Saturday, March 28, 2015

Population Center: Fallenguard:

Fallenguard lies within the ten mile radius of The Temple of the Night's many curses, the most well-known of course being the impotency and infertility of all dragons and draconis dragon-kin that have ever resides there.  However, as The Great Suarn Empire does not wish to see the curse expanded or even worse curses applied to the region and beyond, a great many special guards are assigned to watch the radius to keep all those that enter it far from the temple unless authorized.  Since few draconis dragon-kins would willingly put themselves within the reach of the temple's curses, the majority of its guard is stationed in Fallenguard, where the draconis dragon-kins there were either wicked criminals or extremely dedicated to their career in a way that 'promoted' them there in order to keep them in line.  The rest of the population is primarily human, though other species have settled in Fallenguard with the knowing caveat that all over the age of fourteen must serve on rotation with the guard, regardless of species, gender or disability.  Very little business is not directly related to guarding the radius of influence from the temple, but some mining operations do run through the region which are closely monitored but designed to give much needed additional funding to ensure the continued success of Fallenguard's defense of the temple and its city.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Population Center: Crestfall:

Northwest of Ashencry, Crestfall is a city resting atop a myriad of mesas and canyons nestled up against the Vapor Ocean on its southern border with sheer cliffs and rocky shores upon which waves harshly beat their ire.  Having no true port and poor mining conditions, many species outright avoid settling in its neighborhoods if they have any other choice, though some individuals find the fertile soil and high amount of shade in the lower reaches ideal for growing certain crops that are difficult to cultivate elsewhere.  To its east are fields of poppies and grains, and to its north are forests with plentiful wood, though most of the inhabitants build tend to have large tents for their domiciles.

Due to the ill-suited nature of the landscape for their species, Naiads, Cubi, Gitwerg and Goblins are rare in Crestfall.  Draconis Dragon-Kin typically work for the Guard or in various hunting and trapping specializations alongside the Felinae population there.  The Kenthri mostly work the fields and live close to them, enjoying the freedom of movement and relative lack of demand to their way of life.  Gnomes and Pixies usually tend to the various plants that grow in the shade and underground.

Gargoyles are most often found living along the cliffs facing the sea, usually working in salvage operations or in gathering undersea resources.  Reynix most often stick toward the forest and fields, working sometimes with the hunting and trapping individuals and groups, but most often running the logging businesses.  Humans are quite common in Crestfall, though most content themselves with odd jobs and relatively menial careers without a significant population of them focusing on one craft or trade.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Population Center: Ashencry:

Over three hundred years ago, the Unar Forest on the Southern tip of the Adslein continent was ravaged during a massive battle between two armies wielding their science and magic against each other, the desecration covering the forest in meter deep ash that took decades to be washed away by the rain even with the aid of those who helped gather some for purposes elsewhere.  Eventually though, as the soil recovered, the forest returned once again, taller, stronger and more dense than ever before due to the fertility the ash put back into it once the land was able to overcome its suffocation.  People who had fled the forest when the battle began returned once again with joy in their hearts as the Unar Forest became ripe for settling again, the population helping the forest to grow with tender care, not allowing one notch on any of the trees without days of deliberation first from their council.  In honor of the damage to the forest before its healing and in remembrance of the horror that brought it about its ravaging, the city that was built there took on the name Ashencry.  Bringing logs that had fallen into the ocean shelf to the surface, the people of Ashencry were able to make a tidy profit without allowing any logging within their borders.  On the outer edge they allow Haversham less than a mile of land to log due to political and practical reasons, not having enough of a police force to patrol that great a distance frequently enough on their own being chief among them, but the trade and logging agreement ensures that Haversham keeps the border delineated clearly.

