Portside

Portside is the oldest neighborhood in the city of Saltgate, a place which was sacked and rebuilt on numerous occasions during the First Age of Eden. In the early years of the Second Age, it was destroyed again in a war between Neverland and The Realm. Then, in the year 116, it was raised from the ashes one last time.

The harbor here is one of the largest in the world.

Naming

Many a person has asked why the neighborhood, which sits beside a bay, is not called Bayside instead. Old timers will shush anyone who asks. The codgers tell tales of wild lawyers arriving with a screech, of valiant knights like Sir Morris and Sir Slater, and of being saved only by the ringing of a bell—a bell which called called forth the forces of Generals Kapowski, Spano, and Turtle to defend the city. The terms of the truce, they’ll tell you, were that the neighborhood never call itself Bayside again.

Geography & Climate

Portside sits upon a long stretch of rocky shoreline on the southern side of Nymph’s Neck. It stretches from the mouth of the River Somniorum to the westernmost tip of the peninsula. The sea here is far deeper than on the northern side and is well protected by the high, rocky cliffs of the neck.

As with the rest of Saltgate and much of The Realm in general, Portside has warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

Architecture

Though the majority of modern-day Portside has a distinctly Arabian feel to it, there are elements left over from its previous incarnations. You can still sense the Greek influence of the First Age Bekiskas who founded the place, the Polynesian sensibilities of the Quadlings who cared for it during the Wander Years, and the Nordic proclivities of the Neverlandian pirates who fought the Realmish for it during the War of 116.

Notable Landmarks

Though the majority of the buildings in Portside are utilitarian in nature, a few landmarks of stunning beauty demand note.

Noggin Hall, once a temple to Athena, now houses the heads of dignitaries and criminals alike—all preserved in stone thanks to the magical Altar of Medusa.

The Stave Church is a wooden house of worship which has somehow survived more than one sack of the city. The faithful of various religions see this as a sign from their god that it is not to be touched, and so it hasn’t been. But because it hasn’t been, parts of it are beginning to rot.

Aphrodite’s Rest is a Thai-style house built by the Quadlings for the goddess of love. Though it shares similarities with the halfling iwo, a larger structure was obvioiusly necessary for the human–sized Aphrodite and its design was in fact inspired by research conducted in the Edenian Athenæum.

Type

Neighbourhood

Location under

Saltgate