Tosna, the Glimmering

"Its hard work living on the fjord, but we've managed well I reckon."
-Beakon Grainhops, Head of the Tosna Agricultural Guild

Tosna is separated in half by the banks of The Gleamway, stretching along the mountains and fjords in large steps. The city extends from the middles of the Clogroth slopes down to the docks below in steps and terraces. Well-to-do folk employ special clockwork beasts known as Gilded Ibex that are designed to bring them up to their lofty, protected residences at the top of the mountain sides without exerting any effort on their parts. Less fortunate folk tend to settle closer to the sea, where there is more danger from floods and attacks but they do not have to waste time and effort climbing up the steps.
The Gleamway separates the two fjords cleanly, like a mountain having been cleaved by a colossus axe. The source of the river is deep in the Chalco Mountains, from which it cascades down the valleys of the range in thundering waterfalls.
Miners and prospectors travel up and down The Gleamway to get to the mines and ore deposits that lie in the Chalco Mountains, protected by sellswords against the monsters that roam the peaks and valleys.
According to legend, Tosna's founder is a great gnomish engineer who helped bring prosperity to Tosna by inventing the interesting clockwork technology that is so popular within the city, bringing Tosna wealth, prosperity and renown. This jumpstart to the economy of the region was further expanded with the founding of the several merchant families that govern the commerce of the city state.
Old hand-carved caves line the mountains for people to store food, keep guard from chilly nights, or flee into in times of terror. A good number were built in recent memory by the Tosnians and are still used today, mostly smaller familial ones that connect to the main home. Some, however, found sprinkled along the mountains farther along The Gleamway are older than recorded history. These caves are much larger, deeper, and more impressive. They have writing of an unknown script inside, and are said to be the remnants of a past civilization. Efforts to find more and study them are ongoing, but time and time again fall flat as the old caves are now usually lairs for dangerous brigands, pirates and monsters. Many are those who were blinded by knowledge or treasure, hoping to seek more of the caves before disappearing into their toothy, granitic jaws of death.
While the original settlers of the land were dwarves and rock gnomes, immigrants long ago travelled to Tosna and set down their roots, making the city as multicultural as any other city state in the realm. An example of this is  House Lyrandar, a prominent merchant family from the city that are elvish and human in origin and who's family roots reach deep down into the past history of the land. So entrenched are their roots, they have as much clout as any dwarvish or gnomish family in the land.
The patron god of the city state is Gond.

Industry & Trade

Tosna city is known for engineering prowess such as clockwork machines, stonework skills, glass and lens making and other intricate skills regarding inorganic materials. This is largely influenced by the gnomish and dwarvish roots of the city, but in past centuries the work has been influenced by other cultures as well. Popular clockwork exports are almost always decorated in elvish fashion, owing to the delicate style they imbue to their metallurgy. Raw gems and metals mined up The Gleamwayare also exported across the realm.

Infrastructure

Dwarvish and gnomish engineering practices define the infrastructure of Tosna. The colossal bridges that span the fjord and connect the two shores of The Gleamway together are a prime example, as well as the impressive aqueducts that funnel water from sources in the mountains to agricultural fields and homes. This pairs with the traditional farming practice of the inhabitants; terrace farming. Carving large steps into the mountain sides allowed the city to feed its people during its production boom.

Assets

A popular mode of transportation for the wealthy of the Tosna and surrounding vassal settlements are with a Gilded Ibex; a machination wrought from metals and gems and powered by magic. This expensive mode of transportation allows the owner to completely bypass stairs and the act of climbing, letting the machine scale the steep cliffs of the mountain instead. The wealthy are then free to climb to their lofty homes in complete comfort. More expensive models have a magic jewel in the centre of the clockwork machine that stabilizes the seat as the Gilded Ibex climbs, making the journey as smooth as possible.

Guilds and Factions

The Astronomy Centre is a grand temple to the celestial gods of the realm, including Selune, Pelor, Dol Arrah, Sehanine Moonbow and several others. These clerical scholars work together in the temple to map and chart the heavens and heavenly bodies, as devotions to their respective deities. As well as being an important scientific faction, their strong ties to deities makes them an important player in the religious scene of the city.

History

Tosna used to be known as Thosnev, an old dwarvish word for fjord. The settlement was aptly named for its location in the city, which rests on the Valiav Thos fjord at the mouth of the Aeliph Sea. Over time, the name changed to what it is known as today.

Geography

The fjord that Tosna sits along is called the Valiav Thos. The twin mountains on either side of The Gleamway are known as the Clogroth, or the stone brothers, who were said to be immortalized as towering stone mountains to watch the sea for Tosna, protecting it from aggressors.
The geology of Tosna is an interesting mix of greenschist and amphibolite transitional minerals, sulphide minerals and relatively recent igneous mountains, which exhume the previously stated rocks upwards towards the surface. The transitional zone is likely riddled with hydrothermal inclusions which allowed the growth and formation of sulphide mineral deposits and precious metal deposits, such as the gold and silver that is mined in the region. The igneous mountains seem to be made of pegmatite granite, allowing the formation of large igneous mineral grains. This combined with the hydrothermal inclusions from the previous formations all combine to give Tosna the wealthiest earth of the land, rich with large gems and chunky veins of gold.

Natural Resources

Due to the geology of the region, multitudes of gems and metals have been found and exported from Tosna. Major export include gold, silver, copper, galena, malachite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, cinnabar, tourmaline, garnet, aquamarine, emerald, various types of quartz, topaz and moonstone. This is a sample of the minerals found in the Chalco Mountains, with others having been found in smaller amounts.

Alternative Name(s)

The City of Gems and Gold

Type

Large city

Inhabitant Demonym

Tosnians

Location under

The Aeliph Sea

Included Locations

• The Gleamway

Owning Organization

The Merchant Confederation