Katea

The massive docks of Northern Katea welcome visitors with a forest of docked ships interspersed with heavily armed watchtowers. Swarms of fishing boats move in and out of port, watched over by orange-painted Monitor Ships. Winding through the drydocks, Crusaders and auxiliary support staff can be found in droves in the dockyard district- gambling, drinking, socializing, and brawling with travelers and dockworkers. Dingy markets under the raised skeletons of warships sell massive fish, cart food, weapons, and good luck charms. Just beyond it and slightly to the East, the ships and the fashion change drastically. Domesticated otters run in pods carrying fish from the seafront, often wearing small tags and ribbons; figures in swan-feather capes chat in unusual tongues. The market here is bustling but much higher class than the dockyard- armed guards patrol around the shops as luxury goods from abroad are sold to middle class patrons and the representatives of the distant rich.
Every district is like that- a sudden break from the last, often heavily policed by community representatives. Katea has becoming a divided city. Districts are divided by ethnic group, social class, and above all seniority- the most established families, no matter how poor, have a special social power in Katea and often cling to their old districts. The newer arrival, the more the city becomes closed doors and city militias telling you to leave.
Overlooking the patchwork city are the spires of the Katea Citadel. Dominating the Northwestern skyline, the royal citadel is the seat of royal military authority throughout Torza. Always undergoing renovation and improvement, the citadel is a symbol of royal prestige and Crusading power- it has not been under siege by an outside threat since 1020ME, but the imposing spires and cutting edge advancements are more for moral and status than any meaningful defense.
Near the Citadel sits the Temple of the Four Winds- a cathedral with shrines larger than most neighborhood temples. In particular, the Shrines of Akeba of the West Wind (God of Wind, Wealth, and Prosperity) and Nakia of the East Wind (Patron Ancestor of Katea) are displays of magnificence intended to bless and impress entire passing Crusading hosts. The Golden Square directly outside the Temple hosts holy festivals, feast days, and military triumphs as well as the city's primary marketplace. This is the beating heart of the city- where crusaders, selkies, aristocrats, merchants, priests, and commoners meet.
It is also where riots, protests, and street politics happen. Nowadays, there is a protest for increased homesteading virtually every week- either for their own communities to receive farmland or for some other community to be deported to rural Torza.

Demographics

Humanoid: 92% Human (1-5% Feywilder) 6% Selkie; 1% Vesper;1% Other
Aquatic: 500 Octopeople, 800 Cuttlefolk, 1,200 Squiddles. The underwater population operates autonomously, working with Katea rather than for it.

Government

The Royal Government of Torza moves to Katea during winters, but the crown rarely handles island affairs directly. Since the unification of Torza and Katea, there has been an expectation of autonomy for the islands and governance is largely given to the Provost. The Provost is chosen by the Torzan monarch from the aristocrats and guild leadership of Katea (past attempts to circumvent this have led to assassination and near civil war). The Provost then appoints the Chief Justice to manage the courts, the Master of Coins to manage business and guild relations, the Captain of the Guard to manage the city guard, and the Master of the Port to manage the administration of the dockyards.
Much of the lower level management of the city is district based, with each community managing most of their local affairs. Guilds and local temples play prominent roles in hosting and legitimizing these local leaders.

History

Katea was founded in 220ME by a group of Holy Warriors from the nearby land of Torza who sought to create a military port for the Golden Crusade safe from the raids that had been intensifying from the North. According to legend, the great warrior Nakia the Falcon was inspired by the great Prince of the Gods Akeba to found Katea as a safe haven for humanity, and their Nakia's spirit guards the island to this day. Either way, the small military outpost quickly served as a unifying point for the surrounding villages, who merged into the town of Katea as refugees from Northern raids flooded in.
By 400ME, Katea ruled over the island and in many ways become synonymous with it. Katea was prosperous until 875, when internal strife began in the city's rulership. A series of bloody civil wars broke out from 875-950, which were only made worse by attempts by Crusading forces to intervene. Pirates from the largely abandoned coastline near the Feywilds began preying on supply convoys, and several times held Katea ransom.
Stability slowly returned from 950 to 1000, and by 1050 Katea had largely rebuilt and reunified. The pirates were slowly beaten back and weeded out with the assistance of a small coastal power on the mainland: the Crusader duchy of Torza. In 1100, Torza and Katea were unified by marriage, and from there began unifying the local coastal princedoms. 1100 to 1400 were centuries of relative peace, with infrequent and contained political disruptions. The population grew, as did the supply shipments from mainland Torza. The arrival of Voicebox technology in 1300 allowed Katea to interact with the local cephaperson population.
The fall of Kidon in 1450 reverberated in Torza- and saw the supply shipments threatened by Nefkan raiders. A long, protracted war with the Empire of Nefka began in the North, one that continues to this day. This was almost one lost- in the 1600's, Torza began losing princes to secessions in the West after a streak of defeats, and Katea began entering debt to pay for increasingly large supply shipments. As Torza and Kidon retracted, Katea's refugee population grew.
The city was saved from starvation and plague by the combined effort of Desmian crusaders and Selkie merchants. Selkies first arrived in the city in 1560, and the city's warm reception encouraged their quick return. By 1600, Selkies had marked Katea as a port of interest. Selkies were offered space in port for free as well as living quarters and supply storage in exchange for help with long-range food shipments. Medicine, healing potions, and food helped keep the city from crisis, and the selkies were warmly remembered for their generosity. This relationship developed and grew from 1600 to 1800, and Katea quickly became the Selkie base of operations in Northwestern Desmia. As shipping technology increased during the late 1800's and 1900's, more Selkies flooded into Northern Desmia from Samvara- and they had heard that Katea was a port of favor. In 1890, Selkies were granted their own permanent community near the docks in Katea in exchange for city and government support. While theoretically this was temporary quarters for a nomadic ship-going people, the permanent population of this community has grown.

Geography

The island of Katea is 12 miles long and 5 miles across, with 2 large hills and 2 small hills forming two small ridges, with 2 valley areas connected by coastline. The Northern valley and coastal fringe is urban, with the Southern valley, hills, and coast reserved for agriculture.
2 small islands, one two miles by two miles across and the other one mile by .78 miles, sit 2 and 4 miles off the Northern shore of Katea. The larger is called Bakazea, and the smaller is called Agazea (in reference to the two moons). Both are under direct control of Katea's city government and the three ports work together to repair and harbor the large number of incoming ship traffic.
An underwater mountain three miles to the Northwest has a small isolated reef that serves as the center of aquatic civilization in the area.
The islands are 43 miles away from the mainland at their closest point.

Type

City

Population

18,000 Humanoids, 300 cats; 2,500 aquatic

Inhabitant Demonym

Katean

Location under

Desmia

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Torza