Landsoftheblacksea:Main Page/realms/athervon/settlements/avis armois

From RPGnet
Revision as of 11:14, 31 December 2020 by BlackSeaDM (talk | contribs) (King's Gate)
Jump to: navigation, search

<< Back to Athervon

The City of Avis Armois

Statistics

Population: 5,000

Allegiance: Kingdom of Athervon, Province de Armois

Ruler: His Excellency, Archbishop Averroe DeMarre, Compte de Armois, Lord Protector of Avis Armois

Military: Garrison (The Black Lions)

City Watch: Militia (The Southern Legion, aka Red Swords)

History

AY869: Jhonian naval and land forces lay seige to the city, which falls several months later, the first victory of the Jhonian invasion.

AY966: Athernian forces lay seige to the city, which falls within a month, ending Jhonian rule over the reformed Kingdom of Athervon.

Government

Feudal Autocracy, supported by City Council (one member from each Ward, wards select their representative as they choose to, + members from select Guilds)

Organizations

Surrounding Area

Village of Muckmire

Alcalde Estates

This large, gated compound of buildings was constructed not long after Athervon re-took the city from the Jhonians in AY966. The owner is an Anidan, Nalencampa Orellana-Alcalde de Peña, who by now must be a very, very old man. Little is known about this mysterious resident, who seldom enters town himself, relying on a rather strange staff of servants. The compound was the height of luxury when it was built, but in the last decade or so has started to show signs of decrepitude, with some maintainance and upkeep lagging. Rumors withing the Village of Muckmire and the City itself are rife about the place and the owner. What is known is that no one has ever been inside that was not explicitly invited by Nalencampa. Huge Bakulan mastiffs patrol the grounds inside the high iron fence; one of the thieves’ guilds sent operatives in shortly after the compound was finished to scout the place and see what goods might be stolen, and none of them ever returned.

The Old Arena

A leftover relic from the city’s population apex just prior to the Jhonian invasion, the Old Arena was the home of gladiatorial shows, circuses, travelling fairs, jousting and other sporting events. It was severely damaged during the Jhonian conquest, and the Jhonians decided to build their own complex inside the city walls (see Colosseum District). The Old Arena has been abandoned now for nearly two centuries, and the locals avoid it completely, as the structure is unsafe (but too expensive to tear down). Local children tell stories of ghosts and monsters that reside there, and local toughs challenge each other to spend the night within its walls. At least three people have gone missing and presumably drowned visiting the place since the reconquest of the city, and the local authorities impose harsh penalties on anyone they learn has been visiting the place.

Town of Eastshore

Eastshore is a bustling town just outside the Outer Docks District, connected by two gates into the city proper. Eastshore sports its own docks, which offer lower mooring fees than those in the city proper; the city evens things out by imposing steep taxes on goods brought into it from Eastshore. Thus, economics dictate that much of goods flowing through Eastshore end up travelling by road or river up into the interior of Athervon. The town is a “work hard play hard” type of settlement, with business and industry all that can be seen during the day, but with rowdy taverns, drunken sailors, and entertainment to rival Torchtown during the evening. The nightlife is fueled in large part by two Bardic Colleges, one a classical Athernian school focused on music and song, the other a recently established Jhonian society that emphasizes scholarly research and poetry.

Shúj`id-al-Alrakh (College of the Arts)

Dravedi College

Village of Foghollow

Foghollow dominates the land traffic into and out of Avis Armois; The West Gate is very low traffic as few venture into Mistwood and the Fens beyond; Eastshore is responsible for much trade, but little of it enters the city proper. Thus the great King’s Gate entrance to Avis Armois that is accessed from Foghollow is the main source of land traffic in and out of the city proper. It is also the closest gate to the higher ground to the north of the city where agriculture can be practiced reliably, and thus much of the food and raw materials for the city pass through King’s Gate. The Village itself is a riot of cart vendors hawking food and other sundries to the lines of people waiting to get in (or the ones that got out and are looking for cheaper prices than they could get inside), and simple businesses in the buildings. The city rents out several of the buildings in the village to house their clerks and scribes, and much of the paperwork and taxes for goods being brought in or out of the city are taken care of here, where there is space and room to do so.

City Districts

Westshore

The Westshore is a quiet district comprised mostly of craftsmen – carpenters, leatherworkers, bakers, and the like. The district is also the home of a few guild halls, including the Teamsters/Cartmasters, Bakers and Brewers guilds. The building’s in Westshore are generally newer than those closer to the city center – the District was heavily damaged during the Jhonian invasion of AY869 and the subsequent reconquest by the forces of Athervon in AY 966, and only now has started to fill back in. Most of the buildings are wood, but occasionally one can find an original black stone building that has survived the fighting.

