Salamaga (/Salamaga/)
Coastal Landscape with a Fortified City by Orazio Grevenbroeck
Quarters of Salamaga
The city of Salamaga is divided into four quarters with each occupying a wildly different piece of land reflecting the gradual growth of the city, as the people reclaim what territory they can from the swamp. The eldest was built upon the rock itself, with the other sections of town built into increasingly less desirable land as more people moved into the city, and exceeded its capacities.The Rock of Salamaga: The oldest and wealthiest district in the city of Salamaga, built on top of the rock itself, and with a small and insular community carved into it even. The Rock of Salamaga is very safe, but rather difficult to build on, and as a result only a few extraordinarily wealth families, often with connection to the original founders of the city can actually live there.
The Old Town: The more traditional "old town" of Salamaga, built on the relatively clear and high standing land around the rock. Most of the upper class, and many of the more established businesses are found here, built around Temple Square and the Old Fish Market.
The New Town: Built up on poorer land, where the floodwaters do occasionally reach, the New Town is generally where the bulk of the populace lives. Most people particularly sailors and fishers, who form the bulk of the city's workforce, make their homes here. Laborers from this section of town are constantly attempting to reclaim more land from the Tierra Lanternas, and as the years have gone on, have slowly expanded the New Town.
The Swamp Town: A slum forcibly constructed on stilts over the swampy murk of the Tierra is home to a mixed group of deeply impoverished people unable to make homes elsewhere, Lanternians seeking out conditions similar to their own homes, and experienced swampfolk looking for quick access to the source of their trade. Swampfolk ply the murky waters in between the buildings using a specialized low draught swamp boats, and people looking for guides to the Lanternas come here most often come here.
Important Locations
The Royal Academy of Medicine: Established by the Late Queen Isabel the First to counter a major outbreak of plague in the city during the 22nd century, the Royal Academy is one of the finest medical institutions in Gallaca, perhaps even Galisea. Short of magical healing, in the Royal Academy one can find some of the best treatment for injury and sickness in the Tierra Lanternas. The Royal Academy also, per its name serves as a medical school teaching anatomy to prospective doctors from all around souther Galisea.Temple Square: Built up around the Pandroi Temple to Maretal in the early years of the city's existence Temple Square has established itself as the cultural heart of the city, with religious services, the city's main marketplace, as well as its most famous inn The Stormy Flagon, located in one major location. Temple Square is a major port of trade for the city with most travelling merchants selling what wares they can here.
The Old Fish Market: Located closer to the docks, this secondary market square is also a relatively prosperous place, and indeed most perishable foods sold in the city are sold here specifically as people offload their fishing boats and sell the catch of the day right here. For those who cook in taverns, the Old Fish Market is a great source of ingredients. The Fish Market's relative distance from the rock however, means that it sees less law enforcement, and many looking to procure more illicit services come to the Old Fish Market after dark to seek them out.
City Hall: Established when Salamaga was incorporated as a proper town, City Hall is a modest building that serves as Salamaga's center of government. Officially, the Lord Mayor makes residence here, and most of the city's few officials have their offices here. City Hall also issues bounties that can be collected by adventurers looking for legitimate work.
Cliffside: A small community carved into the rock of Salamaga. The people living there are quite mysterious, keeping to themselves, and hiding from the general public, with many members of the community having unusual or outright inhuman bodies. Rumored to be descendants of the Yulan-Tai, the people of Cliffside do have a propensity of seeking out people willing to plumb the darkest reaches of the Tierra Lanternas for ancient treasures.
Demographics
The city of Salamaga maintains a permanent population of roughly 9,800 persons. Most Salamagan residents (approximately 7,800) are subjects of the Kingdom of Gallaca at least in name, though quite a few residents have come from other realms, making their new homes in the territory of Salamaga. The population is majority Gallegan with roughly two of every three people Gallega, with the second largest group being Lanternians who make up roughly one in ten. The remaining population consists of mixed human and non-human sentients who come from several different ethnic backgrounds from all over Galisea, and to a lesser extent Felora.
Government
The city of Salamaga is ruled by Lord Mayor José Marcos Vincente de la Roca, who was descended from one of the original founders of the city. His position, sponsored by the queen herself, is a tenuous one as he was chosen to rule after a brutal political conflict, and primarily for his loyalty to the crown. Beneath him is a modest civil service responsible largely for collecting taxes, maintaining the docks, and enforcing the Lord Mayor's police. The civil service is however, general prone to extensive corruption and the other families often vie for control of the loyalties of the city government away from the sitting Lord Mayor.
