Ocean-View

On the coast of the Empire of Maza rests Ocean-View, the second largest of its cities and arguably the most valuable. It is home to the Port of Maza, the busiest port in the world, as well as the most profitable. The city stands as the center of trade for the Mazan Empire, with fortunes worth of goods coming and going every day. Spices, luxury goods, weapons, and more from across the empire are exported to nations across Aeon, making profits greater than the wealth of some countries.

Government

Unlike most Mazan cities, Ocean-View does not have its own governor. It is instead under the control of Mothomir Indesilimur, governor of Mistview. He does not reside in the city, though he will frequently visit it. Day to day operations are handled by his appointed representatives, as well as officials from the Mazan Imperial Company.
Despite being a major urban center, Ocean-View residents and industries pay lower taxes than other Mazan cities, though still higher than most rural areas. This is because the majority of the city's income is from trade taxes and the MIC's operations. However, the city is one of the few to impose a sales tax, where a business must pay a 10% tax on any sale made. Most have simply included that tax in the price of goods.

Industry & Trade

Ocean-View houses the Port of Maza, the busiest and most profitable port in the world. Ships from across the world visit daily, moving cargo worth fortunes. The port also serves as the center of the Mazan spice trade, with all spice exports departing from Ocean-View. The port also serves as the base for Ocean-View's thriving fishing industry. The fish caught are sold across all of Maza, and the crabs, lobsters, and shellfish are considered a luxury inland. Ocean-View is also a major producer of salt, which is highly valued for the preservation of food. The city produces large amounts of sea-salt both for its own use and to send inland.
Connected to the Port of Maza is the Imperial Shipyard, where the empire's commercial, civilian, and military vessels are constructed. The shipyard also produces ships to be sold to a multitude of buyers who are willing to pay top rates for the high quality Mazan construction.
Much of the area surrounding the city is used as farmland, as the entire region is quite fertile. Production is mostly focused on the production of cash crops, as the profits from their sale more than cover the price of importing food from neighboring cities. The most prominently grown crops are tobacco and cotton, which are then exported both to the inland and overseas.
Like most Mazan cities, Ocean-View has a great amount of urban industry. Because of its location, much of the production focuses on goods to be exported. Many valuable trade goods are created in the city, such as cigars, jewelry, glassware, perfumes, and luxury goods. However, all kinds of goods are produced throughout the city, both for local use and export. The Ocean-View Market is one of the largest tourist attractions in Maza, as well as a major source of revenue for the city. It is said that anything can be found there, for the right price. Merchants from all across the world come to sell their goods in the marketplace, and those lucky enough to own entire storefronts can see massive profits.
Ocean-View houses the headquarters of the Mazan Imperial Company, an economic powerhouse owned by the imperial government. The MIC alone employs thousands of citizens in the city across its offices, warehouses, mills, tradehouses, factories, and the Port of Maza.

Infrastructure

Ocean-View has advanced infrastructure, with many features providing a high quality of life for inhabitants. Buildings have access to clean running water, carried through the city by copper pipes. Rather than the ocean, the water comes from the nearby Cantonae River. The water is safe for most applications, though it must be boiled for drinking. Waste is managed by a sewer system, and rather than being dumped it is converted into fertilizer. Roads both within the city and leading out are paved with stone, making travel easier. Roads in the city are wide to allow large amounts of people to easily traverse them, and some even have sidewalks.
The city is home to dozens of public parks which are frequented by both residents and tourists. The parks are maintained by the city year round, ensuring there is always some amount of nature within the urban environment. The beaches along the coast are also maintained, and serve as a popular tourist attraction.

Districts

The Port district is located on Ocean-View's costal border. It houses the Port of Maza, as well as the Imperial Shipyard, Mazan Imperial Company headquarters, housing for workers at the port and shipyard, and the Ocean-View Naval Base.
The Market District is just west of the Port District. The district contains the Ocean-View Market, which is made up of many stalls and shops. The district is very popular with tourists, and it attracts them from across Aeon.
The Tourist District surrounds the Market District to the west, north, and south. It is home to the bulk of the city's tourist attractions and higher class establishments such as fine restaurants, wineries, hotels, clubs, and galleries, as well as some homes.
The Garden District is located west of the Tourist District. It houses upper class residences, the governor's manor, and the city's temples. It is known for its many public parks, which upper class citizens frequent. The Ocean-View Legal Court can also be found within the district.
The city's workers districts, while unnamed, are well known by residents. They are divided by the types of industry in the area, such as forges, textile mills, and paper mills. The districts not only house the industry, but also the workers homes, services, and other businesses which they use.

Guilds and Factions

The Mazan Imperial Company is a government controlled corporation which operates across the Empire of Maza, serving as the empires largest source of revenue. The company is headquartered in Ocean-View near the Port of Maza, and representatives help to run the city. The MIC's goals are simple, create jobs for the people and profit for the empire.
The Merchant's Guild is an international guild of merchants which operates across the human nations of Aeon. It seek to ensure the prosperity of its members, as well as ensure the failure of it's competitors. The guild has a strong presence in Ocean-View, as it is the worlds most important trade hub and the headquarters of their greatest competitor, the MIC. While they control only a small portion of Ocean-View's trade, it is still a major source of profit. Of course, the guild is always looking to expand its influence.
The Ocean-View Thieves Guild is a criminal organization which controls criminal activities across the city. They seek to gain total control over crime in Ocean-View, eliminating competition and maximizing profits. The guild is always in conflict with smaller organized crime groups which seek to take their place, as well as with the city's peacekeeper force. The Ocean-View Thieves Guild deals in all sorts of criminal activities, such as extortion, smuggling, prostitution, money laundering, and of course thievery. They do not, however, preform hit jobs or assassinations.
As a major production and trade center, Ocean-View is home to a number of workers unions seeking to ensure the fair treatment of working citizens in the city. They hold significant influence over the working class, and they often organize strikes, marches, and other protests in response to the mistreatment of workers. While unions are legally protected in the empire, many still engage in union-busting without legal consequence.

