Jakott
The capital Ferio Province of and seat of the province’s Satrap, Jakott is a wealthy city, famous for its hot springs and their supposedly healing waters. The many baths and spas there draw in wealthy punters from across the Empire of Turelion, including influential members of the Imperial Court and on occasion the Emperor of Turelion and Kelbonnar himself.
Demographics
Jakott is regarded as being one of the most affluent settlements in the Empire of Turelion, a stark contrast to the poorer nature of the province it is the capital of. This means that there are a greater proportion of people ranked by the Imperial Bureau as in the upper and middle income brackets, which has resulted in an astronomical rise in property prices, that has forced most of the city’s poorest residents into slums constructed outside of the city’s walls on the slopes of the nearby Dragons' Tears Mountains.
Government
The city is governed on behalf of the Satrap of Ferio Province by the city Alderman, who, along with their staff, is responsible for the operation of the city and its harbour.
Defences
The city is defended by a curtain wall that extends around the entirity of the city, with several integrated keeps along its length.
Jakott, as are all Provincial capitals is garrisoned by a force of Ferio Provincial troops, as well as a force of Imperial Drakes placed in the city by the Emperor. In addition, the city benefits from the presence of the knightly house House Dalman, who have sworn themselves to protecting the hot springs that they believe are sacred.
Though the area is in need of additional defence from the incursion of creatures from the Dragons' Tears Mountains, as well as occasional attacks from the The Exiled Tribes who dwell deep in the mountains, no efforts have been made to put a defensive cordon around the slums that have popped up outside the city walls, as Jakott’s poorer inhabitants have been forced out of the city.
Industry & Trade
Jakott has never been a centre of industry or trade, and it imports far more than the farms in its hinterland or the production facilities that are present in the city can produce. Because the city benefits from the traffic of so many wealthy citizens attending its baths and spas, these facilities have become the lynch pin of Jakott’s economy, and are the major employers and purchasers of goods and services in the area.
Infrastructure
Given that Jakott is a city that was essentially built by the Empire of Turelion, specifically for use as the provincial capital of Ferio Province, it has benefitted from being given an integrated, sewer and road system, as well as an aqueduct providing fresh drinking water from springs in the Dragons' Tears Mountains right from the off, which makes it one of the most well planned and sanitary settlements in the whole of Kelbonnar.
However, as in many places, the expansion of the city is limited by its stone walls, and so the poorer citizens have increasingly been pushed further and further from the centre of the city, with many living in slums beyond the boundaries of the city’s stone walls, where they are not able to benefit from Jakott’s civic infrastructure.
Jakott is one of the few places in Ferio Province to be connected to a reliable road, the Plains Way which traverses the Province. However, as the long journey through The Wresmella is very unappealing to most who wish to travel to the city to partake of its spa waters, Jakott has its own dedicated Firewing port.
Guilds and Factions
As the city is a well known spa and medical centre, the spa owners and medical professionals who operate in Jakott have grouped together to form a group known as the Blessed Guild, to protect their interests and ensure that they are able to operate to a high level they deem to be sufficient, without dilution of their ranks by people such as Hedge Mages that they regard as medical quacks, and to ensure that they are able to continue to charge the exorbitant prices that they deem their services are worth.
As a statistically more affluent settlement in the Empire, the Scarlets criminal organisation have a strong presence in the city, and they own and operate numerous pleasure houses in the districts where most of the spa complexes are situated. In several cases these operations run by the Scarlets are even situated within a spa complex, so that, as the Scarlets would put it, a holistic treatment is offered.
Finally, another important faction within the city is House Dalman, a Knightly house separate from the Imperial Order of Knights, sworn to protect the sites of the hot springs that they believe to be sacred gifts from the Divine Desolation Hospita to heal the faithful, as well as being sworn to aiding in the protection of the city in general and its surroundings.
Tourism
The hot springs that naturally emerge in the area of the city, have meant that the area Jakott is situated in was renowned as being a place of healing well before the rise of the Empire of Turelion, though admittedly on a much more local level than it is now. Since the establishment of the Empire and the alteration of the small village that predated the current city into the capital of Ferio Province, wealthy patrons come from all around the Empire to relax in the many luxury spa and bath complexes that have been constructed there, and to receive medical treatments. Even the Emperors have been known to periodically come to take the waters at Jakott, something that gives the city and the position of the Satrap of Ferio Province who oversees it a large amount of cachet amongst the other Imperial bureaucrats and members of the Imperial Court.
Architecture
The surrounding tree dense slopes of the Dragons' Tears Mountains means that most of the buildings in Jakott are constructed from locally sourced timber, with local craftspeople refining their construction with this material to a high level of competency and artistic skill.
Jakott’s buildings have a unique architectural flair of their own, with buildings in the city having characteristically large, overhanging and gently sloping roofs, liberal use of ornately carved wooden columns and large amount of spaces that can be opened to outdoor spaces such as enclosed courtyards via sliding doors and removable walls.
Of course, the characteristic style of Jakott’s buildings only really extends to the dwellings and structures of the local government, the Satrap and the upper and middle class citizens of the city, with the poor echelons of society having to make do with whatever dwellings they can throw together.
Geography
Jakott has been constructed on a relatively steep slope that leads down from the surrounding tree covered foothills of the Dragons' Tears Mountains, which eventually slopes down to area of plains, The Wresmella in the east. The slope that the city has been built on is so steep that in order to accommodate the construction of most of its buildings, artificial terraces have been created to provide a flat, stable foundation for structures to be erected upon.
In addition to this, Jakott has a rather unique geological feature when compared to the surrounding region in that several hot springs emerge above ground within the footprint of the city. These springs, thought to originate deep beneath the Dragons' Tears Mountains to the west have allowed the numerous spas that the town is famous for to spring up and serve the health needs of wealthier citizens from the local area and much further afield.
Founding Date
3AIF
Alternative Name(s)
The Imperial Spa
Type
City
Population
C.30,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Jakottian
Location under
Owning Organization
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