Alarcus: Created page with "'''Sammendare''' (pronounced {{IPA|/ˈsæməndɛr/}}) is the largest city of the nation of Maranche, and one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities on the world (Iñi)| of Ym, with a population of over a hundred thousand people drawn from every thede. Located on the eastern shore of Lli, Sammendare is a thriving port, but it also has rich traditions of woodcrafting and of magic..."

2022-01-04T07:55:15Z

Created page with "'''Sammendare''' (pronounced {{IPA|/ˈsæməndɛr/}}) is the largest city of the nation of Maranche, and one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities on the world (Iñi) of Ym, with a population of over a hundred thousand people drawn from every thede. Located on the eastern shore of Lli, Sammendare is a thriving port, but it also has rich traditions of woodcrafting and of magic..."

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'''Sammendare''' (pronounced {{IPA|/ˈsæməndɛr/}}) is the largest [[city]] of the [[sovereign state|nation]] of [[Maranche]], and one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities on the [[world (Iñi)|world]] of [[Ym]], with a population of over a hundred thousand people drawn from every [[thede]]. Located on the [[east]]ern shore of [[Lli]], Sammendare is a thriving [[port]], but it also has rich traditions of [[woodcrafting]] and of [[magic]]al artifice. It is also known as a center of [[art]] and culture, and many of the greatest [[artist]]s and [[writer]]s of Ym live within its walls.

Sammendare is sometimes called the "[[Chimera]] City", partly for the dramatic difference between its parts, but mostly because of a colorful time in its early history when magical modification and combination of physical forms was a major part of the city's tradition—a tradition that still lives on to a large degree in the district called the [[Shadow (Sammendare)|Shadow]].

==Geography==
Sammendare is located at the [[mouth (river)|mouth]] of the [[Tatabada River]], the second largest [[river]] of the [[continent]] of Lli. It spans both sides of the river, but the majority of the city, including its oldest parts, lies to the [[north]]. North of the river the city is divided by the [[Beetle Cliffs]] that rise over the river; while originally the [[cliff]]s formed the northern boundary of the city, now the city has spread to the clifftop as well, and a fair distance into the [[savanna]] beyond. [[South]] of the city lies the [[Rabawe Forest]], the southernmost [[building]]s of the city constructed among the [[tree]]s so that it's not entirely clear where the city ends and the [[forest]] begins.

Sammendare is conventionally considered to comprise seven main parts. These are not administrative divisions; each of the parts of the city is itself divided into several districts. The [[Old City]] is, as the name suggests, the original part of the city, and is surrounded by its own [[city wall|wall]]s, though those walls no longer serve a defensive purpose and have in many places been modified or incorporated into buildings. The Old City is bounded on the south by the river, on the east by the [[Central Sea]]—or more specifically by the [[Bight of Crabs]], the small bay east of the river's mouth—, and on the north by the Beetle Cliffs. The [[west]]ern boundary of the Old City is demarcated only by the city walls; beyond it is the [[Reach (Sammendare)|Reach]], a newer part of the city that is further upstream along the river's edge. Most of the largest [[government]] buildings are in the Old City, and land there is more expensive than anywhere else in the city. While most of the wealthiest Sammendari live in the Old City, the Reach is populated more by the middle class, and is noted for its experimental [[architecture]] and a somewhat eclectic feel.

On the other side of the river is the [[South City]], sometimes less prosaically called the Woods. While the [[northeast]]ern part of this district, along the river's edge, is very similar in character to the Old City and the Reach, the farther it gets from the Old City the more rustic the South District becomes; at the edges it thins to scattered buildings nestled among the trees. On the opposite side of the city, atop the cliff is the [[High City]], or the Barbican. The youngest and poorest of the major parts of the city, the High City has a reputation as being uncultured and somewhat lawless, but some bohemian artists have found it very much to their liking, and spontaneous street art is a common sight there.

