Dásofum
"...I found a city covered in snow and soot. The factories are a wonder unlike anything found in the homeland, the trees challenge the sky with their height, and the city hall shines like a beacon in the daylight. At least it would if it were not covered in all of this damn ash..."
Demographics
The aristocratic population is made up of Centaurs, Minotaurs, Satyrs, and Triton while the general population of the city is a mix of other races with a slight majority of High Elves.
Government
The government of Dásofum is run by the members of The Peoples Society of Dásofum. Members include the wealthy class of the city. They act as a democratic body that makes legeslative decisions that guide the city. Each member of the government can hold three kinds of rolls; magistrates, barristers, and prime minister. The magistrates act as judges and jury bodies when settling legal disputes. Since no laws are formerly written down barristers are in charge of remembering all of the laws of the city and can also act as lawyers. The Prime Minister acts as the head of the government and manages the direction of legislation, they are typically the most wealthy out of the governmental body.
Taxation in Dásofum is completely voluntary. Citizens may donate a portion of their earnings as they see fit to better either themselves or the city. Although a citizen cannot participate in any governmental voting or become part of the government without donating. The people of Dásofum see the amount they are able to donate as a source of pride, with each member trying to out-donate the last. In order to join the Peoples Society, a citizen would need to donate at least 1500 Drachma within a year. Money donated is used to maintain and build infrastructure, throw lavish parties and festivals, and strengthen the cities defenses.
The legislation created in Dásofum is based on a moral code rather than concrete written laws. Since these laws are strictly memorized by Barristers exact interpretations and wordings can change depending on who is reciting it. Most laws attempt to incentivize fair trade and working conditions, donations to the government as taxes, and manufacturing restrictions. Punishments for breaking laws can vary widely depending on magistrate and barrister interpretations and can be anything from public service to death.
Defences
With Dásofum being the city closest to another countries border the risk of invasion is ever-present. To prevent possible attacks Dásofum has cultivated its navy to provide defense for the city. Port Gelidus acts as the home for the Dásofum navy and is approximately six miles north east of the city along the Spissus river. From there the navy can respond to an attack in as little as 15 minutes. The city also has several guard posts in the Spires and Boomtown districts. The guards act more like a general police force but are equipped to defend the city from invaders if necessary.
Industry & Trade
The city of Dásofum a manufacturing powerhouse compared to the rest of of Promaticous. Some of the most sought-after goods are produced in this very city then shipped to Mercommernaut for international trade or to other cities of Promaticous. Important products of the city include whale diesel, blackstone, autocarriages, and weapons. All goods required to support such a machine come in and out of the Spissus docks in Riverside. Dásofum is the only city in the Promaticous where arcsthetics is practiced, though it is rather distinct compared to its contemporaries.
With manufacturing being the main focus of Dásofum, there many products that are produced here. A few important products include autocarriages, blackstone, and weapons. All products are produced in one of Boomtowns' sprawling factories. Most of these factories run 24-hour operations to keep up with high demands from other cities. Due to this pressure most factory workers take part in the Workers Rights Guild to ensure their work is properly paid for. With all of the production of materials comes an equal amount of byproducts. Instead of letting these byproducts go into the Spissus, some businesses will take them and make the many dyes and paints used throughout the country. The dyes created here have a muted color pallet in the jewel tone range due to the amount of soot used in their production.
Dásofum is also acts as the hub of fuel refinement for Promaticous. Visanimus whales are brought caught by whalers and brought into the city for processing. To harvest the oil from the whales they are placed in a facility that extracts as much oil as possible. The oil is produced in specialized organs within the whale which cease production once the it expires, so the facilities are meant to keep the whales alive as long as possible. Once harvested the oil is then refined into whale diesel through a distilling process that includes boiling the whale diesel with mixture of alcohol and other substances. The fuel made here supports the demands for the whole country with very little of it making it outside of it. Other than whaling for fuel manufacturing, Dásofum has a healthy fishing industry. Much of the food consumed the general population comes from the sea. A healthy variety of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and even some vegetables like seaweed and kelp.
Hardwood lumber is an exclusively produced for Promaticous in Dásofum. Lychnus trees brought from The Hollow grow unexpectedly well in the region despite the major differences in climate. Since the trees grow to be as large or larger than most buildings they are rarely cut down entirely. Instead the lumber comes from removing large branches from the trees and allowing them to grow back. Once removed, the branches are stripped of bark then cut into planks and allowed to dry for at least two years before it is used in any type of construction. The wood produced here is one of the only materials that is does not leave the country as all of the wood produced is used by Promaticous for new constructions, ship building, and much more.
