The New City
Where Hope Rises Beyond the Walls
Beyond the south-eastern gates, where the old stone walls of the City League give way to open fields and broad, dusty roads, lies the New City—a district born of growth, ambition, and a desire for space that the crowded city core can no longer offer. Here, order is just beginning to take shape, with neatly laid streets, fresh timber buildings, and rows of empty lots marked for future homes and shops. It’s a place of promise, where dreamers, merchants, and settlers come to carve out something new, but also a place with little protection, where the reach of the law is thin, and danger can still find cracks to slip through.
The air in the New City is filled with the sounds of hammers striking new beams, the rattle of carts carrying stone and timber, and the constant hum of negotiation as land is claimed and trades are made. Builders, artisans, and traders see this district as the future—larger homes, spacious workshops, and open markets free from the constraints of the old city’s narrow streets. The Pioneers’ Hall stands at its centre, a half-finished building where plots are registered, disputes settled, and contracts for work passed around. Yet with so much in flux, power here shifts quickly, and fortunes are as easily lost as gained.
Among the hopeful energy, there is also a sense of vulnerability. Without the city's walls, the New City feels exposed—to bandits, wild beasts, or the jealousy of those still bound by the old ways. A small militia patrols the streets, hired by those with the most to lose, and the locals keep a watchful eye on strangers. Yet for many, the risks are worth the rewards. There is talk of expanding the walls, of building new temples, guild halls, even a market square to rival those in the Capitol—but for now, the New City is still finding itself, and its future is as uncertain as it is bright.
To travellers, the New City offers opportunities not yet claimed. Here, a clever mind or a bold hand can make their mark before the rules are written, and before the powers of the old city decide how this district should truly belong.
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