Offstoke
"The last thing I want is a reunion of all the west. One day, these southern bastards will come, and when they do, I want the West to stand tall with its powerful mages, unified" - Last words of Vissegerd, founder of the great school of enchantment
Capital of the Western Alliance and housing the alliance council, Offstoke is a unique and prosperous city in the middle of arguably the most unique place on The Continent: the clay desert. It is also the richest city of the Western Alliance, this title being strongly contested by Mikestshire, with the clay trade being its main trade, but it has now diversified a lot. The city also is home to the great wizard school of enchantment, with its creator, a man named Vissegerd, being also the catalyst for the founding of the city itself.
Demographics
Offstoke concentrates most of the Western Alliance's nobles and rich traders, with only very few commoners being banded together in poorer districts.
Government
Though the city harbors the alliance council, it is governed mostly by the governor of Offstoke, who is also the council secretary and spokesman. This person is elected by the Offstoke people and must then be approved by direct census by the council. Once he has been decided, he can always be degraded from his position, but as long as he remains in power, most of the decisions about the city are made by him. The governor however possesses a council of his own constituted of spokesmen of the different factions, mostly nobles and trader guild leaders.
Defences
The city has lived through many crises and battles with monsters and orcs. As such, its defenses are well developed, with high walls and siege engines as well as a well formed army and battle mages.
Industry & Trade
Though Offstoke's main trade is still clay, its northern position also makes it a prime trader with the Mahakam Mountains, with primary goods from the rest of the alliance and natural treasures such as gemstones and metals.
Infrastructure
Having a more homogeneous and rich population, Offstoke possesses an excellent infrastructure, safe for the one or two commoner districts.
Assets
A visitor will find many riches in Offstoke, from excellent smithees to treasure merchants. It also possesses a massive underground trade and treasures in the nearby clay desert, with many treasures of ancient times before the city buried below it.
Guilds and Factions
- Western Alliance council
- Clay trading guild
- Basic resource trading guild
- Gemstone dwarven trading guild
- Commoner's uprising
- Great school of enchantment
- Offstokee nobles
History
About 320 years before current events, one man, a sorcerer with innate powers that decided to dedicate himself to magic, managed to convince some of the trading guilds of Mikestshire that the clay desert had incredible potential. This potential monopoly made the new city thrive at lightning speed, Offstoke reaching the highest population of all the Western alliance territory in only 30 years, mostly through mass immigration. On his deathbed 70 years later, the sorcerer only wished for a unified democratic alliance of all the western countries and city-states, along with a development of the school of enchantment he had created. 50 years later, the Offstoke government had finally convinced 51 other small countries and city-states, and the city was crowned capital of the new alliance. Since then, the city has gone through many hardships of many natures, such as attacks from sea creatures and orc hordes, but has always stood strong and thrived in its trade. The man's name was Vissegerd.
Architecture
Because of its rich natural resource in clay, the city's architecture is mostly based on that material, giving it a unique color and style.
Natural Resources
The only notable natural resource the city has is of course the clay it has a monopoly on.
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