City-State of Southaven

The mighty bastion of the Diounic faith spreads with careful precision between Baldurdun’s Bay along the mouth of the River Tawn then splays haphazardly across the landscape beyond. The Tawn ploughs through the heart of the city in straight, right angled canals around cubes of islands, babbling and lapping into the sea beyond the docks. Southaven was meticulously planned to the very last detail at its founding, and some traces of the great, arrow straight tree lined avenues and uniform, whitewashed buildings with their ornate façades can been seen around the Great Basilica, however the city got away from it’s designers within the first year of its life, and little or no control has been exerted upon its obscene sprawling, obese with the riches of the Isle, since. Geographically speaking the city is broken up into six districts, each named and designated by the original designers of Southaven, and despite the names being deeply misleading they are still used today.

Region: Ahlonia, Southaven
Total Population: 81,500 approx.
Demographics:
Government:
Wealth:
Tech. Level: 6
Major Industry:
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The Waterfront
By far the largest of the city’s districts is the Waterfront, and a good portion of the nature of the city’s initial design remains apparent here. The roads are broad, paved and lined with trees, and long planked-over troughs on either side of the road are regularly flushed out with sea-water so that the filth, disease and stench of most cities is notably absent here, replaced by the smell of brine and salt. Throughout the length of the waterfront the Tawn is cut into a two-channel canal, low enough that vessels can pass under the arched bridges that pass over its length. The central block between the two canals is the most desirable neighbourhood in the city, with only the wealthiest merchants making their homes here, and public gardens and tree-lined avenues are common. The waterfront stretches the breadth of the city running along the banks of the Tawn where it passes through Southaven.

The North Docks
North and around the coast from the Waterfront sit the North Docks. Possibly the first and most notable thing to mention about the North Docks is that they are the site of Daelin Nole’s extensive headquarters, and are by far the largest base of support for the T’Ovari. But despite their lack of official enforcement they are not the rough haven of criminality that this might lead the casual observer to expect. The only crimes, even petty ones, that occur here are those sanctioned by the T’Ovari, other criminals tend not to survive, unless they are especially talented, in which case they are given the option of joining up before they are murdered. Historically speaking though, agreeing to join has not always been a method of averting the murder. The north docks are a bustling region of activity day and night, many of the buildings are warehouses erected hurriedly while the stock destined for them was mere days from port, and as a result the docks have a ramshackle sort of quality, but are kept in good repair with many warehouses having half-finished more permanent sections. Roads are often blocked by piles of crates or chain-gangs of men moving goods so the landscape and routes through the district change near daily. And the trading ships docked here, great mobile buildings in their own right, add to this constant shift.

The Market District
To the rear of the North Docks, still north inland, sits the Market District, another staunchly T’Ovari territory and the centre for trade, and also the newest and least orderly and clean part of the city-state. The guard here, as in the north docks, are paid by the T’Ovari and not from the Grand High Prelate’s coffers, and the gate tax that those entering the city returns to the North Docks. Easily the most organically grown district, the Market District centres on a broad market square where goods come directly from the docks to be peddled to the guilds, merchant vessels or the folk of Southaven. Here the clean decorative façades that characterize the city surround the square on all sides, but the approaches to the square all show the bare bricks of the buildings flanks.

The Guilds District
In the north eastern portion of the city, east of the Market District is the Guilds District. The guilds remained carefully politically unaligned, so this portion of the city is, at least ostensibly, under the rule of the Prelates. The Guilds District is another newer addition to Southaven, but the money behind the construction had led it to emulate much of the older inner city, and the streets are clean, uniformed, well lit and well maintained, though often by personal rather than state investment, but without the canals that characterize the Waterfront. Extensive guild houses and headquarters for the guilds of Shipwrights, Carpenters, Stonemasons and Scribes exist here, where guild agents can be housed, business conducted and goods and wealth hoarded. These enormous, multi-level buildings usually do not house the guilds senior officers, who have residences on the Waterfront for the most part, but any guild business is addressed here.

The Churchmen’s District
South of the Guilds District is the area called the Churchmen’s District. Actually most of the churchmen make their homes along the Waterfront however, this was the historical home of all of the churchmen and many small monasteries and other communal dwellings exist here as well as most of the city’s public services, even the Barracks of the Koric Guard. For the most part these buildings are low, modest, and cluster together around central shared courtyards where the priests eat their meals and generally work as a unit. Because they are forbidden to marry these houses are seldom more than an airy cell and a dry-store room for food.

Locations of Interest


The Great Basilica
At the southernmost point of the city where the coast arcs into a hook around the sheltered cove on which the docks sit the Great Basilica and the buildings that service it are built. This is the spiritual, if not necessarily the political, heart of Southaven. The huge dome surrounded by eight smaller out-buildings sits in a walled enclosure of classical buildings, sculpture, gardens and plazas. The orders each have their own monastery here where visiting members are housed and where the orders scripture is held, though initiates are taught elsewhere. The suites of the prelates, the High Prelate of Southaven, the Grand High Prelate and the church vaults are all housed here too.

Notable Groups and Individuals


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