Blackstead City
"To we, the freed, go the spoils of a Dead Empire. A debt to be paid, long overdue."
Demographics
Despite the Kingdom of Olthambria's extensive attempts to encourage immigration to the country's capital, Blackstead City's population is still predominantly made up of the native Olthamites, who comprise roughly two thirds of the souls here. In the years following The Decade of the Tide in Sylmaneth, a good number of the country's inhabitants wished for new surroundings and brighter prospects. As a result, an influx of Sylvar immigrants has been seen in the ten years following the war - an optimistic number of whom are women. Likewise, Dorozi wanderers and adventurers make their way to this great city in search of glory, grand tales and fresh experiences. Between them both, the Dorozi and Sylvar make up about a quarter of the city's population.
The Khords and Arenians - though here aplenty - are relatively minute communities in comparison to the other races. A few tens of thousands make their home here, with somewhere in the region of ten percent of the local populace belonging to one of these two groups.
This, of course, leaves a noticeable percentage unaccounted for, but what could be said? Blackstead City is a weird and wonderful place, and its mysteries abound. However, maybe avoid asking that strange-looking Sylvar which city he moved from.
Government
Blackstead City is the home of the nation's governing body - both the Ainsworth Family and the Houses of Parliament. However, with so many matters of state to distract them, it isn't often that these entities get involved in the management of the city itself. That responsibility falls to the Blackstead City Council, who are led by their mayor - an official elected by the locals of the Black Metropolis.
Beneath the city's mayor are, of course, several officers, whose duties revolve around a particular aspect of city management. For example, one might travel to the train stations to find the city's Chief Immigration Officer doing a quick check of the work his people are doing; or perhaps you might spot the Chief Waste Management Officer signing off on yet another trash burning on the outskirts of Kenway's Fall. In short, working for the council is a rough job, but somebody's got to do it - and the pay isn't half-bad, either.
Defences
The capital of Olthambria is not surrounded by stone walls, as it may once have been in Imperial days. Today, the council wish all who arrive to know that Blackstead City has its doors open to anyone and everyone with the desire to make their home here. This does not, however, leave the city defenceless. Sitting atop an elevated plateau, accessing the city by land becomes a near-impossible task - without taking the railway, at least. Several watchtowers still exist along the city's borders, also, armed with heavy cannons and ready to spot anyone approaching from the air, and blow them out of the sky.
Industry & Trade
Perhaps the largest export in Blackstead - and the rest of Olthambria - is technology. The Olthamites have made a name for themselves as a people who are not afraid to seek progress, and take the Empire's downfall as a warning; not a condemnation of all things mechanical. Most commonly, Blackstead City exports weapons and ammunition to Dorozar and Varen Central, while providing mined ores and gemstones to the Sylvar. Most members of the lower class contribute to this economic powerhouse, and there are always factories looking for a blue collar worker on Anvil Row.
As for imports, the lack of easily-accessible woodland in the region of Ravendale leaves its logging camps few and far between. As a result, the Blacksteaders import a great deal of lumber from Sylmaneth and the northern Dorozi jungle, in order to place their floorboards, knock together their doors and carve the stocks of their rifles. Trading with the Khords by proxy, Blackstead City also buys a good deal of crops from the Sylvar - who, in turn, sailed it in from Khordepi. As for the Sylvar's unique imports to the Black Metropolis, their country houses a medicinal and recreational herb which is popular with the middle and lower classes in the city. As a result, thousands of pounds of the stuff are shipped in week by week, and sold to the common man in-turn.
Infrastructure
As the capital of Varen's technological powerhouse, Blackstead City houses all the comforts one would come to expect from city life. Tiled roads, sewers, power lines and much, much more all run like clockwork - day-in, day-out. Some of the more impressive examples include the city's unprecedented monorail system, the ever-burning foundries of Anvil Row, and the restored and mysterious Goldsmile district.
Also worth noting is the distinguished Trans-Varenian Railway, which runs straight through Blackstead City from north to south, ferrying folk here from all over the continent.
Assets
The Black Metropolis is a very wealthy city, with a treasury which sits piled high with diamond cubes. Its industry allows not only for the quick turnover of profit for their goods, but also for a surplus of machinery and building materials. The most-prominent of these resources, however, are most certainly the guns. Olthambria are well known throughout Varen for their military industrial complex, and Blackstead City is no exception. Many of the foundries of Anvil Row turn out heaps of weapons and ammunition with every passing day, leading to a stockpile of the world's most advanced (legal) firearms and explosives - and to the Blackstead Police Department becoming the best-equipped law enforcement organisation in the modern age.
Guilds and Factions
There are an enormous number of factions, guilds, wealthy families and gangs with at least some sway over the goings-on in Blackstead City - too many to list off in a comfortable number of words. The most prominent of the lot, however, are listed below.
- THE AINSWORTH FAMILY: The royal family of Olthambria, these well-respected figureheads are seen in and around the city centre of Crown's Peak, and hold a great deal of influence over the governing of this great metropolis. As it stands, King Howard Ainsworth has not exercised his power as reigning monarch to subvert parliament's wishes and take matters into his own hands; however, he most certainly could, and perhaps the threat of that alone is what gives the royal family so much power. THE GENTLE FAMILY: A small family of wealthy landlords who practically run a little kingdom of their own in The Shimmer. Many of the district's Sylvar inhabitants claim that Gentle Property Letting is a respectable company, with a greater sense of honour than most other rich folk. It is now known, however, whether there is any truth to these statements. The family is currently run by one Martha Gentle - an Olthamite woman approaching middle-age - whose daughter, Penny, is next in-line for the Gentle fortune. THE HARVEYS: This band of vicious cutthroats are, officially speaking, landlords. Rich folk gouging the poorest and most vulnerable of this city for profit, but landlords nonetheless. To some, the term slumlord might come to mind, but for your own safety, you wouldn't dare utter such slander in the presence of the family patriarch. Thomas Harvey M.P. is the mastermind behind this crime family, simultaneously letting his boys have free reign over Kenway's Fall and its people, while manoeuvring agendas through parliament to keep he and his friends filthy rich. There is some debate in the king's court as to the validity of Harvey's consecutive election wins - given his hold over the district his votes came from - but again, most know better than to challenge him on it.
Architecture
Compared to other cities in the New Dawn Era, Blackstead City has a surprising amount of reclaimed Old World structures - the most prominent of which would clearly be the Ainsworth Palace and the colossal machine in the Goldsmile district. These buildings still possess the old style of the Arenian Empire - dark, metallic and jagged, commanding a fearful presence and feeling deeply gothic in nature.
The newer buildings - those built after the reclamation of the city - are more akin to typical Olthamite design. Straight edges, plenty of pillars and smooth stone make up the remainder of Blackstead's houses, shops and factories, giving the city a wonderfully elegant appearance at many different points.
Geography
Blackstead City sits atop a plateau, high in the extensive mountain ranges that cover Olthambria's surface. From here, one could see for miles all around, viewing the rolling hills and climbing peaks stretch off to the horizon. While most of the city is pretty simplistic, geographically, the eastern side of town sits next to a very large lake, in which a good number of vessels can often be seen fishing, diving or simply ferrying folk from one end to the other. This is also where most of the city gets its water, with others having it pumped up from underground streams located beneath the city itself.
Founding Date
2, New Dawn Era
Alternative Name(s)
The Black Metropolis, The Capital
Type
Metropolis
Population
Roughly 1.6 Million
Inhabitant Demonym
Blacksteader
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
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