Southby (south-bee)

Southby is the capital of the kingdom of Skerritt, a kingdom in southwestern Ayndrinor. It is located on the coast where the Yaegar Ocean meets the Gulf of Viskii. Historically, Southby has mostly been a smaller capital city with very little regional power and almost nonexistent worldwide influence. This had already begun to change before the Dwarven Civil War, but the influx of dwarven refugees and the cohesion they brought as they spread throughout Skerritt's lands helped consolidate regional power in the kingdom. These refugees needed a strong protective state to keep the Inquisition away, and many powerful Dwarven families lobbied the leadership in Southby to deploy troops across the kingdom's frontier.
Southby continues to be a modest city in terms of technology and architecture, with very few massive, ornate buildings and limited infrastructure improvements compared to other large -- especially capital -- cities. It has a smaller city feel, with a very tight-knit community across the city -- even across racial and cultural groups. Southby is quite possibly the most harmonious capital city in the world, and this contributes quite a bit to the steady (but small) population growth the city has experienced over the last few centuries.

Demographics

The population is split very evenly between dwarves and humans, with a few halflings and other races present as well. The human-dwarf interactions over the last few centuries have strengthened the bond between the two cultures, and it is tough to separate them in the city. Other races and peoples from foreign lands have small enclaves or collectives in the city that helps keep them in touch with familiar faces, but Southby is a pretty welcoming and inclusive city for all.

Most Southbians are wage workers, either as various artisans and craftsmen or within the warehousing and shipping industries. This leads to a modest lifestyle for many, with true poverty being very rare in the city (aided by the community feel and the many soup kitchens and free inns). There are a handful of noble families in the city of dwarven, human, and mixed lineage -- including the monarch's family and their top advisors. These families rise and fall in the unofficial hierarchy as regimes change and new families are elevated to the monarchy and advisor roles.

Government

The monarch of Skerritt is technically the mayor of the city of Southby, but most monarchs prefer to let the Council of Respected Citizens do all of the governing -- with royal input whenever necessary. This nonet is made up of members of some of the noble families in the city, as well as tradesmen and guild leaders that are voted in by their peers. These councilors serve three year terms, with three councilors elected each year - one noble family and two various guild/artisan representatives. This council rules the city by majority-vote, though the monarch -- who is technically the mayor -- can cast a tying vote in an otherwise 5-4 decision; because the Mayor's vote counts slightly more, the previously defeated option would win. This does not happen often; as mentioned above, the monarch tends to stay out of local politics and administration except in extraordinary circumstances when they believe a policy the council is debating will seriously harm the city or kingdom.

Defences

The city of Southby has a large exterior wall surrounding most of its inhabitants, though out-wall communities have grown over the last century, as population outstripped space inside the protective perimeter. These small communities occasionally build their own smaller walls to provide some protection against roving animals and potential invaders. The city's harbor is also fortified, with more than a dozen gunpowder cannons mounted on watchtowers that overlook the harbor. Though it has been quite some time since the city was attacked by land -- before any living person's memory and confined only to history books, in fact -- the ongoing war with the Toldrun See has led to occasional attacks by the See's navy against Southby's merchant/fishing ships or Skerritt's navy.

Industry & Trade

The most important exports for Southby are timber, ships, and salt. The city is somewhat surrounded by forest -- as are most Skerrittese settlements -- and therefore has a steady supply of timber to make into ships or sell outright to other nations. The city also produces a good amount of salt as a byproduct of their desalination plant, which it then sells to merchants to take to other parts of the world where salt is less easily produced.

Infrastructure

Most roads in Southby are paved, though not extravagantly so. Main roads are well maintained, and most side roads are in decent shape, kept so by groups of local laborers who work for their neighborhoods and not for the city's works ministry. Running water is not a thing in this city, even in the monarch's palace or the noble families' homes -- though the city does have many public fountains and wells spread generously throughout Southby.

The one marvel the city has that few others in the world possess is a primitive type of desalination plant, staffed and maintained by various mages and constructs. As Southby is not situated on a river or other freshwater source, their drinking wells pull from small underground aquifers. However, due to the proximity to the coast, these aquifers are often invaded by salty sea water. The city pulls water from the aquifers and from the ocean and runs all the water through this desalination plant to make it potable for the population. The side effect of this is that Southby has a natural salt trade, providing a steady source of income for the city and kingdom.

Founding Date

2381 1A

Type

Capital

Population

36,157 at last census (about 3 years ago)

Inhabitant Demonym

Southbians

Owning Organization

Skerritt