City of Morencia

In the centre of an immense lagoon on the southern coast of the continent, the city-state of Morencia occupies a central place between the Charneault Kingdom and the Castinella Provinces.

HISTORY

Rise and Apogee

Legend has it that the ancestors of the Morencian people fled south to escape the Bürach Empire’s ethnic persecution, coming at last to a series of small, desolate islands in a large lagoon. To conceal their escape, the refugees devised the Mist Spell that conjured a dense, constant fog over the reefs and sandbanks around the islands. Since then, only those trained by Morencia’s famous Guild of Navigators have been able to lead a ship through the Misty Reefs.
Thanks to that protection, the city of Morencia quickly rose from the swampy islands. Ideally located between several major powers in Thurlil, the young city-state focused on navigation and trade to establish dominance over commercial maritime routes.

An affinity for navigation, combined with a rigorous and perfectionist mentality, allowed Morencia to develop the fastest and most reliable ships ever built. In time, the Morencians also revealed themselves to be risk-management experts, which further established Morencia’s reputation as an inevitable trade hub.

Geopolitics

As a city relying on trade, Morencia welcomes many travellers, the majority being merchants. The city has devised a detailed and careful policy to efficiently manage the constant influx of foreigners. Merchants are welcomed but tightly monitored, and they are forced to stay in specific districts during the night. Citizenship is never granted to such merchants except in exceptional circumstances, and they are not allowed to reside in Morencia for too long. This forces constant incoming and outgoing flows of population that are a further boon to the Morencian economy.
But, while Morencia limits the influence of foreign merchants within its walls, Morencia’s merchants are themselves a powerful force throughout Thurlil. Morencia is the seat of the continent-spanning Augustine Trading Company, which works everywhere to bend the flow of gold and goods towards itself. Within Morencia, the Augustine Trading Company has worked to align other entities’ interests with its own. It has absorbed Morencia’s powerful Bankers Guild, and through them it has come to control the city’s Supreme Council as well.

The Castinellan Provinces have attempted to take control of Morencia on numerous occasions, using both force and subterfuge. Their most recent but unsuccessful attempt involved capturing a member of the Navigators Guild and forcing him to lead a Castinellan armada through the Misty Reefs. Only the cunning intervention of the Charneault Kingdom saved Morencia from annexation. Grand Shaman Aethorion, helped by a small group of elven shamans, was able to interact with the Mist Spell to bring the Charneault Kingdom’s ships directly to the rear of the Castinellan armada.
A terrible battle took place at Morencia’s doorstep, and although the Castinellan armada managed to destroy a large portion of the Morencian fleet stationed in the Arsenal of Morencia, the Charneault Kingdom’s ships and the remaining Morencian defence forces led by Admiral Endoria Onaglie managed to surround and overwhelm the attackers. Only a few Castinellan ships survived, though the defenders also suffered heavy losses.
Since then, the Castinella Provinces have yet to attempt another military conquest, but they have not given up their ambition of controlling Morencia. They have recently strengthened their connections with the Augustine Trading Company, which many Morencians see as the explanation for a series of underhanded moves by the Bankers Guild Master Kolhys.
The truth is more complex, but many have noted that the Bankers Guild profited immensely in the aftermath of the Castinellan Provinces’ attack. Backed by the Augustine Trading Company’s coffers, the Bankers Guild offered a generous loan for the reconstruction of the Morencian fleet, but the offer was so generous that it aroused greater suspicion. Finally, Doge Lorenzo Flabenici was able to steer the Supreme Council on another course that would turn out to be even more dangerous. To raise the funds, the Supreme Council opened the way to the sale of its seats. This was supposed to allow any guild or other community to earn a place on the Supreme Council, but bids became so high that many had to arrange astronomical loans from the Bankers Guild to purchase their seat. Moreover, the Bankers Guild itself was able to buy the biggest share of the available seats. In addition to empowering the Bankers Guild, this sequence of events considerably weakened the position of the Doge.

The Dread of the Moonless Night

The nights have become far more dangerous in recent months, with people being found dead in the streets and canals of Morencia. Rumours are swirling that monsters have appeared to punish the sinful, but so far none really know what the cause of these attacks are. However, the modus operandi is extremely barbaric and strangely similar, almost ritual. The creature—or whatever it is—always attacks when the moon is not visible, either absent or masked by clouds. Increasing night patrols has had no effect, so as a last resort, the Supreme Council has hired the famous witch hunter, Vedemir Kaltstahl, to investigate.

