Ten Forks

built at the crucial intersection towards four major capitols, Ten Forks has become a diverse but overpopulated city that almost impossible to properly manage.

Demographics

It is impossible to get a proper understanding of the population here. the locap government lacks the capacity to do so, and there's a large section of it that is effectively controlled by the criminal underground.
There are some traits of Ten Forks that can be said, in broad generality. It is a mostly human settlement, and increasingly so in the more wealthy areas. The market areas and the slums are more likely to have elves, dwarves, and orcs. Being near World's End, there's a sizable portion of Tieflings as well.

Government

to the extent that there is a government at all, it is ruled and governed by the Caliph's nephew. Although it would be difficult for anyone to manage Ten Forks, Baccha Khans incompetence and blind eye to corruption makes the situation far worse. The goings on of the government of Ten Forks is mostly focused on protecting the trade rolling through the town, as well as ensuring that it and all other revenue is properly taxed.

Defences

The city has a central guarded citadel for Baccha Khan to live in, and is very well protected. There is a thick outer wall for the city, built in the First Age. The growth of the city has completely outpaced the city walls, with large communities living outside the walls. If there were to be a significant attack or threat, there would not be enough room within the walls for everyone. Within the city, security is a very mixed bag. There is a properly trained and equipped force to act as police and military. That force is almost nonexistent outside of the city walls or west of the Radley River that runs through the city.

Industry & Trade

Ten Forks relies heavily on trade with neighboring countries. It is conveniently located along the paths to several other prominent cities, including foreign capitals, making the city a convenient meeting place for traders. Here, they are able to find and exchange a number of goods from foreign lands without the hassle of going there: Linthalian markets in miniature format.

Some of the biggest and most widely traveled roads in the region intersect here, making Ten Forks a logical and inevitable trade hub.
There's also some locally created goods of value as well. With the cold environments, the nearby forested areas have slow growth. This wood is useful in creating sturdy furniture, as well as instruments like fiddles that have a distinctive resonant tone.

Districts

West of the river, inside of the city is known as the Matchsticks. Cramped together lodgings of inferior material, this particularly dense area would erupt entirely if a fire were to break out. Prone to disease outbreaks and rife with crime, it has become the epitome of a slum, with armed forces ensuring that the inhabitants don't seep out past the bridges, it's even described as an open air prison.
Harlot's Landing is a collection of residences and shops at the northernmost extremity of the city. Well outside the reach of the law, criminals and degenerates alike had free reign until fairly recently. As this ,community' is built along one of the major roads into the city, a guard and police presence was built up to be separate and self sufficient from the city interior. if the area continues to build outward, it could constitute its own village settlement.

Guilds and Factions

The criminal presence in Ten Forks has been so difficult to weed out because of how decentralized and pervasive it has become. Even if one slum lord were to be taken out, they would be replaced within a day. There's whispers of someone in the inside that's trying to do something about it. Rumors are spreading of a mysterious entity known as the King of the Underodgs within the gangs. some believe they're trying to unite the underground to fight against Baccha Khans ineptitude. Others suspect it's just another ambitious nobody using faux populism to build their own power base. The rumors have reached the ears of power in Ten Forks, who have disregarded it entirely as nothing more than just an urban legend. Commanding the rabble of the streets under one name would be a feat greater than that of most generals.

History

Ten Forks has changed hands a number of times over the Ages. The corner of the world has been rife with war from all sides. Any marching army from any given direction is bound to travel through Ten Forks, and has been contested over, seiged, conquered, and 'reclaimed' a number of times. With so much fighting and so much destruction in the cities history, it makes it effectively impossible to track down it's origins. The oldest records of it are when it was already of considerable size, though far from the walled metropolis it is now. It's also been known under a number of different names, before Ten Forks became the ubiquitous term.

Climate

Ten Forks is a generally cold, dry area. Most of the agriculture that helps the cities survival comes from well water or drawing irrigation from the Orakliz river that it's built around. Rain and snow are the most common types of storms that transpire in the area. Because of the compactness of the area and the propensity for cheap and untreated wood, the rare thunderstorms that occur here are an especially high concern, as a single strike could set a house a blaze and very easily turn entire neighborhoods into a firestorm that the city would be unable to fight quickly.

Natural Resources

Outside of the roads and farms, Ten Forks is surrounded mostly by healthy forest, with a variety of trees about it. What hasn't been used to support the overflowing population is often used to support industry and trade with the making of instruments and furniture.

Type

Large town

Population

30,000, estimated

Related Ethnicities

• The Betrayed

Owner/Ruler

Baccha Khan