Deneb

As promised, Ostia. This is another of a small selection of pieces aimed at revealing a little bit more about the world itself and some of the key locations.

Situated in the drier, warmer southeastern tip of the continent, Ostia, the city by the sea. It has been both a major port for trade across the endless sea in times-gone-by to primarily a fishing town. Most of the trade ships now are from other parts of Xi trying to avoid tax or bandits to get goods onto the markets along the River Thefarie.  Passenger ships and fancier goods (silk and spices) primarily use the western docks on the rich-side of the river. The heavy fishing industry and less valuable goods operate out of the eastern-docks.

East of the river, behind the docks, everything grows progressively more poverty-stricken and disease-ridden as you travel away from the water. Shanty towns, street urchins, cut-throats, brothels and taverns where if the drink doesn’t kill you the clientele will. West of the river you’ll find moneylenders, merchants, courtesans and bistros’ that charge more for a bottle of wine than most people in the city earn in a year. Not to mention a market-place with some of the rarest goods in all of Xi. 

The question of who runs the city has two answers depending on your point of view. Some would say it was run by the Maeb syndicate, a criminal organisation that has a hand in just about everything that goes on in the underworld of the city. Others would say it was the duly elected Governor Mattia Russo.

You can hear rumours from across the world in the city by the sea, but the greatest secrets whispered in the dark alleys of Ostia concern the practically mythical organisation of assassins known only as the Shadow.

Key dates in the history of “Ostia”

This was making it difficult to browse the whole project, so moved to the comments on this post for anyone who is interested.