Coniston

By far the most well known city in Gatia is Coniston, the lively trade port nestled in the Gulf of Niben off of the Jade Sea. Even though much of Gatia is bordered by either the Jade Sea or the Frelfvire Ocean, Coniston is one of the only true “port cities”, and is the only one open to outside trade. Situated at the true Western tip of Gatia, Coniston receives trade from numerous lands to its west, north, and south, from Nahurant to Isimar.

History

For most of Gatia’s citizens, it is believed that Coniston was how the southern hemisphere of the world began. After the Great Plot of Caelkirk in The Aeon of Chinook, the losing guild factions, branded the “Akousta”, were banished from the world of Eakabis. The ruling merchant factions marched the Akousta off the Cliffs of Nohst, presumably to their deaths. Unbeknownst to them, however, the sages of the Eakrumira Tower on the isle north of Drukist Pass were observing this punishment, and, using their illusory magic, managed to spare a majority of the Akousta. As thanks, the Akousta offered to defend the sages (known as the “Ekrims”) who wished to travel east in search of a great source of mystical power that they were researching. Through various modes of trickery, bartering, and a bit of pirating, the Akousta were able to build a small fleet of ships worthy of sea travel for an undetermined amount of time. Bolstered by the skills of the Ekrims, the Akousta set off with the exploring faction of the Ekrims. Their long and difficult journey was guided by the Ekrims who followed the stars, which steered them Southeast. After many weeks at sea, their far sight spotted mountains (the Vaerduuin Mountains), the same mountains they had seen in visions. While sailing for the mountains, a massive storm pushed them off course, tossing them up on the shores of the Glinae Coast. The adventuring party, now significantly smaller than when it initially set out, trekked away from the Jade Sea until they reached the inlet of the Gulf of Niben. Beaten down, low on supplies, and drastically reduced in numbers, the Akousta did not like their chances if they continued on, especially since the Ekrims could not explicitly point to the direction they should continue on in to reach their legendary source of power. Seeing the inlet as the perfect place to establish a new community, especially if it meant no more adventuring, the Akousta took a stand and refused to continue on. Despite being outnumbered 4:1, the Ekrims threatened to retract their service and take the lives they had saved if the Akousta did not continue aiding them. Tensions rose until the night of a Blood Moon, when one merchant, Orvun Iston, commandeered a plot to assassinate the Ekrims in their sleep - thus began the Massacre of Pizahn. The Akousta managed to silence every single Ekrim except for one, a young sage named Lucis Talos. Lucis disappeared into the night, never to be heard from again. Some say that, in order to prevent shipwrecks that would eventually lead to the horrors and betrayal that his own misfortune did, Lucis sacrificed his life and magic force to become the light that emanates out of Pizahn, the lighthouse that guides ships into the Gulf rather than being swept ashore on the coast. They say that a magical light sat on the peninsula before the tower was ever constructed, and that the light will never be doused because it is not a normal light.
After the massacre, the Akousta declared the gulf as their new home, and began their small settlement. Named after the the merchant who engineered the Massacre, Coniston was born as a small fishing village. The waters of the gulf teemed with fish that provided valuable food; the fish were also covered in colorful scales that were unique and intriguing. One of the Akousta, a gem worker, worked with a blacksmith to find a way to fire the scales into hardened, glistening trinkets stronger than diamonds and shiner than rubies. Though not true gemstones, these “Sea Gems”, or “Embar”, became highly sought after among all of the merchants, and served as a foundation for their economy. The gem worker, Tobye Merek, quickly catapulted to the top of the rapidly forming hierarchy among the merchants, and was elected Chancellor of Coniston. The government began to grow, and a council system was established among the wealthiest of the merchants. Tensions rose between merchants who had wealth and merchants who wanted wealth, and in-fighting was common. Some of the merchants grew tired of fighting, and began to migrate to the south and to the east, finding fertile lands where they could establish self-sustaining farms. The tensions continued to grow, until there were two distinct factions: Orvun Iston and his followers, and the Council led by Chancellor Merek. To avoid the community from tearing itself apart, Iston’s daughter, Genevote, offered herself as a peace offering, joining the two factions by marriage. The factions agreed, and Chancellor Merek and Genevote were crowned as the first Count and Countess of Coniston.
Under Merek’s guidance (never rule, as Coniston’s government vowed to always maintain a council to govern alongside the Count), Coniston’s reach began to grow. Though their quest to the east was stopped by the Cliffs of Kaane and the west offered little expansion due to the Jade Sea, the south was rich with further lands. Pulling from the fertile lands below the Glinae Coast, the offerings from the Knyqig Woods, and the valuable land surrounding Lake Stimt, Coniston became the capital of Epektasi, a region spanning the entire west coast of Gatia and expanding as far east as the Keel-Haab Mountains.

Politics and Demographics

Today, Coniston has continued to hold a governing body of a Count and/or Countess as the speaker for a full council. Its population exceeds over 70,000 humanoids. While the majority of the founding Akousta were Humans, Coniston has seen droves of humanoids of a variety of races immigrating to its shores in search of wealth, status, or simply a comfortable life. Because of this integration, it is common to see elves, halflings, gnomes, dwarves, and even other, more rare races; in fact, these non-human races make up almost 40% of the population.

