Mercommernaut
"...The first time I took my wares into the city I took great interest in the roads. In the swampy outskirts they took me through the canopy high above the swamp and its mushroom farmers. Through the outer city I find myself a few yards above the iron smiths and factory workers. Only as I pass through the inner city gates do I find the road meets with the rest of the populace. Makes me wonder how the aristocrats feel about those outside their precious walls..."
Demographics
Government
The city of Mercommernaut is run by a group of powerful aristocrats and rich merchants all of whom make up the Peoples Society of Mercommernaut. From City Hall they make all of the legislative decisions that effect how the city runs, from taxation and government programs, to infrastructure and defenses. When needed to represent the city on a national level, the society will elect a representative to act as their collective voice, though it is often the prime minister. The council is made up of three parts; magistrates, barristers, and the prime minister. A magistrate acts as judge and jury in any legal dispute. Barristers act as the knowledge keepers of laws and as lawyers when needed. The prime minister leads the society and manages its organization.
Taxation is completely voluntary for those living in Mercommernaut. Those who donate money to the city do so as a public service, to better the city and themselves. In order to attain the ability to enter the Peoples Society of Mercommernaut, and the government as a whole, a civilian would have to donate a large sum of money as taxes to the city. The amount of money required to join the society is about 1500 Drachma within a year. The money donated is used to support construction and maintenance of infrastructure and host festivals and feasts. The amount of power each individual has is determined by how much is tax each member donates.
The laws of Mercommernaut are written and passed by the Peoples Society and are closer to moral guidelines than concrete laws. This includes incentives to fair trade, donations to the government as taxes, and production of sought after products (misími bronze, gold speckled pike mushroom, etc.). They also include harsh punishments for civilians who break the code. Punishments can range from involuntary public service to crucifixion depending on the crime and the judicial decisions of the magistrate.
Defences
Mercommernaut is protected mostly by its natural location. The city is located in a lowlands surrounded by mountains to its west, and the ocean to its east. This makes moving troops to the area a difficult enough task to dissuade any would be invaders. If any one were to assault the city they would find the local guard persistently patrols the streets of both the Smithers Belt and the Acropolis. The wall of Acropolis also has ballistae and sentry stations ready to rain down 10ft long bolts on any would-be invaders. If attacked by sea, Mercommernaut has a garrison of warships on standby at its ports.
Industry & Trade
Mercommernaut acts the hub of commerce and government for Promaticous. Almost all trade with foreign nations is organized here and most exports pass through its trading ports before reaching the oceanic trade platform Megacaltura. Intercity trading often occurs within the Smithers Belt district which hosts many bazars where many wandering traders will flock. Many of these bazars are temporarily set up in several town squares, but the Bazar Désémporos is the longest lasting bazar to date going back a few hundred years.
Mushroom farming is the dominate agricultural industry of Mercommernaut. The gold speckled pike mushrooms are a delicacy in Promaticous and around the world and are very dangerous and difficult to cultivate. It can only grow on red maple trees indigenous to the region and require special equipment to harvest safely. Most farmers who practice mushroom farming cannot afford to rent such equipment from the guild, thus risking becoming infected by parasitic spores released by the fungus. Despite the dangers many downtrodden will attempt to make a living farming these mushrooms in order to raise themselves, and possibly their families, out of poverty. Small amounts of soft wood lumber processing results in all of the fungus cultivation as growing the mushrooms is very taxing on the red maples causing them to have a shortened lifespan of about 30 years.
If Mercommernaut wasn't known for its trade empire, it would be known for its metal working. The city utilizes all of the metal that it imports from the northern city of Dásofum to create masterwork tools, apparel, armor, and weapons. The cityis also home to the only master misími bronze smiths in the world. Metal workers were the ones who initially formed the Smithers Belt district and to this day remain the dominate trade of it. With Mercommernaut being the largest port in the country, it also has the largest ship building wharfs. The ships built here are destined for the Promaticus Navy, diplomatic endeavors, as large cargo ships.
The Acropolis district produces the countries brightest architects, inspired artists, and most skilled musicians. The massive wealth of the area and one of the worlds most exemplary bard colleges, Collegium Citharoedorum, influence much of the culture for the city, and Promaticous as a whole. Most of this culture is spread through fashion of the elite and music from the many aspiring musicians despite the large walls that prevent common folk from wandering around the acropolis.
Infrastructure
Mercommernaut is supported by its abundance of architecture. Well-maintained roads wind throughout the city and are capable of supporting heavy autocarriage traffic. Most of the roads are paved with cobblestones, but large roads like the main bridges are built with blackstone. The main bridges help connect Mercommernaut with surrounding towns, villages, and even its sister cities. Under the streets and buildings lies the cities sewer system and water lines that provides every building in the Smithers Belt and Acropolis with indoor plumbing. Water is sourced from a reservoir to the west of the city. The sewers dump its contents into the ocean nearby the docks. Five diesel-burning power plants power all of the electrical devices that run the city, including indoor lighting, outdoor lighting, trolleys, mechanical gates, air talkers, and much more. The trade business is supported by the docks, which contain large cranes to help with loading and unloading cargo.
