Cliffport
The town of Cliffport on the northern coast of Punjuki is an important transportation hub for the movement of goods between Punjuki and Myruthea. It is currently a member of the Alchemical Alliance.
Government
The Port Authority is a council of the major traders which administers shipping licences, port fees and taxation. Representitives of the Raja and other powerful members of the Court Circle of Katrapetch have traditionally been influential in the Port Authority and even in modern times, since the demise of the Court Circle, Katrapetch continues to exert a great influence over local politics, although Cliffport is strictly speaking an independent member of the Alchemical Alliance.
Infrastructure
The architecture and infrastructure of Cliffport is all designed to allow port facilities to be provided in a location where there are no good natural harbours. Everything is engineered to work around this geographical disadvantage. As a project, the development of the port was only seen as a viable solution because there were no other obviously suitable sites within easy reach of Katrapetch, and it was thought desirable for that city to have a relatively convenient port which could be easily reached by road and would break the monopoly of the Bress shipping fleets.
The Cliffport region has a number of inlets and coves which provide sheltered deep water anchorages for large ships. In some cases, wooden docks have been built to span the gap to the shore, or cranes enable direct loading and unloading from the cliffs. In other places there are facilities for smaller transfer vessels to shuttle between ocean going ships and quays carved into the rockface, such as this one at Raymond's Dock.
Long ramps built into the cliffs, open wooden lifts and even a funicular railway are all there to assist in the upward and downward movement of goods from sea to land and visa versa.
Cliffport - Raymond's Dock by DMFW with Leonardo AI
Districts
Cliffport sprawls over and around a number of inlets and tropical fjords for a considerable distance to the east and west of Prime House Bay which occupies a central position at the heart of the town. The Prime House itself is a large and luxurious hotel with scenic views over the bay, such as the one shown below.
On the eastern edge of town, Baker's Light, a small beacon maintained by the Port Authority, provides guidance to shipping.
In the far west, the Hildron's Heights district is one of the wealthier suburbs, overlooking a bay where fresh water flows out to sea below a dam that supplies the town with drinking water.
Cliffport - Prime House Bay by DMFW with Leonardo AI
Cliffport - Baker's Light by DMFW with Leonardo AI
Cliffport - Hildron's Heights by DMFW with Leonardo AI
History
The northern coast of Punjuki is generally rocky with high cliffs and a lack of natural harbours. This is why the port of Bress on the west coast became the main nexus for shipping between Myruthea and Punjuki in the early years of the New Kingdoms. Cliffport was developed only later after the Sundering, sponsored by merchants in Katrapetch who were looking for a more direct route north across the sea, that didn't require them to send their goods all the way south and west overland to Bress. There had long been a small fishing village here which was most likely settled very early in the colonisation of the continent, but the modern town dates from 5644 BPC, when the first wave of serious building began here, on, around and within the surrounding cliffs.
Although the site is naturally easy to defend, the governers from Katrapetch had neglected to guard against the acts of bribary and treason which allowed the invading armies of the Old Pale Empire to capture the town, early in the Northern Punjuki Campaign in 4489 BPC.
Under the rule of the Old Pale Empire, Cliffport enjoyed a second period of extensive development, which included the building of the Counting House, an administrative centre for the collection of tax and the management of port fees.
After the Planar Conformation, Cliffport, in common with all coastal cities throughout Magicians' End, suffered from the restrictions on ocean travel caused by the activities of the Deep Sleepers and it was not until the age of the Water Kingdoms in the second half of the first millenium APC that its fortunes revived.
In subsequent years, the wealth of the town has generally risen and fallen in line with the success or otherwise of Katrapetch.
Cliffport - The Counting House by DMFW with Leonardo AI
Architecture
Cliffport buildings cling to the cliffs and bite deeply into the rock to make the most of the vertical spaces they inhabit.
Vertiginous bridges connect the spurs of stone that separate inlets and coves, linking the town together. Extensive underground tunnels and vaults honeycomb the rock to hollow out more living and warehouse storage space.
Cliffport - Cold Vein Bridge by DMFW with Leonardo AI
Cliffport - Dagger Cove Bridge by DMFW with Leonardo AI
Founding Date
5644 BPC
Type
Large town
Population
31281
Inhabitant Demonym
Cliffsiders
Location under
Owning Organization
Related Traditions
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