Talbury
Talbury is currently the largest city in Adremesis. It boasts significant power over the rest of the world's human settlements but has a history of helping other villages grow safely and peacefully. Talbury has people stationed all over the world as guards and as envoys to ensure peace and prosperity is maintained.
The city is lead by a Mayor and council of advisors that are each elected every five years. The Mayor themselves are elected by the entirety of Talbury from a group of nominees, whereas the council are each individually elected from the individual sector of Talbury that they represent.
The nearby Peregrine Port is directly owned and controlled by Talbury, but is completely open to all manner of sailors and ships - most of which are bringing or sending goods across the seas.
With Talbury's soldiers guarding villages around the world, the The Templarhood had been know to cause some minor clashes between Templar and Talbrian soldiers. The Templars believed it is their holy right to defend the people of Adremesis and so wanted Talbury to leave it to them. Eventually both sides decided on a treaty of trimonthly rotations with each side having soldiers stay in some of the villages for periods of three months each before swapping villages for the next three months (Treaty of Shared International Protection). This treaty stayed in effect with both sides carefully abiding it for just under two decades, however, it was put under pressure by the Templars once the Diabolous infiltrated it as he was stationing too many soldiers than the treaty agreed at an increasing rate. Although Talbury never fully reacted to the Templars blatant breach of the agreement, there were preparations made in the event the Templars grew too ambitious. A conference was held by the next Supreme Templar with Talbury after the Diabolous' death which settled the growing tension between both states and reinstated the agreement for the future.
Due to the Sage of the Bow, Falcor Eaglad, building the origins of Talbury, his descendants had always been a part of the growing city and thus often found their ways into positions of power in one way or another. This was shown true as Mayor Eaglad, his brother, and his nephew (Thaedrin Eaglad II) all were in powerful positions throughout their lifetime in one way or another; they were mayor, a council member, and the Royal Admiral respectively.
The city is lead by a Mayor and council of advisors that are each elected every five years. The Mayor themselves are elected by the entirety of Talbury from a group of nominees, whereas the council are each individually elected from the individual sector of Talbury that they represent.
The nearby Peregrine Port is directly owned and controlled by Talbury, but is completely open to all manner of sailors and ships - most of which are bringing or sending goods across the seas.
With Talbury's soldiers guarding villages around the world, the The Templarhood had been know to cause some minor clashes between Templar and Talbrian soldiers. The Templars believed it is their holy right to defend the people of Adremesis and so wanted Talbury to leave it to them. Eventually both sides decided on a treaty of trimonthly rotations with each side having soldiers stay in some of the villages for periods of three months each before swapping villages for the next three months (Treaty of Shared International Protection). This treaty stayed in effect with both sides carefully abiding it for just under two decades, however, it was put under pressure by the Templars once the Diabolous infiltrated it as he was stationing too many soldiers than the treaty agreed at an increasing rate. Although Talbury never fully reacted to the Templars blatant breach of the agreement, there were preparations made in the event the Templars grew too ambitious. A conference was held by the next Supreme Templar with Talbury after the Diabolous' death which settled the growing tension between both states and reinstated the agreement for the future.
Due to the Sage of the Bow, Falcor Eaglad, building the origins of Talbury, his descendants had always been a part of the growing city and thus often found their ways into positions of power in one way or another. This was shown true as Mayor Eaglad, his brother, and his nephew (Thaedrin Eaglad II) all were in powerful positions throughout their lifetime in one way or another; they were mayor, a council member, and the Royal Admiral respectively.
Demographics
The large majority of the people are of Barrodoran descent as that is where most of the first settlers originated from. Many people are also some form of trader or merchant, selling vast arrays of various items - this is due to the origins of the city being a place for travellers and merchants to rest, purchase provisions, treat the sick, et cetera. The general populace have stable income and can live comfortably, but that does not mean that there is not people on either side of that mark that are either very wealthy or very poor.
Government
The city is lead by a Mayor with a small council of advisors that come from different sectors of the city as their representatives. The Mayor and council are elected quinquennially by the people with the council being voted in by the residents of their respective sector. There are many accusations of nepotism among the governmental bodies which are, frankly, true. While Talbury is yet to find severe detriment at the cost of this corruption, it doesn't change the fact that it is an egregious practice and the townsfolk are not so happy about it. Mayor Eaglad was a well respected Mayor, across both his nation and others. However, after granting his nephew (Thaedrin Eaglad II) the incredibly prestigious role of Royal Admiral, the people had lost much of their faith in him. Not to mention, the Mayor himself was likely from nepotistic intentions as his brother was a member of the council before him.
The city's main glaring issue is the rampant propaganda that is spread throughout the news network. It isn't state owned, but it is state endorsed. The news team, known as "The Messenger Pigeon", are fearless to spreading misinformation and lies to the townsfolk. One of the worst examples is when they had Talbury claim all the glory of Vezran's death at Asceroth, of which Talbury had nothing to do with since it was entirely a Templar operation. Unfortunately, the people of Talbury have little-to-no way of finding the truth, so they're entirely at the behest of what the news team tells them. Though, in 348 AFB, another small team of loyal reporters devoted to getting the truth began their own team. They are an underground group known as the "Red Hawks" and are vigilant in exposing the lies that the people of Talbury are exposed to. They do not have many members and are very secretive about their identities for fear of their safety, despite this, they have made significant progress on dethroning Messenger Pigeon and gain more followers every day. Mayor Eaglad was well aware of the Red Hawks but ultimately did not make any significant attempts to stop them, and after his death, Finro had far more pressing matters to attend to during his time as Royal Admiral.