Accessible from the Old City through the gap between the coast and the cliffs is the [[Shadow (Sammendare)|Shadow]], a district built along the north shore of the bight; it gets its name from the fact that it's in the shadow of the Beetle Cliffs. Part of the district, indeed, is carved into the cliffs themselves. The Shadow is relatively isolated from the rest of the city, and has resisted some of the change that has occurred elsewhere; this district represents a holdout of some of the enthusiasm for [[transfigurement]] and body modification that characterized the city in its early days, and many of the Shadow's residents have bizarre forms and features that make them stand out elsewhere in the city. The Shadow is not the only place where tunnels and chambers have been built into the cliff, but the subterranean areas north of the Old City and the Reach are considered a separate district, the [[Low City]], or the Warren. The Low City is considered the [[entertainment]] center of the city, and has many [[theater]]s, [[gaming house]]s, and other amusements, though dangerous monsters haunt the edges of the district.

The last major part of Sammendare is [[White Island]], a separate [[island]] in the bight accessible from the rest of the city only by [[ferry]] or by [[translocation]]. White Island is the [[industry|industrial]] center of the city—originally, as the city grew, many industries sprung up in what is now the Reach, outside of the city proper (the present-day Old City), but the [[tannery|tanneries]], [[refinery|refineries]], and other establishments produced toxic byproducts that [[pollution|polluted]] the river with their runoff, including the part of the river that passed through the Old City downstream. Accordingly, the government at the time incentivized these businesses to move elsewhere, and an island offshore seemed an ideal location to avoid affecting the river. Most of the industries are on the east side of the island, facing away from the rest of the city; the west side of the White Island is more sparsely populated.

==History==
The settlement that would become Sammendare began as an outpost of the [[Weradi]], a [[subthede]] of the [[Ini]]. While its location at the mouth of the Tatabada and at the edge of the Rabawe made it rich in resources and ideally suited for [[trade]], its [[climate]] was a little cooler than most Ini found congenial, and for several hundred years it stayed a relatively small town. A few other Ini did move there, and it gradually grew, but never beyond the space between the river and the cliff, and not more than a few hundred meters from the shore. Even so, it was a major locus of [[trade]], and the ample [[hardwood]] from the nearby forest made it an important center of [[ship]]building.

The town's fortunes changed when it was visited by travelers from across the [[ocean]]—a party of [[Zynir]] who had crossed the [[Central Sea]]. This was the first meeting between the Ini and the Zynir, and the Zynir and the Weradi took to each other immediately, finding they had a common interest in [[body modification]], albeit in different manners. Soon a fair population of Zynir had settled in the city, bringing their own culture and innovation to mix with the native Ini. This also attracted more Ini of other subthedes to the city, drawn by curiosity to see the exotic Zynir.

As word spread beyond the Ini, the [[Ta'at]] were the next thede to have a significant presence in the city, finding its climate and [[terrain]] not too different from that of their own homeland. The Ta'at helped the city spread to the other side of the river, extending into the forest, while the increased population also forced it to expand in other directions as well. Almost from the city's founding, it had had some [[fortification]]s at the top of the cliff to prevent attacks from that position by enemies who could use the higher ground to their advantage; now the old fortifications became subsumed into a new part of the city. Eventually immigrants came to the city from all over Lli and [[Walland]], and to the Ini, Zynir, and Ta'at who already inhabited the city were added [[Kander]] and [[Qalili]]. The latter put their own mark on the growing city as they used their [[thedy power]]s over [[stone]] to carve new passages and structures into the rock of the cliffs, helping the city expand further in a previously inaccessible direction.

Sammendare was therefore one of the first major settlements in Ym to become a cosmopolitan city, with people of different thedes and from different [[continent]]s mixing together—and some [[historian]]s believe that it played a major role in promoting cultural exchange in the rest of the world as well. In any case, as the people of Ym did become more connected and [[communication]] and commerce between different people increased, Sammendare, already inhabited by several thedes, attracted immigrants from all over the world. Today people of all the [[thede]]s of Ym can be found in Sammendare, the Chimera City.

