Mevania (Mah-van-ea)

The city of Mevania located on The Velvet Coast  is the capital of the city state of Mevania and was a major population centre of the former Imperial League. Situated near the mouth of the Artis River, Mevania is a major trading hub and the wealthiest city state on The Velvet Coast.

Government

Mevania is ruled, in theory, by a delicate balance of power. In practice, that balance tilts heavily toward the man who commands the swords and the coffers: Lord Chancellor Octavo Seneca.
Cato Seneca, Octavo's ancestor, seized the city during the chaos of the Imperial Civil War. Lord Chancellor Seneca boasts the loyalty of Mevania's standing, professional army and the tacit support of powerful guilds, holding Mevania in a firm, if uneasy, grip.
Beneath him sits the Merchant Senate, a legislative body composed of the city's wealthiest merchants, guildmasters, and the few noble houses that survived the League’s fall. Senators debate laws, taxes, and trade agreements within the marble halls of the Senate Forum, draped in the faded banners of Imperial victories. Yet few decisions are truly made there — real power shifts hands in private salons, whispered over fine wine and weighed out in coin.
The judicial authority of Mevania rests with the Tribunal, a court of scribes, judges, and marshals tasked with interpreting and enforcing the city’s Charter Law. In theory, the Tribunal stands above faction and favor. In reality, its halls echo with the shuffle of bribes and the whispered bargains of powerful merchants. Justice, like velvet or wheat, is just another commodity in Mevania.

Defences

Mevania’s defences are a patchwork of old Imperial engineering, recent military renovations, and makeshift reinforcements. The city is encircled by aging stone walls, punctuated with towers, gatehouses, and battlements, many of which date back to the days of the Imperial League. While some sections remain formidable, others are crumbling or overgrown — particularly on the outskirts of the Ashen Ward.
The Gates separating the heart of the city from the Ashen Ward the are the best maintained, guarded by professional soldiers loyal to the Seneca regime. The Port of Artis has its own defensive network of watchtowers, signal posts, and retractable harbor chains that can block incoming ships in emergencies. Fortified quays and barricades protect against naval raids.
Fortis Isle, situated within view of the harbor, houses the fortress-monastery of the Order of Alerio. Though not officially part of the city guard, the Order maintains siege equipment, training yards, and a standing garrison — and is known to intervene during civil unrest.
A series of signal towers and watch beacons run along the river mouth and inner districts, used to relay warnings during conflict or inclement weather. A small city arsenal in the Administrative District contains siege weapons, ballistae, and catapults, though many are outdated.
Though formidable on paper, Mevania’s defenses are vulnerable to internal strife: loyalties split between the Merchant Senate, the Order, and the Seneca Loyalists have left gaps in cohesion. Still, the city is more than capable of repelling invasions by its City State neighbours, pirate raids, or attempts to circumvent the Mevanian Navy's stranglehold on the Mouth of the Artis— as the Florians have learned.

Industry & Trade

The Mevanian Economy is centred around the production of consumer goods from imported raw materials. Mevania's ports are the destination of trading vessels from across the known world, predominent imports being silk from the Empire of Syama (used to produce the velvet that gives the coast its name), wheat and cured meats from Novaya, and artisinal and intellectual goods from Free City of Cymara.
Major Industries: Shipbuilding, tailoring, consumer goods