The city's main glaring issue is the rampant propaganda that is spread throughout the news network. It isn't state owned, but it is state endorsed. The news team, known as "The Messenger Pigeon", are fearless to spreading misinformation and lies to the townsfolk. One of the worst examples is when they had Talbury claim all the glory of Vezran's death at Asceroth, of which Talbury had nothing to do with since it was entirely a Templar operation. Unfortunately, the people of Talbury have little-to-no way of finding the truth, so they're entirely at the behest of what the news team tells them. Though, in 348 AFB, another small team of loyal reporters devoted to getting the truth began their own team. They are an underground group known as the "Red Hawks" and are vigilant in exposing the lies that the people of Talbury are exposed to. They do not have many members and are very secretive about their identities for fear of their safety, despite this, they have made significant progress on dethroning Messenger Pigeon and gain more followers every day. Mayor Eaglad was well aware of the Red Hawks but ultimately did not make any significant attempts to stop them, and after his death, Finro had far more pressing matters to attend to during his time as Royal Admiral.
Defences
The city is surrounded by stone wall with one main gate to get inside. As the cities space grew, the new space was built in layers, as a result there are other large walls that segment the inner parts of the city. The city is also full of guards, as you might expect. The populace are protected by a deep network of active soldiers that patrol the streets.
Industry & Trade
Talbury has some light trade with every other village in Adremesis, par two - namely Cavadrak and Chimmeria. They do supply basic resources to such villages, like food for example. Certain goods are then imported from those villages, such as much of the metalwork being supplied by Marrarock.
Infrastructure
The city was not initially intended nor expected to grow as it had, and as a result, was not placed directly next to a source of fresh water. Despite this, the growing city set up pumps and watermills that could use the water from the nearby river. Peregrine Port is directly owned by Talbury and is a huge part of Talbury's wealth as it allows for trade all across Adremesis, along with transport and defence.
Districts
The city is roughly split into a 3x3 grid of 9 sectors, with 6 distinct districts. These are, in no particular order: Agriculture, Military, Central, Market, Amenity, and Riverside. The Riverside and Military districts cover 2 sectors and the sector that the main gate opens into isn't given its own distinction. Their names are all very self explanatory.
The Agriculture district contains the city's farms and livestock. There are still many farms outside the city walls that utilise more fertile land and no space restrictions. The Military district houses the barracks, all of the training grounds, command offices, and more of the like. Two sectors are part of the district, but only one of which is open to the public. It's to allow citizens to spectate the soldiers train, while following strict rules about how they do it (be quiet, keep your distance, stuff like that). It's meant to raise morale and confidence in the Watch. Next is the Central district, earning it's name from being in the middle of the city. This is where the main keep resides, along with most of the richer or more powerful citizens. There's no particular reason why they live here as opposed to anywhere else, but it is where the less dense housing is, so they tend to be much more attracted to it. Other than housing, there is not much the Central district. The Market district is where the large majority of shops and stalls reside. It is also roughly where Wanderer's Rest started all those years ago, this market being a reminder of the city's roots. The Amenity district has various amusements such as the theatre or the incredibly popular bird races. Finally, the Riverside district, which is the rear side of the city meets the River Dunnock. This district also bears twice the sectors, having both the top-left and top-middle sectors. They are effectively the same though and just have some small docks and piers for fisherman and the like.
The Agriculture district contains the city's farms and livestock. There are still many farms outside the city walls that utilise more fertile land and no space restrictions. The Military district houses the barracks, all of the training grounds, command offices, and more of the like. Two sectors are part of the district, but only one of which is open to the public. It's to allow citizens to spectate the soldiers train, while following strict rules about how they do it (be quiet, keep your distance, stuff like that). It's meant to raise morale and confidence in the Watch. Next is the Central district, earning it's name from being in the middle of the city. This is where the main keep resides, along with most of the richer or more powerful citizens. There's no particular reason why they live here as opposed to anywhere else, but it is where the less dense housing is, so they tend to be much more attracted to it. Other than housing, there is not much the Central district. The Market district is where the large majority of shops and stalls reside. It is also roughly where Wanderer's Rest started all those years ago, this market being a reminder of the city's roots. The Amenity district has various amusements such as the theatre or the incredibly popular bird races. Finally, the Riverside district, which is the rear side of the city meets the River Dunnock. This district also bears twice the sectors, having both the top-left and top-middle sectors. They are effectively the same though and just have some small docks and piers for fisherman and the like.
History
Talbury was originally developed by the Sage of the Bow, Falcor. It was made so that wandering traders or just general travellers had somewhere to rest. Falcor remained there as an unofficial leader. Over many years, the camp grew as people decided to settle there for good as it was a highly trafficked location and thus would be good for business. As the city gained more and more people and grew in size, it became a proper settlement. Falcor stayed at Talbury until he eventually passed away. A statue was placed in the centre of the settlement in his honour, which remains there still in modern Talbury.
Founding Date
September 6th, 546 BFB
Founders
Type
City
Population
~9,500
Inhabitant Demonym
Talbrian(s)
Location under
Ruling/Owning Rank
Comments