Dimond
Dimond is the capital city of Valorden and, as the ancestral home of the royal Thrennas family, the seat of the King. The ancient Valese and Rhodani tribal practice of holding an annual landsmeet in Dimond has long ago cemented the city's place in politics and governance of the nation. When the new kingdom of Valorden was formally formed, Dimond was really the only viable candidate for the capital, as the Thrennas family were the most powerful and architectually prevalent clan.
The city is simultaneously home to the highest of the nobility and the most forgotten of society. However, it has much to offer to travellers, adventurers and anyone looking for an interesting time, although one should never let the city distract them too much, lest possessions might quickly change hands to a back alley thief.
No other city in Valorden can rival Dimond in terms of population size, wealth or relevance.
Geography
A river crosses the city in a crooked path from west to east before ending in the adjacent ocean.Infrastructure
Population wise Dimond is the largest city in Valorden and is practically bursting at the seams. It is in dire need of restructuring. The liberal laissez-faire attitude practiced in the Valordan government has not worked to the city's advantage. Structures have been built in a random pattern without any sort of regulations for centuries, which lead to a labyrinthine mess of alleys and narrow streets that makes no sense in the present. Navigating the city is a nightmare for anyone unfamiliar with its paths, and even the locals frequently get lost. The two main streets are the only cobbled streets in Dimond, while the rest of the city's passages and ways are made up of packed dirt roads. Most buildings in Dimond are haphazardously placed and only in few cases arranged in a logical manner. Over the past couple of years, taverns and inns have moved to more advantageous spaces, such as the markets, and formed quarters right next to the four main gates of the city. Unfortunately, the same thing can't be said for workshops and stores. The merchant's guild heavily influences the property prices around the market square and gives non-members a difficult time of aquiring property there. Unfortunately, commerce is widely unregulated too, which works to the advantage of the guild's schemes. These circumstances have lead to the formation of the Lower Market, which lies a bit off of the old market square, now known as the Upper Market. Around the Lower Market one can find various guild-houses, warehouses and other shops who are excluded from the merchants guild. The city's residents live whereever they find space inbetween the districts and squares. In the past, houses have been practically built on top of each other without any oversight of the city council whatsoever, and not nearly in a sensibly arranged pattern. It gives the city a curios look, and will have any first time visitor immediately feeling cramped and cooped up. Those who cannot afford the living costs will either live outside the city or move to the mud district, that lies next to the docks down at the harbour.The City-Square & Main Streets
The city has two main streets that convene on a wide city-square right in front of the Grand District. The River Lane is a long, semi-circular street that encompasses the Grand District and runs from the western to the eastern gate right along the river's path and passes through the city alongside it. It effectively separates the rest of the city from the grand district with the Royal Palace. The city square is also home to the town hall, which serves as the mayor's seat. The Landsreach Street connects the Blue Gate at the harbour with the Green Gate that leads inland from the western part of Dimond. Notably, it runs through The Upper Market.The Gates
Dimond has four main gates. The eastern Blue Gate at the Ocean, the western Green gate that leads inlands, the southern Gate and the northern Gate.Districts
The Grand District
The Grand District of Dimond encompasses the Royal Palace of Dimond, palace gardens, several estates of the nobility and mansions of city officials, the quarters of the Dimond City Guard and an exclusive marketplace for the district's residents. The Grand District is separated from the rest of the city by a long semi-circular street that connects the west and east gate and was build right along the river that flows through Dimond. Every noble who is able to do so maintains a secondary estate in the Grand District, even if it will only be used once a year for the meeting of the noble houses. Prestige and one's social standing are regarded to be directly linked to how close one's estate lies to the Royal Palace. Outside the season, where the nobility flocks to Dimond, for the new year's festivities and the annual landsmeet, the district is quiet and seems almost abandoned at first glance. The estates remain staffed with only a small team of housekeepers necessary for upkeep. The estates mainly function as status symbols and the nobility vies with each other to provide their empty estates to various scholars, members of clergy and visiting foreign dignitaries during their absence.The Upper Market
The Upper Market is a bustling trade hub and - in terms of Valorden - only rivaled by the commercial quarters of Amantia. Commerce in Valorden remains largely unregulated and as such Dimond features many curious shops, that are only required to pay taxes to be allowed enough freedom to offer even the most questionable of wares. Other than that, the Upper Market is visited for all sorts of goods like furniture, jewelry, clothing and so on.The Lower Market
The Lower Market is were one goes to haggle over produce. It mostly consists of food and craft stalls of folks who do not live in Dimond, but outside of the city. Living costs in the city are high and so those people cart their wares into Dimond every morning to return home in the afternoon. There are a few smaller shops and the famous shop of Dworen Amberbrook, the dwarven scholar, also known as The Booksmith Emporium to locals. Other than that, The Brass Boar Inn is the jewel of the Lower District with its fair prices for hardworking folks and popular simple meals everyone likes.The Harbors
The harbor district is often called the Winedocks for the large amounts of wine from the Ronneval that are shipped there.The Mud District
The Mud District lies next to the docks at the harbour and houses the disadvantaged members of Dimondi society.History of the City
Dimond is believed to have originated as an easily defendable tower in which people could be gathered and sheltered in case of war. Centuries have made the fort into the sprawling city it is now. The city has grown rapidly around this tower, which is still a wing of the Dimond City Guard's Keep. Later, the Alesian Empire build outposts in the region of Dimond to cement their rule over valordan lands.Dimond's coat of arms shows blue and green colours in honour of its two most known gates: The Blue Gate at the harbor and The Green Gate which leads inland.
Alternative Name(s)
City of Blue and Green
Type
City
Inhabitant Demonym
Dimondi
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Characters in Location
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