Defences
The city of Salamaga's greatest defense is its relatively remote location. As it is surrounded on all sides either by ocean, or a dense, fetid swamp, landing any singificant invasion force near the city would be a difficult undertaking. It is also fortified with a single major wall surrounding the Old Town and the Rock, this wall has steadily been reinforced in recent years and is believed resistant to cannon fire in the short term. The city is defended by a full time city watch of roughly fifty, with other denizens of the city draft into defense or law enforcement for a short service as necessary.
Industry & Trade
Salamaga's chief industries are innately tied to the sea. Most people living in the city are fishers and swamp foragers who provide most of the food for the city as well as much of the local trade stock. Merchant sailors make up the second largest industry, help move cargo from Gaundao, Qua'adar, Aeilla, and other southern locales to the north, and as well as the reverse. Local industry is generally sufficient to meet the needs of the city itself, and can support a fairly robust network of adventurers and swampfolk plumbing the depths of the Tierra Lanternas for ancient treasures.
Infrastructure
The city's infrastructure is quite crude and limited by the standards of a southern Galisean city. The roads in the Old Town and the Rock are paved, and the docks well maintainted, but these mark the height of luxuries on offer for most Salamagans. There have been efforts to build measures to drain the lower districts of the city but these have been difficult to achieve with the relatively limited resources in the hands of the Salamagan civil service. In the swamp town, there are channels for boats that act as the roads. These tend to be maintained by the swampfolk themselves however.
Guilds and Factions
Politics in the city of Salamaga is and has historically been tied to the intrigue of the Old Families, the descendents of the founders of the cities, and occupiers of the Rock of Salamaga. The families have vied for control of the city for several centuries, and often spend a great deal of blood and treasure competing for control over government offices, the loyalties of various smallholder guilds in the city, and the most coveted prize of all, the seat of Lord Mayor. Historically the throne of Gallaca has had little influence on urban politicking. In recent years however, Isabel II has taken great pains to ensure that the Lord Mayor is the person most loyal to her of the great families, and ensures the cooperation of all, lest she break up their power completely.
History
Though the Rock of Salamaga was well known for as long as historical records have existed in Galisea, it remained completely, or nearly completely unsettled until relatively recent times. The first permanent sentient settlement recorded was established in 1767 by charter of the Royal Gallacan family, a number of wealthy merchant families. With the offer of title issued to whoever could successfully settle the land, the original families launched a major expedition to build the upon the Rock. With the assistance of several hundred workers, the earliest structures on the rock and of the Old Town were constructed, with the settlement's initial construction completed by 1770.
Shortly after the establishment of the city, a strange group of peoples emerged from the Tierra Lanternas, bearing snakelike features, these people sought ought a place within the city in which to establish themselves. Little is known about the meeting between the leader of these people and the founding families. However, after several months of discussion, the Lord Mayor Ferdinand Elías de Sanza granted space to the people. These stangers carved a settlement of their own outside of the face of the rock, leading to the birth of Cliffside.
In the years since the founding, Salamaga has steadily grown in size, particularly as trade over the Yulan Ocean has grown. Its prime location seeing thousands travel through the city yearly. As a result, the city has steadily expanded from the good lands in and around the Rock of Salamaga to flatlands, and eventually carving more territory out of the Lanternas. Throughout this time, the machinations of the elite have continued, with the founding families clashing with each other for influence, and with the merchants to keep themselves on top. In recent years, Royalty has become much more involved as Salamaga becomes one of the most important economic hubs in the nation, establishing new institutions (including the Royal Academy of Medicine during a worrying outbreak of disease in the city), and taking an active part in political infighting to ensure the monarchy comes out on top.
Geography
The city of Salamaga is centered around its most defining feature, and the one for which it is named, the Rock of Salamaga. This large stony formation at the tip of the Tierra Lanternas stands between the expanse of the Yulan Ocean, the Great Western Ocean, and the vast swamplands of the Tierra Lanternas. Most of the city's most important infrastructure is built up on the spit of land at the base of the rock, which compared to most of its bulk is relatively flat and suited for construction. More recent distrcts however, have had to use recclaimed lands, and are much more poorly suited, with routine flooding of buildings, and in the case of swamptown aren't even properly on land.
Alternative Name(s)
The Rock, La Roca Salvadora de Salamaga
Type
City
Population
9,800
Inhabitant Demonym
Salamagan, Salamagans
Owner/Ruler
Additional Rulers/Owners
Owning Organization
