Merir Neadair

Overview

With a name meaning Cloud Criminals, this skyland is notorious around the whole Cilostratan Expanse. Known as the unfindable, unapproachable home of all the criminal element in the sky, this town is almost a legend to the people of the region.
A collection of skylands linked and hidden in the clouds. This town serves as a base of operations for many of the pirate and smuggler ships that operate in the expanse.

History

While on the run from authorities, the skypirate Horice Beltomo safely navigated the shard field around the skyland group hoping for a place to hide. He couldn’t believe his luck when he found the landmasses. He quickly set up a base of operations for his continuing raids on the trade lines of nearby settlements. Realising that he could make even more money having other pirates and smugglers bring goods to him, he set up a trading post for illegal goods. He became the first to hold the title of The Governor and every subsequent ruler of Merir has added to the skylands to create a true haven for the felons and the lawbreakers of the sky.

Government Structure and Factions

A different faction runs each of the linked skylands with the Governor sitting at the top, in charge of them all.
Ilo Rohat runs the pleasure island, a place where debauchery rules and the only limits are inside your own head and the size of your purse. His group of thugs, known as the Mufaro, keep the area safe and running.
Savdo Kayda is in charge of the trade quarter. She runs it with an iron fist. Her skyland is the only one in the settlement that is clean and orderly. She and her guards, called the Isowo, keep the money flowing into the port and make sure no one steals from them what they have rightfully stolen.
Doro runs the tavern skyland. Known to be an incorrigible alcoholic and entirely teetotal, he keeps the liquor flowing and the people drunk. No one wishes to cross him or his army of thugs known as the Barasa for fear that he would cut them off and they would have to spend their time in port sober.
At the centre of these three districts sits the smallest, and most private of the skylands. This is where the Governor lives. Only known by his title, he makes sure that the port settlement stays hidden and everything works. His word is law and his temper is legendary. He brooks no insubordination, but aside from that allows the faction leaders to do as they please.

Defences

The collection of skylands that make up the settlement lie at the heart of the biggest of the known shard fields in the Expanse. The spinning razor sharp rocks are the first, and often only, line of protection the place has. Only certain captains are given the directions on how to navigate it. It wouldn’t be such a hard trial if it wasn’t for the fact the entire township sits within the clouds which lower the visibility down to almost nothing. Many ships have lost their way, only to be torn apart by the floating shards.
If they ever find themselves under an organised assault, then the Governor has another defence at his disposal. Within his manor he keeps a special lightning rod. Its primary job is to absorb all the ambient lightning electrical charge from the clouds, keeping them safe from storms. However, at a word of command from him, it can reverse this and unleash all its stored energy into one massive thunderstorm that surrounds the town. They have used this only once in memory and the sheer power it unleashed has been enough to keep anyone from considering attacking again.

Industry and Trade

Each faction district brings in a sizeable amount of money or resources. They pay half directly to the Governor for the general upkeep of the town and to line his own pockets and they get to keep the other half. They quickly find anyone trying to skim more than they should and short change the man in charge. Usually left tied to one of the spinning shards in the field around the town.

Architecture

The buildings in each district try to be distinct from each other however space is at a premium. So what started as an attempt to make visually appealing buildings has now turned into a fight to get as much usable space in as possible. This has created a clashing of styles and shapes all piled atop one another. A visual dissonance that has become a fitting metaphor for the mix of people found in the town.