Otway
These cobblestones are still wet with the blood of our enemies. Gather and pulverize them. They will make excellent concrete for my new monument.
History/Name
Once a small mining village of humans, Otway became the Elven Empire's colonial foothold in Oren. Grey elf troops trampled what minor defenses the township had, set up their headquarters, and sanded the towns old moniker "Heaven's Landing" from every roadsign and building. Many replacement names were floated by the Cambium: Starfort, Starfall Bay, and Fort Adamant. The admiral of the Imperial Navy, whose efforts seized the town and established his 'colony', insisted on his last name as tribute using it in place of any other written on decrees and fresh maps. His persistence payed off again and the name stuck. Wary but ecstatic, Otway's citizens adored the revitalization of their Starfall mines hopeful of the vast wealth that elven colonization would bring. However, their proximity to gnomish lands and their new impassioned leader would paint a very different picture over the next 200 years. Miners worked impossible schedules, often perished and were buried in the mines they excavated. Food shortages led to harassment and forced tithes of resources from nearby villages and hamlets. Gnomish blockades kept basic resources from entering the city leading to rampant smuggling and marauding of staple goods. Admiral Dostun Otway, now self-proclaimed Prime Archon, made little formal distinction between himself and his newfound colony during his reign, insisting the citizenry refer to him and his city equally as Otway. This vanity grew to match the rebellious northern gnomes and annexed townships on the colony's borders. Anger from imperial elves stationed in the area led to rampant unrest, discrimination, and later open insurrection. In retaliation, the once imperial viceroy swiftly transformed this military stratocracy into a full dictatorship. Curfews were enforced strictly under fear of death or indoctrination; captured dissents deemed useful to the city were programmed into remorseless footmen for Otway's regime. Preferential treatment ended for half-elves leaving only pureblooded grey elves as first-class citizens. Toward the end of his rule, even the Elven Empire openly despised Otway and covertly funded local anti-imperial militia groups in Oren. With financial backing from the Dragonlands, tribal armies migrated from the Long Stride collapsing Otway's reign.Otway's Crucible
In the empire's wake, temporary regimes of all creeds still rise and fall. None quite sticking with the fortitude of the city's namesake. The Xhosa, whose uprising finally ousted the empire, reign was short and contentious. Nacer Xhosa, warlord from the Long Stride, and his rampant reprisals remain one of the most controversial topics of the coup. Imperials that escaped with their heads were either exiled, brutally scarred, or both. These draconican tactics were seen as a great victory to the Xhosa and humankind within the city. The diversity of armies that allied to take the city quickly snuffed the chaotic and brutal Xhosa leading to a period know as Otway's Crucible. Great houses formed from the armies and established headquarters within the city. Led by their heirarchs, houses such as Playnes, House Bradiment, and Dusk fought tooth and nail over the city. Over the 40 years since its liberation, countless Primarchs, a portmanteau of 'Prime Archon', exerted claim over the city just to be ousted by another short-lived ruler. Many attempts of formal council between the houses have been attempted over the decades, but disillusionment and inter-family quarrels stymie these attempts. House Ermine, a smaller house from the wharfs, claims Primarch currently with their ruler Ar'stot heading the city for over four years. Within that time, slavery blossomed within the city until the sudden destruction of the old jail, the Bastille.Defences
Nearly all of the city is retained within the vast concrete walls with streets of flagstone and concrete. Many power players that claim lead over the city fortify their own headquarters instead of moving into Otway's old elven chateau that overlooks the bay. As a consequence, many streets in Otway wind in and around strange and often crumbling fortifications of previous regimes.
Architecture
Otway has been seiged, plundered, occupied, reoccupied, and revolutionized becoming a notoriously rough place despite it once being the Elven Empire's capital in Oren. It is littered with vandalized statues and monuments celebrating these brief vies for power. With Otway's rise in diversity after the fall of its namesake, newer buildings often incorporate dragonborn or gnomish design creating a clashing menagerie of both continents of Cabochon.
Geography
Otway is nestled on the inland shores of 'Heaven's Bay', a natural bay opening into the Marbled Sea. Waters within the bay are much warmer and calmer acting as a natural harbor for many ships that brave the harsh southern sea. Lining the western side of the bay are the ultra peaks of the Starfall Mountains. Named for the durable iron found there, the Starfall Mountains host several large mining operations harvesting the meteorites that frequently crash there. Gnomish speculations by explorer Weis the Wyld suggests Heaven's Bay itself may be a massive impact crater of one of these 'fallen stars'.
Alternative Name(s)
Heaven's Landing
Type
Large city
Population
~55,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Landers
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Related Reports (Primary)
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