Ravenwood
The eponymous village at the center of what the locals call the Ravenwood, the hamlet is a roughly circular layout, with coblestoned roads at regular intervals. There are fountains and benches every so often, as if to remind the citizens that such things exist, and there are well cared for trees that are planted at precise points around the town.
The landscaping is very particular around town; the punishment for littering being the loss of a finger (of one's own choice). The grass is soft, all the same kind, and all of it is cut the same length. The bushes and other topiary examples are all meticulously trimmed every nine days. Street sweepers are assigned to keep the cobblestones clear of debris and animal waste, and waste removal services are hard at work twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. People are expected to follow a particular 'moral code' while outside of their homes; a code which dictates how one should dress, speak, eat, court, and work, among other things. Traditions are layered upon traditions until all original meaning in them is lost, and the only reason to follow such protocols is tradition itself.
The homes and businesses are constructed mainly of local timber, faced with brick and washed with limestone. The clay tile roofs can range in color from dark, royal purple to a deep, hunter green. darker colors, so as to bring more of the sun's heat to the building below. The problem with the tiles come in the winter, when the expanding ice will crumble some of the tiles like feta cheese. Steel rain gutters and runoff drains are also mandated on any building erected in trhe city limits.
Water runoff and sluicing systems direct the region's copious rainfall directly off of the roadways, collecting it in culverts that use the water for a myriad of uses, from waterwheels, to terraced agriculture, to indoor plumbing. Flush toilets are the norm in Ravenwood, which also boasts an efficient sewer network and daisy-chained fire hydrants. There is a fire service, postal system, food markets, and at least one beer festival per month. The clock tower has a little automaton scene that exits one door on the clock's face, and enters another on the opposite side, at noon time every day.
Despite all of this, the people of the hamlets and cities still wander around in a seemingly endless desperate depression. There is virtually no joy or good cheer to be found, and it weighs heavily on the population, who have thw lowest life expectancy of any of the regions of The City of the Lights. They are not allowed to commit suicide, as the count will have them brought back to life in order to punish them. After all...
...if people were to just do whatever they wanted, how could anything resembling order be maintained?
Demographics
Almost entirely human, there is still quite a bit of evidence of an aboriginal population of Elves in the tall, slender build of many of the folks hereabouts.
Government
Ravenwood is a protectorate of Rolfe.
Defences
Solitude, the surrounding forest, the Vlüdbàyne
Industry & Trade
Ravenwood's main exports are spirits such as vodka and schnapps, and timber. Only the Vlüdbàyne are allowed to interact with anyone outside of Ravenwood.
Infrastructure
The roads, bridges, quays and buildings are all in tip top shape, as opposed to the psyches of the people that live there.
Districts
Lamplighters, Red Light, Tanners, Inner Circle, among others.
Assets
Snow removal equipment, horses, goats, chickens, several farms and all of the equipment thereupon, timber mills
Guilds and Factions
Any type of club or guild is closely monitored, and put down with great prejudice if they become too popular or powerful.
History
Designing the perfect hamlet, Count Rolfe Rodrigo Schartenheiney the IV caused it to be built in concentric-ish circles around the Rolfe Tower. A wonderful example of urban planning and engineering, it boasts sewers, water runoff and overflow control, and public squares and parks, among other innovations taht are continuously being updated and improved.
Points of interest
The clocktower boasts an automated scene of a piper leading a bunch of snakes away, that spins up every day at noon.
Tourism
There is no tourism to Ravenwood. The olny road into the city, indeed, the only road into the forest, is closely guarded. Only the Vlüdbàyne are allowed access to that road, and even then, only the Ministry of Trade personnel.
Architecture
Built of timber frames, and clad in brick, the buildings are all washed in limestone. Their roofs boast different color tiling, sometimes a deep purple or hunter green will show up during the frequent re-roofings the town undergoes due to the rough winters.
Geography
There are some hills made of the hard packed dirt that comprises the rest of the continental plateau, but these also are complicated by thick tangles of knotted roots.
Climate
It is a temperate, coniferous forest.
Natural Resources
Timber, ice, snow, flax, pignoli, basil
Founding Date
4012NG
Alternative Name(s)
The Doldrums
Type
Hamlet
Population
50,000 souls
Inhabitant Demonym
Ravenians
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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