Lyesa
This is the capital of the kingdom of Chernin , and one of the jewels of civilization in the world. For a short period in history, the city was known as Astorio and was the seat of the Astorio Empire that expanded its territory across the continent of Irithyl . It still remains one of the richest and most awe-inspiring cities in the world, with varying styles of architecture and myriad neighborhoods of varying style and demographic composition.
The city houses the main temples of several deities, including Helm , Raven Queen , Tempus , and Tyr . Because of the large number of immigrants from other lands and non-human cultures, there are several large temples to the deities of the other races.
The city's affairs are overseen by a council of the noble families, the head of which is the Lord Mayor. There is also a Chernin Council housed in the city, which is comprised of representatives from various aspects of life in the kingdom. The Chernin Council keeps their residences and offices in the former Imperial Palace.
Demographics
Predominately human, but sizeable populations of dwarves, halflings, and elves.
Large range in incomes and economic castes. Day-laborers and other small shop workers make up a large lower-class in the city, though even they are better off than the poor who live in the city's slums and squalid quarters. Merchants, business owners, and skilled craftsmen form a sizeable middle-class and live in slightly nicer neighborhoods. Wealthy nobles separate themselves from the rest of the city in a walled and heavily-guarded neighborhood called the Platinum Acres. These nobles are owners of vast merchant companies, holders of vast farmland and ranches, and old-money financiers and bankers.
Government
The 11 most powerful noble families make up the City Council, which includes a Lord Mayor and a High Justiciar. The Lord Mayor is elected by the other noble families, so it is a very political appointment, requiring tact and negotiations among the nobles. This Lord Mayor serves for 5 years and cannot be re-elected. They are also the city's representative to the Chernin Council, which governs the kingdom as a whole.
Much of the common man's problems are addressed by various Guilds that exist in the city, as they have more pull with the nobles on the City Council than a single worker would. While there are myriad small associations for neighborhoods, industry type, etc. there are three major Guilds that represent the workers: the Laborer's Guild, which also includes dockworkers; the Merchant's Guild, which also includes shopkeepers; and the Smiths and Masons Guild, commonly known as the Craftsmens' Guild. Some of the smaller groups have separate representatives on the Chernin Council, which provides multiple avenues for dispute resolution; for example, the Sailors and Dockworkers have a representative on the Chernin Council but can also report through the Laborers' Guild.
Defences
The city has a large, 10-foot thick stone wall running the perimeter, with battlements and watchtowers spread along its length. The wall has only 2 gates, serving the northern and eastern trade paths out of the city. These are heavily guarded, with a garrison of City Watch stationed at each gate. There is another massive wall around the Central District of the city, which houses both the city's and kingdom's government officials, as well as the military and justice headquarters. Two of the city's most affluent neighborhoods have smaller but still impressive walls surrounding them, with guarded entrances connecting them to the rest of the city. The city's massive cemetery is also walled in, though the reasons for this are myriad.
The harbor itself is guarded, though very lightly, with only a handful of ballista mounted on top of large buildings. Since it has no connection to the world's oceans (for now, see New Yazar ), the threat of naval invasion would mainly come from the Tegan River . To this end, the city maintains several advance outposts of guards that can relay messages about incoming ships and in some cases even blockade or mine the river to slow or deter invasions.
Industry & Trade
Being a massive cosmopolitan city, Lyesa has just about every industry one could imagine. Goods from around the world make their way here to be sold or traded, with the wealthy citizens willing to pay for rare or exotic items.
The service industry is massive in the city, with 18 dedicated inns and taverns. These vary in size and purpose, with 5 being neighborhood taverns with no guest rooms. Houses and businesses are being constructed or remodeled frequently, so construction is another big industry, supported by materials imported from elsewhere in the kingdom. Because of the prevalence of merchants and trading operations, the banking and financial sector is another important part of the city's economy.
Because the city has one of the larger and more well-known locations of the Adventurers' Guild, the smithing and magical item trades are very lucrative, but legitimate businesses have to compete with illicit counterparts run or aided by the Thieves' Guild.
Infrastructure
All major roads in the capital are paved with cobblestones. Most other roads are as well, except in the poorer neighborhoods where infrastructure improvements are largely absent as a whole. Even these areas have loose gravel roads instead of just dirt.
