Fitchview

"It is oftentimes difficult communicating with my colleagues in Fitchview. When I send them a letter asking for a batch of local ingredients, the response I receive is often late, filled with poems and unrelated rhetoric, and the ingredient nowhere to be seen..." - Oloberos

Fitchview is a city in the plains South-East of the Stormtide Kingdom. It is the largest city in the Fitchview Province that is named after it. The vibrant and colourful city is known for two things. Horses and Bards. The city is home to the Academy of Music and produces the best bards in the land. Also, the thoroughbreds from Fitchview stables are considered to be the fastest and the strongest horses in the land.
A river from The High-Vale Mountain Range runs through the city and splits it in two sections. Infrastructurally the sections don't really differ that much from each other. Both the northern and the southern wall have gates to the outside world. The Fitchview Castle and the senate buildings are in the southern part of town. The Academy of Music is located in the northern part of town, in a fairly wealthy district. The academy grounds have large and beautiful gardens with exotic flowers and plants to inspire their musicians. The headmaster of the academy is a peculiar elf called Dalyar Celebras.

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The bard culture has given the city and its people a certain reputation of oddness among those that neighbor it. By the sheer talent of these musicians and playwrights, they are able to sway the opinions of the entire city around them, even if they don't fully acknowledge the power they hold. One bard writes an inspirational song about the cruel fates of potatoes when they are eaten, and the entire city removes them from their diet. This lasts until a conflicting piece is written and performed and the price of potatoes goes through the roof. The loved one of a popular bard falls ill or dies, prompting a melancholic hymn of devotion, and everyone mourns with profound sadness, until another bard writes about joy and teaches everyone to be happy again.
While some bards find inspiration from love and the world around them, some research history and its legends for their ideas. These bards, along with writing their honorary ballads, are often able to get the whole city engaged in the parades, re-enactments and other plays that they organize. Some of these events are received well even among outsiders, but ones such as "The Re-Enactment Of When Lady Mabelle Was Run Over By Cheese Wheel" being a yearly tradition, add to their bizarre reputation.
Due to this penchant for mania and melancholy, Fitchview is seen as a place where rationality has little weight, and everything runs on the whims of instinct alone, but it is also a very communal and welcoming place to those that are willing to jump in on the wheel of eccentricity, allowing for distractions and new beginnings to those that life has treated poorly.
Despite the fact that even a simple songsmith can in theory possess more power over the city than the highest royal authority, the government in the capital Palanthas lets things run their natural course in Fitchview but has its office of intelligence keep an eye on suspicious individuals that might be trying to channel the community into a weapon of malice.

Demographics

Mostly human, but of the major cities in Ansalon, Fitchview has the highest percentage of elves.

Government

Count Jeremias and Countess Mariwen of House Kellsworth are the official rulers of the city as direct vassals under the king of Palanthas.

Industry & Trade

The Fitchview Mornim horses are generally regarded as the strongest and fastest breeds of horses in Ansalon. The vineyards south of the city also produce some of the finest wines in the land.

Guilds and Factions

The Academy of Music can be found in the city.

Alternative Name(s)

The City of Bards

Type

Large city

Population

28000

Location under

Fitchview region

Owning Organization

The Free Cities of Palanthas

Characters in Location

• Dalyar Celebras

Taverns
The Lively Lyre, The Fabulous Flute
Magic institutes
All schools of magic represented. Illusions the most represented.
Churches/Deities worshipped
Shrines to most available, biggest following of Efra, the Goddess of Art and Inspiration.