History

Ocean-View was founded in the year -1519 as a fishing village, and over the next thousand years it would grow into a major city-state. It would become one of the few international ports in Maza, and in the process it would become very wealthy. However, after a string of conflicts with other regional powers, Ocean-View came under siege by a coalition of its enemies in the year -526 and was nearly burned to the ground. The city was only saved by reinforcements from its allies; the Kingdom of Cantonae and the city-state Mistweave. It took nearly 200 years, but eventually Ocean-View would regain its former power.
In the year 0, Ocean-View would join a number of other powers in the region to form the Empire of Maza. It's naval forces would prove instrumental in the conquest and subsequent colonization of the Mazan Islands, as well as providing an advantage in costal regions during mainland expansions. Its status as a major port played a major role in the rise of the Empire of Maza as a world power, and existing connections helped develop the empires foreign relations.
The banning of slavery in the year 253 would cause an economic depression in Ocean-View, as the slave trade used to be a major source of revenue. However, the rapid growth of the spice trade over the next two decades would ensure the city became wealthier than ever. The spice trade was already very valuable, but with the rise of Gilded Sands as an economic power the demand for the spices produced by the empire would greatly increase.
In the year 1431, Ocean-View was attacked by the Klic-ik kingdom Klek-ku-tik due to unknown reasons. The assault on the city would cause the deaths of 2600 civilians and 1200 soldiers before the force was pushed back into the sea. Following the attack, the Empire of Maza would destroy the kingdom using the full force of their navy, taking moderate casualties in the process.
The year 2821 would see the arrests of a number of Ocean-View city officials, including Governor Darrian Morgan, after they were exposed to be part of a conspiracy to assassinate Emperor Kaiten V and assume control of the empire. The emperor would place the city under the control of Governor Mothomir Indesilimur of Mistview, who had exposed the conspiracy after posing as a member for a number of years.

Tourism

All kinds of people come to Ocean-View as tourists, many of them travelling through to Cantonae City or Mistweave. However, most make sure to spend at least some time in the city, and there is certainly much to see. By far the largest tourist attraction is the Ocean-View Market, a vast marketplace packed with stalls and storefronts selling goods from across the world. All sorts of items can be found, from luxury goods to magical items.
The Tourist District contains everything a visitor to Ocean-View could dream of. Art galleries, theaters, clubs, fine dining, auction houses, the entire district is designed to be as attractive as possible. Of course, the true draw of the district is its taverns, the most popular of which are full dawn to dusk.
Just outside of the city is a popular beach which draws in a number of visitors during the summer months. A large wooden boardwalk houses a number of shops and tourist attractions. The area is considered a park and as such is maintained by the city.
During the Festival of Ouroz in Summer's Noon, tourists flock to Maza in even greater numbers than normal. As the only public port in the empire, Ocean-View experiences a massive economic spike every year as thousands travel through the city to visit Cantonae City. Ocean-View's own celebrations are popular in their own right, as parties spill into the streets and daily parades draw crowds of hundreds. In fact, the city is second only to the capital itself when it comes to festivities.

Architecture

The architecture of Ocean-View's buildings is distinctly imperial, combining traditional Mazan architecture with more modern developments. Buildings are constructed from stone bricks, which are painted white as well as red ceramic tiled roofs. They tend to be rectangular in shape, with sharp corners. They are built closely together, with buildings in denser areas even sharing walls. Residences tend to take the form of shared spaces, large buildings with rooms for several people which are owned collectively. Most homes have stoves for heat and cooking, with chimneys sticking up through the roofs. Many residential areas have small gardens, which the residents will use to grow food. Clotheslines run between buildings, used by residents to dry their clothes after washing.

Geography

Ocean-View is built on Maza's northeastern coastline, in the Maza's Heartlands. The region gets its name not from the continent but the empire, as it is the home of the Empire of Maza's major cities. The Cantonae river runs through the region, providing water inland. The area is made up of flat, fertile plains as well as dense forests (though many have been felled for cities or farmland.) The coast it is built upon is famed for its white-sanded beaches and safe waters. In fact, the region's waters are safe out to nearly forty kilometers. The Cantonae river is located only a few kilometers to the south, and it provides the city with fresh water.

Climate

The Mazan Heartlands are well known for their mild weather, and Ocean-View is no different. Summer months tend to bring pleasantly warm temperatures and lots of sunny days, and winters are known for the cool air and occasional light snowfall. Springs and autumns are equally mild, with predictable frosts making planting seasons easy. Rainfall is steady throughout the year, with floods and droughts being extremely rare.

Natural Resources

The ocean off the coast of Ocean-View is rich with sea life. Many kinds of fish, crustaceans, and shellfish can be caught and provide a major source of food for the population. Because the waters in the area are safe out to farther distances than normal, more kinds of sea life can be caught than in other costal areas. The ocean is also a source of seaweed, a staple food in the area which is rarely exported due to a lack of demand. Additionally, the fertile soil of the Heartlands makes agriculture easy, with much of the city's non-urban territory being used to grow cash crops for exporting.

Founding Date

-1519

Type

Large city

Population

~250,000

Owner/Ruler

Mothomir Indesilimur

Owning Organization

The Empire of Maza