The entire city is served by a sophisticated sewer system, which has been rebuilt and modernized several times throughout history. These various projects have created a somewhat fragmented sewer system rather than a labyrinthine maze that connects the whole city. The sewer uses the nearby lake as a source of fluid movement, using large intake tunnels under the water line to direct lake water into the system and create flow to avoid the sewer becoming too stagnant.
There is a large open-air market square in the middle of the city, where merchants set up tents near their wagons to sell their wares. There are other smaller public squares in the city, with each neighborhood having one or two. The Platinum Acres and Northern Glade neighborhoods feature landscaped and well-manicured walking paths, and the Northern Glade has a large beautiful public square.
The southwestern part of the city is dominated by a massive harbor complex. Ships travel up the river or across the lake from various settlements to dock and offload their wares at Lyesa's port. Ships also load up goods from Chernin and depart the port to take these goods elsewhere around the world.
Guilds and Factions
OFFICIAL GUILDS
- Laborers Guild: represents the day-laborers and other unskilled workers of the city, including dockworkers and warehouse employees
- Merchants Guild: represents the merchants and shop owners, including ship captains and caravan coordinators
- Smiths and Masons Guild: represents the various craftsmen in the city including masons, carpenters, weaponsmiths, blacksmiths, farriers, etc.
- Thieves' Guild: main criminal organization in the city representing everything from petty crime and smuggling to assassination attempts
- Enduring Twilight: upstart criminal organization, unknown origins, focused on the more violent crimes
- Order of the Dawn: headquartered in the temple to Helm, this Faction focuses on stopping evil and corrupted creatures from gaining a foothold in this world
- Grapevine: headquarters secret, loose network of scouts and provocateurs that protect farmers and small-town folk
- Scarlet Crown: headquartered in the Guard Barracks, supplements the City Watch to conduct difficult investigations or investigate things off-the-record
- Arcane Watchers: headquartered in the Mage Tower, monitor the city for magical misdeeds and maintain wards/protections
- Adventurers' Guild: headquartered in Hilda's Respite, swords-for-hire that work on a contract basis to address all manner of problems for all manner of patrons
Architecture
Each neighborhood -- and sometimes each block or building -- varies from one to the next, depending on the person who built or renovated it. Much of the city is brownstone Georgian houses or narrow brightly-painted Victorian buildings (a la Washington, DC, or Amsterdam). Likewise, the noble houses are done in a variety of styles, though all stately and magnificent. Some are Venetian Gothic style with many pointed arch windows and exterior stone decorations, while others are English Jacobean or Elizabethan estates.
The main temples are usually done in Neoclassical style, with painted porticoes containing statuettes and appropriate symbology. The exceptions would be the temple of Moradin and temple of Pelor, which are High Gothic cathedrals. The smaller temples and multi-deity shrines tend to be more Romanesque in style, made of stone with few windows or adornments.
The government buildings in the Central District have a few different styles. The Hall of Justice is a large Neoclassical/Baroque structure with a large dome over the main courtroom and a large cathedral to Tyr in one wing of the building. The Guard Barracks are a large, fairly simple Georgian style building built for function more than fashion. The Military Keep is a Romanesque medieval fortification, though some wings of the keep have undergone modernization and resemble almost Baroque or Rococo areas.
The Imperial Palace is an architectural masterpiece and owes its charm to a mixture of styles, since it was built and rebuilt a few times, then remodeled in the post-Imperial period. The original core of the building was a Romanesque stone building, which was remodeled with a Neoclassical exterior. When Emperor Astorio rebuilt much of the capital city and the Imperial Palace, the new areas included many Gothic Revival influences, including many small decorative spires and tall tapered towers. More recently, the more ostentatious towers were sized down and made into Baroque-style domes.
Geography
The most notable features are the large Tegan River that runs just east of the city's walls and the large Lake Orsik on which sits the city's harbor. The city is built on a series of hills that originally helped in defense of the fortified keep -- now the Central District. The city has managed the harbor and waterfront areas well over the centuries to keep the city from being swamped by rising waters.
The city's climate is temperate, with moderate winters and summers. The lake provides cooling coastal air, similar to oceanside areas, in the summer but does not freeze over to prevent commerce in the winter. Snowfall is not uncommon in the city, though it rarely accumulates enough to hinder businesses or travel.
Founding Date
O.1204 (P.1606)
Type
Capital
Population
85,000
Inhabitant Demonym
Lyesans
Owning Organization
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