Arcsthetic development, or arcsthesis, is a unique trade in Dásofum. The usual style of arcsthesis is not possible to make due to the lack of arcane knowledge in the country. Instead a different style of arcsthetic was developed. Those made in this city are made up of clockwork and hydraulic parts that require fuel to run properly. This fuel is often whale diesel but can be any kind of liquid fuel. Many of the technomancers are exiled master misími smiths from Mercommernaut as arcsthesis is seen as taboo. Although in Dásofum it is seen as a sign of wealth, with much of the aristocracy having one or more arcsthetic. The arcsthetics made here are forged with leftover misími bronze, steel, and aluminum and are seen as bulkier, slower albeit more sturdy versions of more typical versions.
Infrastructure
Dásofum is riddled with blackstone paved streets. They allow the heavy traffic that passes through the city to flow in a somewhat organized. Main roads are made wide enough to accommodate for multiple directions of autocarriage traffic, but most are only able to guide foot traffic. With a colder climate comes the need to heat buildings. All buildings in Boomtown and Riverside have internal heating provided by oil burning furnaces. Those in the Spires make use of electrical heating units that are usually built into the walls of the structure. The whole city has access to electrical power, gas, and plumbing by utilizing a network of underground tunnels. These tunnels act as the main outgoing sewer lines and as access to the other utilities of the city. Cargo trolleys transport raw materials and manufactured goods between Boomtown and the Riverside docks. Unusable byproducts of the city are dumped into the Spissus river.
Districts
The Spires: This is the northern most district of Dásofum where the lumber farms and the city meet. City streets weave between the lychnus trees. Most of the structures in this district are actually carved out of the lower trunk sections of the lychnus, with some reaching multiple stories tall. Most of these buildings are meant for housing, so much of the cities population call this district home. Lumber is an important trade for the district, with many lumber yards sprinkled throughout it that harvest and process the upper branches of the trees. A festival is held during the spring when the trees bloom to celebrate another year of harvest to come. The headquarters for the Lychnus Lumber Guild can also be found here, residing in one of the largest trees in the city.
Boomtown: The district that never sleeps, Boomtown is the factory central of the country. With complexes that assemble everything from clothing, to autocarriages, to the electrical power used by the whole city. The district gets its name from the amount of factories that exploded during the early years of the city. Today the amount of soot produced in the district causes the entire city to be coated in it during periods of little precipitation. It is located between Riverside and The Spires acting as the geographical center to the city. Many markets are spread throughout the district attempting to take advantage of the traffic that passes through it. This districts is also home to the Electrical Workers Brotherhood and the Workers Rights Union, which have their headquarters across the street from each other in the eastern section of the district.
Riverside: Acting as the governmental head of the city, Riverside resides alongside the Spissus river. Government officials, rich merchants, and dock workers. City Hall rests on great arches allowing it to hover hundreds of feet above the river, making it he first structure that most see when entering the city. Many travelers to the city can also stay there in its many inns and pubs. Docks on the river bring ships from the ocean that carry whales, fish, crabs, and many other goods of the sea. Many traveling merchants can be found here, mostly to buy wares to sell in other cities. Most of the cities arcsthesis clinics can also be found here with much of the aristocracy installing arscthetics as representation of their wealth.
Guilds and Factions
Peoples Society of Dásofum: Acting as the ruling class of the city, the Peoples Society is the only guild that any citizen could join regardless of profession. Joining requires a potential member to donate at least 1500 Drachma to the city as taxes. This keeps the democratic body from being to inflated in the Peoples Societies' eyes. In order to be granted better positions or more power in the Peoples Society a member would have to donate more than the minimum and their piers. The one person donates will determine their responsibilities in the government. The bottom 60% of donators in the Society will only be able to vote on legislation, the next 30% if donators will be granted the rank of barrister with the last 10% being granted the rank of magistrate. The overall top donator will be granted the rank of prime minister. Government actions take place at city hall, which rests above the river on the Makrou bridge. Many members of the Peoples Society participate as members of other guilds and factions as well, with the minority of members only being part of the Society alone.
