Til Formen'ya
The Port of Tìl Formen'ya (common: Port City of Formen'ya), is a Dotharan city located on the Dotharan Coast at the terminus of the Banban River in Inner Felora. The city is famous for its great ships and massive marketplace, where one can find items from across the known world.
Oyelèu: Surrounding the former Imperial Compound of the Formeni family, one of the noble families of the Feloran Empire, whose central tower, constructed in typical Early Feloran design, looms over the entirety of the city and it's surroundings. The Je'thor Council of Tìl Formen'ya, along with the Alliance Council, meet in this quarter. Much of the city's bureaucratic and governmental infrastructure is located here. This is also home to the Grafùl Dotharic.
Hightown: Nearby the Oyelèu Ward is Hightown, a recently rebuilt section of the city, formerly the neighborhood of Feloran bureaucrats and other high-ranking officials and nobles, now the preferred residences of the Formen'yan merchant-class, who's predominant half-elven members have been eager to display their newfound wealth in expensive villas, with special access to the canals for their private gondolas.
Formen: Named for one of the original tribes that inhabited the area before Feloran conquest of the coastline. The University of Melnor is located in this ward, as are many lower class half-elf and human Dotharans. A relatively quiet ward, Formen is known for its many stray cats, which will often meander across the myriad of surfaces of railings, ledges, and even the gondolas in exploration or in search of prey.
Natösh: Located in the center of the city, named for a former temple during the Feloran Empire. The temple is now a shrine to Flas'ara, the Yīra of the city, a water spirit and manifestation of the sea that serves as the metaphorical blood of the city. Dothar: The last of the wards located on the island of Formen'ya.
Thàro: Named for another of the pre-Feloran tribes to be conquered and subsumed into the Royal and Imperial Feloran culture, this ward is home to many of the diverse lower classes of Dotharan society, such as the port workers and the hospitality industry's workforce. Tìl Formen'ya is not a particularly industrial city, although much of its sewage and plumbing infrastructure is located here.
Forest Town: The oldest quarter of the city, and the only place with surviving infrastructure from before the conquering of the Formeni by the ancient Felorans almost 7 millenia ago. Unlike the rest of the city, which is dominated by canals and orderly streets, the Ancient Town almost melts into the nearby rainforest on the slopes of Mt. Kimya, with multiple levels crossing the canopies of the trees, many of which have been stitched into abodes for the quarter's mostly Wood Elf population.
Formenyan Forum: A massive open-air market spilling out of the old imperial customs house. Immaculately well kept landscaping and a standardized system of merchant licensing give the Formenyan Forum a more orderly appearance than it's counterpart in Qua'adar. Travelers will find many interesting and rare goods from across Getninia at the Forum, and the weary may find refuge in the many inns that cater to the varied and diverse needs of the crews of the many merchant vessels that dock.
University of Melnor: Founded in 2453 EIE by Melnor Formeni in the aftermath of the Je'thor Reformations. The school became a long running source of political theory and recently, free press. Many groundbreaking discoveries and inventions of the last 300 years are attributable to graduates, scholars, or researchers with ties to the University.
Old Forge Inn: Located in the Ward of Thàro, the inn and tavern is a favourite of many adventurers and more salacious sailors who pass through the city in their travels. Run by Sarah O'Neill, a settler originally from Erigan, who will get along with just about anyone that isn't trying to kill her.
Stepping off the boat and onto the docks of the Port City of Til Formen’ya, the smell of leaves and dirt gently carried on the breeze from the nearby temperate rainforests deep in the Kimya Mountain filled the lungs of the adventurers. Formen’ya was an ancient city, the launching point for the Northern Invasions almost 600 years ago, but now it was place to start another kind of journey...
Wards of Tìl Formen'ya
Tìl Formen'ya has 8 Wards, each of which elects a representative to the Je'thor Committee, which is itself headquartered in the Oyelèu Ward. 3 of the Wards predate the Feloran Empire, however only Forest Town resembles anything like its original layout. The Port: Shortly before the Banban River delta, where the Grand Feloran Canal terminates, is the Port. The busiest quarter of the city, and home to the largest market in Felora, the Formenyan Forum.Oyelèu: Surrounding the former Imperial Compound of the Formeni family, one of the noble families of the Feloran Empire, whose central tower, constructed in typical Early Feloran design, looms over the entirety of the city and it's surroundings. The Je'thor Council of Tìl Formen'ya, along with the Alliance Council, meet in this quarter. Much of the city's bureaucratic and governmental infrastructure is located here. This is also home to the Grafùl Dotharic.
