Rionna Settlement in Cameryth | World Anvil
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Rionna

Located smack dab in the middle of Lumin, Rionna naturally became the main trading hub and seat of power within the country. It is also rumoured to be at the centre where all four Fey courts meet. Surprisingly, this has little effect on the local population and has done nothing to keep the city from thriving as it grows.

Demographics

There are at least a few thousand people living in Rionna, so strictly speaking it's probably more of a small town or town but, comparatively, it's a decent sized city.   Humans make up a vast majority of the population, much like the rest of Lumin, though there is a fair number of Half-Fey and a smattering of various other mundane races.   Despite being kind of out of the way of everything, people are constantly coming and going through Rionna all the time, and it's absolutely not strange at all for people even in the most remote villages to have visited Rionna multiple times. Many Luminese go to Rionna as a centre point for their journey, though sending people to Rionna -- either to trade at the market, speak with the Nightingales, have their wares inspected or just to visit -- is also how the Luminese keep their village populations from getting too inbred. It's not strange for couples to be from different villages, though a similar amount of couples will share an origin village.

Defences

Rionna, like all Luminese settlements, is surrounded by solasigh to protect it's residents.   All city entrances are gated, though they aren't particularly imposing. It's surrounded on all four sides by trees, some of which are fey forest trees, and there are rumours that there's at least one portal to each court scattered around the city as a result of it being more or less in the center of the country. Despite this, it's a fairly safe place to live, possibly due to the presence of at least one Nightingale at all times.

Industry & Trade

Rionna, like the rest of Lumin, subsists almost entirely on a trade-based system. Actual coinage really only acts as a placeholder for when bartering doesn't suffice, as in the case of foreigners coming through. Being the centre of the country, most trade that goes around eventually comes through Rionna, making the city the second-largest trade hub in the country, second only to Chenya.   Rionna's largest industry by far is mining. Most of the ores from nearby mines, along with jewels mined from all over Lumin, go through Rionna for inspection. The jewels are then sent off to be sold or used, and about 75% of the money earned goes back to the village or origin. The rest of the money is used to assist villages that aren't in a suitable environment for mining.   Rionnans themselves are mostly textile workers, as is the same with most of Lumin's settlements. Many villages will send their best yarns, wools and fabrics to Rionna to be sold in much the same way that ore is handled. Villages will also send extra wool and food to Rionna to be distributed to villages suffering from shortages.

Infrastructure

The streets of Rionna are lined with magical streetlights while the streets themselves are cobbled.   The city also boasts the most bathhouses out of any settlement in the known world. These baths are most often build on natural hot springs, but the ones that aren't will boast enchantments that keep the waters at the perfect temperature. All Rionnan baths are also build with various enchantments to keep the water clean in order to prevent spread of disease.

Assets

Rionna holds most of the country's wealth. In Lumin, because the locals trade mostly on a bartering system, most people in smaller villages have no need to keep coinage. In order to make sure none of its citizens are left destitute should they decide to leave the country, each person is worth an equal amount of money that is given to them by the head of the Nightingale family upon request.

History

Rionna was settled originally by the Nightingales, who only ended up in the centre of the Luminese Territory due to bad luck. Once there, however, the family decided to tame the area, mostly out of spite, and set about uniting the various villages by sending family members out to watch over each area and report back. It was a struggle but eventually, they managed to get a complex system of trade set up between the villages with Rionna at the centre, which was used to keep all the villages surviving and functioning as best they could. In order to keep any single family member from getting greedy to the detriment of their villages, a system was set up wherein Nightingale family members are held to a strict set of standards and could be reported to the Head Nightingale by their "subjects" (for a lack of better term) if they were not completing their duties.   The country of Lumin more or less broke even until the reign of Sola Nightingale , who it is said garnered a peace treaty between the Luminese and Fey, resulting in the creation of solasigh and a somewhat shaky peace between the humans and Fey. From then, the Luminese were able to better tend to their sheep, transport ore and gemstones, and otherwise join the world market, creating a small (in population), but powerful country.

Architecture

The houses are much larger than those in villages and tend to house two or three families each, as opposed to just the one. Nightingale Manor is at the centre of the city, and is absolutely massive when compared to other houses in the area. Due to the size of the Nightingale family -- and to accommodate the occasional visiting noble, messenger, or other guest -- Nightingale Manor is large enough to comfortably house around 12 family units. There are also smaller houses scattered over the rest of the property that accommodate 2 or 3 families and generally house the staff.

Natural Resources

Rionna has the largest flock of sheep of all the Luminese settlements, with thousands of sleep and hundreds of shepherds in charge of herding them around with the aid of sheep-dogs . Because of this, wool is Rionna's largest export, and most Rionnans find work in some kind of sheep-adjacent field come shearing season.   Hot springs are also especially prevalent in Rionna, as well as a number of prosperous mines providing various ores and gemstones such as luxtalt and caecophane.
Type
Town
Population
~2500
Inhabitant Demonym
Rionnans
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization

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