Vikasha

From the Southern waters, Vikasha's spires look like a great nest of spines rising against the heavens themselves. The clear water of the bay shines beneath the great swarms of merchant ships, as hundreds of Squiddles dart through the kelp jungle far below. Great docks and drydocks welcome ships from around the world. Rows of welcoming flags flap in the perpetual breeze, and friendly painted murals adorn the dockside walls. To the left of the docks is the port fortress, linking into the great grey walls that wind through the hills and around the city. To the right, those same hills become cliffs that tower over the sea, with little houses and gardens peeking over the edge.
The port is colorful, bountiful, and orderly. Those with something valuable to trade congregate around Joint Corporate Offices, which perch over the docks in small stone towers surrounded by yellow-clad guards. Those simply here to visit or stop are pushed to the side, where the docks open into small makeshift markets with few guards in sight. This will set the tone for one's stay in Vikasha: everyone has a price and a value here, and the city won't be subtle about it.
Past the port, the city is worms its way inland between and up the surrounding hills. The low-lands of the city between the hills are multi-storied and sometimes stilted, a pell-mell mixture of horse-roads, footpaths, and even large ship-hauling ramps that allow ships or pieces of ships to be dragged through to the Northern port. Pigs, chickens, Giant Lobsters, dogs, and goats wander around this lowest level, adding to the absolute chaos of the local traffic.
The poorest live the lowest here - on the first floors of the lower city. The wealthier one is, the higher one can rise on the hills or in the buildings. To avoid the floor level entirely, some buildings have erected bridges between each other, forming great canopies of (sometimes unstable) architecture. The Vikashan love of towers and connecting archways adds to this feeling of looming buildings and urban jungle. Archways have been traditionally built as doorways for the wind, with small strings of bells hung along them so people know when they are being used. This provides a lot of ambient music (and added noise to the din below), as the wind is always blowing here, at least in the lowlands. The Wind-doors arches, inter-building bridges, and endless hidey-holes and weird hill-buildings give the city its title as "the city of doors".
While Vikasha can be quite dirty and hectic, it can also be quite beautiful and full of life. Gardens pop up along patios, rooftops, and ground where any sunlight deigns to fall; many a public fountain bustles with people and life. Markets, outdoor bars, and makeshift theaters dot the cityscape. And above it all are the hilltop spires; the fortifications, cathedrals, and homes of the wealthy that must, in classic Rakaran fashion, be as tall and pointy as possible.
Beyond the gauntlet of rising hills, great lakes abound in a large central valley. The city there fades into an almost rural countryside of dense farmland. Around the fringes and in bursts around the lakes, the city returns, only to fade again. Go far enough North, and Vikasha returns for the Northern port- a smaller version of the South.
Vikasha is a walled urban ecosystem in many ways, a great monument to construction itself that always seeks to go higher. For some, there is no more beautiful city; for others, it is a wretched hive of filth and oppression.

Demographics

100,000 humanoids live in Vikasha, making it the Kingdom of Rakara's largest city (and quite possibly Makal's ). 40% of the population is Dryad, 30% is Human, 15% is Prism, 10% is Half-Dryad, and 5% is other. 
A mirror settlement of Squiddles lives in Vikasha's harbor. The settlement is fairly small, with around 3,000 Squiddles, Cuttlefolk, and Octopeople combined. Seasonally migrating Squiddle nomad cities often merge with this settlement to trade, though. This aquatic town is entirely independent from Vikasha's political rule, and belongs instead to the Undersea Federation of Alasha.

