The Blue City
The Blue City is located in Astafar (formerly the Great Old One Pact-Land) in Keldan, situated immediately north of The Golden Forest. It sits two hours ride from the eastern coast and lies on the main trade route to Zamar. The Blue City's primary claim to fame is that it is the only source of Yellow Wood in Armea. The city has recently been devastated by a massive tsunami and is currently struggling to recover.
Demographics
Prediluvian, the Blue City was the second largest population in Astafar at around 4000 residents, most of whom were somehow involved in the Yellow Wood trade: farming, harvesting, transporting, processing, and shipping. The Blue City was fairly diverse in race and ethnicity, and it spanned a spectrum of wealth from low (farmers and laborers) to upper-middle (craftsmen and market traders), with only a few families considered to be wealthy. While some boutique and bespoke shops existed, the preponderance of the city's crafting revolved around large-scale production of standard household items, such as furniture, shutters, and both rough and finished lumber for construction.
Postdiluvian, all Yellow Wood operations are at a stand-still by order of the Mayor. Currently, the extent of devastation caused by the tsunami on the city's industry is not well understood, but Gaakto fears that the city may never recover its once-dominant position in the market.
Government
The Blue City is governed as a democratic mayorship and policed by a constabulary. Elections are held every two years, with the mayoral race occurring on even years and the sheriff on odd years. The current mayor is Gaakto Zovi, who has held the seat for a number of years running now. The sheriff is Coyote, a female Shifter Druid. She is believed to be lost to the tsunami, but that has not been verified. Currently, having declared an official state of emergency, Gaakto Zovi is managing both the Mayor's office and what's left of the constables.
Defences
The Blue City was not a hardened or fortified location. Any built-up defenses were focussed on the boundary between the southern end of the city and the Golden Forest. This was due to the frequent invasion of Corpse Flowers from the forest into southern cemeteries and graveyards. Since the tsunami, there have been no incidents; it is hoped that the Corpse Flowers have been as devastated as everything else in Astafar, through more likely they have simply been glutting on tsunami victims.
Industry & Trade
Before the current crisis, Yellow Wood provided the city's entire livelihood. Now, once the city moves out of crisis mitigation and into crisis recover, Gaakto Zovi will need to shift efforts into importing all many of tradesmen, including anyone with no experience and a lot of desire to learn. Until then, the Mayor is sending missives daily to any person or organization he thinks can help his citizens.
Architecture
With its economy heavily focussed on Yellow Wood - harvesting, processing, storage, holding and shipping - The Blue City is both squat and wide. Some of the tallest storage buildings are around 30 feet tall, and only a couple homes and businesses reach three stories. Most structures are only one story, not including basements or root cellars.
The Blue City is built in three Rings, each representing a major growth phase. The innermost ring, called the Rock Ring due to its primary building material, is the original settlement and comprises the City Hall (the only building in the city that exceeds 30 feet due to its bell-and-clock tower), the Parc, and several shops and homes, all of which are still in use. This Ring suffered the least damage from the tsunami, though this is partially due to the Stone Ring taking the brunt of the force. Buildings in the Rock Ring are comprised almost entirely of rough stone worn smooth with use and weather. These buildings have all been painted at one time or another with a riot of bright colors.
The Stone Ring circumscribes the Rock Ring and houses the vast majority of the city's businesses as well as its wealthier families. All two- or three-story residences and businesses are in the Stone Ring. As the name implies, these structures are built primarily with cut and finished stone, with some Yellow Wood timbers and plaster finishes. Similar to the Rock Ring, every building in the Stone Ring has been painted at some time. The range of colors is not as riotous as the older Ring, as the Stone Ring was built during a period of national economic success, thus reflecting some celebration constrained by decorous self-restraint.
The Wood Ring comprises all the rest of the city proper, from the Stone Ring out to the beginning of fields and farms on three sides, and the Golden Forest to the south. This Ring was built when a nearly overwhelming demand for Yellow Wood forced the Blue City to immediately expand its production capabilities or risk losing its place in the market to more enterprising organizations. With this latest expansion, the Blue City has grown to a rough diameter of 3 miles. This outermost Ring contains all of the major storage and rough-processing facilities, as well as the infrastructure needed for the operation of the city itself (food stores, smithies, cartwrights, and so on). The structures in this Ring are built almost entirely of Yellow Wood, with a few exceptions (stone foundations, etc.) based on functional requirements. Besides large storage buildings and a few granges, nothing is over one story. As with the other two Rings, everything has been painted at some point, though the Wood Ring is not as diligently kept up.
Remarkably, nothing in the Blue City is painted blue. Or yellow. This restriction is by decree, driven by unanimous social consent because of the "yellow-blindness" suffered by almost all of the citizenry at some point or other. As summed up by one of the city's more famous characters, regardless of the wealth brought by the Yellow Wood, "if I ever see any yellow or blue again before I die, it'll be too damned soon!"
Natural Resources
Yellow Wood, both raw and as finished wood products, harvested directly from The Golden Forest.
Type
City
Population
Currently at 400 residents, though efforts are ongoing to locate more tsunami survivors.
Location under
Owner/Ruler
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