Dinilia

The population of Dinilia is made up of castaway freemen from all four corners of Midasfjall. No race is out of place in this port and no regional laws apply save that of the Code of the Crows Nest; Dinilia's personal set of laws. The occupations of the township are mostly either privateer sailors, shipbuilders, fishermen, merchants, or tavern and brothel workers.   The most common occupation in Dinilia is that of seafaring privateer, or pirate if you don't feel like being fancy about it. These rogue sailors sail the various seas around the continent looking for merchant cargo ships to attack and rob so that they can return to Dinilia and sell off the plunder to unscrupulous merchants. Those too old to sail anymore take up fishing or shipbuilding, each man must earn their stay after all.    The people of Dinilia revere Dini, the goddess of the seas, as their patron deity. There is a clerical faction that exists within Dinilia who guide the worship of She Who Flows With The Currents within the township, who are known as the Stormsoothers. The Stormsoothers ensure that the proper rituals are conducted before a ship sets sail so that Dini grants the ship her favour. Ships setting sail from Dinilia will seldom do so without a Stormsoother on board. The Stormsoother's job is to navigate storms and fight off the monsters of the sea that Dini throws at ships during her tantrums.

Dinilia is governed by the individual who bears the last name Corvus, a town-wide captain of sorts who rules from the Crows Nest, a fort that overlooks the rest of the township. Corvus is a title bestowed upon the person who is chosen by the previous Corvus to be their successor, but they must also be popular among the people of Dinilia, who hold a town-wide vote to accept or deny the Corvus' decision. The person chosen to be the next Corvus takes the title to be their last name and the old Corvus, if they still live, regains their previous last name, if they had one to begin with. The people of Dinilia follow the Code of the Crows Nest which is upheld by the Corvus.

Dinilia sits on the western shore of Southern Midasfjall within a cove close to where the Potami River opens up into the The Azure Sea. As such it is protected from land threats on a large section of the towns perimeter. The Crows Nest, Dinilia's only fort, sits atop a sheer hill which provides another obstacles for attackers as the only way up to the top of the hill is on the city side. Two palisade walls flank the hillside providing cover against wandering dinosaurs or hostile nomads, and wooden towers equipped with ballista, similar to those used on the ships, have been installed at regular intervals along the palisade wall.   Despite having a good set of physical defences, Dinilia does have one last defensive measure that is arguably it's strongest one; it's reputation. It is well known that Dinilia is a sanctuary for pirates and that the pirates who call the city home are amoral cutthroats who wouldn't hesitate to draw swords against any that attacked them. Why in the known world would anyone risk attacking a place like that?

Imports

• Ill Gotten Gains

Exports

• Fenced Ill Gotten Gains

The Shambles - The Shambles is the mazelike residential district where shanty houses mix with crudely built brothels and taverns that are one strong gust of wind away from being blown over. 
  The Shipmoulds - The Shipmoulds is the district comprised of shipyards where ships are built before being sent to sea. 
  Crow's Perch - Crow's Perch is the sheer hillside overlooking Dinilia upon which sits the Crows Nest.
  Black Coin District - The Black Coin District is the mercantile area within Dinilia. Here unscrupulous merchants and fences buy goods from the pirate crews to be sold in cities around the continent.
  Azure Wharf - The Azure Wharf is the harbour district of Dinilia. Here pirate crews anchor their ships and disembark to sell their ill-gotten gains within the city.

Factions

• The Stormsoothers - The Stormsoothers are a faction of clerics who worship Dini, the goddess of the sea. They oversee the rituals of worship within Dinilia and work aborad ships to protect them during storms or against sea monster attacks.
• The Right People - Dinilia is the perfect place for the continent's most notorious organised crime syndicate. The Right People take advantage of the influx of stolen goods and employ fences to buy and sell on these illicit articles for a profit. 