Hightown: Nearby the Oyelèu Ward is Hightown, a recently rebuilt section of the city, formerly the neighborhood of Feloran bureaucrats and other high-ranking officials and nobles, now the preferred residences of the Formen'yan merchant-class, who's predominant half-elven members have been eager to display their newfound wealth in expensive villas, with special access to the canals for their private gondolas.
Formen: Named for one of the original tribes that inhabited the area before Feloran conquest of the coastline. The University of Melnor is located in this ward, as are many lower class half-elf and human Dotharans. A relatively quiet ward, Formen is known for its many stray cats, which will often meander across the myriad of surfaces of railings, ledges, and even the gondolas in exploration or in search of prey.
Natösh: Located in the center of the city, named for a former temple during the Feloran Empire. The temple is now a shrine to Flas'ara, the Yīra of the city, a water spirit and manifestation of the sea that serves as the metaphorical blood of the city. Dothar: The last of the wards located on the island of Formen'ya.
Thàro: Named for another of the pre-Feloran tribes to be conquered and subsumed into the Royal and Imperial Feloran culture, this ward is home to many of the diverse lower classes of Dotharan society, such as the port workers and the hospitality industry's workforce. Tìl Formen'ya is not a particularly industrial city, although much of its sewage and plumbing infrastructure is located here.
Forest Town: The oldest quarter of the city, and the only place with surviving infrastructure from before the conquering of the Formeni by the ancient Felorans almost 7 millenia ago. Unlike the rest of the city, which is dominated by canals and orderly streets, the Ancient Town almost melts into the nearby rainforest on the slopes of Mt. Kimya, with multiple levels crossing the canopies of the trees, many of which have been stitched into abodes for the quarter's mostly Wood Elf population.
Important Locations
Mount Kimya: On the very outskirts of Forest Town is Mount Kimya, the site of a yearly festival held in the 4th week of every Heïa, known as Lèlɦeïa Joy.Formenyan Forum: A massive open-air market spilling out of the old imperial customs house. Immaculately well kept landscaping and a standardized system of merchant licensing give the Formenyan Forum a more orderly appearance than it's counterpart in Qua'adar. Travelers will find many interesting and rare goods from across Getninia at the Forum, and the weary may find refuge in the many inns that cater to the varied and diverse needs of the crews of the many merchant vessels that dock.
University of Melnor: Founded in 2453 EIE by Melnor Formeni in the aftermath of the Je'thor Reformations. The school became a long running source of political theory and recently, free press. Many groundbreaking discoveries and inventions of the last 300 years are attributable to graduates, scholars, or researchers with ties to the University.
Old Forge Inn: Located in the Ward of Thàro, the inn and tavern is a favourite of many adventurers and more salacious sailors who pass through the city in their travels. Run by Sarah O'Neill, a settler originally from Erigan, who will get along with just about anyone that isn't trying to kill her.
Demographics
The city is dominated politically by a half-elf mercantile class, itself at the top of a hierarchy of almost 70% half-elves, mostly from ethnically-Hadar human and Feloran (mostly Formen) elf parentage. The remaining population is mostly ethnically-Formen Wood Elves, who live mostly in the isolated Forest Town. Thirdly are full-blooded humans, sustained by a steady stream of migration from the less-organised Khedivite of Qua'adar. A smattering of other races including but not limited to Dwarves, Halfings, Dragonborn, and Tabaxi make their way through the port city, though few are permanent residents. In total, the population is 296,381.
Government
Tìl Formen'ya is arguably the most democratic settlement outside of rural independent communities in the known world. The city's Je'thor Council, a product of ancient reforms in the Early Imperial Era of the Feloran Empire, grew incapable of representing the needs of the city at-large and has been replaced with a system of smaller Ward Councils which then elect one of their own to sit on a larger committee. Eligible candidates must be upstanding citizens and capable of financing their own campaigns, though formally anyone of Feloran or Hadar-descent is allowed to run. Thanks to the city's broad citizenship laws, most of the adult population is considered eligible to vote in these elections, however.
Ward Councils make local laws and run the day-to-day administration of their ward. The Je'thor Committee makes laws applicable to the whole city, levies taxes & tariffs, and represents Tìl Formen'ya in alliance matters. The city also has a formal separation of secular administration and spiritual practice, and as such Shrine Custodians are not appointed by the City Council.
Defences
The city is proudly open, and ships sailing during the night will often rely on Til Formen'ya's notable lighthouse, the tallest building in the city to navigate into the port safely during poor visibility. The city is defended by a garrison of professional, paid, Dotharan Oyemorn, and it is home to the Dotharan Alliance's Morn Dolin standing fleet. The standing fleet is under the command of the Oyeleu Dotharic, which appoints one of the captains as Fleet Commander, while the Oyemorn are commanded by a Captain appointed by the Je'thor Committee.