Infrastructure

Mevania's infrastructure reflects its dual nature as both a decaying remnant of the Imperial League and a thriving modern trading power. Ancient stone roads still connect the city's districts, worn smooth by centuries of foot traffic, carts, and trade. Aqueducts from the Imperial era provide fresh water to much of the Administrative District and Velvet Row, while makeshift wells and water bearers service the Docklands and Ashen Ward.
The city boasts an extensive sewer system beneath the Old Quarter and Velvet Row, although much of it is in disrepair and used more often by smugglers and rats than sanitation officials. Cranes, pulleys, and dockside lifts dominate the Port of Artis, where warehouses rise in tightly packed tiers along the riverside.
Public lighting is sparse outside of Velvet Row and the Senate Forum — most streets rely on lanterns hung by private citizens or left in darkness. The city guard, underfunded and stretched thin, operates out of garrison towers scattered across the city, with the most reliable presence around the Tribunal House, Port of Artis, and the Administrative District.
The fortifications of Mevania remain partially intact, with curtain walls, gatehouses, and towers still manned at key points, though many older sections have crumbled or been overtaken by squatters. Watch fires are kept burning at night along the riverside to warn of potential Florian naval activity.

Districts

Port of Artis: The bustling harbor district where cargo from around the world is unloaded. Crowded, chaotic, dangerous after dark.
Velvet Row: Home to luxury boutiques, auction houses, and banks. The wealthiest Mevanians live here.
Old Quarter: Crumbling tenements, shady taverns, and aging plazas from the Imperial days. The families of the district typically trace their history back to the days of the Imperial League.
The Ledger Quarter: The Ledger Quarter serves as the mercantile heart of Mevania, centralised between the Port of Artis to the North and the coastal docklands to the south. Here, fortunes are made and lost across crowded streets, hawker stalls, and counting houses.
Docklands: Slums, rundown taverns, gang hideouts and brothels hugging the water. Infamous for violence, and corruption.
Administrative District: Home to the Senate, the Tribunal House and various administrative buildings.
The Ashen Ward: Blackened ruins of a fire from a civil war skirmish decades ago. Now inhabited by squatters, beggars, and desperate souls.

Guilds and Factions

The true pulse of the city beats not in its Senate or courts, but in the jostling, snarling world of guilds, factions, and hidden powers.
At the docks and shipyards, the Shipwrights’ Guild of Artis reigns supreme. No ship leaves Mevania’s waters without their blessing, and their masters command the loyalty of thousands of laborers, carpenters, and sailors. In wartime, their ships become the teeth of Mevania’s navy; in peacetime, they build the fortunes of merchant lords.
In the glittering salons of Velvet Row, the Velvet Guild spins silk and influence with equal skill. Their members craft the luxurious textiles that have made the Velvet Coast famous, and their artistry dictates fashion not only in Mevania, but across half the known world. Woe to any trader who attempts to undercut their monopoly.
Below the sight of polite society lurks the Crimson Consortium, a syndicate of smugglers, black-market merchants, and mercenary captains. Based in the Docklands, the Consortium thrives on forbidden cargo: stolen relics, illegal magic, elven artifacts, and worse. Some senators secretly owe their fortunes to the Consortium's "unofficial" shipping routes — though they would slit throats to keep such debts hidden.
In eyeshot of the port of Artis lies the fortress monestary of the Order of Alerio on Fortis Isle. Cloaked in the tattered idealism of the Human Rebellion, the Order champions purity of blood and the memory of the Imperial League. They publicly parade through the streets, dragging elves, and other "undesirables" before the Tribunal. Behind closed doors, they are vigilantes, inquisitors, and assassins — feared even by those who mouth their scripture.
The Foreign Traders’ League, made up of Syamese silk merchants, Cymaran scribes, Novayan traders, and Halfling caravans, clings to influence despite Mevania’s xenophobia. Barred from the Merchant Senate and hunted by Alerian zealots, they have formed secret lodges to protect their interests, operating under the constant threat of seizure or worse.
Finally, there are the Seneca Loyalists — the bureaucrats, soldiers, and city guards who owe their livelihoods, if not their lives, to Lord Chancellor Seneca. They dream of restoring the League's lost glories under his banner, or at least preserving their own power long enough to enjoy the spoils.

