Alondis
Built on the vast, turtle like, shell of a long dead titan of the deep; the capital city of Alondis sits off the east coast of The Realm of Alondaeri. She is home to The Alondaeri Circle, led by Ol’shan The Wise. The city is split into two districts, the Shelltop, the region built upon the shell, and the Undershell, everything that exists within the shell itself.
The Shelltop
A collection of winding alleyways, tight confines, and compact buildings clustered together, the Shelltop can seem labarynthian at first. There are some small squares and open spaces, but buildable space is a premium in Alondis, so these are few and far between. When people expand, they do so upwards; as such, buildings in Alondis are ramshackle and eclectic in their construction. It is not uncommon to see a tavern of of stone and timber construction, with a driftwood extension built atop, providing housing for staff and patrons alike. In the centre of the Shelltop is a large open space, where in any other town you may expect to find a central plaza, Alondis has a gaping known to locals as The Skylight, or The Dive, depending on whichever side of it you live on) to the ocean flowing through the Undershell below. In this space, where one of the titanic segments of shell is gone, traffic and goods can flow between the Shelltop and the Undershell. Rickety gantries, stairs, and ladders allow for foot traffic; and surrounding the gap are dotted huge wooden cranes to lift cargo from the docks below, or straight from visiting ships themselves.The Undershell
Despite being contained within absolute boundaries, the Undershell manages to feel less claustrophobic than the Shelltop above. This due in no small part to the wide channel of sea water that flows from head to tail through the centre of the district. Necessarily clear of obstruction, this clear space allows vessels to pass in, through, and out; bringing trade and passengers from along the coast of The Realm of Alondaeri, or from nations further afield. Even when these rarer visits are absent, a veritable flotilla of fishing vessels can be found darting in and out of the Undershell. Two great drawbridges span the channel, one at each end of the Undershell, allowing foot traffic to pass between the two halves of the Undershell without having to ascend to the gantries and walkways high up near the Shelltop. These Drawbridges also have the benefit of serving as an added layer of defence, as when they’re lowered, any ship hoping to carry invaders into the Undershell would wreck itself on the thick iron plated timbers of a bridge. Buildings down here are a clambering mixture of small shops and homes, warehouses, and guild halls. Piled on top of each other, and principally of wooden construction (although the lowest layer have thick stone foundations, standing in the ocean waters as they do), it’s normal to find that in order to visit a fishmonger, you may have to pass through a smithy; or to reach a bridge or staircase, you may have to meander through a warehouse. This necessarily means that what may be a thoroughfare during the day, becomes locked and guarded at night; confusing for visitors, beneficial for pickpockets, and now second nature to locals.Demographics
Alondis, like most of the The Realm of Alondaeri is principally populated by Humans, with a smattering of other races. Unlike the rest of The Realm of Alondaeri however, there is a significant population of Tortles in Alondis.
Government
Alondis is, like the rest of the The Realm of Alondaeri, governed by The Alondaeri Circle.
Defences
Alondis, simply by dint of it’s location, is relatively well defended for a capital city. Connected to the land on the west side by only two openings in the shell and a wooden bridge, this makes natural choke points for defenders to hold. With two openings in the east, and one each at the north and south, Alondis is slightly more vulnerable from the water, but these are easily blockaded from the inside, and with ready access to fish and water, no siege could hope to win out by starvation.
Architecture
The buildings on the Shelltop are mostly constructed from driftwood and timber from the forests on the mainland. Stone is used for foundations in the Undershell
Geography
Alondis is located off just shore of the mainland, in the Obsidian Ocean.
Natural Resources
Alondis has free and easy access to the ocean, granting it plentiful fish. The forests and plains of the The Realm of Alondaeri suplement this with plenty of game, herd animals, grains, and fresh cut timber.
Alternative Name(s)
The Great Shell
Type
City
Inhabitant Demonym
Shellbacks
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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