Galara
Sharing much in values with its closest trading partner, the Islands of Atropae, Galara is the mainland beacon for arcane magic.
Demographics
The divide between the rich and poor is very much felt in Galara. 65% of the population is poor (or worse, landing in squalid or wretched living), and only 35% are comfortable or better.
In fact, the divide is so great that those who are aristocratically wealthy make up a whole 10% of the population!
Government
Galara is run by a city council.
Taxes are gathered when you enter into the city - 12% of all goods brought in for selling, while it is a flat 10 gold piece tax for visitors.
The council is shrewd, and has kept the city in good financial straits (the coffers being about 75% full).
Industry & Trade
As you would expect from a port city, Galara has several established and protected trade routes with neighboring cities and (especially) the Islands of Atropae. The city-states of the islands are a delicate network to manage, but the council has been able to keep everyone happy as of yet.
Galara also has a well-established and protected trade routes with Shrikehollow.
Districts
Councilor's Square
The administrative district is small and unobtrusive, with only a singular fountain to mark it.
Lecturefell
Ostentatiously named, Lecturefall was the brainchild of Councilor Venetia Hildebrand. Atropaen by birth, she insisted that Galara needed to keep up with its neighbors when it comes to magical and scholarly acumen.
Dopplefen is not such an intellectually inclined community, but the influence of Councilor Hildebrand has built up a flourishing university campus, mandatory schooling for pre-pubescent children (and stipends to their parents for the work that their children would have been doing in the family businesses), and an arcane academy.
As one of the most recent districts developed, it is furthest back from the ocean and therefore most closely matches the architecture of other Dopplefen cities further west (besides the obvious Atropaen influence from its sponsor).
The Seaway Corridor
A small water causeway that some smaller sailing vessels travel through to deliver their goods right to the backdoor docks of the businesses and homes of their customers, the areas between the docks is shallow - only about ankle deep - and divided into small tide pools that are cultivated into private fisheries.
Crabs, oysters, tuna, and bass are all found in these sun-warmed enclosures.
Nevaeh's Waif
A large swath of Galara is made up of slums - mainly buildings that were once single family homes that have been divided and divided again.
Unfortunately, a few of the areas that people choose to camp out (those that can't afford housing) are underneath the boardwalks that suffice to even out the walking paths. This means that they are beholden to whatever people may drop, piss, or shower on them at any time.
The Pelagic Gardens
Tourists often come to the Pelagic Gardens expecting wonderful roses and lilies. What they do not expect is a fetid pit of human remains. Corpses - all who die in Galara and those who died close enough to land to be returned when the boat is docked - are dumped here to be fed on by crabs and birds, the skulls becoming shells for the crustaceans, and the bones to be washed out to sea.
It is not seen as disrespectful to the dead to dump them here, however. In fact, to the Galarans, it is part of the penance they pay to Nerovae. The god of the oceans allows them to travel upon the sea safely, and they must submit to its waves after death.
However, it is still seen as graverobbing to wade into the gardens to take from the corpses. Items that are washed out to sea, then back onto the beaches are seen as being regifted to the living by Nerovae, and are even considered blessed.
Squall-King's Rest
The docks and ports right off the coast are full of shipbuilders, tanners, rope-makers, and traders that work together to make the ecosystem that powers Galara.
The Old Shipyards
Made up of docks (dry and otherwise) that have since flooded and rotted away, the old shipyards are a good place to go if you want to be away from prying eyes.
Be careful, though: not only are the docks themselves quite unstable, but the sandy tide pools that never fully drain are likely to give way to quicksand as well.
Architecture
The buildings are made of concrete, with long timbers used to construct hardy roofs to weather storms. All windows have large shutters on them to protect from high winds. The architecture is extremely distinctive, with angular structures, accented lines, and sharp-cornered overlays.
Family homes are generally set up in two-story structures, giving the residents an escape room should the bottom level flood.
Natural Resources
Galara may not have many specific items of trade - being a shipping port more than anything else - but they do trade in minerals and ores. Specifically, "bog iron" ore mined from the coastal swamps are popular, especially because the process of making steel is heavily reliant on a considerable supply of freshwater (provided by the river deltas).
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