Government

The official ruler of Vikasha is the hereditary lord-mayor, an aristocrat in charge of the city's defense and maintenance of the fortifications. Much of the actual local power is concentrated in the Chamber of Guilds, which is currently monopolized by the Rakaran Compact Corporation (RCC). The RCC represents a coalition of foreign corporations that rule the Kingdom - and of that coalition, the Aludarzir Corporation is the most focused on controlling the city of Vikasha. The Aludarzir corporation specializes in shipping, shipbuilding, and spice trading - and basically has the local Lord-Mayor Tsuto XII locked away in a gilded cage. Despite the illusion of corporate unity, the RCC corporations do regularly contest control over markets and industries. 
Most day-to-day functions of the city are managed by either Temples, Lay Societies, or community gangs.

Industry & Trade

Vikasha is a massive trade hub and manufacturing center. Artisanal goods such as iron tools, textiles, glass, pottery, bricks, and furniture are produced and sold across the continent. The spice trade, magic item trade, and exotic lumber trades are all huge industries here. Despite all this, agriculture is a surprisingly big activity here: food is grown in gardens and the interior fields, as is sugar and other spices. Some low-level mining even takes place in the hills. Anyone can find work in this city: from artisans to sailors to builders to farmers, its all here.

Guilds and Factions

The Corps: So, the big name here is the Rakaran Joint Corporate Compact. But the Compact just keeps the peace. It is their investors, the Corps, the call the shots in this city. First of all, you have the Aludarzir Corporation. Friendly looking bunch, clean, professional, and international. They are all about shipping and spices, generally speaking. You mess with the port traffic, and you'll have an Aludarzir hit on you faster than a pigeon on street food. Keep out of their way (and out of sight if they want some place to look pretty) and they don't much care what you get up to. Preaching, smoking, gambling, even killing, they care only when it hits their bottom line.
Then comes the Iskariba Family Corporation. You might know them from their cheery "down home in Zerua" marketing. And don't get me wrong, they do value their extended family above all things (makes one think of a Circles syndicate sometimes). But these corpos handle mercenaries, weapons, and Windweavers, and basically own the Goldeneyes - so these are your tax collectors. The Iskariba are all down to earth with clients, but if you are some poor sod who lives here? They are all nastiness, with a streak of Zeruan cultural supremacy. They keep their people in line most of the time, but they let them go all-out in their cruelty whenever they smell even a hint of tax evasion. Industry-wise, they tend to be very involved in the iron trade here. 
The Aizadara Stock Company comes in a neat third here. They are a traditional rival to Aludarzir, with a lot of ties to spices, shipping, shipbuilding, and textiles. The Aizadara are a rather fragmented bunch, who operate through a complex web of franchises and subsidiaries that are not above fighting each other for local dominance. They are not quite as effective as Aludarzir, but they are master marketers. Their Kamada religious overtones have made them relatively popular with the city's temples and populace - though they haven't quite succeeded at fully co-opting the local religious societies just yet. 
The Greater Makal Trading Company is another dark horse that has mobilized some small amount of popular support. The Greater Makal Company specializes in luxuries and distant foreign goods, particularly Healing Potions. The Company has sought to cash in on a quirk of Rakaran culture - that communities here often grow dangerous poisons as a village or neighborhood activity - to enter a larger global market for apothecary work. They are also not above handling illegal drugs or substances, allowing them to start "buying up" local criminal groups. This has made them many enemies, but also many local allies.
The B&G Company is another Zeruan company, interested in finance and chemicals. They are not particularly motivated to mess with local Vikashan politics, but focus instead on trying to corner the local banking and money-changing markets. Don't expect to see them around town - they are elitists that prefer to keep their name in fancy buildings, far away from filth like us. If they do get into the dirty business of real life, expect them to hide behind some shell company or subsidiary. 
And last of the Big Six is the Alashan Federate Company - basically just the aquatic state of Alasha in corporate form. No one much minds these guys - they can be cut-throat when threatened, but don't seem to know or care to know what goes on in surface-goer heads. 
The Goldeneyes: A small social clique of mercenaries and tax collectors that live apart from the rest of society. They are a fiercely martial and rather rough-and-tumble bunch, and are typically contracted in to work as city guards or investigators. 
The Faithful Societies: Most of the day-to-day business here is managed by these religious groups - almost always Kamada. They clean up trash, feed the poor, educate kids, treat illnesses, resolve disputes, and care for orphans. Each has its own 'personality', ranging from faux-aristocratic aspirations to excited sports enthusiasts to hallucinating mystics to intolerant zealots - but beneath that local culture is a shared faith. These local groups are often at odds with the Corps and Goldeneyes, but not always - corporate elites are known to mobilize these groups against their enemies in the eternal tug-of-war of corporate influence. Some, meanwhile, are led to local elites and merchants seeking to reclaim their "rightful place" in society. Others are tied to criminal groups. And some are just sincere, down to earth mutual aid societies. The lines aren't always clear on these things.

