Granindir

Small City: Population 5,629 (81% lynoxi, 7% human, 6% vesperkin, 6% other)

History

Granindir was founded in the middle of the Upheaval period as Myrian settlers began to flock to southern Arak with the formation of the Rojek Dynasty. The city was initially founded simply due to the presence of a massive salt flat that to this day provides much of the salt used for cooking all throughout Arak and Myr. There aren't many of these salt flats in the world, and certainly none that are remotely close to its size, so many took the opportunity to establish themselves in the culinary market, able to sell salt for much cheaper than competitors due to the sheer amount available to them. There were some early attempts to sabotage the city due to the impact it had in the market, but none succeeded.

The city is one of the hottest in the world, and the working conditions of the miners harvesting the salt are brutal. Due to these conditions, the miners are paid very well, and many amenities and infrastructure have been built to keep the city's residents and workers happy due to the importance of salt in global trade. The heat is so dangerous, that during the month of Asten, salt mining operations shut down to avoid heat stroke related deaths. There have been days that were so hot that without the discovery and usage of Raymiskin provided by the Dwarves, all the city's residents may have died from the heat. Raymiskin is used extensively throughout the city's architecture to lower the inside temperature of buildings to keep their residents cool.

Government

Granindir is part of the Synodical Republic and falls under the jurisdiction of magistrate Tamon Ebonindir in Tellanorr to the northeast. Like everywhere in the Yzerid, the Lynoxi are not fond of Tamon, and especially in Granindir, they are openly critical and even disrespectful of him. These tensions date back to the Yzerid Unification War shortly before the formation of the Synodical Republic. At the time, Granindir had been under the control of a feudal lord by the name of Alimanamor, a Lynoxi who opposed the union of the Kingdom of Derunadel and the Rojek Dynasty, and who sought to sabotage all attempts at peace talks between the nations that would go on to form the Synodical Republic and the other Lynoxi feudal lords of the Yzerid.

Many of the locals have been more vocal about their disdain for Tamon in recent years, believing the Yzerid should be ruled by the Lynoxi, being one of their ancestral homelands. There has been growing concern of a potential rebellion, and given the impact it would have on global trade, magistrate Emris Amakiren of Vardanorr has been placing spies in the city to make sure that if a rebellion were to happen, he would have advanced warning of it so he can deploy soldiers to deal with them.

Economy

The most obvious component of Granindir's economy is its salt trade. Though the city is too far from the coast to handle trade directly, merchants come from all over the world, braving the brutal heat of the Yzerid and its hazards to make their way here to purchase affordable salt that is used in food worldwide. But despite jokes made by many, Granindir is more than just its salt trade. The desert environment gives them unique materials to work with that give them a number of exotic exports desired by many in other parts of the world. One of the most notable industries found in Granindir is glass production, including art created by artisans all around the city. The city produces some unique glass pottery and baubles that many find beautiful. The Selladralan also contains a number of specialty salts used by sorcerers for rituals and enchanting, which rivals the conventional salt market in value. There are also some unique materials found in the Selladralan and surrounding areas that give local herbalists and alchemists the opportunity to create medicines needed worldwide.

Notable Locations

• Selladralan - The enormous salt flat for which the city was founded, located just outside the city boundaries. The flats stretch on for 40 miles at its widest point, and the city's residents have barely scratched the surface of the salt they have extracted from it. There are a number of companies that handle mining the salt, competing with each other to provide the best worker benefits and incentives to try to corner the market. These companies must provide adequate working conditions in order to stay ahead, as any who do not pay and accommodate their workers can be publicly shamed to the point of ceasing operations entirely. The flat is very windy on most days, and Rin Mogan are used to traverse it.
• Shen Alezir - A large oasis situated in the center of the city, surrounded by buildings on all sides. Locals come here to relax and cool off. There are large palm trees and fern plants surrounding a large pond that stays cool most days. There are several large tarps of Vulahathas cloth from Nenthafiaran draped from the canopy that provide areas of shade for those who want to relax outside. The water is fresh and bathing in it is said to have some health benefits, easing pain of sore joints and keeping skin young.
• Nornapaltani - These tunnels, located underground, have access points all over the city. They are used as an additional area for travel, due to how crowded many of the city's covered walkways can become, and as an access point to the Setanamell underground lake. On particularly hot days, the water of the Setanamell begins to evaporate and produce a mist that fills the tunnels, giving them an eerie feel. The tunnels are sometimes used as a meeting place for illicit activities; particularly when the mists are active.
• Setanamell - One of the most popular locations in the city; this underground lake is connected to the surface via the Nornapaltani tunnels, and is quite expansive at nearly two miles in diameter at its widest point. The locals come here on hotter days to escape the brutal sun and keep cool. The lake is used for everything from recreation, to bathing and fishing. Like the Nornapaltani, the cavern in which the Setanamell resides can fill with mist on particularly hot days. The water comes from a spring from within the Deephollow, and occasionally, can bring undesired creatures into the cavern. When this happens, the cavern is evacuated so that the Dralamudid can make the lake safe again.