CULTURAL HAPPENINGS

The Black Carnival

Held once per year in the heart of summer, the Black Carnival is an occasion for Morencians to give free rein to their base instincts. Clothed in extravagant costumes, the citizens feast for an entire month, indulging in incredible amounts on food, beverages, and more licentious activities. But recent years have seen the carnival tarnished, as darker habits have begun to spread among the population. Rumours tell of debauched gatherings hosted by dark sorcerers, where torture is conducted in exchange for massive amounts of gold. Even if no such activities have been exposed so far, the level of debauchery has clearly increased, with the most critical voices already associating this deviancy with the new threat, the Dread of the Moonless Night.

The White Carnival

At the end of the year, six months after the Black Carnival, Morencia is usually covered in snow. This is the signal for a very different kind of carnival: a chance to clean all the refuse from the city, be it rubbish or people.
The official white mask worn during the White Carnival is reserved for citizens, and anyone unable to get a mask—by legal means or otherwise—is pursued, placed in a skiff, and exiled across the lagoon.

NOTABLE LOCATIONS

The Misty Reefs

Foolish sailors attempting to cross the Misty Reefs without the help of a Morencian guild navigator usually wander for days in the mist, only to end up at their starting point—if they aren’t wrecked on the treacherous reefs or run aground on a sandbank, that is. Tales of this magical, misty maze speak of moving sandbanks that make any traditional mapping pointless. How the members of the Navigators Guild find their way is one of the mysteries that feeds Morencia’s reputation.

The Arsenal of Morencia

A marvellous demonstration of Morencia’s might, the Arsenal of Morencia serves as an example for other naval powers in Thurlil. It occupies the main entrance to the city and serves as a filter for incoming vessels. The first part is a quarantine zone where crews and merchandise are stationed for forty days before being permitted inside Morencia. The second part shelters the arsenal itself, with the Morencian ships and shipyards.

The Water Strider Bridge

An astonishing piece of architecture takes centre stage in the heart of the canal network of Morencia. Originally a single bridge built above the main canal, it was the site of many trade activities. As a consequence, it was later linked to the surrounding islands by secondary bridges as the city grew larger. It finally became an improbable assembly of four bridges linked to a main bridge, vaguely in the form of a gigantic water strider—hence the name.

FACTIONS AND INSTITUTIONS

The Supreme Council

As the main political body in Morencia, the Supreme Council has the last word on every sensitive matter in Morencia’s political and legal affairs. Historically open to nobles only, its seats are now available for sale, allowing the wealthiest guilds to hold seats and thus gain even more influence in Morencia. Especially in the case of the Bankers Guild, it has become difficult to see where Morencia’s government ends and its business interests begin.

The Carpenter's Guild

The oldest known organization created by the Morencians, the Carpenters Guild also bears one of the most critical responsibilities for Morencia’s continued survival: the guild governs the city’s shipwrights. The reputation of the ships produced by the Great Arsenal of Morencia has spread across all of Thurlil, even as far as the northern Valikan isles. This reputation is well earned: the carpenters undergo five years of harsh training under the supervision of a Master Carpenter, transforming them into essential assets for any substantial expedition requiring on-the-go ship maintenance. This affords them extremely high wages, though not quite reaching the levels of the navigators who safely lead the ships in and out of the Misty Reefs.

The Navigator's Guild

The Navigators Guild holds the secrets of sailing in and out of the Misty Reefs. Such secrets are jealously guarded, as Morencia’s independence mostly relies on the protection provided by the Misty Reefs. In the last decade, however, since the seats on the Supreme Council were opened for sale, the navigators’ prices have risen frequently and sharply. The most vehement critics accuse the Navigators Guild of outright robbery, gouging to afford more seats on the council and thus more power. But more worrying rumours speak of the Mist Spell becoming harder to control and its effects more pronounced, increasing the difficulty of navigating the Misty Reefs.

The Banker's Guild

The Bankers Guild is probably the most influential of the guilds, as they are the only ones authorised to loan money. They of course use this privilege to lend to other Morencian guilds, but also loan money to agents outside the city. Since its absorption by the Augustine Trading Company, the guild has become intertwined with commerce on a global scale. Moreover, it is commonly known that their biggest clients are the Castinella Provinces, which fuels suspicion as to their true allegiances.