Lordsport
Lordsport is the de-facto capital of @Salian Isle, acting as the political and econonmic hub of the island. Some form of inhabited settlement has existed in Lordsport since the Mythic Era, where the Giant city of Naarkolon was based. Todaym Lordsport is known for its extensive harbour and marina and numerous taverns and old-style imperial design, with numerous ancient buildings of Giant and Kernowian culture remaining.
Demographics
The population of Lordsport is largely human, with 96% of the population being so. Of that 96%, 73% are Kernowian, and 25% are imperial, with the remaining percentage being a mix of Marcian, Gwenyddian, and Tumbrian. The next highest population is Elves, mostly coming from Seldrinar.
The population is a mixture of classes and occupations. In the Merchant's Quater, the middle and merchant class is dominant, with numerous shops and trading stores relying on the import-export business are based. The Gold Quater is largely the rulling classes, home to the Bankers Guild and numerous miner barons and capitalists. There are some traders here too, and numerous homes of the servants the wealthy employ.
In the Castle Quater, there is a small industrial industry. The main keep is based here, alongside numerous weaponsmiths and the main docks, where repairs and cargo are handled.
The Wave quater is largely residential and working class, home to the numerous dock hands and workers from throughout the city. The densest quater of the city, Brownwater Street snakes its way through the area, and houses some small shops and taverns. The district is home to winding alleys and streets with tall crooked homes on them.
Government
Like the rest of the empire, Lordsport relies on the late-fuedal early-capitalist structure that has become dominant in the north-west. Lord Sodlark is the ruler of the city and the island, but day-to-day governing is done by a council of advisors. The Mayor of the City is elected every 7 years by the rest of the council, and he oversees the general administration. Amongst the rest of the council are representives of the town's guilds, important families, and key civic figures.
Education is done primarily throug the church, and reading and writing is encouraged. Education is limited around key skills of numeracy, literacy, and religious affairs. Further education is done by various traders and families. Those with magical abilities may be taken to the wizard school in Nosha for no fee.
Defences
The city walls of Lordsport are small for the towns side. They are well maintained and reasonably thick, with several wooden towers on key watch points. The City Guard are limited, and therefore patrols and watches of the walls are limited. However, given Salian Isle's risk of inland invasion this is not a large issue. The city gates are large reinforced wood, with supporting portcullis' to aid in the rare event of a siege.
The docklands have a small internal wall that has siege equipment and the burning oil slots in the event of a naval invasion. Near the main docks, Tarquin's Keep has the facilities to last a large siege, with artillery and bowmen to help defend in case the city is pentetrated.
The keep itself is well guarded, often by mercanaries and imperial troops. The City Guard is limited, and is based out of Tarquin's keep, and deals primarily with petty crime and law and order. The Banker's Guild previously held a large force of personal guards but those that were not killed during the Battle of Thunder Hill were exiled along with the banker's guild.
Industry & Trade
The settlement's primary economy is based around its postion as a trade hub for the export of ore from the hilland mines and as a stopping point on the Marcian trade route. The hospitality sector is large in the city, with sailors from all around the world finding the numerous shops and taverns a welcome stopping point. Internal manufactorting of weapons and textiles is rarely exported, but do supply the island with what they require.
Most of the internal manufacturing is done in the Castle Quater along the dock, certain supplies such as coal do have to be imported. A lack of blacksmithing expertise on the island means that ore is more valueable than the weapons they produce.
Infrastructure
The city is well built, with most the the current buildings being constructed in the old-style. There are five main roads that service the town, and numerous landmarks and features. The under city contains numerous ruins and tombs with a crude sewer system that only services the primary areas, and discards its waste in a cavern in the underdark.
The Merchant Quater is serviced primarily by the Gold Road. The shops and buildings are in a medieval style usually around two-three stories high. The rooves are slate, mined from local stone quarries in the hilllands. Most the buildings are detached and wooden. The most famous pub here is the Red Lion, a 150 year old tavern with the first chimney of Lordsport.
The Gold Quater has large brick and stone buildings, with some smaller wooden ones. It is home to most of the guild houses, the most notable being the bankers guild. It is a five story building with a golden facade, its interior has high cielings and extravegent decoration and columns. Some other banks are present in this district, with the Greylore Bank being constructed in the ruins of a building from the Mythic age, likely some form of storage facility. Another key building is the Martial's House, a museum dedicated to imperial history and the failed Kernowian Rebellion.
The Wave Quater being predominently working class has minimal infrastructure. The only notable feature is the dockfront and its storm wall, built to protect the city from flooding. It is maintained by the city council.
The Castle Quater has the most notable skyling, with numerous large industrial chimneys and high warehouses by the docklands. The docks themselves are sealed by a small interior wall. The main keep was built a century ago by the imperial Yaxley family ontop of the ruins of the older Kernowian castle. The keep has four round towers and thick stone walls. The interior of the keep is largely decorative, with the only interior-heating in the city. Sewers and tunnels run deep beneath the castle, and rumours of smugglers cooperating with the castle guards to smuggle goods in and out of the castle.
