Fensalir City Districts
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Layout Overview
Fensalir is the second biggest city in MeIlrath. It contains several main city districts. The city is sprawling, with a roughly crescent-shaped layout. It is concave to the south and convex to the north. This means that both end tips of the crescent shape point to the south.
Due to a height difference in nature, the city has two levels. A ridge divides the crescent-shaped layout lengthwise in two twin-crescents. The northern part of Fensalir, named Upper City, consists of the two districts. Those are Aspenglade and Juniper Hills. The southern part, named Lower City, consist of the three districts. These are The City Center, Pinegarden and Springwater.
The main street named Crescent Street runs trough Fensalir from end to end. It follows the ridge between the upper and lower city, on the lower side. This is the biggest street in Fensalir. A network of other streets connects to it. It covers the whole city and offers a plethora of optional routes.
Fensalir has grown in an organic manner. They built the city in harmony with Nature. This means that the streets are often meandering. This is to spare the trees and the ground unnecessary impact.
Outside of the city proper, south of Springwater you find Fenmoor. This is the small outlaw district where the few criminals of Fensalir dwell. To the northeast, there are old ruins of unknown origin.
Juniper Hills
Juniper Hills is one of the two districts in the upper city. It is a rustic outdoors-man district where people with wilderness occupations and the military thrive. It's a fresh and active place.
The single cottages or mall groups of only a few houses in Juniper Hills are often a bit isolated. Trees dominate the cityscape. The exception is Ydalir Village. This is a military camp with many wooden cottages. There's also military training grounds and buildings. Juniper Hills is a favourite district to live in for hunters, foragers and Ydalir.
Importance
Juniper Hill is essential for the defence of Fensalir. In case enemies attack Fensalir people in the other district may flee to Juniper Hills.
Population
The population during times of peace isn't high, but the district can house more people in case of unrest. Many Ydalir members live here, with families or without. The district is popular among hunters. There are also people who keep goats and other hardy livestock. Some forage berries, nuts and edible wild vegetables.
Goods and Services
The Ydalir’s work is a service of major importance to Fensalir and Myrkvior. Businesses in this district are often revolving around the Ydalir's needs. There are for example local general shops and some taverns.
Typical goods are a high-quality weapon made by renowned smiths and bowyers. Other businesses make winter clothing and wilderness equipment for Ydalir and civilians alike.
There are small scale businesses which produce foodstuffs. Fensalir goat cheese comes in many variants. The district provides the city with smoked venison and fish. Condiments and jams made of wild berries are also produced here. Small anonymous home distilleries make “Forest Star”. This is a legendary strong alcoholic liquor from Fensalir.
Noteworthy landmarks
The military camp named Ydalir Village is the main landmark here. It rises as a natural fort in the middle of Juniper Hills, on a big plateau that is the highest area in Fensalir. Natural ridges surround it and give it an irregular shape. Manmade stone walls reinforce the gaps in the ridges.
The Ydalir Watchtower is a high and sturdy wooden tower. It sits on the very highest point of Ydalir Village. You can see the whole city from the top of the tower and you can even see all the way to The Gates of Melrath.
Aspenglades
Aspenglades is one of the two districts in the upper city. The population is higher than that of Juniper Hills, but Aspenglade is still a fairly calm district built in the mainly deciduous forest. The many leafy trees and small cottage gardens make the district lush in the warmer seasons but in the winters it's one of Fensalir's greyest, palest places.
Importance
In Aspenglades you find a plethora of Houses of Knowledge. They provide Fensalir with traditional education. In Fensalir the importance of this is considered very important.
Contrary to the university in Raelia, Fensalir's scholar education is focused on what the scientist of Raelia call hedgewitch and alternative knowledge. Active practitioners teach traditional knowledge in many fields. Relia tends to not respect Fensalir knowledge institutions in certain areas (like for example political writing) but then Fensalir is known for high knowledge about the wilderness/herbal and botany areas.
Population
This is the main district for healers and other businesses related to knowledge. Lovely district, but also the place where for example dubious alchemists and other “esoteric” people like to live and work.
Goods
Typical goods produced in Aspenglade medicines and herbal preparations, alchemic potions and elixirs, spiritual artefacts and amulets. Books about Fensalir history and folklore are also popular goods. Small booklets about select pieces of traditional knowledge can often be bought used as well as new.
The Houses of Knowledge provides a wide range of education and knowledge services. A plethora of healing services revolving around body and soul can also be found in this district. They range from physical treatments to spiritual and esoteric practices, all of it founded in old Melrathi folk knowledge and traditions.
