Arda

Arda is a conservative trade city and the first major city in the Edren Empire. Famed of idealistic beauty and ancient structures, Arda is considered a rich and prosperous city and a model for Edren Culture.

Demographics

Humans - 30%
High Elves - 20%
Wood Elves - 20%
Halflings - 10%
Gnomes - 10%
Tieflings - 5%
Dragonborn - 3%
Other - 2%

Government

The City is a stronghold for The Conservatives despite having a deeply Populists college. This is largely due to the long term economic prosperity of the city for generations leading to a very strong middle and upper class. It is the seat of specialized goods and especially the lumber and wood work business. It also tends to be the seat of the Governorship of Heartlind when it is held, as it almost always is, by the conservatives. The Current Governor of the heartlind Lady Lady Valeria Leo whom lives in a palace that also seats the Senate of Arda, a council of 14 patrician family heads from the city with a tribune from the plebs acting solely as a tie breaker.

Defences

The city is built with thick modern circle walls and towers with canons readied at every direction, however the Castle on the Sisters remains it's largest defensive work, housing the heartlind's biggest long term garrison. The city also seats many of the steam river boats that act as the linch pin the the Empire's Navy.

Industry & Trade

The cities biggest industry remains it's lumber and wood working of which the finest riverboats, furniture and wood work comes out of the factories and specialized hands of Arda, along with that industry much wealth comes from tariffs and trade as Arda sits on the heart of the cross trade of four different nations.

Infrastructure

The city sits on the Emperor's highway to Nova Edren  and Lakolis, and the Wallock Way to Borz and Goathlind. It sits on the Long and little sister river connecting it to both Dobruja, Sarudinka, and Water's Keep. Added to that it has a modern railway connecting it to the capitol and the beginnings of one to connect to Borz. within the city it has paved rows and modern sewers.

Districts

The city is divided politically and economically by the west and east side. The West holding many of the finer homes factories and the extremely wealthy Estates district, this is a hot bed for the The Conservatives or the Optimates, whom rule the city as a whole strongly. The East is more mixed originally started to hold a fort and foot in The Kingdom of Undland after the revolution, but grew massively as rich Lumber work collected from the dense wolf wood. Funds from the lumber company put to opening the cathedral in that part of the city and allow more space for rich retireies, but also meant an influx of workers and servants who started to build a counter cultest and form the Carpenter's Guild to push their Populists politics. Similarly the College of Satire was formed nearby, an offshoot of the College of Lore on Nova Edren with a less elitist ideology to their studies creating further political tensions in this otherwise uniform city.

Guilds and Factions

Arda's most famous faction is the Arda College of Satire, one of the two largest colleges in Edra, and the largest Cathedral to Arna. Here is the primary location for art students or students that for whatever reason failed to get into Nova Edren's College of Lore. It's governing ideology is that nothing is beyond criticism and commentary. The College sits beside the local Cathedral of Myrrine, which sits at a famous one inch taller.

History

The city claims to have been founded in the first empire, yet no real records show it to have been one, the fist mention of Arda was in the shadow of one of the fallen floating cities of the empire, originally as a mining operation that eventually grew into a fortress city during the following revolutions. However, as it became key to international trade, and the economics of wood working and the fine year wide temperate climate made it attractive to the wealthy the modern second empire city grew into the true metropolitan of today.

Type

City

Population

500k

Owning Organization

Heartlind