User:John Pyle/Port Town

This article is currently only a proposal

The features or design guidelines described in this article are only a proposal made by one or some persons. It has not been evaluated or accepted by the core development team yet. Feel free to add your personal opinion about them or make counter proposals.

Constructed atop the ruins of the once-great Tritan city of Seratera, Port City is a flourishing urban atmosphere of constant growth. The impressive walls and statues are testament to the city's success. The docks are alive and vigorous with activity. The port supplies all of the surrounding areas, such as Bulwark and Hurnscald, which in turn supply most of Argaes.

History Since the Quake

(for history before the Quake, see: The Tritans)

Very few Tritans survived the Quake. Most who survived sought to rebuild their under sea city of Cerulea, but some remained topside to reconstruct the port in hopes of returning life to the ways of the past. As they were so few in numbers, when assistance was offered by Sabborus Keshlam of Tonori, the Tritans accepted.

Workers arrived along with a protective military presence. Most opted to stay, delighting in the weather, the work, and the Tritan's cultural influence on architecture and lifestyle. It wasn't long before people began to arrive in droves as news of Argaes's beauty traveled east. The Tonori plains were quickly fading into a desert; the farms ceasing to provide, and the successes of Port City had traveled to the desert, as well as Tempus to the north. This period was called the Talponian-Gispaan migration to Argeas. Tulimshar might have been nearly abandoned had Keshlam's people not discovered crystals in the Gispaan mountains.

Modern History

Four generations have passed since Sabborus Keshlam introduced Argaes to his Talponian people, and his dynasty is continued by Tal Tempus Keshlam. The port prospers; now flaunting three large docks and many smaller piers.

While the presence of Keshlam's guards at the port and throughout the city has made the people feel safe, the tax reliefs and other benefits granted by the city to ships and citizens under Keshlam's banner has become increasingly unpopular. Recently, the tension between the Isolationists and Keshlam's guards and followers has manifested in protests, debates, ill conduct on the streets, harassment of the guards, and countless bar-fights. Those in favor of severing the over-arching relationship with Keshlam's empire can be heard calling the city by its Tritan name, Seratera.

Society

The Elite

Living in the finest real estate along the well-lighted city thoroughfares, this group owns the luxury shops within the city, and the majority of the shipping industry in the port. A large elite circle claim pure Talponian descent and, although race is not as important as before the quake, seem to look down upon those who are not pure of blood. Most of the elite support Keshlam's presence, which the lower SES populace attributes to alleged gifts and business tax breaks from the Keshlam-backed city rulers.

Tritans

While many of the Tritans in the city are rich and have the finest real estate, they are not considered, nor do they consider themselves among the elite.

Ancestors of the Tritan elite intermarried with Talponians and Ruiscans, as did many other Tritans living in Port City. As a result, while Tritan genetics resonate with intensity in their children's physical appearance, the youth are born without the ability to breath in the water like their pure brethren. They, however, are not shunned or looked down on by pure Tritans who tend to keep to their own; seemingly to avoid being seduced by a mate of another race and thus denying their offspring the ability to visit their undersea world of Cerulea without the assistance of magic.

Pure Tritans favor dock work, and especially enjoy wading into the water to send skiffs off beyond the waves of the beach. They also provide communication and goods from Cerulea, as well as guide adventurers in the long swim to the undersea world.

Structures

The Wall

An enormous stone block wall keeps the city safe and defines its square boundaries. Four gates allow access into the city, one from the docks and one more from each the north, east, and west. The gates are named in four different tongues for the wind. Boreas to the north, Volturnus to the south, Zephyrus to the east and Eurus to the west. They represent the power that the wall and the gates provide, as well as the control over friendly winds within the bay that provide access to the rest of the world.

The Square of Antares

The four roads that lead from the main city gates intersect at the center of the city where a beautiful, large, open area welcomes citizens and visitors alike. From each of the four corners, statues overlook the square, which is used for many various events and activities.

The Lighthouse

The splendorous light of the Feu de Joie serves to warn ships of their proximity to the docks, although today it is generally considered nothing more than a just a stunning monument to the greatness of the city; as most ship captains navigate the port with familiarity.

While the light still glows atop the monument, none live within, nor visit the water-locked island. The lighthouse has a dark history that the citizens of Port City do not often share, as they are happy to enjoy its radiance from afar.

Years ago, when the monument was completed, the magician responsible for illuminating the lighthouse was rewarded with the honor of living on the island. He happily accepted and moved in with his family. For decades the magician and his wife and child lived in the house; seemingly content, and often visiting the city.

Long after the child had grown and left home, and age had settled on the couple, they seldom left the island. It did not go unnoticed, however, when the couple did not come to town for an extraordinarily long time. Citizens gathered silently at the shore across from the island where they heard menacing howls, screaming, and other horrible noises.

Three city guards waded into the water and quietly swam to the island. As they approached the door, they had not a chance to open it when a large creature, the likes of which they had never seen, burst through and charged at them with a vicious cry. The three men fought the monster with all of their might, but when a second and third beat appeared through the doorway, the men fled to the water. To the warriors' relief, the monsters did not follow; angry over the escape but fearful of the water. They returned unsatisfied through the doorway and disappeared within the lighthouse.

Many adventurers have fought their way deep into the lighthouse, but the horde within is tremendous and seems to be growing. Citizens fear that they will never recapture their beautiful light.

Notes

Please add comments, criticisms, and questions here.

• City design, names by Irukard. The names of structures are actual mythological terms and may need to be changed for originality.
• Section "the square of antares": Four statues of who? 1) Sabborus Keshlam, 2)Some Tritan Lord, 3)Some other Keshlam, ...?
• Lighthouse monster TBD ;)
• Conceptualisation for artists/developers: Port City might be designed to match the back story in the following ways: Tritan influence on architecture, Talponian military presence, imperial/local NPC tensions