Tern

The Market City, Tern is famous for its hosting over thousands of merchants from across the globe, mostly the eastern hemisphere, everyday.

Demographics

Wealth is the determining fact of success for Ternians, and this culture has developed perhaps one of the worst class divides in the eastern hemisphere.

Guilds and Factions

After settling the island originally, the Guichan wizards constructed a small farm and a tower near the base of the volcano. The pirates who settled soon after were kept away by magical defenses, and it wasn't until the Trade Prince arrived and was able to navigate to the tower that the wizards were willing to see any outsiders. Young wizards around Zantin heard rumor of the tower and arrived to Tern in hopes of becoming an apprentice to the solitary wizards. It wasn't until the city was built around the tower that the tower was revealed to be a portal to Sahirum, the exclusive plane for members of the Mages Guild. The Mages Guild now has a public guild hall in Tern.

History

The island was settled sometime around 1240 by Guichan wizards looking to study their magic in solitude but was never officially a territory of Ivaguicha. Because the island remained neutral, it became an ideal spot for pirates to stage raids and retreat. 20 years later, just as Ivaguicha and Saloria were preparing an assault on the island in their attempt to rid the sea of pirates, they received a letter from a man known only as "the Trade Prince". He claimed to have eliminated the bandit threat and established a community for all goods to pass freely from country to country.
The Trade Prince did not claim authority over the island, however his word carried heavy weight so when he suggested the use of half-orc slaves in order to quickly build the city, opponents to the plan did not speak against him. The city was completed in just under a decade. Despite this, the Trade Prince continued to utilize the slaves leading to several attempted uprisings.
No one knows why, but the Trade Prince had a particular hatred for draconic creatures. A rumor emerged that one day while walking in the market a dragonborn bumped into him and he sliced the dragonborn's throat, leaving him to die in the street. Rumor reached as far as Aknara and dragonborn sailors refused to stop at Tern.
Recently, a party, believed to be Sinfatum, arrived to sell a dragon skeleton at Tern. While the exact events are unknown, it is believed that the party is related to Trade Prince's disappearance, which has left a power vacuum on the island.

Geography

The city is build into a ridge leading up Rekan and extends out to the western shores where ports have been built into inlets with deep waters. The ground becomes flatter the closer it is to the water making the area susceptible to tsunamis.

Infrastructure

In order to combat the potential of flooding in the city, aqueducts and levies were constructed through the city. Buildings closer to the water were built with a secondary function of wave-breaking to help mitigate a potential tsunami's destruction. There is a clear disparity between higher and lower class construction. Wealth is well represented in the quality of wood and craftsmanship in high-class housing, often using imported lumber and stone and bearing engravings or sculpted columns. As wealth decreases, houses begin to look more like shacks on stilts; elevated to prevent flooding during rain season but thin walls with patchy ceilings provide little in way of shelter from the elements.

Type

City

Population

90000

Inhabitant Demonym

Ternian