Kroth
Ümbria's unresting capital of trade, commerce, and culture.
Kroth is a large and long established trade city in the southern most peninsula of Myrgen. The city's popularity is in part due to its location being between Thrunmorr and Aar'karr and being a prime stopping point before/after traveling through the The Speckled Sea. Kroth brings in people from all over Ümbria to either sell their wares, buy exotic goods, make favorable contacts, or simple enjoy the different cultures Ümbria has to offer. Kroth is unaffiliated with any nation and is regarded as a neutral area of exchange and commerce. Kroth is well defended by its elite police force known as The Eyes, its well armed navy (also run by The Eyes), its large sandstone walls, and its geographical position (being surrounded by harsh desert to the north and south / and the sea to its east and west). Kroth connects people from all around the globe to each other allowing for the free exchange of goods, ideas, and cultures.
Demographics
Government
Kroth is an independent city state with a governing body of the most influential business families in Kroth who, both create and inforce the laws of the city by means of the city's private military group known as The Eyes. At the top of the political ladder is the ruling class of nobles known as The Elites. Each Elite member was either voted in by the other Elites or their family was voted into The Elites at some time in the past. Each Elite has the possibility to be voted out by the other Elite members is they do not live up to the majority of Elites' standards. The government creates laws for the city and oversee the control of certain aspects of city life such as zoning, prices, and safety. The government does collect taxes to use in the funding of further city expansion as well as defences for the city. The main policing / protection force in Kroth is called The Eyes and they are structured like a special task force but on a much larger scale. The Eyes are employed by and answer directly to The Elites. The Elites do employ high ranking citizens as district governers to oversee the smaller aspects of each district by being closer to and more fimiliar to each district's needs.
Defences
The city is seperated into 3 main sections each on its own section of land each seperated from one another by a forking river called the Rivers Tri. These 3 city sections are each conected to the other 2 sections by way of large bridges built over the waters below. On every side of Kroth there is a large wall that seperates the city from the rest of the peninsula. Each district has its own wall to seperate each from the other 2. The bridges that connect each of the 3 city sections to one another extend down into the water forming a kind of gate into the inner river. These gates are set up with security staions to police the amount and kind of ships entering into the river docks. The sea ports of the Copper Districts have less policing than the river gates but are still patrolled. The main defence of Kroth is that of the militarized police known as The Eyes . The Eyes and they are structured like a special task force but on a much larger scale. The Eyes are employed by and answer directly to The Elites. The Eyes are structured similarly to many other full militaries but The Eyes are much more secretive and focused on protection over conquest. The Eyes patrol the city from the rooftops watching the streets below for any suspicious or unwanted activities. The Eyes do have a functioning navy with the Kroth ships patroling the waters surrounding the city and the River Tri. The Kroth navy is not designed for all out war but is strong enough to protect the city long enough for the city to begin preparation for an oncoming siege. The walls of Kroth are strong enough to withstand a siege from both land and sea. The most likely direction of attack would be from the sea as an attack from the land, north or south, would mean marching a large army through a hot, dry desert until they reached the city's outermost wall.
Industry & Trade
Kroth's primary import and export is the import, export, and sales of other people's goods. Kroth takes a cut of traders estimated worth coming into and exiting the city. The inspectors judge the overall worth of a trader's goods, before and after trading in Kroth, and taxes the traders based on that amount (usually around 10% depending of the inspector and his mood). Foreign tradesmen must buy Trade Passes that allow the traders the legal ability to buy and sell within the city walls as well as be able to legally set up a place of business for the time allotted. Trade Passes come at different prices for different amounts of time in which they are valid. The length of a pass's validity can be as short as a week to as long as a year or multiple years (each getting more expessive but also cost effective). The majority of taxes go into maintaining order (through the use of The Eyes) with the next biggest tax use being further city development. Citizens of Kroth are not stopped, checked, and taxed when coming into or leaving the city but instead only have to pay 15% of their yearly income at the end of the year. The path to citizenship is long and expensive but worth it for anyone serious about making a healthy and stable profit / business in Kroth.
Infrastructure
Kroth is seperated into 3 sections each on a different piece of land and each is seperated from each other by the forking river known as the River Tri. Each section has 3 main districts known as the Gold, Silver, and Copper Districts.
These districts are designed with the Silver Districts on the waterfront of the River Tri.
The Silver Districts contains the Gold Districts with the Gold Districts having its own walls seperating it from the Silver Districts. The Gold Districts do not touch the sea or river.
The Copper Districts start from the end of the Silver Districts and continue outward onto land. The Copper Districts do touch the sea/river as well as seperating the rest of the city from the rest of the peninsula/Myrgen.
The sea sides of the Silver and Copper Districts are almost exclusively populated by docking and shipping yards with many wearhouses not far inland. Traveling further the city quickly exchanges vast amounts of storage facilities for an even greater amount of residential housings. The next section of the city is mostly comprised of one continuous marketplace in which the majority of low-mid cost, legal transactions take place (Most of the Silver Districts). Going further into Kroth starts to reveal the mid to high-end sales are made as well as the wealthier residential areas of the city (Silver and Gold Districts). The Gold Districts are home to city government buildings as well as many high ranking political and military members' homes.History
Kroth is a long established trade city in Ümbria as its central location in the southern most peninsula of Myrgen allows for people and goods from all around Ümbria to converge for profit or just pleasure. Kroth began as 3 seperate Katriin cities each seperated from the others by the River Tri. Each of these cities specialized in different areas of production and supply as well as having their own unique forms of culture (music, art, architecture, entertainment, etc.). The western city, then called Karath, had the majority of raw materials being closer to mines on the mainland up north. The eastern city, called Nor, specialized in agriculture and spices. The southern city, then known as Chaor, specialized in raising large amounts of livestock. People of these cities traded with people from the other cities for resources not found as abundantly around their home. Soon people from cities and towns started to travel to these 3 cities to buy exotic Katriin goods to bring back home or to settle in the hopes of making some profit of their own. Groups of people made journeys from other parts of Myrgen and even sailed from Aar'karr to the south. The citizens of the 3 cities quickly started to think of the other 2 cities as sister cities as well as their citizens as brothers. This overall mindset began to cause the cultural walls of each to breakdown as well as blend together as one. Soon the 3 cities merged into 1 large city called Kroth and soon the stories spread throughout Ümbria of the city where you could buy anything, see everything, and sell even more.
Architecture
Most permanent buildings are made out of stone / sandstone, wood, and marble (depending on the district). Because Kroth began as 3 different cities, each with their own cultures, each of the 3 sections of the city have their own unique architectural style. The majority western section as well as the majority of Silver and Gold District buildings in all 3 sections are made from stone bricks or sandstone blocks. The southern and eastern section both enploy more wood and natural resources than the western section. The western section's architecture has a affinity for large buildings with more open area on the inside. A lot of the eastern section's buildings are longer and many have gardens, walkways, or balconies outside or connected to the outdoors. The southern section's architecture centers around taller buildings with connectioning walkways to surrounding structures.
Geography
Kroth is located on the southern most peninsula of Myrgen . The city is seperated into 3 main sections each on its own section of land each seperated from one another by a forking river called the Rivers Tri. These 3 city sections are each conected to the other 2 sections by way of large bridges built over the waters below. The city of Kroth is surrounded by water, the sea on either side of the peninsula as well as the Rivers Tri, and land north and south of the city. The immediate land surrounding Kroth is lush and green but gets drier the further away it gets from the city and the waters.
Alternative Name(s)
The Capital of Trade, The city that never sleeps, The World's Market, The Great Exchange, The Grand Market
Type
Large city
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