filled with seawater funnelled from the palace's private dock and often teeming with local wildlife. Banners bearing the Mhanek’s emblem flank the gatehouse, giving the otherwise grey surface of the walls a splash of red and gold. Although the gates stand open during the day, citizens avoid the area directly in front of it lest they invite ire from the contingency of guards stationed there.Cleric’s Quarter
Hamish tilted his head back to take in the full majesty of the temples dedicated to this and that god. There were a lot of them. Every deity, no matter how small, had a temple in what Darshan had cheerfully called the cleric’s quarter. The majority of the buildings had a swath of land surrounding each one. Most were cultivated, the trees and bushes having a purely ornamental look rather than the private gardens the priesthood grew back in Tirglas.Built on the second largest island and one bridge over from the Imperial Palace, every single known deity being worshipped within Udynea has a temple here, the biggest being that of Araasi and the High Mother. The streets here are always packed, not only with priests offering blessings for a fee and people seeking holy guidance, but they're also used as an impromptu marketplace that stretches for miles.- Prince Hamish, To Poison a Prince
Academiae Regione
The one old district built by the Domian Empire that continues to go by its original title, this place holds the Imperial Academy where nobles and affluent citizens send their children to study. It also holds the Knitting Factory, a healing centre and school combined in one, and the Assassin Guild. Attending any of the three main centres is treated with respect.Merchant Collective
An array of islands further divided by wealth in comparison to how far they sit from the Imperial Sector. The Merchant Guild sits in the middle of the wealthy sector.The Pits
The most rundown district of them all, these slums are pushed further towards the mainland as the city expands in the only place it can.History
Once the capital of the Domian Empire before they were overthrown and absorbed into the Udynea Empire, Minamist's history goes all the way back to when humans first set foot on the continent some 3000 years ago. The area started off as simple structures set upon the same island that now holds the Imperial Palace.
Points of interest
A glassblower owns a pokey-looking place in the wealthier part merchant section that's wedged between two brightly lit buildings. He creates exquisite and fashionable Everlasting Blooms.
Knitting Factory: A school and centre for healing combined into one, this place is often bustling with those who cannot afford a healer or even a physician's time looking for the chance to offer themselves as a test subject for students.
The school within the Pits: This new addition was built under the order of Prince Hamish to aid in educating the poorer citizens.
Climate
Minamist is situated in a tropical area, experiencing only two seasons: wet and dry.
During the dry season, the streets can get unbearably hot despite the shade the overhanging buildings provide as the city exudes heat with the sea breeze unable to wind its way between the buildings. This worsens in the Cleric's Quarter due to the lack of shade and the press of the crowd.
Natural Resources
Being as the city sits on the upper edge of a wide harbour, its main resources are sealife, waterfowl and an abundance of reeds from the broad fields that fill the delta mouth and shoreline.
Founding Date
1045 HC
Alternative Name(s)
Jewel of the Empire
Type
Capital
Population
1,600,000
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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