Five Sails
As the city comes within view of the city, you see what it has sometimes been called “The Scattered City.” You can see the ancient walls surrounding the center of Five Sails and the larger part of the city that outgrew those walls a long time ago. You see smoke rising from chimneys. You hear the calls and chatter of the wharfs. Ships from all over Théah make port here, and you can see the flags. You even see jolly rogers flying on some masts, right beside ships claiming to be pirate hunters.
An older sailor stands beside you on the rail. “The city where a dishonest man can earn an honest coin.” He laughs, showing his sparse teeth. “The opposite is true as well!” Then, he goes back to his work.
As you get closer, you start to see the architecture of the place. Those studied in such matters notice that buildings here seem to pop up with no regard to historical consistency. One building may be as recent as fifty years old and seemingly made with a Castillian hand. Meanwhile, the building next to it could be as old as five hundred years and was clearly built by someone from Vodacce.
History
However, the War of the Cross rolled over the city, and within those thirty years, Five Sails changed hands hundreds of times. As the war raged on, Five Sails became a kind of home for mercenaries and pirates looking for coin and trying to find refuge from the war. When the Nations finally declared peace and the War of the Cross ended, the city was in shambles.
Five different Nations claimed ownership of the city. Anastasia Russo, the appointed mayor, found opportunity in the chaos and declared Five Sails an independent city, free of any national hand. She gathered a handful of war-weary veterans to enforce her claim. A bold move for certain, but thanks to her army of mercenaries and a fleet of pirates, she was able to maintain her claim. Five Sails was a free city.
"Divided but United"
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Location
Related Ethnicities
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