Rightspear
From Ardesia
The largest city in Tayel, Rightspear lies on the north bank of the Swift River just downriver of its confluence with the Serpent, in the middle of the broad Swift Valley. It was once part of the much larger Steel Age city of Hadur, before the portion south of the river was ruined during the Witch Wars. The widespread decay since the Witch Wars and the advent of the Interdict Arcænum much reduced the remaining northern quarters that became Rightspear.
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[edit] Character
Rightspear is a bustling city inhabiting the relics of another age. The architecture, old and new, consists mostly of wooden buildings with steep, clay-tiled roofs, and deep eaves to shelter passers-by from rain during the long springs and to leave a passage clear of snow during the deep winters. Seasonal buildings left fallow during the wet seasons are re-roofed with cane and sun-baked clay in the summer. Bright tents and awnings line the thoroughfares and slowly shifting warrens of alleys weave together refashioned buildings.
The cityscape varies from tall pagodas, to rows of single-storey shops, to wide plazas crowded by a tumult of balconied public buildings and private residences. The landscape of the city is one of order imposed on disorder, layered over a city built for a different time.
[edit] Districts
Brush Lane is the scriveners' and bookbinders' district.
Hammer Way is named for the incessant pounding of hammer on anvil that fills the air in this district. The smithies are mostly bronzeworks producing cast bronze and brass. Copperworks are also common. A few ironworks produce a trickle of goods of a quality vastly inferior to their Steel Age counterparts.
The Emporium is the warren of squares, streets, rope bridges, warehouses, and alleys where traders unload their caravans and buyers come to find the best deals and to seek the more exotic wares. Part sprawling bazaar, part shipping yard, and part festival, it is the most lively district of the city. During the day shops, tents, and stalls spring up in ever-changing configurations between the inns, stables, and warehouses. During the night revellers stream between taverns, open-air performances under swamplight, smokehouses, and other more select entertainments. The constabulary maintains a strong presence in the Emporium day and night, ensuring that citizens and visitors alike are safe, and with them, the economic well-being of the city.
Stickpin Alley is no longer a mere alley, having spread from the eponymous Alley to cover a warren of byways run through by a high street. Here the shops of clothmakers, dyers, tailors, and sailmakers rub shoulders.
[edit] Landmarks
Queen's Gate pierces the west-by-northwest wall of the city. It leads to the Queen's Road and, farther on, the Way of the Dragon.
River Gate pierces the east wall near the riverbank. Most crops arrive in Rightspear by the River Road.
The pagodas of the Lord's Hall can be seen from many parts of the city.
[edit] The Barrows
The Barrows is the decayed ruins of the part of ancient Hadur that lay to the south of the river. It was laid waste in a battle near the end of the Witch Wars. Since no-one dared to re-enter the ruins and brave the corruption that has taken root there, the dead laid unburied and the whole was declared an inviolable mass grave. In the century since the end of the wars, the taboo has weaked, but it is still shunned by the people of the city except a few brave or foolhardy individuals who seek lost treasure.
The avoidance of the Barrows is not merely old superstition or respect for the dead. Strange noises and unearthly cries occasionally drift across the river, and a some people claim to see lights that flicker just at the edge of vision around some buildings at night. The ruins are said to be haunted by the dead, and rumours persist of fell creatures—or worse, wizards—who have made them their home.
[edit] Southbank
Southbank is where the brave and foolhardy meet, trade, and find partners in arms. The wharves were the only part of the old south bank of Hadur left standing. With the passing of the last veterans of the wars and the weakening of the taboo against trespassing in the Barrows, a rude shantytown sprang up. Less than a generation old, it already has a small resident population of adventurers, grave robbers, and other shady figures. The citizens of Rightspear are generally ignorant of the existence of Southbank except by rumour, and the itinerant and permanent residents of Southbank prefer it this way. Though the old bridges have long since fallen into the river, a few pole barges will make the crossing if the offered price is enough and the asker is discreet.
[edit] Powers
The city is ruled by a Lord Mayor appointed by the Queen of Tayel. Lord Mayor Quentis Marksright is the current appointment. Below him are the Harbour Master and the Chief Constable, also appointed by the Queen. By ancient royal decree, the Master of Arms of the regiment of Royal Dragons stationed in Rightspear is of equal rank to the Lord Mayor.
[edit] Guilds
By royal charter, the Guilds of Rightspear have the authority to regulate their areas of trade. Heads of Guilds are proposed by popular acclaim among the tradesworkers and appointed by the Queen. The most prominent Guilds include:
- Guild of Esteemed Bookbinders and Scriveners
- Guild of Venerable Bronzesmiths
- Guild of Respected Lamplighters
- Guild of Revered Weavers and Dyers
- Guild of Peerless Dockworkers
[edit] The Thieves' Guild
The Guild of Thieves is certainly not a chartered Guild, but operates in the city nonetheless. It is only semi-secret, as officials know about its existence. Some suspect that the Guild manages to survive chiefly by playing the Constabulary and the Royal Dragons off each other, while others impute its survival to corruption among the tangle of city officials.
[edit] Constabulary
The Constabulary is Rightspear's independent police force, which reports directly to the Lord Mayor. The current Chief Constable is Seder Crowborne, a master swordsman who prefers patrolling to bureaucratic drudgery. There is a sort of professional rivalry between the Constabulary and the city's Royal Dragons.
[edit] Royal Dragons
A regiment of the Queen's Royal Dragons is permanently assigned to Rightspear. The Master of Arms reports regularly to the Queen, by proxy or in person. The large military presence has always been ostensibly to safeguard Rightspear and its environs as a centre of trade, but also effectively checks any ambitions a Lord Mayor might have against the interests of the Queen. Though only ever necessary in the early days of the Queendom, the decree remains in place.
[edit] The Queen's Representative
The Queen's Representative to Rightspear is a largely ceremonial position today. What duties remain are mostly diplomatic, though they do include regular reports to the Queen. The Representative has no official oversight capacity, but does serve as a palpable reminder of the will of the Queen.
[edit] The Harbourmaster
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[edit] Laws
- It is illegal to beg in the city. Beggars are delivered to the soldiery by the constabulary, who in turn assign them to one of the Queen's farms with duties according to their abilities.
[edit] Trade and industry
The two primary crops of Rightspear and its surroundings are amaranth, a food crop, and hemp, a textile crop. Amaranth flour is a staple trade item. Other crops include a variety of citruses; though they give Rightspear cooking its distinctive character, they don't travel well and so are not a valuable export. Rightspear also exports hempen cloth, paper, and canvas, and products made from them: sailcloth, clothing, books, and art.
A copper, brass, and bronze industry thrives in Rightspear, since workable iron is still very rare. A few smithies produce iron goods, and though the quality is still generally poor there is enough demand to sustain them.
Goods produced in Tayel apart from Rightspear often appear in its markets due to its central location. Wool, livestock, fish of a varieties of sorts and preparations, amaranth wine, vinegar, cheeses, and preserves, and more are to be had in Rightspear. Imported good such as spices, wines, Iolan dream crystals, and horses can also be found.
[edit] Geography
Rightspear lies on the north bank of the Swift River, separating it from The Barrows and Southbank. Outside the walls, fields and orchards carpet the fertile soil of the river valley, divided by a copses of trees and dusty roads, and dotted with villages and markets wherever there is a crossroads. The fields are irrigated with ditches dug from the many streams and creeks that feed into the Swift. The hills where the streams find their source are home to shepherds and their flocks.
