Fox Mat
Fox Mat is isolated town nestled amongst the trunks of a small mangrove island near the western bound of the Ten Sword Isles archipelago. Little disturbed by the outside world save for the occasional visit by lost fishermen or aspiring scholars of the mystic arts, Fox Mat's greatest claim to fame is the presence of the Foxfire Academy and the unique circumstances under which the town recovered from its near-destruction at the hands of mercenary marauders.
Demographics
Fox Mat has an unusual demographic makeup as a result of being nearly depopulated a century ago, creating a genetic bottleneck that hasn't fully resolved even with the cautious addition of Academy staff from the outside world. Fox Mat was once populated with hengeyokai and other spirit folk of all sorts, but this did not sit well with a human warlord that used to lay claim to those waters. The warlord hired a band of mercenaries to clear Fox Mat of all inhabitants so that the island could be established as a naval station, but an assassin's blade ended the warlord's ambitions shortly after the mercenaries completed their genocidal mission.
Mizuki Ikeda, a kitsune rendered immortal through her cultivation of do entities, was one of the only survivors of this massacre. Her mastery of ancient shadow magic made it possible for her to remain concealed until after the danger had passed, but the loneliness she felt as the sole remaining resident of Fox Mat was unbearable. To temper the solitude, she took on occasional paramours from among the ranks of fishermen, explorers, and others who found their way to the nearly deserted island, often retreating into the mangrove to bear the resulting hybrid children in secret as was the tradition of her people before their extermination. Outsiders sometimes derisively refer to Fox Mat as "Debauchery Island" out of a misguided belief that the figure of Matron Ikeda is a convenient cover story for the morally questionable things sailors get up to and can't subsequently explain to their spouses back home; this aspect of Fox Mat's more recent history is the source of these sordid rumors.
Over the decades, the immortal Ikeda eventually found herself the matron of a whole new population of hengeyokai for Fox Mat. The fact that Fox Mat's then hundred-strong population was entirely descended from a single woman presented problems when it came to growing the population further and re-establishing Fox Mat an independent municipality. New blood was required, and so, Matron Ikeda established the Foxfire Academy to actively draw in outsiders with the promise of teaching the secrets of cultivating fire magic from the natural world. This revitalization project has already borne fruit in the form of a steady stream of aspirants from across the Ten Swords Isles, some of whom choose to remain on in Fox Mat as ajunct faculty or to work in support services elsewhere on the island. Even so, only the first generation of immigrants tends to be human; subsequent generations tend to be various flavors of spirit folk or even hengeyokai as a result of intermarriage.
Government
Matron Ikeda is the de-facto mayor of the town and headmistress of the Foxfire Academy there, though she typically leaves the day-to-day work of administration to those of her descendants who exhibit a particular mix of talent, trustworthiness, and overall cleverness. The ruling family is known to be tight-knit and efficient. The overwhelming influence of nepotism can make the structures of power impenetrable even for those who join by marriage, but Matron Ikeda has been known to elevate outsiders into the bureaucracy if they score exceptionally well on a civil service exam administered by the Academy; if the Matron is known for one thing, it is that she respects competence.
Defences
Aside from the relative isolation of the island on which Fox Mat was built, a short wall was constructed a ways out from the outermost extent of the mangroves to, among other things, frustrate attemptsby a large force to approach the island without being detected. Large foxfire lanterns at regular intervals along this wall are not just for navigational assistance: the flames therein highlight passing vessels and, in times of duress, can be manipulated to lash out against unwelcome guests. Mistress Ikeda and her children also tend to be gifted in the ways of do cultivation, meaning that the island has an outsized population of people who can wield blade magic or other, more exotic forms of sorcery against invaders.
Industry & Trade
Common Matfolk industries include fishing, fruit harvesting, weaving, and ink-making. However, the largest commodity that Fox Mat has to offer is knowledge of do cultivation techniques relating to water, fire, and shadows. The Foxfire Academy sends talent scouts to other islands in the archipelago to seek out potential students sow rumors of the Academy's unique services where bright minds might come to hear of them. Occasionally, artifacts created at Fox Mat will find themselves into the hands of curio dealers in foreign lands; these tend to be limited-use items designed to present the purchaser with questions about where replacements might be found. Still, after the trauma of the mercenary invasion, the residents of Fox Mat temper their exuberance to draw in new potential residents with a healthy dose of suspicion towards more martially-oriented individuals in the world.
Infrastructure
The buildings of Fox Mat - as well as the walkways that connect them - are elevated above the wetlands on stilts and reinforced with buttresses built into the trunks of mighty mangrove trees. Enchanted lanterns hung throughout the town provide light and attract do entities like invisible moths, making cultivation within town limits slightly easier to accomplish than it would be in a settlement designed by humans. Reeds are encouraged to grow in great perfusion in and around the settlement for use as construction materials, insulation, and raw materials for woven goods (tatami mats, baskets, light armor, etc).
Climate
Fox mat tends to be cool and misty. Its low overall prominence and its position in the shallows atop an undersea mountain would make it prone to severe sea conditions were it not for the influence of the mangrove forest and, in more recent times, the sea wall (see Defenses).
A certain subset of Foxfire Academy courses deal with the specialized magical techniques required to manipulate local weather conditions for optimal visibility and protection of coastal assets. Maintaining calm waters and just enough mist to conceal the town center from causal perusal without making it obvious to outsiders that something is amiss - is a difficult balance to strike.
Type
Town
Population
Approximately 5000
Inhabitant Demonym
Matfolk
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Comments