Balcree

Once known as the Crossroads of Cymbar, Balcree was founded upon marshland on the banks of the Anhell, growing rich off trade with the neighboring Khelish nations. The city was at a convenient site, linking the tin mines of Kirkham to the coast and to the wider world. Furs, tin, wool, and silver were traded in the city, and it was at this time that the druids of Aine decided to build a large shrine in the city, believing it suited the tenets of the goddess of hospitality well.
The city gradually lost prominence over the centuries. Trade with the other Khelish nations would become partially supplanted by trade with powers further away, such as Runber. The emergence of the elves drew the center of Cymbarite commerce further west, and both Moorhan and Fin-Allan began to replace Balcree in many aspects. The city stagnated in population in the 5th century, but the greatest blow had yet to come.
The floods of 468 devastated Balcree. The historic market was simply swept away, and the course of the river Anhell was forever altered. Many of the merchants that made their living in Balcree lost their homes and property, and most left. Much of the common folk followed, and Balcree's population crashed. Even Aine's shrine suffered damage, but the druids were unwilling to abandon it, and instead had it rebuilt at great expense.
Today, Balcree is mainly associated with Aine's shrine and monastery. Though the market was replaced, and the same trade that went on in Balcree before still happens at a smaller scale, the flood caused existing trade connections that were already wavering to bypass the city altogether. The city's population has since stabilized around ten thousand, and a substantial portion of this population services the Ainean monastery complex in one way or another.

Demographics

99% Khelish human.

Alternative Name(s)

Crossroads of Cymbar

Type

Large town

Population

10,400

Owning Organization

Governorate of Cymbar