Vicouver

Overview:

A vast seaside city, the second largest in Amanada. They have the ocean to one side and mountains on the other. Much of its infrastructure is built into the side of cliffs out of white stone.  It has a raw natural beauty and is considered to be one of the wonders of Merdra. 

It has a long and complicated political history. Having gone through a number of different rulers all with very different ideologies and philosophies has left the city with a bit of an identity crisis. For the most part, a citizen will identify themselves as one of the two most prominent ideologies. Either as a Mercer or as a Mulligan. 

Depending on which ideology is in power at the time, the city is either a sleeping giant or a tyrannical conqueror with aspirations of expansion. This has lead to many of the surrounding cities to always be on alert when dealing with the Vicouver as the city can change from one state to the other in the blink of an eye and go from a friend to an enemy.

The current Dynasty ruling the city claims a philosophy that has aspects of both Mercerism and Mulliganism, making them a centred leader, also leading to no one group of people having more power than the other. 

Hierarchy of the city is as such:

• The ruling body at the time (usually the most recent dynasty and whatever philosophy they favour and to what extent)
• Merchants and Nobles
• Government officials
• Fishermen & Sailors
• Military & Scholars  
• Laborers & Miners 
• The poor

Historical Notes of Interest:

• 1500 years ago, the Mulligan Philosophy of governance and life was written by a group of philosophers who locked themselves into a stone tower for three months while they wrote their book.
• 1200 years ago the Mercer Philosophy of governance and life was created by the old sage G. M. Mercer. This philosophy took the city by storm as the current leader took to the teaching and applied them to their rule.
• 1000 Years ago the Mulligan Philosophy finally finds prominence as it's followers overthrow the standing Mercer ruler to replace their ideals with their own. It is from this point on that these two ways of life and governance will battle for the heart and soul of the city in a continuing cycle.

Places of Interest:

Official Places: 

• The White Palace
•  Salt's Fortress
• Mulligans Tower
• The speakers wharf

Areas:

• Fisherman's Wharf
• Magtar's Marina
• Jingle Ally
• The Water Market
• Old Town
• The Upper City
• The Lower City

Business:

• The Sunken Anchor
• Salts Oracle
• Harpers Exports
• The Seaworthy Trading Company (aka The STC) 
• The Golden Hook
• The Ocean's Blessings Shipping Company (The OBSC)
• The Sea Shanty
• Magters Kiss

Notable People:

• Queen Imogen Essiha
• Crown Prince Iasonas Essiha
• Prince Consort Regial Essiha
• Princess Ida Essiha
• Prince Isocrates Essiha
• Cardinal Logan Obax
• Vis Ravel and the Ravel family (Owners of the STC)
• Ban Harper and the Harper family (Owners of Harpers Exports)
• Peslin Yorn and the Yorn family (owners of the Golden Hook)
• Fiona Riblin and the Riblin family (owners of the OBSC)
• Haplyn Fable overseer and head scholar of the Mulligan tower.
• General Lyssa Crow, Leader of the armies of Vicouver and the main present figurehead for Mercerism.

Other Points of Interest:

• The Mulligan Library is a free place for all to access 24 hours a day and one of the only places in Vicouver where people not of the upper classes can access books and other knowledge. 
• This is a city known for closing down early and rising early. Shops and taverns close once the sun sets but open up again before the sun rises.
• They are known for having some of the best seafood and healthy diet in Merdra.

Current Leadership:

The Essiha Dynasty ruled by Queen Imogen Essiha

Known Conflicts:

• There are two main political and life ideology's that splits much of the city. This has caused problems as small as squabbles on the streets to out right rebellions and civil wars. 
• Due to the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the city most of the surrounding area treats them warrily to outright hostility. They are not very well liked or trusted. 
• Their main rival is Awatto. They have gone to war with the larger city state many times for a variety of reasons. They have an armstance at the moment that has lasted for 250 years. 

Customs:

• In month of harvest for two weeks the watters go into a low tide. In the second week of the low tied the citizens will on mass go down and collect the salt that has crystalized in the rocks and coral of the area. 
• Speakers wharf is a place that has it's own rules and laws. This is the one place in Vicourver that no one will confront a person for speaking about and teaching their ideologies. Free speech is considered sacred on this wharf and justice swift for any kind of heckling or physical violence towards a speaker. It is, however, not uncommon for speakers to be found dead just outside of speakers wharf. 
• It is tradition for ships leaving on a journey to hire a bard to chronicle the journey
• A customary to blow a leaf out of your hand as a sign of respect to Flowst before a ship set's sail. The hope is that she will bless you with good weather and wind. It is said that if the leaf just drops without any drift your voyag is cursed. Many a ship has delayed setting sail if not outright canceled the journey due to a leaf falling strait down after being blown on. 

Lore:

• The city has strong beliefs in destiny and fate:  It is very common to visit oracles, shamans and other psychics. This all stems from a legend that Magtar was tricked by her then husband (The Nameless God) and kissed one of the white mountains thinking it was him leaving a gift of divination to a select few born in the area. Some even believe that if you consume salt from that mountain in the exact spot she kissed you will attain the gift. No one seems to be able to agree which of the many mountains was the actual mountain or what spot she kissed. 
• The lost city of Magter: this is a legend or myth that many of the citizens debate over and more than one person has tried to find. They say it was the sister city of Vicouver that sank to the bottom of the ocean. That it is protected by Magter and still survives full of riches and history lost to time. 

Demographics:

Population

• Most Populous Races: Tritons, Sea Elves, Dawrvs, Humans, Orcs
• Median Age: 200 years old.
• Median Income: 800gp a year
• Average Cost of Living: 5sp per day

Religion

• Most common: Magter 
• Second most common: Flowst
• Third most common: Macnus (the city is known for having an issues with Macnus cults) & Tiana. 

Workforce

• Most common Trades: Merchant Marines, Fishing, Mining, Tourism, Navey, Piracy (this is a big part of their economy even though it's technically illegal) 
• Percentage of Employed: 70%
• Percentage of Unemployed: 6%