Union Bridge

Originally two separate trading posts on opposite sides of the Elven Channel (the body of water separating Alaria and Alastia from the mainland of Aedeva), the large city known as Union Bridge is the result of the infamous Two Houses Treaty. The two families who run the city -- the Myers of Myers' Supplies 'n' Such, and the Schmoles of Schmole's Food and Gear -- are direct descendants the treaty's signatories.
Though the two families work together to run the city, there is no love lost between them. Each family fiercely guards their holdings within the city from the other, and numerous mercenaries and assassins wear headbands with their employers' symbol as they go about their work.

Culture

For a city-state conceived and solidified through deception and conflict, Union Bridge is surprisingly stable. Despite the often open aggression and hatred between the Meyers and Schmoles, and their subordinates, there is almost no outright violence within the city. In large part, this is due to the Two Houses Treaty, which details which families have what rights in which places within the city. Members of both families revere the treaty with a nearly religious fervor.
Where matters of the treaty or the family are not concerned, the denizens of Union Bridge are free to go about their business with little interference from the two families. So long as the sales taxes are paid accurately and no weapons are bared within the city, merchants of all kinds and nationalities are welcome in Union Bridge.

Common Misconceptions

The relatively hands-off nature of Union Bridge's rulers leads many visitors and travelers into a false sense of security. While the two families rarely directly meddle in their citizens' lives, Union Bridge is rife with intrigue that can sweep the unwary up (or under the rug) before they realize what is happening.

Snatchers

It is well known throughout Aedeva that the Snatcher headquarters is within Union Bridge. This does not mean that everybody, or even most people, within Union Bridge like the Snatchers. On the contrary, there have been numerous attempts by citizens, vandals, or temples to take down the Snatchers. Even the Meyers and Schmoles have tried to ruin the organization, though for far less altruistic reasons.
Unfortunately, the Snatchers have proved a difficult organization to topple, and stand to the current day as one of the world's most powerful organizations.

Religion

Within the city of Union Bridge, the outward practice of any religion is strictly prohibited by the Two Houses Treaty. There are no temples of any kind within the city, and even openly wearing the symbol or mark of a deity is punishable by death.
This does not stop more secretive religions. On the positive end, there are believed to be followers of The Ever Changing Stream who help Alarian slaves escape to freedom. On the darker side, more than one death cult or similarly ominous organization has been known to act in secret from within city.

Magic

Like religion and weapons, magic of any kind is banned by the Two Houses Treaty. There are a few exceptions to this rule, set forth in the treaty, including a few specific locations within the city. The most prominent exceptions, however, are the Runesworn and the Snatchers.
The Runesworn are the guild responsible for hunting down and executing practitioners of magic. They are known to be ruthless in their pursuit, and well accomplished at mage killing.
The Snatchers, an organization of infamous slavers, are granted a partial exemption from this rule by way of a loophole. They are allowed to use magic only to maintain control of their slaves, so long as the slaves were acquired outside the city. Officially, they are allowed to do so due to the labeling their captured slaves as "imported merchandise". However, the politically savvy denizens of Union Bridge hold that the exemption a desperate compromise by the Meyers and Schmoles to prevent the Snatchers from conducting their business within the city itself.

Structure

Ruled by the two families "jointly and cooperatively" (quotes intentional). Whoever is the current head of the family is one of the two heads of the state.

Type

Geopolitical, City-state

Demonym

Unioners