Lucca (Luke-Ah)

The town of Lucca sits as a major port in the northwestern corner of the New Southern Empire. At a population of 11213, it's certainly the largest city in the region, and one of the larger cities in the empire, made possible by profitable trade with the empire and their port's access to other nations via the Deus Sea.
Lucca is known for being one of the major hubs of magical equipment exported out of the nation. Because of this, it enjoys a great deal of diversity of folk living in and visiting the city.

Demographics

Racial/Species makeup: 40% Imperial humans 20% Northmen 20% Furkin 10% Dwarves 5% Elves 5% Other races (gnomes, halflings, planetouched, etc.)

Government

Unlike many settlements in the empire, Lucca enjoys quite a bit of latitude with how they enforce law and keep order. While loyal to the empire by all accounts, Luccan government diverges from the caste-like system imposed by the empire. Furkin and other marginalized people are permitted to own businesses and are upwardly mobile. The wealth of Lucca makes even the most dogmatic imperials look the other way. Even so, many Luccan citizens look at the empire as a necessary evil; providing additional security while also stifling profit with regular tribute payments.
Government affairs are sorted out by a council of representatives of the major guilds and trade organizations in the town. An elected arbiter (elected amongst full empire citizens) oversees meetings of the council. Additionally, the nobility of Lucca (typically one seat for the Crown Prince/Princess) have a position on the council. This position is primarily symbolic and royals have had varying degrees of participation and interest in day-to-day government.

Defences

As a major port town, Lucca is well defended from many threats. It has a robust garrison of Imperial Legionaries that ensure that goods continue to flow and the peace is kept. Additionally, the guilds of Lucca as well as the royalty keep a retinue of private soliders and magic users to help secure and protect their own assets.
Lucca is also fortified with stone walls and several watchtowers that dot the perimeter of the walls. From sea, Imperial ships routinely pass through this port, making open piracy a dangerous endeavour, at least close to port.

Guilds and Factions

Although governed by a council of representatives of the major guilds and trade organizations in the town, some guilds in particular have a great deal of influence in Lucca. Among the various organizations, three major guilds hold most of the power.
Mages Guild: Not your typical group of ‘tower mages’, the mage’s guild concerns themselves with practical applications of magic. In Lucca, they apply magic for the sake of facilitating commerce and trade. As a result, very few magical items pass through Lucca undetected by the guild.
Most members of the mage guild earn their keep scrying for materials, identifying and enchanting items, and applying magical protection. Others are not above accepting contracts to search and “retrieve” magical artifacts. Some lords even hire guild members on retainer for their abilities.
Unlike most traditional guilds of magic-users, the mages guild does not directly take apprentices for the purposes of teaching them magic. Rather, they prefer budding magic-users that already show potential to instruct them in the ways of their ‘applied’ magic.
Seafarers Guild: Even if not the mightiest by spell or sword, the merchant’s guild wields tremendous power through their wealth. Consisting of importers and seafaring tradespeople, the guild is easily the wealthiest organization in the city of Lucca.
Day-to-day business at the guild consists of funding trade expeditions to far-flung lands, negotiating trade deals with other organizations, and brokering rare goods. Their knowledge of the various peoples and places of the world is unparalleled.
Central to the guild’s power is their control over sea traffic in the region. The guild funds and maintains all of the docks, drydocks, and shipbuilding operations in the city. This makes doing business through the port quite easy, even with the fees the guild charges.
However, due to the nature of their craft, the merchant’s guild is the one most rife with political intrigue and occasionally, infighting. Individual guild members are not above cutting fellow guild members out of business through numerous means (cutting supply chains, driving demand down, etc.).
In extreme situations, the guild has been known to employ private mercenaries (outside of the mercenaries guild, of course) and the off-the-books Theives’ Guild (who wield great power in their own right) to remove any obstacles their considerable wealth cannot.
Mercenaries Guild: The guild is made up of stout folk of all walks of life - from skilled scouts and spies to heavy enforcers. While the Imperial Legion has a sizable presence in Lucca, many wealthy traders employ members of the guild to safeguard their holdings.
The guild takes on all kinds of jobs ranging from private investigation to caravan duty to monster slaying. As compensation, guild members often choose to be paid in equity or in shares of the overall loot being retrieved or protected. As a result, they’ve been able to obtain significant holdings and clout in the city of Lucca.
The guild really has only one restriction on the types of jobs they take which is to never accept a contract that conflicts with an existing one. This keeps guild members (usually) out of conflict with one another and maintains their upstanding reputation in the region. Nevertheless, the occasional guild member will pick up side work. If caught, the guild issues swift disciplinary action.

Type

Large town

Population

11213

Inhabitant Demonym

Luccans

Location under

Northmarches

Owning Organization

The New Southern Empire