Rivermouth
Since Sysa is the divine patron of this city it is a deep well of art and culture. The main streets are beautiful and kept clean by Rulin or hired Vulpia who's job it is to keep the publicly seen parts of the city nice and presentable. The grandest and most beautiful entertainment houses are here. Many theaters and art museums line the main streets, almost outnumbering the more practical buildings like shops. Painters and sculptors and play-writes have studios all over the city. The College here is almost half devoted to the study of fine art and the temple here has room to be debated as the most beautiful in the empire. Tourists and travelers are treated to a spectacular display of color and music and wealth. The upper city and temple district where the upper castes live is fairy-tale beauty and perfection.
As might be expected in a city devoted to Sysa there is a darker side to Rivermouth that travelers don't usually see. The town is not as wealthy as it looks from the main streets. The population has far outgrown the city's resources and extreme poverty is not just common, but normal in the dark and warren-like backstreets of this port city. This is due in part to artists from elsewhere traveling to Rivermouth in an attempt to make their name, not realizing the dire circumstances they will be putting themselves in, and partially to the fact that the lower castes, once here, will never be able to earn the money to leave. If you speak to anyone in the slums here they would describe it as a place where dreams go to die.
The Matriarch of the city Maika is one of the oldest ruling matriarchs in the empire and would be the first to tell you that it hasn't always been this way. The city was only just starting to go downhill when she took her position and as a young matriarch she was sure she could turn it around. After years of petitioning the High Queen for help and more resources with no help given she realized she would have to depend on funding from the nobles of the city. This marked the true beginning of the end for Rivermouth as Maika could only continue to receive support from the nobles if she was catering to their desires for the city, and as long as they weren't stepping in the filth of the slums the problem was invisible to them. She watched in horror as all her power as matriarch was effectively stripped away, until after decades of this she finally gave up trying all together. In recent years the status quo has been disrupted by a gang calling themselves Sysa's Helpers. They have been taking control of the lower city, providing food and medicine to the common people. The Nobles only see them as a threat to their profits but Maika, to the great frustration of the nobles, has refused to even try to stop them.
As might be expected in a city devoted to Sysa there is a darker side to Rivermouth that travelers don't usually see. The town is not as wealthy as it looks from the main streets. The population has far outgrown the city's resources and extreme poverty is not just common, but normal in the dark and warren-like backstreets of this port city. This is due in part to artists from elsewhere traveling to Rivermouth in an attempt to make their name, not realizing the dire circumstances they will be putting themselves in, and partially to the fact that the lower castes, once here, will never be able to earn the money to leave. If you speak to anyone in the slums here they would describe it as a place where dreams go to die.
The Matriarch of the city Maika is one of the oldest ruling matriarchs in the empire and would be the first to tell you that it hasn't always been this way. The city was only just starting to go downhill when she took her position and as a young matriarch she was sure she could turn it around. After years of petitioning the High Queen for help and more resources with no help given she realized she would have to depend on funding from the nobles of the city. This marked the true beginning of the end for Rivermouth as Maika could only continue to receive support from the nobles if she was catering to their desires for the city, and as long as they weren't stepping in the filth of the slums the problem was invisible to them. She watched in horror as all her power as matriarch was effectively stripped away, until after decades of this she finally gave up trying all together. In recent years the status quo has been disrupted by a gang calling themselves Sysa's Helpers. They have been taking control of the lower city, providing food and medicine to the common people. The Nobles only see them as a threat to their profits but Maika, to the great frustration of the nobles, has refused to even try to stop them.
Government
Though the Matriarchy rules on paper the city is under almost the complete control of the gang known as Sysa's Helpers
Founding Date
unknown, as a settlement has existed here as far as written history records
Alternative Name(s)
Historically known as Bosh
Type
City
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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