The founding of Dinilia is the tale of a legendary human pirate by the name of Captain Valentin Corvus, or 'The Old Crow' as he eventually came to be known. Captain Valentin's origins are unknown and lost to time. The first mention of his name within the bardic account appeared after he successfully mutinied against his previous captain, who Captain Valentin insisted had broken the pirate code, and took command of the warship known as The Sea Witch. After Valentin and his loyal followers threw the accused captain overboard, they returned to the Pirate Isles of The Azure Sea. Over the span of the next couple of decades, Captain Valentin and his crew gained notoriety within the regions of Eastern and Central Midasfjall as ruthless pirates. They raided every ship they could get their hands on, from merchant ships to warships that belonged to the Empire of Draugheim and they didnt just take all the loot they could carry from these ships, they took the ships themselves on occasion.
  By the time Captain Valentin had reached the age of fifty, he had a fleet of five warships under his command as well as a large number of smaller keelboats that flew with his colours. His notoriety and power within the pirate community granted him a spot on the Captains Council; a coalition of powerful pirate captains who inhabited the Pirate Isles. At this time, Captain Valentin's reputation had reached its peak; he was the most wanted man of the seas but, unfortunately for him, his luck was about to turn.
  The bounty on Captain Valentin's head had grown so large that the Empire of Draugheim could no longer rely on mercenary sailors to capture him, so they formed a great sea armada to hunt him down and bring him to justice. Captain Valentin caught wind of the empire's plans and decided he would take on the empire's navy instead of run away. He thought that if he were able to defeat the might of the empire's navy, then he would no longer have anything to fear while at sea, but his own armada was no match for the might of the empire alone, so he instead turned to the Captain's Council for aid. The only captain to answer his call was an ambitious blue orc named Captain Dorn 'The Azure Dread'. Captain Dorn's fleet wasn't as large as Captain Valentin's was, but it was full of savage blue orc warriors. Captain Dorn agreed to help Captain Valentin and a pact was struck.
  In 1361, both fleets sailed against the might of the empire's navy. The combined force of both pirate fleets crushed the empire's navy, but just as the fight against the empire came to an end, Captain Dorn betrayed Captain Valentin by ordering his fleet to attack. Captain Valentin's fleet survived the ambush but took heavy losses, they regrouped and managed to limp back to the pirate isles with only three ships intact; Captain Valentin's Sea Witch and two keelboats. When he arrived, Captain Valentin brought Captain Dorn's betrayal before the Captains Council, but unfortunately Captain Dorn had arrived back first and had already informed the Captains Council of his version of events. Captain Dorn told the Captains Council that Captain Valentin had attacked first and he had fought in self defence. The council believed Captain Dorn and had Captain Valentin thrown in prison. Captain Valentin was crafty, however and managed to escape, taking his three ships and fleeing the Pirate Isles. Captain Dorn was sent off in pursuit to bring Captain Valentin back to be executed for his perceived betrayal. Captain Dorn chased Captain Valentin south where Valentin hid inside a small cove on the western shore of Southern Midasfjall, close to the estuary of the Potami River.
  Captain Valentin's luck still hadn't returned at this point, as Captain Dorn successfully tracked him into the small cove and formed a blockade with his fleet to prevent Captain Valentin from escaping by sea. Captain Valentin had two choices, stand and fight a battle at sea against a far stronger foe, or scuttle his fleet and escape into the wild lands of Southern Midasfjall. He chose to make a stand and formed up his battered fleet to take on Captain Dorn and his blue orcs. Captain Dorn lead a force of fifteen longships as well as his own warship, 'The Jagged Blade', against Captain Valentin's single warship and injured keelboats. Things were looking grim for Captain Valentin up until, out of nowhere, the sea swelled and all of Captain Dorn's longships were swept out of the cove, leaving only his single warship to face off against Captain Valentin's remaining fleet. The battle was hard fought but ultimately ended in Captain Valentin's victory. Having lost their commander, Captain Dorn's men returned to the Pirate Isles in retreat, leaving Captain Valentin alone for the time being.
  Knowing that he could never return to the Pirate Isles despite his innocence, Captain Valentin instead decided to inhabit a piece of land on the shore of the cove. He founded a small settlement and named it Dinilia, after the miracle that the sea goddess had performed in aiding him in his fight against Captain Dorn. Once the Captains Council on the Pirate Isles heard what had happened, they decided to make it public knowledge where Captain Valentin had hidden away in the hopes that the threat of attack would keep starve Captain Valentin and his men cowering within his cove where they would eventually starve to death. In fact, the opposite happened. Once the lower levelled pirate captains heard what had happened between the two captains, especially how the sea had come to Captain Valentin's aid and swept Captain Dorn's men away, some took this as a sign of favour from the goddess of the sea and decided to leave the Pirate Isles to join Captain Valentin in his cove.
  By late 1362, Dinilia had become a well known pirate sanctuary with a reputation recognised both in the Empire of Draugheim and Central Midasfjall. Since that time, the small settlement has grown into the large port town that it is today. Captain Valentin died in 1371 and passed the governance of the town to his successor, who, out of respect for Captain Valentin, took the last name Corvus to be his governing title; a tradition which exists to this day. As part of his governance, Captain Valentin created the Code of the Crows Nest which is still upheld by the current Corvus as a way to keep the people of Dinilia safe, at least from the laws of other countries.

Guilds & Taverns

• TBD

Merchants & Artisans

• TBD

With the exception of the Crows Nest, which is built from slatestone, the rest of the buildings in Dinilia are made out of lumber taken from the nearby woodlands. The township's builders are used to working aboard ships as carpenters or building the ships themselves, so Dinilian housing isn't the most artistic, although it does a fine job of keeping the rain out. Larger buildings like taverns are built to resemble the hulls of ships, with the inner floor plans resembling the layout of the decks on a sailing ship. The buildings in Dinilia are built close together, some leaning on others, and seem to have been build randomly, leaving the streets of the port town to resemble an erratic maze.

Dinilia sits on the edge of a cove on the western coast of Southern Midasfjall. The land around Dinilia is mostly flatland which is only interrupted by the Crow's Perch; the sheer hillside that dominates the northeastern side of the town. Dinilia's western perimeter has a small beach which slopes down to sea level, but the harbour and shipyards have been built over this, so there is almost no sign of the beach from within the confines of the port.

Dinilia's main natural resources come from the sea. Whale hunting ships bring in tonnes of oil and bones which are used in infrastructure, while fishermen bring in constant catches of fresh fish and crustaceans. The port town also has access to small nearby woodlands that are filled with Teak trees, which are perfect for use in shipbuilding.