==Government==
Formally, the ruler of Sammendare is the Eternal Mayor, [[Lu Ta Itagi]]. He is counseled by three [[Mayor's Adviser|adviser]]s: one representing the [[church]]es of the city, one representing the [[guild]]s, and one representing the common people. In practice, Itagi has done no actual governing for centuries, for the simple reason that he's [[death|dead]]—not [[undead]], just dead. His three advisers meet with his [[corpse]] purportedly to counsel him and to interpret his will, but this is all ceremonial; it is the advisers that really rule the city, and who decide on citywide issues by majority [[voting|vote]]. The three current advisers are [[Sabala Gaar]], representing the churches; [[Kazana Yin]], representing the guilds; and [[Gharadi Ubal]], representing the common people.

The advisers may be the most powerful people in the city, but they do not rule alone. Each adviser has their own [[Adviser's Council|council]] whom they consult for advice and discussion. The councils are entirely appointed by the corresponding advisers, although new advisers usually retain most of the members of their predecessors' councils. A fourth council, the [[City Council (Sammendare)|City Council]], helps govern the city as a whole. Unlike the Adviser's Councils, the City Council is not appointed by the advisers, but elected directly by the citizens. However, the City Council only has as much power as the Mayor's Advisers choose to delegate to it; they may defer to the council if they are deadlocked or undecided, or if the matter in question is one in which they have little direct interest.

The advisers themselves are in principle appointed directly by the Eternal Mayor. Again, in practice, since the Eternal Mayor is in no position to make any decisions about appointments, the advisers appoint themselves, or rather when one adviser steps down or passes away, the other two advisers appoint their replacement—and if they cannot agree on that replacement, they may call upon the City Council to decide between their two candidates. On those rare occasions when two advisers must be replaced at once, the remaining adviser has ''carte blanche'' to choose both replacements. Presumably if all three advisers stepped down or passed away at the same time, the choice of their replacements would be up to the City Council, but so far that has never happened.

The Mayor's Advisers and the City Council run the city as a whole, but Sammendare is large enough that they can't deal with every local matter. To that end, the city is divided into thirty [[administrative district]]s. Each district has its own [[district council (Sammendare)|district council]] that governs it, and that may appoint other officials and departments as it sees fit. The district councils are given considerable leeway in how they run their districts, and while the Advisers have the power to step in and overrule any decision by a district council, they only rarely find it necessary to exercise that power.

==Law==
{{main|Law in Sammendare}}
City laws are passed by the Advisers, and by the City Council on matters the advisers do not deign to deal with personally. They are enforced by the [[Sammendare City Guard|city guard]], under the oversight of the [[City Commander]]. The City Commander is appointed by the Mayor's Advisers, but once appointed runs their department more or less independently, though the advisers can replace the commander if displeased by their work. The current City Commander is a tall [[Vali]] woman named [[Ibhira Garghi]].

For the most part, Sammendare's laws are fairly lenient. Offenses that are obviously harmful to society, such as [[theft]] and [[murder]], are of course outlawed, but there are few "moral laws"; the city government does not bother itself with what people do with their own bodies so long as it does not result in damage to the [[life]] or [[property]] of others. Penalties for violation of the law, however, can be severe. While outright [[capital punishment]] is rare, only carried out in cases in which the offender is thought to pose a direct and otherwise unavoidable threat to the health of the city, sentences often include various [[transformation]]s that some might consider worse than [[death]]. [[Imprisonment]] is not as frequent a punishment as it is in many other lands, but does occur; Sammendare's two main [[prison]]s are [[Knock Island Prison|Knock Island]], set upon the [[Knock Island|eponymous island]] [[southeast]] of White Island, and the [[Mayor's Dungeon]], deep in the Warren.

Though the city guard can sentence offenders directly, offenders have the right to appeal their sentence to a [[judge (Sammendare)|judge]]. Judges are appointed not on the citywide level, but by the councils of each district, though as with other district matters the Mayor's Advisers have the power to expel a judge of whom they disapprove. Judges have full latitude to decide their own sentences, independent of the sentences originally levied by the guard. It's common for a judge who feels the original sentence was just to actually impose a ''harsher'' sentence, to discourage frivolous appeals. Offenders have the further right to appeal the decision of a judge to the Mayor himself—which means in practice to the Mayor's Advisers—but they have no obligation to hear the appeal. Sometimes the advisers will delegate the hearing and resentencing to the City Council; much more often they will ignore the appeal and let the judge's sentence stand.

