Siraj

City • Rihsama — Northern Coast on the Glassflow Sea • Founded 47–50 AT

Quick Facts

Geography & Layout

• Headland & Basin. Siraj sits on a wind‑scoured limestone headland that shelters a shallow inner basin; quarried stone moles curb storm fetch from the Glassflow.
• Lamphouse Ridge. Above the docks, a terraced ridge holds the Lamphouse Laboratory—a glassworks‑as‑lab that experiments with mixes of Dravis salt‑glass and Rihsami desert silica. Exhaust chimneys wear glass cowls that keep soot off the town.
• East Quarters / West Yard. East hosts the Proofhouse Annex, legation pier, and countinghouses. West holds saw‑yields (timber yard), rope‑walks, and the Timber Weighbridge that stamps moisture, species, and grade.
• Anemoi Fanwing Pads. Two landing pads crown the ridge for courier flights to Nahrim and coastal beacons.

Governance & Law

• Magistracy. A three‑bench magistracy rotates from Rihsama’s Collegia of Trade and Signals & Security; the Wali of Nahrim is not involved in municipal staffing.
• Proof & Assay. Imports are sampled at the Proofhouse Annex; glass mixes, resins, and ores receive grade seals that set tariff bands.
• Visas. Dravis Legation Pier issues limited, purpose‑bound visas for scholars, engineers, and pilots. General migration is slow‑rolled; frontier remains cordial but controlled.

Economy & Trade

• Rihsama → Arya: Desert glass (raw cullet & worked), frankincense & myrrh, dates & almonds, instrumentation, copies & charts.
• Dravis→ Rihsama: Salt‑glass, timber (pine/fir), mountain metals (iron, copper, trace silver/tin).
• Local Industry: Blended‑glass lampshades, pressure‑rated lenses for beacons, coated timbers, rope, and assay services. Grain arrives by sea from Lelien in convoy season.

Infrastructure

• Beacons & Bells. Siraj repeats Siraj‑3 cadence to guide ships through fog; mile‑bells on iron frames carry sound across the basin.
• Water & Stores. Rain‑catch cisterns under the ridge; cold‑storage pits for dates/almonds; resin vaults with airflow baffling.
• Remnant Office. A two‑room Animus Warden post registers sealed remnants transiting to labs; household ancestor‑remnants must be declared.

Culture & Life

• Survey Season. From late Qiyuan through Hexie, Siraj fills with surveyors and glasswrights trialing batches. taverns stock plank tables scored with scratch‑grids for kiln notes.
• Borrowed Words. Dock slang is a braid of Rihsami High, Trade‑tongue, and Dravis pilot cant; most Siraji count by glass weights rather than coin first.
• Festivals. Lamphouse Night (new‑moon): the glass cowls are turned to throw prismatic fans over the harbor; pilots answer with lantern kites.

Security & Protocols

• Harbor Code. No open flames on timber wharves; braziers only in marked pits. Salt‑glass cargos stow high and dry; wet loads are fined.
• Pilots & Towage. Foreign captains must take a Siraji pilot inside the mole during fog or ice; tow fees scale by draft.
• Quiet Frontier. Dravis border is cooperative but paperwork‑heavy; Siraj’s watch prefers scholars in, soldiers out.

Sites of Note

• Lamphouse Laboratory. Part kiln, part lecture hall; walls inlaid with sample windows of experimental blends (each square tagged by batch and flux).
• Legation Stairs. Covered stairway from pier to a glass‑roofed meeting hall that never needs torches by day.
• Weighbridge Hall. Timber wagons roll onto a stone scale; a click‑board prints weight/grade to a waxed slip.

Travel & GM Tools

• Approach DCs. Fair weather DC 10–12 (navigation fog/ice +3–5; add +2 without a pilot. Fanwing launch/land DC 12; +4 in katabatic gusts.