Infrastructure, Commerce, and Society

Architecturally, Coniston has several districts within. The wharfs are filled with docks, warehouses, and barracks. Coniston’s shrewd governors have taken advantage of the fact that it is the only true port city on Gatia, and therefore impose a massive tax on incoming goods. Exports, however, are not taxed nearly as heavily. This leads to many traders bringing in limited goods, and usually only the most rare and valuable goods that are worth paying the hefty taxes on (e.g. silks, precious stones, exotic foods, magical items, etc.). When they leave, however, the trader’s ships are full of exports from Coniston, especially Embar, which has made its way to the furthest reaches of the realms, spreading the word about Coniston and building up its reputation. All incoming goods must pass inspection from the Captain of the Guard, then be stored in warehouses for a minimum of 24 hours before being marketed (there are, of course, taxes for storing goods in city-owned warehouses; this opened up a thriving market of “Black Warehouses”, independently owned buildings - often not up to code - that are available for rental at a smaller price than the city warehouse tax). The marketplace consists of two rings: the “Open Market”, filled with unowned stalls that any merchant can sign for a day (or more) to market their wares on the streets. The Open Market is found outside the city walls, curving northwest along the Gulf of Niben. Inside the city walls is the City Market, which is comprised mainly of solid shops; some of these are bazaars, where favored merchants are offered spots to market their more valuable wares to the denizens of Coniston (often the more well-off ones, as those with wealth rarely make their way to the Open Markets but instead shop within the City Market). Other shops are independently owned, and merchants simply trade their goods to the owners at wholesale prices.
The City Market is the direct center of the walled city; to the west lies the residential district, known as the Estia District (or just Estia for short to the east (and slightly north) lies Epimiletria, the “palace”. Since Coniston is not a true monarchy, Epimiletria is not a true palace or castle, but rather an interior district. Inside its marble walls, inlaid with Embar, lies an entire residential district for councilmembers and their families, vaults for storing precious goods, alcohol refineries, and the council chambers. The chambers and residences are shaped like a curved moon, with the chambers in the middle, the council residences on the east tip, and the Komissa (the residence of the Count/ess) on the west tip. Both residence tips connect to the council chambers, but also to the interior courtyard in the moon’s curve. This courtyard hosts the refineries, the militant headquarters, and the Olanaaos, or “Temple of All”, a temple where members of all religions can come to pray. Coniston itself often honors Aldir, the god of trade and good fortune, but does not necessarily tie itself to any one pantheon or deity. Festivals are often influenced by the personal religions of the current council members; the weight of religious implications often varies with generations, but no one in Coniston can be forced to follow any one deity.
As it was founded by merchants, almost everyone, commoner or not, learns a trade skill, thus leading to a fairly vibrant economy. The “lower class” is not your typical vision of slums and beggars. Even those without the means to create or trade goods can make a decent wage from helping shopkeepers with upkeep, serving as couriers, or joining the militia. Since almost every family has some standing in the trade world, even disabled citizens are adopted by shops (usually within their family) to do menial tasks in exchange for food and lodging. Children are taught from an early age how to weave fishing nets and dig in the coastal dunes for bait; as they grow, they eventually learn the shape fish hooks out of small bits of metal, stone, or anything else they can. Elders continue to work by cleaning the fish that come in, carefully preserving the scales to be turned into Embar. Despite hundreds of years of fishing, the stock of fish in the gulf has never seemed to deplete.
Though Coniston tends to be more patriarchal in nature, all genders are worked and valued. Young girls spend as much time on the docks as young boys, and a Countess’s consult is generally held at the same value as the Count’s. Women can own shops and can serve at any rank in the militia. Coniston’s culture is very focused on population, though, so very few women are not married. Once a woman is married, her husband generally rises to the head of the household; while women can still own independent property and their voices matter, it is just a general trend to default everything to their husband.
Coniston keeps clean streets. Alcohol of any type is reserved only for festivals; then, it is strictly distributed by workers of the council, but it is given freely to all (even children). While Coniston does not keep a massive military, they do have well trained troops that serves city guards, goods inspectors, and patrols. Militia members usually serve double duty as well - for example, an entire legion of archers are also skilled hunters, who travel to the forests south of the city for game and furs. Twice a year, during The Melting and Leaffall, Coniston holds massive, realm-wide festivals to celebrate harvests and trade. Denizens from the entire realms - even the far south settlements of Alderdyfi and Paavv - trek to the capital for celebrations lasting a full week. These festivals have become well known throughout the trading routes, and even nobles from other realms will travel to take part in the massive festivities.
Magic is rare in Coniston, and is generally kept to clerics and bards for healing and entertainment purposes. Very little magic is studied and very little magic is used in trade; the citizens of Coniston prefer to rely on the work their own two hands can perform. This is not to say education is undervalued; in fact, most children of any sort of economic standing are taught to read and write at an early age. Coniston is, in fact, arguably one of the most literate towns in Gatia. This literacy is simply used for more practical purposes, such as bookkeeping, cartography, and written communication to the far reaches of the land.
As one of the only major “kingdoms” in Gatia, Coniston also has some controversial and/or tumultuous relationships with other settlements, including Hanqala and the mysterious Ceaertaye’s Hold.

Included Locations

• Pizahn