Noteworthy landmarks
There are many and diverse houses of knowledge in Aspenglades. Many of them are small. From a major landmark point of view, three places stand out.
The House of Tales is the centre for Fensalir’s education about history and traditions. It’s a big, high and beautiful wooden building in the very centre of the district, near the local Ydalir Cottage.
The Houses of Healing are of medium size and each of them offers knowledge in different kinds of healing. The cluster of healing houses is mainly located in the eastern part of the district not far from Juniper Hills. They are practical and robust buildings and serve as infirmaries as well as training centres.
The House of Spirits to the west is not one house but a temple area with several buildings. This is the place where people can learn about the spirits and the Fensalir esoterica. As a landmark, it stands out due to the many colours of the painted facades and the biggest number of spirit carvings anywhere in Fensalir.
The City Center ("Aurelien Town")
The Central District, or “Aurelien Town” in popular speech, is one of the three districts in the lower city. The Center is located in the middle of the lower part of Fensalir, flanked by Pinegarden to the west and Springwater to the East.
Aurelien Town is Fensalir's trade and government district. The atmosphere is active and people are looking busy. The houses are often more than one floor and sometimes as high as three or four floors. There is little or no space between the houses that line the bigger streets, except for narrow small streets and alleys between blocks of houses.
It’s also a very tidy district. All bigger streets are paved with stone and so are the main side streets. But, as this is Fensalir, there’s still a lot of trees too. Those are often growing in green back-gardens or on rocky impediments where it would be hard to build a house.
Importance
This is the political and commercial nexus of Fensalir.
Population
The population is mixed, but many are merchants or people who are involved in the government of the City.
Goods
The district is all about services and sales, not so much about the production of goods. They sell all kinds of wares here and there are almost always people in the taverns. A plethora of services is available.
Noteworthy landmarks
The AurelienArch has mysterious origins but stories suggest that it was there before the city itself was ever founded. The Arch is made from a soft coloured golden marble that is carved with almost inhuman levels of precision.
The City Square is an open square framed by the famed Aurelien Arch. This is also a market place where residents come to relax, shop and peddle their wares. Leatherworking and woodworking are prominent wares for sale here as there is a high demand for leather armour for the local Ydaliri along with beautifully made bows.
Around this central area is also a large outdoor amphitheatre made from stone with a shallow but wide stone pool at the centre on a plinth. Here the leaders of the town come to speak to the people during civil gatherings.
Pinegarden
This one of the districts in the lower city. Pinegarden is located near the river, with a harbour area for the boats which transport goods and passengers between Fensalir and Raelia in the seasons when the river is open. The district is known for its lumber mills and other businesses related to construction and woodworking. The architecture is often simple and so are the local taverns and many small workshops and shops.
Importance
Pinegarden is essential for the production, export and import of goods. It has a major impact on the economy of Fensalir.
Population
The population is mixed and fairly high. The lions part of the people who live in Pinegarden work with jobs related to lumbering, wood-working, construction, engineering, crafts, trade and transportation.
Goods and Services
Typical goods produced in Pinegarden are timber, sawed wood and other wood-working products. Typical services are construction, engineering and services related to trade and transportations.
Noteworthy landmarks
Pinegarden Landing with its docks and warehouses along the river is an unglamorous zone. It’s very important for the boat traffic on the river and the city’s import and export of goods. The boats transport all kinds of goods and also passengers as long as somebody is willing to pay for the shipping.
A bit north of the port the biggest sawmill in Fensalir, Aurelien Timber and Mills, dominates the cityscape. Being an industrial building it is functional but not particularly beautiful. The same goes for other bigger workshops in the area around the landing.
Moving farther into the district and a bit uphill, you enter the neighbourhoods where many of the people who work in Pinegarden live. The houses are mostly one or two floors and if of the ordinary Fensalir style that is prevalent in the whole city. It’s a rustic but not shabby environment. Most houses are homes but there’s also a plethora of small local shops and taverns.
Springwater
Springwater is a very cosy district in the lower city. It's characterized by its many small artisan workshops, taverns and entertainment. The district is a bastion of tradition. The festival meadow of Fensalir is an important area for celebrations and ceremonies. In the early spring, the meadow tends to be flooded and that's the reason for the district's name. All kinds of new businesses start up here, succeed or fail.
Importance
Springwater is the bastion of Melrathi national romance with the special good old Fensalir touch.