Workers Rights Union: The Workers Rights Union was created to protect the workers in the many factories in Boomtown. It originated shortly after the industrialization of Dásofum. Many factories were destroyed in the early days of what has become Boomtown, so many workers gathered together to demand safer working conditions and better pay for their jobs. Over time the guild has been able to shape the city to become more safe to work in with employees earning reasonable pay. With the guild being made up of mostly blue collar workers many of them do not have the money to paritcipate in the government alone, so instead of donating to the city many of members elect to donate their money to the guild so that more wealthy guild members may act on their behalf.
Lychnus Lumber Guild: The lumber guild is the sole owner of the lychnus forest in the northern most district in Dásofum. The forest has slowly been rented out by the city to provide housing for its growing population and now is known as the Spires. The guild is responsible for caring for the trees, treating the hollowed out structures to prevent unwanted growth, and harvesting branches to be used as lumber. Only a fraction of those who work for the guild are full time workers. When a large workforce is needed, like during harvesting season, jobs will be posted in the guild hall, allowing the guild to now have to pay a large workforce all year around. The guild also lobbies for no other institution or guild to be able to plant, harvest, or care for lycnus trees and they make sure they have representatives in the government to help do so.
Electrical Workers Brotherhood: The Brotherhood is a collection of workers who provide electricity to the city through oil burning power plants. The goal of the Brotherhood is to ensure that the workers are fairly paid and can work without risk of personal harm. Since Dásofum is the hub of fuel production in Promaticous the Brotherhood fights to ensure that the many power plants in the nation are first to receive the fuel that keeps them running. Plant owners also support the guild as representatives in the government in attempt to have tax money be used to pay power delivery to the city.
Riverside Mafias: The Riverside district finds itself under the influence of two powerful families. Both the Primelis and Vivolo families are prominate merchants that operate out of Dásofum. The Primelis have a stronghold on the fishing and fuel manufacturing businesses and control nothern Riverside, while the Vivolo are mining tycoons and have a stranglehold over the southern end of the district. This affects much of how the city functions with merchant ships having to load or unload at specific docks, or special tunnels to allow the Vivolo to get their good into or out of Boomtown. The families have amassed such a vast amount of wealth that together they have control over most the government in Dásofum. Only just a few generations ago the families were all but friendly rivals, but after years of trying to one up each other has escalated their families into a deadly feud. The families now often get into territory wars in the Riverside district, attempting to overthrow one another to attain complete dominance.
Dock Workers Guild: Originally this guild was created to fight for dockworkers to have a fair wage and safer living conditions, now it acts more as a buffer for the workers between the mafias of Riverside. Since the Primelis and Vivolo families have become violent with each other dockworkers become collateral damage all too often. Instead of looking to the government for assistance, the guild has adapted to protect its workers from further harm. Deals were made so that each family could only bring good in or out of the city on one side of the river Spissus and now the guild will hire freelance security in times of expected bloodshed. The guild offers open employment to anyone not involved with either of the families to keep its dockworkers safe from the mafia feud.
Points of interest
City Hall: The Dásofum city hall is a feat of engineering. Suspended above the Spissus river with a pair of arch style bridges making the city hall the tallest structure in the building. The bridges are constructed using blackstone while the city hall is built with quarried marble from Mercommernaut. This makes the city hall one of the only classical Promatican structure in the city. The city hall is cylindrical in shape with a gold gilded dome on top to adorn it. Columns surround the structure from all sides and act as supports for the structure. Geometric designs decorate the walls of the building. The interior consists only the meeting hall where all government actions take place. The room is lined with three rows of seating around the edge for the general body and magistrates, while the prime minister and barristers sit at a table in the middle of the room. All of the furniture in the city hall are made of lychnus wood. The walls are adorned with banners of the city, country, and important families of Dásofum. Since there are no windows as part of the structure, lighting is provided by electrically with fixtures along the wall adjacent to the roof.
Spissus River: Providing one of the most important resources to Dásofum, transportation. All of the necessary goods that the city needs and produces comes into and out by the river. Another important use of the river is to rid the city of its industrial waste. All of the manufactoring in Dásofum creates a massive amount of waste that cannot be used in any other production, so rather than burying it somewhere in the outskirts of the city, it is dumped into the river which takes it out eastward to the ocean. This mass waste removal has caused the waters of the river to become an inky black color with a sludge like consistency. Due to this most wildlife does not exist in the eastern parts of the river anymore.