==Economy==
Sammendare is located where it is because of the site's suitability for [[trade]], and trade still makes up a majority of the city's income. The [[dock]]s of Sammendare are busy [[day]] and [[night]], and goods are unloaded to be loaded on other [[ship]]s or sent upriver or overland to other locations in Lli or Walland, while new wares are loaded to be shipped elsewhere. Sammendare is also a center of [[craft]] and [[manufacture]], both [[magic]]al and [[mechanism|mechanical]], and exports [[talisman]]s, [[furniture]], and sundry [[tool]]s and devices all over the [[world]]. The city's reputation for [[art]] and [[culture]] also brings it considerable income; some of Sammendare's most famous [[artist]]s can command enormous prices for a single [[sculpture]] or [[painting]], and people come from all continents to see the latest [[play]].

In the city's early days, much of its income also came from [[logging]], exploiting the nearby Rabawe Forest. Now, it has enough income from other sources that it doesn't need the money from logging, and transporting logs through the city is not really worth the trouble. Logging is still a major industry of several towns upriver, however, who float the logs down the Weradi through Sammendare, so [[lumber]] processing and [[woodworking]] are still major industries there; it's just that the lumber is no longer logged locally. [[Fishing]], on the other hand, remains a significant factor in Sammendare's [[economy]], as well as [[pearl]] collecting and harvesting other resources from the fruitful [[water]]s of the bight. The forests, too, if they are no longer logged, still provide other goods; many [[hunter]]s and [[herbalist]]s make a living from the forest's bounty.

Sammendare's largest import is [[food]], especially [[grain]]s and [[vegetable]]s; while a few [[herder]]s make a living in the clifftop savannas, none of the land near the city lends itself to [[agriculture]], and the city and its immediate surroundings cannot produce enough food to sustain its citizens. Sammendare also imports a good deal of [[metal]], [[stone]], and other raw materials. While a few mines in the cliffs yield [[potash]] and [[cinderstone]], their contribution to the city's coffers is essentially negligible; the environs of Sammendare are not rich in [[mineral]] resources. The wealthiest Sammendari also have developed a taste for exotic [[spice]]s, [[perfume]]s, and similar luxuries, and those too are imported from distant lands.

==People==
The Ini still make up a plurality of the residents, but a narrow one; people of all thedes can now be found in Sammendare, as well as a larger number of nonhumans than in most large cities of Ym. Still, the different thedes and races are not uniformly distributed; some of the thedes are more common in some parts of the city than in others. The [[Garrong]] are most common in the South City; the greatest concentration of [[Shom]] is on White Island; the [[Aagi]] have made their home mostly in the Barbican. Even some [[Ar]], unknown in most settlements of Ym, have to some degree integrated themselves into Sammendare, though they are found mostly in the Shadow, and often experience a great deal of [[discrimination]].

Nonhuman [[folk]]s in Sammendare are still not common or free from prejudice, but are certainly more so than they are in most (human) cities of Ym. The best represented such races include [[muki]], [[ciukroon]], [[attocks]], [[thendwig]]s, [[hombals]], and [[izidri]]. Like the thedes, many of these folks are more common in some parts of the city than others; muki are found mostly in the Low City, ciukroon in the South City, hombals on White Island.

While for the most part the thedes and folks in Sammendare mingle and have become well integrated, there still exist some [[enclaves of Sammendare|enclaves]] within the city that are primarily inhabited by a single race or thede. [[Kandertown]] in the Barbican, for instance, is populated mostly by [[Kander]]; most residents of [[Little Koba]] in the Reach are [[Basodi]]. These enclaves generally retain much of the [[culture]] and traditions of the inhabitants' homeland, and often attract visitors interested in the goods and [[cuisine]] of those lands—to which the residents of most of the enclaves have reacted by establishing exaggerated neighborhoods within the enclaves as [[tourist trap]]s in the hopes of keeping unwanted sightseers and excursionists out of the rest of the enclave.
[[Category:Cities of Maranche]][[Category:Ports]]

Sammendare - Revision history