Mupya
"The city is the last free city on the Asimara river and as such is where all the human garbage that the Kolu don't want in their cities gathers."
Mu'pya is a city on the Asimara River and the northernmost city on the river not part of the Kolu Republic. The city's close proximity and ease of access to other cities on the Asimara combined with its proximity to the Republic without being part of it makes it a hotbed for black market trade compared to its sister cities on the river, though its poor reputation is disputed by locals.
Demographics
The city's central location, trade importance, and reputation for relaxed law enforcement has lead it to become something of a melting pot with several people of different cultures making their way to take advantage of the opportunities the city has to offer. The city is majority Arak'en, but has large Kolu, Hunisian, and Deyvian populations and small but noticeable Demian and Ekoyan populations as well.
Government
The city is officially a part of Ven'arak, but has several longstanding privileges that grant it a great deal of autonomy and discretion. The City Council consists of representatives elected by ward headmen, prominent guilds, temple authorities and merchant houses. The council itself largely exists to ensure city defense and mediate disputes between its prominent factions, not to administer the city day to day. Most guilds, trade houses, temples, and wards are largely expected to manage their own affairs, contributing to the city's reputation for weak governance.
Industry & Trade
Mupya is said to be the drug capital of the world as the city produces and consumes a large number of intoxicants, medicinal compounds, and substances illicit elsewhere and occasionally in the city as well. The reputation is not baseless but it is a byproduct of the city's trade location, manufacturing industries, access to medicinal compounds, and the transient nature of many of its inhabitants. The reputation nonetheless has become somewhat self-sustaining as drug runners from abroad have established business within and around the city.
The transient nature of many of the city's residents has lead to a large entertainment industry, consisting of theaters, sporting events, taverns, and, most notoriously among outsiders, prostitution. Most of these industries are self-policing under their respective guilds, leading to varying levels of quality between trades.
The majority of the city's industry is of a far more legitimate nature, primarily in the form of flour and textile mills, forestry and carpentry, and herbalism, though with notable smaller scale trade skills represented as well.
Guilds and Factions
The City's day to day power is largely vested in the guilds, who have power to self-regulate and are largely left to their own devices so long as no inter-guild dispute is raised to the city council attention.
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