Damerel Shire

If you want to live somewhere safe and pleasant, with all the best features of both city and country life, and if you happen to have a robust budget, then Damerel Shire is the place for you.

Quite popular among the upper classes, particularly those who find Albion overcrowded or pedestrian, Damerel Shire long outgrew the designation "hamlet," but holds onto it nonetheless. Somewhere between a city and an unusually dense countryside, it is not an area for anyone opposed to long rides on horseback or by carriage to get to the next neighborhood.

Demographics

Non-humans or anyone who looks suspiciously like they might be poor will get more than their share of disapproving looks here, but as businesses multiply, the Shirefolk are--however slowly and reluctantly--coming to terms with the reality that a similarly wealthy and privileged individual is not going to serve their tea, sell them goods, or carry their packages.

Government

Damerel Shire has a parliament-appointed Governor, but any Governor knows or quickly learns not to cross the Society of Neighbors--an unofficial parliament of influential locals and busybodies. They decide what businesses are and are not allowed, how greatly to tax them, and how harshly to sanction anyone who causes trouble or paints their house too gaudily.

Industry & Trade

Damerel Shire has the most direct capitalism to be found in Valor, with the least involvement from the guilds. However, most of the businesses still have guild backing, ensuring easy access to on-time supplies, training and advice, and even a small measure of defense against the Society of Neighbors.

Infrastructure

Damerel Shire is crisscrossed with well-paved roads, as well as more that are well-packed dirt, leading to the major through-paths. The river that meanders through Damerel can be crossed in many places by fine stone arches or the newer style of covered wooden bridges, and ferries can be found further out, at the fringes of the city. At well-traveled intersections, shops, teahouses, and restaurants spring up like mushrooms, advertising their goods with beautifully made banners.

Guilds and Factions

There is only one guild with a full presence in Damerel Shire, and that is the Tea Hosts Guild. Fenhost's Tea House, the largest tea-house in Valor, is a thriving business near the heart of Damerel which dedicates its third floor to guild business.

Architecture

The architectural styles of Damerel shift from wood to stone and back again depending more on when houses or businesses were built, rather than where. It is easy to tell a neighborhood that was built all at once from buildings that were constructed later.

One neighborhood favors small stone "cottages" (with large manor-houses tucked behind them another has houses built so tall that they require buttresses to keep from leaning (though most of these were wrecked after the Battle of Arlickson's Field, not by the dragon, but by battle-weary gryphons stopping to roost on their way home). Most, however, are painted wood with stone fireplaces and garden walls not quite tall enough to discourage passers-by from admiring their contents.

Geography

The area's rolling hills are pleasant and scenic, and the area was once prime farmland. Much of the soil was depleted by over-farming during the Raithar Empire's rule, however, so its settlement and gentrification are no great loss. The fields surrounding Damerel are recovering, however, and yield quite well.

Known To

Common Knowledge
Expert Level: Local

Type

Metropolis

Inhabitant Demonym

Shirefolk

Owning Organization

Valor