Primelis Warf: This northern section of the Spissus docks is where the fleet of whaling and fishing vessels unload their catch. Owned by the Primelis family this dock provides a vital resource for not just the city, but the country as a whole. Whales are the lifeblood of the warf and are given priority over all other cargo. Since whales need to be alive for the fuel producing process specialized machines have been constructed to transport them from the warf to the processing plant.
Tyfónas Military Base: Down river from the city proper, Tyfónas Military base is a hub for Promatican navy. At this location new recruits are trained, war ships are built and a large population of seamen are stationed to protect the nothern sector of the country. The base is also an important defensive asset for Dásofum as it is only a few miles up river from the base. The members of the base also act as a coast guard for the region, assisting any ships in distress and acting as an early warnings system for nation.
Architecture
The architecture of Dásofum differs from district to district, with the Spires being almost entirely different from the rest of the city. Much of the architecture of the Spires involves the lychnus trees. Many of the buildings are carved into the trunks of the trees with carved reliefs that display the countries signature geometric designs. Columns are also carved in relief to signify an entrance, with more columns meaning a more important structure. Hollow stone pipes run through these buildings allowing for water, gas, and electricity to be brought into and out of the buildings. Towards the southern end of the district small building fashioned similarly to Boomtowns' buildings can be found intermixed with the trees. The streets are paved with blackstone which weaves between the trunks of the lychnus. The streets are lined with gas burning lamps line the streets illuminating the district at night.
Boomtown is defined by its factories. Much of the architecture found in this district is meant or practicality with large sprawling factory complexes densely packed together. These complexes are constructed out of blackstone with iron supports to hold the structure up. Iron roofs cover the complexes that have electric or gas heating elements to melt snow off during the winter months. A few apartment complexes can be found squeezed between the factories. These buildings typically house a market or service on the ground floor with apartment units relegated to the upper floors. The apartment buildings are also constructed with blackstone and lychnus wood from the Spires, and are usually roofed by iron sheets. The streets crisscross through all of the complexes and apartment buildings. They are paved with blackstone and house electric streetlights that provide light throughout most of the day. Plumbing, gas, and electricity are delivered to buildings in a network of unground tunnels and pipes. The amount of blackstone in this district makes it appear very dark, to overcome this many of the apartment buildings will use dyed mortar to cover the blackstone exterior and and bring some color to the area. Many factories will also have company logos painted onto walls to as identification and advertisement.
Riversides architecture attempts to replicate the style of its southern neighbors more closely than the rest of the districts. Blackstone and iron remain as the main building materials much like Boomtown, but walls are frequently veneered with stones like marble or granite or covered with mosaic and fresco murals. Many structures also have misími bronze accents in the form of geometric designs. Large columns are at the front of most buildings, with more important buildings surrounded by them. Many larger buildings in this district have metallic dome roofs that gives the cities skyline a distinct look. City hall rests on a gargantuan bridge made of misími bronze that holds it above the city. The streets are paved with blackstone with misími bronze electric streetlights that light the streets at night. Docks exist on both sides of the river, with the northern bank taking goods into the city and out in on the southern. The docks are built using lychnus lumber and metallic floats, with system of cranes and carts are used to move cargo to and from ships or boats.
Geography
The city resides in a sloped hilly land. The elevation is relatively the same in all parts on the city with Riverside being the lowest part by only a few feet. Other than the Spires trees in the region are sparse with the area consisting of grasslands in the summer and tundra in the winter. The Spissus river cuts through the middle of Riverside creating a natural boundary between its northern and southern halves.
Climate
The climate of Dásofum is relatively cold. The summers are cool, with highs reaching about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and occasional precipitation in the form of storms that roll in from the ocean to the east. The winters are harsh with the temperature reaching lows of -15 degrees Fahrenheit with lots of precipitation as snow fall.
Natural Resources
The resources around Dásofum are plentiful with the populace taking advantage of the lychnus forest that makes up the northern end of the city, mines in the south west help provide precious ore to the foundries, and fish brought in from the Spissus river and the ocean to the east. Wild game berries, nuts, plants can be gathered in the uncultivated planes around the city as well.
Alternative Name(s)
The Ash City
Type
Large city
Inhabitant Demonym
Fumefolk
Owning Organization
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