History

Early History

Vikasha was settled long before the "official" city was consecrated in 950 - a bustling city of a similar name even sat in the exact same spot prior to its destruction in the volcanic cataclysm of 480. A similar volcanic eruption triggered the founding of modern Vikasha - storms destroyed many of the existing ports in the area and threatened to cut off the peninsula from the mainland, so merchants needed a safe harbor that could grow its own food. A local fishing village emerged as the safest possible harbor, and it grew naturally into a city. The city thrived on its own as a trading and fishing community until it was officially deemed a city and therefore "built" in 950 by the local ruling aristocrat Tsotu Vikash.
Tsotu ruled as the first and only independent monarch of Vikasha - his children were conquered by the Kingdom of Ilwora in 1000 ME. Ilwora, despite being a harsh militaristic regime, immediately recognized Vikasha's value as a trade port. Rather than wring it dry, the Ilworan monarchs gave it autonomy under the rule of their extended family. The city flourished under the light touch of the Ilworans, and soon emerged as a trade hub and tax haven for elites across the continent. The entire peninsula was essentially made into a small vassal state that was walled off from the mainland into its own little world.

Rakaran Rule

In 1583, the Kingdom of Rakara gained independence - taking Vikasha with it. The new rulers kept many of the old privileges, but revoked Vikasha's political autonomy. They also opened the border between the peninsula and the mainland, allowing a surge of immigration from mainland Makal into Vikasha. To try and counter the assimilation back into Rakara, Vikashan local elites tried to import traders from Zerua and other parts of the continent to "counter-balance" the new Rakaran mainland residents. One group were Ibaishan: residents of the densely-packed province of central Zerua that were fleeing government persecution drom 1590 to 1620. These refugees brought the idea of The Circles with them: essentially, urban worker's unions and community mutual aid societies. These Circles caught on among the local Vikashans, and soon cross-pollinated with the local guilds.
Another group Vikashans welcome in during the mid 1600s were merchants from Maradia. This group really settled well into Vikasha, and brought with them curious constructs known as The Empty, which they periodically rented to the city elites for public works. This taste of robotic labor enticed Vikasha (and greater Rakara) to reach out to Maradia in the 1680s and 1690s to possibly open a Construct Factory and to join the greater Keveket religious community. The Empire of Zerua intervened in 1690, and Zeruan corporations began fighting Maradian merchants for Vikashan contract work. It soon became obvious that Vikasha was to be the commercial battleground between these two juggernauts; and so, the local lord (Duke Tsotu V) convened the local guilds and Circles to create a united front. Together, they created the Vikasha Chamber of Guilds, a democratic assembly of artisans and lesser merchants that met with the lord-mayor and greater merchant's assembly to hash out policy and share information.
The smaller artisans and petty merchants rose to prominence with the creation of the Chamber of Guilds, leading to a distinct Vikashan middle class. The 1691 agreement also led to the Enemy of the Day shifting from Rakarans to Maradians/Zeruans. By 1800, Vikasha had fully assimilated into Rakaran culture. The 1700s were the true golden age of Vikasha, as groups from across Ekraht competed to invest in the city and curry favor; much of this was invested in great public works and expanded infrastructure such as a sewer system, a clean drinking water system, and drydocks.