Districts
Mercommernaut is host to three distinct districts, in ascending order they are The Outskirts, the Smithers Belt, and the Acropolis. Each district is higher in elevation then the last due to the geography that it resides in.
The Outskirts: The lowest section of Mercommernaut that occupies the lowlands swamp that encompasses the whole city. The population of the area is sparse with most civilians residing near the roads leading into the rest of the city. These residences can span in size from a couple of huts, to a whole shanty town. The rest of the land is used to cultivate gold speckled pike mushroom that grows on the local red maple trees, whose leaves are constantly a red hue. Cultivating these mushrooms is the main trade of those who live here, but some apprentices from the Smithers Belt will often make residence here as well to earn some experience and extra coin. The Mushroom Farmers guild can be found in either Shanty Nótos and the Shanty Vóreios in buildings marked by the respective guild's crest.
Smithers Belt: The middle section of the city makes up the Smithers Belt. It forms a crescent around the Acropolis and is home to the working class civilians of the city. The district gets its name from the large community of smiths that work the nations precious metal, misími bronze. Although many other trades occupy the area such as stone masons, carpenters, tanners, just to name a few. The headquarters for the Metal Workers Guild can be found in the southern end of the district. While wandering the streets you can also see musicians from Collegium Citharoedorum practicing their new music, or performing in public to try to gain a following. This district also has access to the ports that bring in trade goods from overseas. Most of Mercommernauts' religious temples are also found here with all major deities having some representation.
The Acropolis: Located on the cliffs near the sea, the Acropolis rests above the other districts. Rich merchants, aristocrats, military officials, and Collegium Citharoedorum officials reside within the large stony walls of Acropolis, but a few notable tradesmen will make their way up from the lower districts to sell wares to specific customers. Since most of the residence of Acropolis rarely leave the district, it is mostly self contained with a constant stream of goods being imported into it. The Collegium Citharoedorum has buildings throughout the whole district, making it hard not to run into one while traveling through the district. The city's government is run from the city hall at the highest point in the city, a cliff named Kyclonas' throne.
Guilds and Factions
Peoples Society of Mercommernaut: A group of aristocrats who act as the main governmental force in Mercommernaut. To enter this group a civilian would have to donate about 1500 ducat within a year to be granted membership, and would need to provide at least that much every year after to maintain it. Rarely do those in the society only belong to it, with several members also participating with other guilds in the city. Those in the society deliberate and vote on laws, act as magistrates and barristers, and lead the city as a prime minister. All of these positions are granted depending on the amount of money that each individual donates to the city. With the person who donates the most attaining the rank of prime minister.
Collegium Citharoedorum: Also known as the Bard College of Promaticous, the college itself has a great influence over the cities culture. Much of the faculty is part of the Peoples Society of Mercommernaut. The college actively works to exclude those who reside outside the Acropolis, and to consider then as second class citizens. Students come to this college to become better musicians, which this college is second to none in the country. Many students who graduate become well known musicians in Promaticous, and even in surrounding countries. The college is entirely run by past students who return after finishing their travels, or those who never left.
Metal Workers Guild: The metal workers of the city joined together to ensure that their work would be properly paid for what its worth. This guild was formed in direct reaction to the misuse of the smiths in Mercommernaut during the first wave of construction for the Promaticous Navy. Many of the smiths worked unreasonable hours to make their product only to receive little or no pay from the government that contracted them. The guild now fights to ensure that each smith is paid a fair commission for the work put into it. Now, every smith in Mercommernaut is required to join the guild in order to practice their trade in the city legally.
Electrical Workers Brotherhood: A union of workers that specialize in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electrical power. The branch in Mercommernaut is focused at workers that man the power plants, as the regional conditions make power production more difficult than other cities. The brotherhood seeks to have those who work with the electrical grid to be guaranteed a fair wage and safe working conditions.
Mushroom Farmers of Mercommernaut: This guild acts as the only representation for mushroom farmers in the government. The guild was formed by the farm owners for two reasons, increase the profit of each farmer, and to attract would-be hands to help with harvesting. Now it acts as a job board where anyone with membership can work any job posted by any farmer. The landowners of the guild have poured much of their profits into research to make the harvesting process better. The result so far is specialized equipment that drastically decreases the chances of getting infected by the spores. The guild offers this equipment to any of its harvesters for rent, although the equipment does come at a heavy cost.