Lowtown

Lowtown is the home of the majority of the Halfling population of the City. As the name implies, the buildings in this section are designed for the small stature of the inhabitants, and Humans will find the ceilings low and the quarters cramped. The Halflings keep it that way to discourage the big folk from tarrying overlong. There is significant traffic between Lowtown and Longnose, as the Gnomes & Halflings get along well and the height differences are less obvious. Lowtown is home to tanners, carters, teamsters, clothiers, woodworkers, bakers, butchers, shearers, and a variety of agrarian and trade shops. Some of the finest cooks in the City can be found here, as well as the best tobacco shops in the province.

Weaverspoint

Weaverspoint is a District that has a mix of folk of Jhonian, Athernian, as well as a smattering of other pedigrees. It is a working-class district, relatively peaceful and productive. The name comes from the fact that the area has historically been home to the best weavers in the Province, who produce beautiful cloth using methods from across the lands. Journeymen weavers from across all of Athervon have been known to travel to the City to try to obtain an apprenticeship with a professional from Weaverspoint, which are not easy to come by.

Skullshore

Skullshore’s name derives from its original use: after the Jhonian’s sacked the City in AY869, they constructed mass pyres and burned the bodies of their foes here; when the Athervonians retook the City in AY966, they returned the favor and dug mass graves for the fallen Jhonian’s, which are interred here by the hundreds. The City has thrived and expanded since this time, and now the land has been built over with a variety of buildings for housing as well as trade, with livestock and animals trade being the dominant business. The District is not rich by any means, and most folk that have other options for a home in the city take it – it is a step up from Mudwalk and several up from The Maze, but it runs a close third in terms of poverty, crime, and the associated ills. The smell of animals is pervasive and inescapable in the District. And to this day, it is not uncommon to come across bones of some long-dead unfortunate protruding from the earth, or to see the gleam of an ivory skull revealed by the gently lapping waves of the nearby water.

The Heathen Pond

This pool of water between Weaverspoint and Skullshore is infamous for its role in the retaking of the City from the Jhonians in AY966. Having pinned the last remaining soldiers and their clerics between the water and the City walls, the advancing Athernian forces made a final demand for surrender. The highest-ranking cleric, a fanatic, refused, and called down a rain of mystical fire on the advancing troops, killing many, including their beloved leader. The Athernians became enraged and stormed the District, killing indiscriminately. The drove the remaining Jhonians toward the pool, and forced over 200 men, women and children into the water at the point of sword and spear, where they sank and drowned.

The Maze

So named due to the warren of streets, alleys, dead-ends, and twisting paths, the Maze is the last resort District where one can find the poorest of the poor of the city, as well as the most vile criminal elements that prey upon them. For all intents and purposes, The Maze is unpatrolled by law and order elements of the city normally. Occasionally, if the disorder spills over into riots or (more importantly) neighboring districts, then the City Watch and City Garrison, augmented by hired mercenaries, will swarm the District to passivate the unrest. But the King’s justice is not to be found in The Maze.

The Feeding Pond

The macabre name for this filthy pool is based on the fact that so many bodies have been dumped there that it is now the home of any number of aquatic carrion eaters who feast on those unfortunates that take the plunge into it. The cry of “Feeding Time!” is regularly heard from the Inns & taverns that sit on its perimeter whenever a loud splash is heard, regardless of the cause. The water of this area is sluggish and strewn with filth and debris – anyone still alive who finds themselves in its inky expanse is likely to contract one or more diseases or parasites – if they live at all.

The Embers

The Embers is the District that was appropriated by the Jhonians after they captured the City to be used for nobility as their residences. When the City was liberated from the Jhonians in AY966, the native Athernian populace rioted in the aftermath of the military victory, and set fire to this section. The flames spread quickly, and it was only the efforts of the armed forces that stopped the fire from spreading to other quarters. After law and order was restored, the local government decreed that any Jhonians wishing to stay in the city “could do so without persecution so long as they dwell amongst the embers of their former abodes, that they may well remember the price of their wickedness and blasphemy.” Thus did the district get its name. The burned-out hulks were gradually torn down, and new structures rebuilt. Empty stone shells were rebuilt with new floors and roofs, and the district is now a bustling Jhonian quarter. But the soot and scorch marks from the great fire can still be seen on the stone old enough to have been in place when the fire occurred, and local legend states that on the anniversary of the liberation of the city, the Embers Quarter fills with the stench of the burned flesh of those that perished in the flames. Jhonians are now permitted in most districts, the old prejudices having slowly faded as the generations passed and tensions eased. Weaverspoint, Mudwalk, and Skullshore both have significant Jhonian populations. But the Jhonians in the city view The Embers as “their” district – much like the Holy Symbol of A’Salam, the District itself has risen anew from the flames and thrives.