The Age of Revolutions

But all things must come to an end, good or evil. The age of prosperity ended in 1805, when Zerua drove out the Maradians in the Battle of Zadhara bay. The Corporate period began, and outside merchants were able to systematically disassemble the Chamber of Guilds. Feeble attempts by the lord mayor (Tsotu IX) to assert local sovereignty were put down by a brief blockade by Zeruan merchant marines in 1846. Quality of life fell, money flooded out of the city, and dissatisfied workers roamed the streets in gangs. Cults and religious movements abounded as the old institutions of resistance were destroyed by Zeruan might - and these were not taken seriously as threats by the commercial elite. That proved to be a fatal misstep, and religious populism turned into open revolution in 1895. Youths (many dressed as monks) stormed the streets, looted corporate offices, and burnt many ships at the dockyards. Vikasha was a battleground all through the Rakaran Youth Revolution, and was almost occupied by a Zeruan fleet at the end of the revolution in 1897.
The more moderate revolutionary elites were able to seize control of the kingdom in 1898, but the spirit of radical revolution was alive in the streets of Vikasha. Religious societies and communes took over chunks of the city's operations, and the local lord-mayors played to this religious populism to secure political power. Temples were built, Zeruan bigwigs were humiliated, and the parts of low-town that had begun to sink permanently into the marshy ground were renovated. The local elites never gave up any of their power per-say, but conditions improved nonetheless. In 1999, the Rakaran government was couped by Zerua in reaction to these offenses and reforms - and Vikasha fell under corporate control. 
While Corporate-owned Vikasha technically still belongs to the lord mayor, it is now de-facto divided between the companies and merchants of the Rakaran corporate compact. The citizens of Vikasha did try and revolt in 2012, but the revolt was brutally suppressed. The mercenaries that enforce the new regime have responded to local resistance by steadily increasing their strictness and brutality in day-to-day policing. This has done rather bad things to the local communities and broken all trust between citizens and law enforcement. In recent years, the mercenary-police have outright evacuated certain poor areas. These un-guarded areas are only visited by official city guards for the purpose of arresting dissenters, gathering taxes, or enacting group punishments - the day to day work of the guards have been taken over by local religious lay societies.

Architecture

Vikashan architecture has always emphasized height, but the focus on pointy towers really set in after the 1600s. Massive archways, pointy towers, rib vaults, columns, and flying buttresses have since become synonymous with Vikoshan Modern. Even the housing and shops built with government assistance in the 1700s follow these trends, and the "bones" of the city are quite stylish if you can see them. The rest of the city, the affordable bits everyone else built, tend to obscure these foundations: housing, shops, and community spaces have grown around these massive buildings like layers of scaffolding. 
Add to that the layer of gardens, vines, and kudzu, and you have a city that is an urban acrobat's paradise. Do beware of falling objects, though.

Geography

Vikasha sits on a thin peninsula about 9 miles across, 47 miles West of the main body of the island of Makal. The city is surrounded by a small cluster of hills around 200 feet tall, with two lakes - the small lake Aybela, and the 2 mile-across lake Lorun. These lakes provide valuable freshwater for drinking and farming, and the surrounding hills provide much-needed shelter from summer storms.

Natural Resources

The greatest resources Vikasha has are location and water: the city is perfectly positioned for trade, protected from the storms and currents that otherwise complicate the region, and has the freshwater to sustain a population. The rich farmland of the inner valley does also produce sugar and foodstuffs, and small mines in the local hills produce prism food.

Founding Date

950 ME

Type

Large city

Population

100,000 humanoids, ??? cats, 3000 aquatic

Inhabitant Demonym

Vikashan

Location under

Makal

Owning Organization

Kingdom of Rakara

Related Plots

• Leaving Vikasha
• Swimming in Static
• The Creeping Rot