Points of interest
Wall of Acropolis: This structure exists to protect the inner city of Mercommernaut from outside forces and disgruntled lower class citizens. The 30 foot tall, 10 foot thick blackstone wall is veneered with stucco that is painted white for the first 25 feet and blue for the last 5. It can house a garrison of soldiers to guard Acropolis with it, as well as function as a firing station for many ballista when it is under siege.
City Hall: The place where the city and nation government runs. The building is almost entirely built from marble, from its large columns that surround it, to the roof that rests above it. Misími bronze accents line the walls with geometric patterning and hide the electrical lines that provide lighting to the interior. The inside is just one large assembly room where all representatives or society members deliberate at their imported wood seats. A decorative mural is pained onto the ceiling depicting the founding of Promaticous by their patron god, Kyclonas.
Bazaar Désémporos: Located in the northwest sector of the Smithers Belt, this bazaar is the longest-running in the city. Merchants have been setting up shop in the area for a few hundred years with no sign of stopping. This has caused the Peoples Society to invest into permanent shops in the district, building a large market structure that can house several hundred merchants with similar smaller building encircling it. These structures were constructed out of marble, with large columns that line their perimeters. There are 72 of the smaller buildings which can hold about 1-2 merchants stores. The bazaar has only gotten more popular since the construction of these buildings causing merchants to set up shop with temporary storefronts around it if they cannot get a spot in one of the buildings. The amount of temporary shops outside of the buildings fluctuate, but the merchants outside tend to outnumber those on the inside 3:1.
Port of Kyclonas: The eastern side of the Smithers Belt on the sea, the great port of Kyclonas is the lifeblood of Mercommernaut. The port extends in a crescent following where the cliffs meet the sea. Many machines like cranes, trolleys, tow winches to assist with moving ships and their cargo in and out the port. The dock is mostly constructed out of misími bronze with a float and rail system that allows it to move with the tides.
Shanty Towns of the Outskirts: There are two notable shanty towns that exist in the outskirts, both under the massive bridges that lead into the city. The Shanty Nótos and the Shanty Vóreios both reside under the bridges of the same name. These shanties exist to as a refuge to exiled aristocrats, criminals in hiding, immigrants to the city, and those too poor to live anywhere else. Many of those who reside here find work with the Mushroom Farmers Guild to make some fast cash so they can either move into the city or to afford to move out. The shanties are not officially recognized by the city and thus has no infrastructure that is seen in the rest of the city.
Architecture
The architecture of Mercommenaut has three distinct styles split between each of the districts. The outskirts has the most basic structures because of the relative sparsity of the population and its wealth. The largest structures of the outskirts are the arched blackstone bridges that guide travelers towards the city center. These bridges rise up to the canopies of the giant red maples used for the mushroom farming allowing travelers to ignore the residents of the district completely. Outside of these bridges are the shanty town like structures that exist under these bridges. These towns are built from misími bronze, tin and steel sheets, stone, and in rare cases, blackstone. Single family shacks can be found scattered throughout the rest of the district made up of the same materials as the shanty towns.
The Smithers Belt is the first section of the city that has a major architectural style. The buildings are mostly blackstone with at stucco façade adorned with arched misími bronze rooves and circular columns on the fronts of the buildings. The streets are paved with cobblestones and misími bronze streetlights are placed along the sides. The blackstone bridges that funnel travelers into the city divide the district as they are like raised streets that require stairs or ramps to get on or off. The port are of the Smithers Belt contains several electric powered trolleys that are used to move large amounts of cargo to and from ships and near by warehouses.
The wealth of Acropolis is reflected in its architecture. The entire district is surrounded by a 30ft tall white and blue wall that guides in the bridges that cut through the other disticts. Inside the wall the streets are paved with blackstone and the buildings are constructed with marble, diorite, with misími bronze accents. Large circular columns are at the front of most buildings, with important buildings surrounded in columns. Most rooves are made of misími bronze covered in stucco painted blue, but some buildings have solid stone rooves.
Geography
Starting from the western side of Mercommnernaut, the region is on a gradual slope that is initially swampy lowlands. Moving east towards the Acropolis, the land becomes more rocky and dry until reaching Acropolis itself which sits on a cliff that meets the sea. A river exists in the western end of the city that has been dammed and now exists as a reservoir for Mercommernauts' farming and infrastructure.
Climate
The climate of the region is very wet, causing most days when it dosen't rain to be humid. The temperature can vary anywhere from -4 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the time of year.
Natural Resources
The natural resources that can be found in Mercommernauts region include metal ore from the mountainous mines, soft wood lumber from the red maple trees, stone from quarries, wild game, fruits, nuts, and mushrooms from the swamp basin.
Alternative Name(s)
Jewel of Promaticous
Type
Capital
Owning Organization
Comments