The city is not entirely defenceless on its own, however, and at 6 various points across the city are barracks with professional Oyemörn troops on the payroll of the Alliance. Also in the city's possession are 10 cannons of a design based on Cyrenican models.
Industry & Trade
The largest city in the Alliance, Tìl Formen'ya is a prestigious trading city and port of call for thousands of merchants, as it is the intersection of the continental and oceanic trade routes between itself and Qua'adar, as well as the canal trade that sustains Inner Felora. Though initially founded for administrative reasons, over time the city took greater advantage of its location at the end of the main trade route through Inner Felora and later on across the Tealastrian. Most of the city's economy is geared towards the movement of goods through the city onwards to points beyond.
Infrastructure
Tìl Formen'ya is known for it's canals, which have been maintained for approximately 3,000 years and have actually been expanded, most notably with the Founder's Canal, which terminates near the Oyelèu. Originally, the canals were integrated with irrigation channels, however as the city expanded these too were converted into transitable waterways, and gondolas are a common way to get around the city and most of it's wards. Today, the original shape of Formen'ya island and the Banban River banks are nearly lost in the criss crossing of canals and bridges. It’s streets & canals are meticulously planned by a central committee of architects and city planners from a bureau in the Oyeleu ward. Wide avenues connected neatly kept streets.
Guilds and Factions
Dotharan trade and artisan guilds are nominally subordinate to the larger guilds of the Sarendian Trust, however in practice most of them are more concerned with power struggles and influence in the Alliance capital, and act largely independently of the Trust. The Formeni noble family has amassed a fleet of merchant vessels, including 2 Galleons of their own design, a reflection of their great influence in the city. Due to the city's democratic institutions, the influence of specific individuals is tempered by the inherent need to amass political support from enough of the citizenry to be elected, although there are more clandestine ways of influencing already elected officials. Different factions are more influential in certain wards than others, such as the Formen Council being dominated by academics or those supportive of the University of Melnor. Council elections can be notorious for their dirty campaigning and the vicious character assassination of opponents.
History
Founded at grounds of the ancient Formen central lodge, the city served as the new capital of the Feloran Province of Dothara from 4334 EIE until 1530 LIE. From 1610-1815 LIE, it was the launching point for most of the Northern Invasions, when troops, weapons, and material would be loaded onto ships at the end of the Grand Feloran Canal and onto the ocean-faring vessels bound for first Galisea and then the Feloran province of Qua'adar. During this period, the port was expanded multiple times, both the canal and ocean facilities, and the city ballooned in population.
The city was also the principal point of arrival in Felora from the Tealastrian flight, and was sacked by General Gloggnozz on his way to attempt to raze Soren. The city repurposed its wartime port infrastructure after weathering the Great Suffering The city's Je'thor Council was resconstiuted in 15 PE, and in 20 PE the Council began licensing merchants. Periodic raiding from the Northwestern Orc tribes continued however, pushing the city to increase its naval capabilities and seek alliances with its neighbors. In the proceeding centuries, into the modern day, the city has increasingly come to rely on its strategic positioning at the confluence of many oceanic and continental trading routes. In 229 PE, the city joined the Dotharan Alliance as a founding member, and was made the head of the alliance under the terms of the Alliance Charter.
Architecture
The city's architecture incorporates the local trees and greenery into neat rows lining the avenues and canals and even on second floors of buildings. Most of the city is built from the local stone, or from bricks made from mud in the nearby swampy regions of the rainforest. 80,000 hicora trees, known for their flower's sweet smell and unusually long lifespan (an entire feloran summer month) and purple-orange gradient petals are spread throughout the city in public spaces and other places of interest.
Geography
The city is located principally on Formen'ya Island of the Banban Delta, mostly flat, although newer construction has continued across on the ajoining banks. In the south of the city is Mount Kimya, whose slopes contain Forest Town. The city is bounded by hills and rainforest on all sides except the Tealastrian coastline. Tìl Formen'ya is known for its near-constant smell of sea and fauna, and for the emerald green of the hills and forest surrounding it.
Founding Date
4334 EIE
Alternative Name(s)
City of Great Ships
Type
Capital
Population
296,381
Inhabitant Demonym
Formen'yan
Location under
Included Locations
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Related Plots
"as you venture deeper into the city, the sounds of the market fade into the background buzz of the city. You notice the buildings get older, the and ever narrower less kept grow the streets. However it's not a neglected place, in fact it just lovingly lived in more than anything else. New bonds between races were forged here, and the buildings reflect that as you can see modern renovations and repairs made to ancient buildings. Eventually the city melts into the rainforests cushioning the slopes of Mt. Kimya, and the houses go into the trees."
