Port Morkney
Look how the light of the town, the lights of the town are shining nowAs one steps onto the docks of Port Morkney, the immediate scent of salt and sea air washes over the nose, and the glare of blue-orange skies greet the eyes. The sounds of bustling crowds speaking many languages fill the air, pierced by the caws of seagulls. Bells signify the arrival and departure of trading galleons, and the sounds of the lapping of seater grace the harbor. This is the lot of Morkney; the center of international trade between Meyland and the rest of the The Known World. As a major hub of trade and travel built around a massive port, Morkney is an energetic center of commerce and culture. Buskers play their fiddles on the bustling streets of the town, while merchants yell over each other to sell their latest catches. However, the town also attracts criminals and the poor; the opulent inner-township contrasts with the squalor of the outer wards, despite the latter's best efforts to add color. The settlement is also a center of naval power, as a quarter of Meyland's fleet is concentrated near the city. The city's cultural diversity is reflected in a dizzying array of architecture, often cramped together in a hodge-podge of dark wood, tight spaces, and labyrinthine alleyways. While an undercurrent of crime purveys the town, despite the best efforts of the Morkney guard and the Morkney Council to combat it, some prefer the danger it brings to the city—Port Morkney is frequently romanticized in many stories, songs, and fables as a place bubbling with potential adventure and excitement. Entire novels have been written about plucky groups of sailors stealing boats away from Morkney's bustling harbor to live a free life of piracy or meeting gruff and handsome sailors that whisk maidens away for lives of adventure on the high seas. All of this is not without some undercurrent of truth, as many adventuring and mercenary groups are known to have first established themselves within Morkney, such as the Black Hand. Unbeknownst to the populous in and around the region, buried far, far beneath Morkney is a tower built by Awakened under the directions of Vauldis many centuries before the town was built, which channels Ley-line energy in a south-western direction through the rock and stone. Some members of the Sapphire Assembly have secretly investigated as to why, but none have found an answer.
Tonight I'll be dancing around, I'm off on the road to Morkney now
Look how she's off on the town, she's off on a search for sailors though
There's fine fellas here to be found, she's never been one to stay at home
Home you'll go and it's there you'll stay, and you've work to do in the morning
Give up your dream of going away, forget your sailors in Morkney
Téir abhaile riú, téir abhaile riú
Téir abhaile riú Mhearai
Téir abhail gus fan sa bhaile
Mar tá do mhargadh déanta!
Morkney Harbor
A bustling central attraction of the town, Morkney Harbor is Meyland's port of entry and exit to the rest of the world. Through its harbor, Morkney maintains a diverse line of trade routes with many nations and ports. It trades with Ragnarok through Kroth, the Silver Kingdom through Druvenholme, and the Karthan Commonwealth through Emwall, Langsmoore, Blackridge, and Balkwreath. It also maintains a line of trade with Nioba through Port Zisou. The harbors are awash with crowds of dockworkers and sailors at any one time, and the inns and bars nearby are often full of colorful sailors and peoples of all types. Black Hand Tower. Owned by the Black Hand mercenary company, the Black Hand Tower was the original, ruined remnants of Morkney's centuries-old lighthouse before a newer one was built further inland. It was made available for renovation following an attack on the Harbor by a massive Kraken-like construct of bone summoned by the Awakened, which was subsequently defeated by the company. Many months have since gone by and the newly reconstructed tower has since been used as one of their headquarters. The tower is located some miles away from Morkney, and many ships pass by it each day.Market District
The Market District dominates the town's central plaza. It is a place overflowing with traders and merchants from across the world who come and go, exchange goods and coins. Vibrant and colorful streamers decorate the surrounding shops and the numerous tents and stalls of fish merchants, fortune-tellers from exotic lands, and sellers of strange trinkets. The plaza here sees heavy foot traffic by day, but shady dealings by night, and is an infamous gathering place for thugs and cutthroat muggers who stalk nearby alleys. The Laughing Seal Inn. The Laughing Seal Inn is a popular gathering place for grizzled sailors and fishermen of all types. While an often rowdy, but friendly place, it is merely a front for an illegal fighting pit and arena called the 'Cauldron'. Built for warriors to test their strength in competition to honor the memory of Cairn, the pit and arena often attract gamblers. In the fighting pit, two combatants are pitted against one another with neither armor nor weapons and brawl until one is knocked unconscious. The arena is different. Located underneath Morkney and built around the ruins of an old, underground chapel, teams of adventurers seeking to prove their worth for the Fighter's League battle against each other using whatever means they have at their disposal. This is never to the death unless the combatants agree to such terms; unconscious combatants are teleported out of the arena before death takes hold.Divine District
The Divine District is a place of expensive estates and gardens of fenced-off greenery You see more greenery in the form of small gardens, fenced-off private property, and elegant statues. Morkney is a town of many faiths, and the Divine District gets its name from its myriad of temples, churches, and places of worship to the Mortal Heroes, Gabriel, and Callista, the Goddess of the sea. The district is home to many official places of governance, overseen by the Morkney Council, it is also home to many higher-end boutiques, shops, and luxury establishments. Morkney Chapel. A temple to Angelicist worship, the Morkney Chapel has a long cultural history as one of the first few temples established within the town by Angelicist missionaries centuries ago. Its current head priest, an elderly human woman by the name of Mother Milva Shearmen, was forced to replace its previous caretaker, Father Theodore Prinston, as Prinston had secretly involved himself with the Awakened, and had risen the dead deep within the Morkney Chapel's crypts. The current whereabouts of Theodore Prinston are unknown. Librarian's Tower. The Librarian's Tower dominates the skyline of the Divine District. It is a one-hundred-foot tower of stone bricks, pinched in the middle, and topped with the domicile of the legendary Faldred Kensith, a retired adventurer and author of the Codex Bestarium. The Librarian's Tower holds a number of extra-dimensional halls and spaces that do not exist on the tower's exterior, including a grandiose library containing detailed accounts of every creature he has encountered during his adventuring life. Tormund's Miracles. A modest Magic shop run by a human woman named Abigail Tormund, Tormund's Miracles provides a number of unique magical items, both recovered from excavations and enchanted by her own hands. This is the public front, at least. In reality, Tormund works with Faldred Kensith as an advisor to the Ebony Enclave and keeps a close eye on events concerning magic in and around Morkney, especially concerning the tower beneath Morkney. Decent Descent. The Descent Descent is a famous (or infamous) pleasure house located within the seedier alleys of the Divine District. Its existence is an open secret, and few choose to admit visiting it. It is often looked down upon by the district's most pious residents. It is a luxurious place that serves some of the most exotic foods and wines money can buy. Matron Savasha Al'Sora, a migrant from the Dominion of Indulgence from Ragnarok, runs the establishment with a diligent, stern, and commanding presence. She employs a diverse array of escorts from across the Known World, and keeps them safe with a small force of armed Mountain-folk bodyguards who keep watch over the house and its employees. Despite attempting to run an honest, if seedy business, some criminal gangs target her establishment for the occasional bout of vandalism and property damage—demon-kind is not well-respected by Angelicists, and the culture-clash is fierce.
Type
Large town
Population
7,000
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
Comments