Population
The people in this district tend to be particularly fond of the good old lifestyle of Fensalir. Springwater is especially loved by artisans, artists, musicians, festival-goers and other fun-seeking people. It’s not a highly populated district, but it has many visitors and so, it’s often lively.
Goods
Typical goods produced in spring water is traditional handicraft and other artisan products. The beautifully decorated traditional chests, boxes, kitchenware and furniture are well known not only in Fensalir but in the whole of McIlrath. Other products of importance are traditional home-woven cloth and ribbons, traditional clothing for all occasions, traditionally knitted sweaters with colourful and intricate traditional patterns, all kind of traditional leatherwork items.
Typical services are, for example, painting of ornamental decorations on demand, recitation of stories and other cultural services. The taverns offer specialities with secret recipes in a typical good old traditional locations with a lot of Fensalir atmosphere.
Noteworthy landmarks
The people who live in Springwater have a preference for beautiful small houses and picturesque atmosphere. There are no big buildings that stand out as landmarks. Springwater is instead something of an intricate one-floor labyrinth. A mix of cosy cottages in particularly beautiful gardens, small artisan businesses, small shops and taverns line meandering streets which follows the terrain. It’s easy to lose your way in Springwater.
The Festival Meadow is as the name says, a forest meadow where the citizenry of Fensalir can have fun at festivals or go on picnics with family and friends. In early spring it’s often flooded.
Fenmoor
Criminality is low in Fensalir, but it exists. Fenmoor is Fensalir’s small den of crime and sin, located outside the nice crescent shape, south of Springwater. It is a small, shabby and sparsely populated settlement in the shadows of dense and dark old forest. Fenmoor is often not recognized as a real part of Fensalir.
Importance
It would be a lie to say that the lawful people in Fensalir find Fenmoor important. The impact on Fensalir consists of crime.
Population
Some are born and raised there and members of families who have been living outside of the law for generations. These often feel that they own Fenmoor and are entitled to rule over it with their own codex. Other inhabitants ended up there for some reason or another. The native criminals despise the newcomers for being losers and often take advantage of them. Potential honest people in the district are seen as naïve oddballs but are cherished for being useful living proof that Fenmoor people can be good guys with hearts of gold, deep down.
Goods
The people in Fenmoor aren’t known to produce any goods except for the infamous low-quality liquor named “Fenmoor’s Blight” in popular speech. In Fenmoor it’s only called “The Drink”.
The drink trade is under control of a small group of outlaws who call themselves “Fenmoor Boys”. Those dominate their part of the Fenmoor and oppress their neighbours.
It’s not like the inhabitants of Fenmoor are service-minded, but they do provide certain services. These services range from storage of goods and creative writing of papers to protection of all kinds and elimination of problems. There are few a few taverns and some obscure shops with illegal wares
Noteworthy landmarks
Nothing is noteworthy in Fenmoor. The opposite. People in Fenmoor aren’t looking to make their homes stand out, at least not on the outside. The houses look anonymous. Everything looks the same wherever you go. No signs reveal what’s going on inside any buildings, except for when its taverns.
It’s hard to find your way in the settlement. For people with an errand in Fenmoor, the best tactic is often to pay one of the locals to guide you. Strolling around without the protection of your guide is not recommended.
The Old Ruins.
This is not a modern city district in today’s Fensalir, but a place in the wilderness outside the city, to the northeast. It’s abandoned. Like the Aurelien Arc, it’s a mysterious inheritance from Fensalir’s unknown past. The old ruins remain to be explored. According to tales from the old times when Fensalir was colonized weird things happened there. The people of Fensalir decided to stay away from the ruins. The exact size of the zone is still unknown. Again, according to tales from the old times, there are ruin locations under the ground as well as above.
Importance
The Old Ruins is a mystery. The tradition is to let the ruins rest in peace and not disturb what spirits may have their home there.
Population
Most people never go near the ruins. But, hunters have seen wild animals run away and disappear into the ruins like they are at home there. Some believe that the animals moved in when the unknown previous inhabitants were gone and so, the ruins became a safe haven for the wildlife. Many find that plausible. Other stories, about crazy hermits and bizarre beings and undead living in the ruins, are considered to be nothing else than entertaining hogwash.
Goods and services
So far, very little is known about what you can find in the old ruins.
Noteworthy landmarks
The Entrance Portal is the most known landmark. When you approach the ruins, you can see a high archway of stone and the stairs leading up to it. That is all, for now.
Credits to: Ashling
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