Mudwalk

Poor district. Heavily foreign-born who cannot afford to live in the Foreign District.

Stonedocks

The Stonedocks District is the oldest, most secure, and most heavily regulated of the ports of the City, with virtually all of its traffic of an official nature destined for the Castle or the Cathedral of the Holy City. A number of wealthy merchants pay large fees and bribes to bring their wares through the Stonedocks – primarily to avoid complications and/or theft from criminal organizations that operate out of the other ports. The area is heavily patrolled by both the City Watch and the Garrison, and only the most skilled or desperate thieves try to ply their trade here. The area has plentiful taverns for sailors to spend their pay, but other low-brow forms of entertainment, such as brothels or gambling houses, are frowned upon.

Ill-Water

The prison of Ill-Water is spoken of in hushed tones by the guilty and innocent alike in the City – indeed, even in the lands beyond, the reputation of this hulking stone structure that sits beyond the walls of the city causes sailors passing it to mumble prayers of protection on the way in, and of thanks on the way out. Ill-Water is home to the most vile, notorious, dangerous, or hated persons that fall afoul of the authorities of the City. The structure has three above-ground stories, as well as at least two below-ground donjon levels, the lowest barely above high tide during normal weather, and decidedly below it during storms and tempests. Most criminals plead for a quick death after hearing they will be sent to this bastion of torment. No one has ever escaped alive from Ill-Water in the 250 years it has been used as a gaol, and there are only two cases of inmates escaping at all, both of which ended in death – one from drowning, the other eaten alive by the creatures of the swampy harbor while passengers in arriving and departing ships looked on.

East End

Civic Quarter

Bishop's Gate

Noble Quarter

Holy City

North Wall

Golden Quarter

Embassy District

Foreign District

Outer Docks

Bronzechapel

Guild's Quarter

Guild’s Quarter is home to the bulk of the Guild Halls for the professional societies of Avis Armois. The Quarter itself does not sport many businesses that cater to the general public – that is what King’s Gate and Market are for. Guild’s Quarter caters to professional merchants and the craftsmen of the Guilds. There are a large number of clerks and scribes that base their businesses out of Guild’s Quarter, as well as accountants, messengers, and the like. There are no shortage of taverns or inns in the quarter, most catering to travelling merchants or guild members. Many of the streets in the Guild’s Quarter are named after the professions present there (e.g., Rue des Cuirs, Rue de Savon, etc).

Market District

Market District is, as the name implies, home to the city’s largest open market, with booths and stalls practically filling the large open paved space. An apparently acceptable holdover from the Jhonian tradition of the bazaar, the market here is year-round, though considerably diminished during the winter. It reaches its most fevered pitch in the peak harvest season, followed closely by the first offerings of spring. As is to be expected, Market is a favored haunt of many a pickpocket, and one must watch ones purse carefully. The Red Swords do what they can to keep the thieves at bay, but the press of people only allows so much. Nothing illegal is allowed to trade in Market, although it is said that if one looks carefully there, one can find traffickers in illicit goods – but the actual transactions are conducted elsewhere, at appointed times. The edges of the Market area are rife with taverns and public houses, though full-fledged inns are less common.

Fishtail

Fishtail is home of the Inner Docks, where much of the traffic is related to the sale of fish and other foodstuffs from the nearby sea; commercial traffic of other kinds tends to be handled by the other docks in the city, although some does pass through here. The entire district is filled with the smells of seafood – the salty smell of fresh fish that makes one’s mouth water, and the rancid smell of rotting fish, as most creatures are gutted and butchered here, and the entrails dumped into the Inner Pond to slowly flow out to sea. This tradition is the source of the name of the district, and the tails of hundreds of fish are seen in piles around the fish market before they are dumped off the docks. The district does not have much commercial business besides the fish market, although there are a large number of warehouses, salt-packing facilities to prepare goods for travel inland or by sea, and a number of accounting and clerk offices. There are taverns and inns in large numbers here, catering mostly to seafaring patrons.