The Draconis Dragon-Kin and Kenthri mostly keep to the Southwest corner of Ashencry, watching the Kunkar Colony in the distance to ensure no vessels enter or leave its grounds save the single ship that throws new prisoners and supplies overboard with flotation devices so that they do not sink to the ocean bottom, but do not have a pre-existing boat to attempt to use in an escape attempt.  Alternating the watch of the Kunkar Colony, those paid by The Great Suarn Empire also tend to small gardens and storehouses of food for themselves and the few Guard posted in the region.  The Naiads keep their vessels mostly docked on the Northwest corner of Ashencry, delivering goods and travelers to Ashencry from far off cities as well as taking those who wish to leave Ashencry or ship goods from it to another city on their multiple routes as well.  The Cubi and Gargoyles mostly operate a fishing industry though a sizable portion are also tied up in an ocean floor exploration and salvage business.

The Pixies and Gnomes tend to organize most of the checks on the health of the Unar Forest, as well as managing many food storehouses and warehouses for not only their own population and sale to the larger city population, but also for storing some of the seafood from the fishing industry.  The Felinae and Gitwerg usually tend to avoid Ashencry due to the limited space and the number of toxic pools in caverns still deep underneath Ashencry as a result of the battle over three hundred years ago.  Goblins, on the other hand, cautiously live close to these toxic pools and mine out a few rare materials that can be found there, as well as processing what is usable from these pools that other businesses might purchase.  The Reynix and Humans are few in number in Ashencry, but most tend to manage the underwater logging operation.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Population Center: Haversham:

Five miles Southwest of Billuta, Haversham sprawls along the rolling Kiloja Hills where it holds gaze over the fields shared with Billuta.  Having a wide river to its West and the Vapor Ocean to its East, Haversham has miles of irrigation running through and underneath it, hundreds of windmills and waterwheels serving to both transport the water to purification facilities and also for power generation.  While electricity is still somewhat scarce in the city dwellings themselves, every street is lit up at night and many important businesses utilize the city grid running underneath Haversham in order to produce products that fuel the city's economy.  Thankfully most of the residents of Haversham gratefully re-invest into the city and new ventures are cropping up toward not only expanding the power generation and security of the city itself, but spreading outward to its outer neighborhoods and other parts of the Adslein continent.  Crime is low in Haversham, but unfortunately there are still dangerous animals that come from the seas and the forest between it and Ashencry.

The Draconis Dragon-Kin for the most part work in the city Guard and hunting down the wild animals that occasionally attack, as well as exploring parts of the Adslein continent for new ideas, knowledge and resources to bring back to Haversham, having the most freedom to move about the continent and world on the whole.  The Gargoyles tend to make roost in the cliffs along the ocean, diving into the deep waters to explore underwater caves and the rocky ocean shelf.  The Cubi for the most part keep their ships tethered to columns of stone rising up from that ocean shelf a mile out from the shore, trading with the Naiads that live deep in the waters, both disliking the somewhat strict laws of Haversham as the city aims to keep itself a tourist-friendly environment in order to gain more investment.

The Gitwerg and Goblins mostly keep to opposite sides of the city, the Gitwerg preferring to expand their homes down into the ocean, city regulations and law enforcement ensuring that despite the grumbles, the two species never have any intersecting tunnels.  Any ventures in the land between their territories is mostly run by the Gnomes, who not only keep the shares fair between all the workers, but also have no objection to the regulations, though some claim that they both pay the city bribes and receive bribes from the Gitwerg and Goblins to keep things profitable for all involved.  The Pixies on the other hand, tend to settle in two clusters, one staying near the fields and the other living near the forest, each working to harvest from both and minimize the dangers within both.

The Felinae and Reynix settle near the Gitwerg and Goblins respectively, both species having an affection for their respective neighbors and distrust of each other generally in Haversham.  The Felinae rarely work outside the fields with the Human population and Pixies there, while the Reynix mostly stick toward the forest and the lumber operation there which they and the Kenthri keep running at a pace that seems astounding.  However, despite the amount of wood harvested, the science and magic the two wield with the aid of the Pixies there ensure that the trees they plant in place of those logged grow exceedingly fast and it only takes four years for a sapling to be harvestable.  Due to their techniques, however, the majority of this strange-pine has little to no grain which makes it valuable in certain circles, though not as able to hold weight as the natural pine.  With how much demand the strange-pine has, however, its logging has far exceeded that of the natural pine, allowing the forest to easily compensate naturally for those that are not being affected by science and magic.