History

During the Imperial Civil War, General Cato Seneca of the 3rd legion of the Imperial Army declared himself Lord Governor of Mevania and immediately set about securing the surrounding countryside before other prospective warlords could do the same. General Seneca claimed that as his older brother, Octavius Seneca was the champion of Alerio the Imperial Mandate should fall unto him. The Alneto family of Floria, prominent administrators of The Imperial League's bueracratic institutions immediatly disputed Seneca's declaration, arguing that custodianship of the league should be left to the public servants of Floria's House of State. 
As of Rising Sun 201IE, decades of proxy war via mercenary bands and naval blockade by Mevania has led to the two city states declaring an overt state of war. See: The Mevanian-Florian War

Points of interest

As a major trading hub, Mevania attracts visitors from all over the world, particurarly merchants from the East wishing to sell their goods to a demanding and wealthy client base. The majority of the Mevanian population are humans, followed by a smattering of half elves remaining from The Human Rebellion. Dwarven mercenaries are a common sight within the city walls, either fighting the Florians on behalf of the Mevanian state, or serving as bodyguards and retinues of wealthy merchants. Halfling nomad caravans sometimes find their way into the city, although their presence is looked upon with suspicion.
Elves, much like the rest of The Velvet Coast, are generally unwelcome in Mevania, subject to discrimination at best and lynchings at worst, memories of The Human Rebellion and The Devastation of Skyreach still relatively fresh in the mind of its citizens. Indeed, even the not insignificantly sized half-elf population is subject to discrimination within the city walls, particularly at the hands of members of the Order of Alerio. Despite this environment of animosity, elves can be spotted roaming the docklands on occasion, though almost always in disguise.

Architecture

Mevania's architecture reflects a fusion of Imperial grandeur, coastal practicality, and post-League improvisation. The city’s oldest structures — found in the Old Quarter and Administrative District — bear the hallmarks of late Imperial stonework: heavy marble columns, tiled mosaics, and arched windows. Many buildings feature open-air courtyards and colonnades designed to ventilate in the summer heat.
In contrast, the Docklands and Ashen Ward are a chaos of timber, brick, and salvaged stone. Slums are built atop collapsed ruins or extend outward on stilted platforms over polluted inlets. Velvet Row’s mansions, by contrast, are ostentatious palaces clad in imported marble and patterned tile, crowned with domes and wrought iron balconies.
The Port of Artis is dominated by tall, narrow warehouses with hoists, cranes, and slanted roofs, built for practicality and speed of cargo movement. Most Mevanian rooftops are flat or gently sloped and tiled in red or grey, often with canvas awnings and rooftop gardens.
Temples and guildhalls often blend decorative tradition with utilitarian scale — squat towers, frescoes, and facades carved with historical scenes or patron symbols. Fortis Isle’s monastery is a stark contrast: all severe stone, slit windows, and defensive angles, a visual threat even before the Order of Alerio patrols its causeway.
The city’s skyline is marked by watchtowers, bell spires, and Senate domes — a jagged silhouette framed by mist and salt spray.

Climate

Mevania enjoys a humid subtropical climate, shaped by its position on the Velvet Coast and the influence of warm sea currents drifting in from the east. Summers are long, hot, and humid, often broken by sudden thunderstorms that sweep in from the ocean. Winters are mild and damp, with overcast skies and persistent coastal winds. Fog is common in spring and autumn, especially near the river mouth and docklands, shrouding the city in mist and muffling the cries of gulls and merchants alike.
The climate contributes to both the city's agricultural reliance on Novayan grain and its fashion of flowing silks and breathable velvets. During the summer, the wealthier citizens retreat to elevated villas or take temporary residence aboard anchored pleasure barges just off the coast to escape the heat.

Type

Large city

Population

80,000 (125,000 including satellite villages)

Inhabitant Demonym

Mevanians

Location under

The Velvet Coast

Owner/Ruler

Lord Chancellor Octavo Seneca

Additional Rulers/Owners

• Praetor Lucius Seneca

Ruling/Owning Rank

Lord Chancellor Mevania

Owning Organization

Seneca Family