The Inner Pond

King's Gate

The stereotypical visitors first experience with Avis Armois is the raucous scene just inside The King’s Gate that leads into the city from the Village of Foghollow, and which gives this district it’s name. In the large open circular forum, carts and vendors hawk all manner of goods, and singers and performers ply their trade. The circle is ringed with shops selling a wide variety of goods, although the district is most well known for clothing, and many goods that are made in Weaverspoint District end up being sold by retailers in Kings’ Gate. The District is heavily patrolled by the Red Swords, and criminal activity is kept to a minimum. King’s gate is also where public punishments, including temporary structures such as stocks or gallows, are erected when the King’s justice so dictates – a fitting warning for visitors that crime is not tolerated and is punished severely.

Torchtown

Torchtown is the city’s entertainment district – while music, dancing, and the like can be found elsewhere, even the most discerning nobles will admit that the productions of Torchtown are the most elaborately produced, well-acted, well-sung, and highest artistry affairs in the city. Torchtown is one of the districts where all walks of life can meet – the poorest of the poor crossing over from The Maze to beg from the richest of the rich, enjoying a night on the town before returning to their estate in the Noble’s Quarter. This mixing includes races as well as social classes – one can find groups of Gnomes from Longnose, Halflings from Lowtown, all mingling with humans freely here. A number of the venues here are in fact owned and operated by proprietors of non-human races. The district name harkens to the fact that torches burn here all day and all night, enticing people to take in the shows, plays, music, and other forms of entertainment. Torchtown is the city’s center for brothels and prostitution – while strictly speaking illegal in the Kingdom, enforcement in Torchtown is extremely lax, so long as the businesses bill themselves as something else to the public, with taverns and inns being the most common fronts for courtesans.

Longnose

Home to the City’s largest population of Gnomes. The Longnose district (originally named after the shape of the slip of land, but now commonly thought to refer to the size of the Gnomish snout) is a bustling hub of activity ranging from jewelers, metalsmiths, woodworkers, glassblowers, mechanics, machinists, and any number of other trades that Gnomes traditionally excel at. There are also performance houses that utilize the Gnomes skill in both mechanical props & sets as well as illusion to put on shows that rival the productions of Torchtown (much to the chagrin of the leaders of that area). Longnose tends to be the most tolerant area of the city to other non-human races, and there are a large number of Halflings, less Dwarves, and fewer still Half-Elves & Elves that make this area their home. Longnose tends to be one of the most peaceful and law-abiding sections of the City, but it is rumored that is due to the Gnomes having their own syndicate that zealously keeps other criminal organizations out. The City Watch patrols the outskirts of the area, but the interior is patrolled mostly by volunteers, who rarely have any need to engage in matters.

Colosseum District

After the Jhonian conquest, the new rulers of the city decided to build a new arena in one of the districts that had been ravaged by fighting. The imposing new structure was completed in record time, and the architecture is a mix of the Athernian and Jhonian styles – graceful keyhole arches and mosaic tiled patterns of Jhon mix easily with the beautiful woodwork and artful masonry of Athernian origin. The new arena was used to host shows to help keep the masses entertained (and thus not plotting revolt), as well as to offer lessons for those who resisted the new rulers. Exotic creatures from Jhon, Issyria, and the Forbidden Isles were imported, and the wretched individuals who were found guilty of treason against the Amir-al-Emir were given a jambiya and shoved into the pit, to be torn to pieces if guilty or to emerge victorious if innocent, according to the will of A’Salam. After the reconquest, the arena was renamed, and is now used for tourneys of jousting, sword combat, races, and the like. The building dominates the district, which is full of taverns that cater to those that fight, and those who support them. Many of the best horse-traders have shops here, though the animals are usually kept outside the city or sometimes in Skullshore. This district is more cosmopolitan than the nearby Irontown district – ethnicities are less of a problem here, although non-humans are generally visitors and not residents.

Arène de Cirque Royale

Irontown

Home to the bulk of the metal-working craftsmen and the businesses that buy and sell metals and related goods, Irontown is a mixed district of the professionals and craftsmen who provide these services, the unskilled manual labor that provides them with the raw materials and muscle involved, and the customers of such businesses. The folk of Irontown pride themselves on being hardy, no-nonsense folk, who speak plainly and expect the same from others. The district is predominantly Athernian – other ethnicities and races come to visit, but rarely to stay, and are usually not made welcome.

La Tour de Auson (Prison)