Yertlehood

Built on the cliffs that border the Clear Waters, Yertlehood is a smaller industrial city. For a long time it was only a sidenote and waypoint between Twinbreak and Mael Springs . This changed with the advent of better engineering technologies and a capable leader that knew how to exploit its unique location. The cliffs it is built on are subject to very extreme tides. This excavated several caves in the cliff side. Yertlehood made use of these caves by building a complicated pressure system that uses the water that gets pushed in the cave to raise gigantic counterweights nearly 200 metres into the air. Once fully raised the mechanism is disengaged and the presses attached to the counterweights slam with their full weight down onto molds that press magically reinforced steel into the molds. This is the only known process to mass create these magically charged weapons and tools, the usual process takes an accomplished smith and magician several weeks for one finished piece.
This technology catapulted Yertlehood to the front of the steel industry all over the continent. Even though there are ways to create more powerful weapons, or mor qualitative good weapons in a short time, this method represents a good middleground in terms of quality and speed.

Demographics

The primary population of the city is human. In addition to that a sizeable dwarven enclave inhabits the southern reaches of the city and mostly oversees the preparation of steel for the presses. A lot of the city has come into recent wealth, since the presses started picking up in quantity. A lot of wealthier magicians have settled into the city to work in the business of reinforcing the raw steel produced by the dwarves. Yertlehood has a poorer population aswell, these are the fisherman that lived originally in the city but they have been displaced by the new immigrants to the city and are now living in slums near the northern outside of the city. Due to its proximity to the nearby desert and the ocean many Water Genasi call this city home aswell.

Government

Yertlehood is part of the Pragon Empire , so the main authority figure in the city is the Gwendal . He is head of the city and the surrounding area. The law is given by the laws of the Pragon Empire so the very strict policys regarding taxation and law speaking are in effect which leads to a comparatively low crime rate. The Gwendal is head of the city council aswell. The city council takes on more of a responsibility in the day to day business of the city, such as running the trade and keeping the presses running smoothly. They are first instance of law in the city aswell, since they preside over a majority of the arrests made by the guard. The Gwendal is only involved in law matters when a particularly powerful person is involved in the dispute.

Industry & Trade

The biggest industry of the city are the presses which provide an industrial way to create magically hardened steel tools. Besides that the city is fairly self sufficient, since the influx of wealth enabled the city and its inhabitants to create a row of underground farms that produce crops and the, even though less important than in earlier times, fish industry still provide more food then the city currently needs.
This leads to most of the inhabitants being tied up in one of the three industries and the fourth major occupation belongs to the traders that, either have their own shops, or specialize in buying the magically hardened tools and selling them all over the empire. This is a rather fickle business, since usually the crown reserves a large part of all production capacities.

Infrastructure

The biggest piece of infrastructure in Yertlehood are the 4 giant counterweight presses located in a square pattern in the middle. Below the presses a intricate system of channels and pressure chambers form a maze only the architects know how to traverse. Even below the pressure system a sewer system has been built, that leads out into the ocean. On its way the system passes a batch of irrigation farms that use the waste to turn into compost for growing of wheat and other useful plants.
The main roadways of the city originate from the presses and lead to 4 gates that exit the city. This star pattern divides the city into its four distinct quarters, that house the citizens of Yertlehood.

Architecture

Even though Yertlehood is morphing into an industrial city, a visitor can still see its beginnings as a fishing village. A big part of the houses are built on stakes near the cliffs with pulley systems to lower down the boats. Even the houses not near the cliffs mirror the general architecture of the old parts of the city. Towards the north west, where the newer parts of town are located, the old architecture is being more and more abandonend and houes copying the style of those in the capital are being built. This even includes a spire that has recently been built by one of the richer merchants.

Type

City

Population

71056