Ostylia (os-TILL-ee-ah)
Located within the Shattered Sea atop the largest sea fragment, Lake Calandern, Ostylia is a once-fallen city that remains in the process of rebuilding following its fall three decades ago. Ruled over by current sovereign Lady Beatrix Silverthorn, the city now strives for peace and has become a centre for trade, art, craftsmanship and healing in the continent.
Demographics
Ostylia's population is fairly diverse, with the most prominent races being humans, elves and tieflings. Tieflings specifically are a notable edition, often wandering and not staying in one place for too long due to some who would treat them with fear due to their demon blood, however due to one of the heirs of Ostylia, Zephyrus Silverthorn, being a tiefling who was adopted after being saved from captivity, the city has gained a reputation for being incredible welcoming to all species, and thus has the highest concentration of tiefling population out of all citizens in Ket'rani. As well as this, the city has found a balance between elves, half-elves and humans living in harmony, partially due to the marriage of Queens Aalya and Annaleigh, who were a human-elf couple, and who paved the way for huge reforms in relations between elves and humans in Ket'rani, allowing half-elves to find a place to call home.
Industry & Trade
Due to its violent past, the people of Ostylia strive for peace. The city has become the forerunner in developments in healing, and is rich with artists, artisans, and craftsmen, with many jobs having been created through the effort of rebuilding the city following its liberation. The city continues to develop, with craftsmen and technicians finding new ways to improve the infrastructure of the city. Trade also continues to grow in Ostylia, being the main distributer of a large portion of magical resources such as luminous algae and magical aquatic plants, and Puresalt mined from the shores of Lake Dacryn, traded through artisans, travelling merchants and trade guilds reaching all across Axordia.
History
Once the capital city of Ket'rani, Ostylia fell victim to a harsh betrayal. Beloved Queen Aarya Silverthorn was murdered, her wife and children also slaughtered, killed by her wife Annaleigh's brother, Amaranth. False-King Amaranth Aldari proceeded to hold power over the city, forcing its citizens into slavery and a life of fear living under a totalitarian dictator. However, one Silverthorn child survived. Beatrix, the youngest daughter, was smuggled from the castle on the night of the slaughter, and after a decade and a half returned to the city, liberating it from the False-King's rule, and retaking the throne. Following the fall of the Silverthorns, the city lost its status as capital, the title being given to the growing city of Tearmann, a city whose growth was boosted by the influx of refugees brought upon by the former capital's fall. Now, the city works towards restoration, its people still healing from the effects of the False-King's rule.
Architecture
Built upon the ancient remains of an islewhale, a large portion of the foundations of the city is built from bone. As a display of gratitude to the ancient being for providing the basis for the settlement, the original architects made sure to leave the skeleton visible within buildings and roads. This is most obvious in the main street between the districts, with a large sandy streak of bone running down the centre of it for several hundred feet, and in the castle, built around the tail of the islewhale, bones hauntingly visible throughout the architecture.
Geography
Ostylia is located in the middle of the largest fragment of the Shattered Sea, Lake Calandern, the city was built atop and around the skeleton of an ancient islewhale. Freshwater from the lake is filtered through the undercity into drinking water, then distributed through pipes to the city above.
Natural Resources
Due to its location at the heart of the Shattered Sea, Ostylia is rich with the natural resources that surround it. The sea fragments surrounding the city provide a wide range of resources, from magical materials such as glowing algae from Lake Canfor and magical plant life from Lake Zoi'mati, to salt harvested from the shores of Lake Dacryn, home to some of the purest salt reserves in Axordia.
Alternative Name(s)
The Hollow City
Type
City
Inhabitant Demonym
Ostylians
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Additional Rulers/Owners
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