Guilds and Factions
Formally, the bankers guild was the most prominent guild in the city, having spend the five decades previously exerting their dominance over the city and other guilds. The guild de-facto owned most of the money on the island, and had the council and noble family in their pockets. The guild's strong ties to the empire meant that any corruption that took place was hard to prosecute. As such, the guild had a bad reputation amongst the local population. Their guildhall was decadent, and since their removal from the island their wealth has been redistributed and their guildhall given to the miners guild.
The Miners guild has had mixed influence on the town since its inception. The presence of multiple mining families and companies near the town means they've had the most direct influence on the local population. Since Lord Sodlark, their previous guildmaster, was appointed as lord of the island their prestige has increased again. Their allignment is generally regarded as neutral and they rarely get involved outside of any business outside of their prime objectives.
The Sailor's Guild has a presence on the docklands, acting as an intermediatory between travelling traders and the local government and often have to bail out arrested drunken sailors. They have close ties with local taverns, and do their best to improve their repuation amongst these communities.
History
Lordsport has been in some way inhabited since the Mythic age, but its current existence began in the 950s after the Edlrianisation of the island.
Mythic Age
Lordsport was the main residential sector of the city of Naarkolon. Naarkolon was a large city that covered most of the Salian isle during this age, and when it was sacked during the Kernowian Slave Revolt, most of the city was destroyed by Magemaster Hykell, who used a high level shatter spell to collapse the impressive buildings and monuments. Some buildings are still intact in Lordsport today, an example being the Greylore bank. Some of the rubble was used to build new buildings, and deep below the city remnants of the ancient tunnels and sewers are still intact.First Age
The first age saw a lack of continued settlement on the island, with small villages and pastoral communities existing on the bay. Following a fire in the Wave district in the 970s, the rebuilding process uncovered archaelogical evidence and a primitive village. Amongst the fines were a blacksmiths, an armoury, numerous houses, and a primitive brewery.Tywnaan
During the early second age, Kernowian centralisation saw a settled town take place in the vicinity of current Lordsport. This was mainly in the Castle Quater and the east of the current settlement. Tywnaan was a small town and less developed than present day Lordsport. Archaelogocial evidence and written chronicles from Marcia and Rexia discuss the town was largely wooden roundhouses with a motte and bailey castle in its centre. The outer walls were primarily palisades with a dock wall made of large wooden stumps. Much like contempoary Lordsport, Twynaan was the heart of the mining industry on the island, and at its height numerous larger buildings were constructed out of stone and the walls were breifly reinforced. The exterior of the city was dominated by small farmsteads. Twynaan began a decline in the late second age, as the local economy declined during the Gwenyddian occupation. Aeedrinarian raids also took a toll on the town, with its wooden infrastructure and weak defences making it an easy target. The population moved out of the city and became largely pastoral. It began a brief ressurgance in the 450s of the third age, as the Kernowian awakening began to take hold. The population returned to Twynaan, and the areas around present Castle Quater and Gold Quater were settled, with roundhouses still being common but stone buildings and walls being built, including a small castle on the site of the present keep. Twynaan became a hub of Kernowian culture during the Eldrian occupation, and imperial influence was slow to take hold. During this time of early occupation, the town became a hub of the arts and religion. However, this presence of Kernowian nationalism led to the Imperial Government trying to take a hold of key resources on the island, starting with the local mines. This led to the Kernowian Rebellion beggining in the city when the imperial marshalls house was sacked. The Local Commune took control of the town and leading members of the miners guild were imprisoned or killed. The rebelion ultimately failed, the Twynaan was sacked by the Duke of Westaxe. Imperial troops killed aroudn 66% of the population and burned the majority of the eastern town. The keep was knocked down, but large portions of the present day Castle and Gold Quaters were left intact. The Town was rebuilt and Eldrianised, given the name of Lordsport.Contemporary Lordsport
Following the Eldrianisation, the Imperial Government began to encourage imperial migration to the island. This led to the Wave quater being constructed, and the city walls being rebuilt. The Yaxley family, the deputies to the Duke of Westaxe, were given ownership of the island. Baron Montgomery Yaxely was a keen architect, and following a sabaatical the city of Neapia, he began to develop Lordsport into a town modelled after ancient Marcian cities. This meant the division of quaters and the focus on straight roads. His development process lasted for three decades, and bar a burning down of the Wave Quater during an accident in a bakery, the town has remained largely intact based on his models.Architecture
The architecture of the town is primarily based on classic Edlrian styles. The buildings are usually detached and made of wood with slate rooves. Chimneys are rare in the town, but are a growing fad amongst the merchant and ruling classes. The industrial buildings are large and built of stone. The castle is made in a traditional mid third age Eldrian style.
Geography
Lordsport lies on the Terassic Ocean, which is its most dominant natural feature. The coastline is generally tame during the mid-summer months, however, it can become stormy and peralious during the rest of the year. Lordsport is based on a lowland area of the island, with some hillier areas in the merchants and gold quater. Alongside the docklands, a large sandy beach is present.
Natural Resources
The most important natural resource of the town is the imported ore from the northern mining hillands. Outside of this, some fisheries can be found on the coast, with the rest of natural resources being imported through their docklands.
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