Culture

Salt is a fundamental part of the culture in Granindir to the point where visitors who are unfamiliar with the city may think it a bit odd. It is incorporated into their food, their holidays, and even their recreation. Given that their economy depends heavily on the salt trade, mining the salt of the Selladralan is the most respectable profession in Granindir; and the most hazardous. It is in the city's interest to keep their miners healthy and happy, and thus in addition to being paid well, the miners of the city receive competitive benefits from their employers and are celebrated by a monthly holiday called 'Granabezir' at the end of each month. During Granabezir, miners have exclusive use of Shen Alezir, and the city starts the day with a speech honoring the hard work of the miners during the month, followed by an award ceremony where the top five miners from each company are given various rewards for their service gifted to the city by wealthy merchants and benefactors. Later in the day, there is a large feast held where the miners are fed some of the best food in the city. The day ends with a Rin Mogan race across the Selladralan under the moonlight, with fireworks marking the end of the race.

With so much salt available, many unique dishes have defined the city's cuisine, including Grandenar, Baldanaharis, and Suthecadir. Grandenar is a type of beef that is cured in salt for a month before being smoked inside palm leaves and put onto skewers, drizzled with a citrus garlic sauce; it is a very popular street food, especially among visiting merchants. Baldanaharis is the city's most famous dish, and consists of a salted dough wrapped around a mixture of bacon, cheese, and Charatekethi, which is baked and brushed with garlic butter. Suthecadir is a dessert dish made by freezing sweet cream and salted caramel in a Raymiskin container and adding bacon and nuts.

Survival is much more complicated in a place like this. With so much salt present, it is a very dry region, and many water sources nearby are too salty to use for drinking water. The only natural sources of fresh water anywhere near the city are Shen Alezir and the Setanamell. The locals do not drink from the Setanamell, as the water in it is finite. Instead, miners dug below the Setanamell to access artesian springs that they pump water from. The water is transported along a simple rope conveyor that carries buckets of water through the Nornapaltani to a reservoir and back to the pump. The water is then accessed by the public through several pumps found throughout the city. However, with water being such a precious resource, it is rationed heavily; each citizen is given a certain amount they can pump per day, and as such, bathing is done only within the Setanamell. Due to the heat, ice is also a valuable resource; but importing regular ice is nearly impossible. Instead, the city imports a large amount of Raymiskin from Ilmerglain in Reshyk. This ice is used for cooling buildings, the waters of Shen Alezir, and for containers to preserve food. Water and ice have an almost religious significance to the city, with its residents treating it with reverence, consuming and using it ritually.

Defenses

Like the city of Tarmadon far to the west, Granindir has its own Enforcers that they call the 'Dralamudid'. The Dralamudid make use of the same Rin Mogan sand ships to sail around the sand dunes and the Selladralan, allowing them impressive mobility. They primarily patrol the dunes for creatures that pose a threat to the city or traveling merchants -- in particular, the Granodani, creatures found in the Selladralan that emerge from the salt and attack in swarms, absorbing all the water from their victims and leaving them shriveled husks. The Granodani only come out during the day, and are nearsighted, but can sense you from the tremors your movements make on the ground. Fortunately, the Granodani are very similar to the salt they inhabit, and can be destroyed by acid, which has given the local alchemists a role in protecting the city.

The city's architecture is unique, with all buildings in the city being connected to each other, forming one large mega-structure. There are a number of tunnels, overhangs, courtyards, and covered stairways for getting around. The city makes heavy use of Vulahathas cloth from Nenthafiaran to shade those moving about the city from the sun's light. As a result of having all buildings connected in this way, the city is fairly secure, with the outer walls using a similar gating method to Tarmadon and Tellanorr, with the exception that the main gains are not at ground level, with a number of gradually sloped ramps leading up to the roofs of the outer walls. This style of architecture is meant to protect the city from outside predators, but also to mitigate the brutal heat. Those who do go into the light are either miners making their way to the Selladralan, or spending time at Shen Alezir.

Crime

Besides the typical crime you might find in most places, one problem found in Granindir is acts of sabotage between the various competing mining companies of the Selladralan. While salt is a widespread industry, it isn't as lucrative as the market for specialty metals, and with the demand for adequate benefits and pay for the miners working in these harsh conditions, competition is fierce. As a result, several companies have been known to sabotage the operations of other mining companies; destroying their equipment at night, beating or crippling their miners, or even murder in extreme cases. There are several mining companies actively feuding with each other that causes a lot of drama in the city, with arguments breaking out in the city boundaries and the Dralamudid having to break up fights.