Floria

~80,000 within city walls, with an additional 40,000 in surrounding villages and estates.   Predominantly human, with minorities of half-elves, dwarves, and halflings.   Elves are formally barred, though their artifacts are carefully archived.

Floria is governed by the Florian Senate as its legislative body, and Lord Chancellor Antonio Alneto as its executive authority. The Alneto family has a tight control over the city's politics, with Senator Cosimo Alneto being an influential within the Senate and Lady Alyssa Alneto a popular figure amongst the commonfolk.   The Florian Senate consists of around 200 seats, held by noble houses, mercantile guilds, and laurel awardees recognized for civic or military merit.   Lord Chancellor Antonio Alneto holds executive power, guiding Senate sessions, controlling appointments, and issuing emergency decrees (Edicta Cautelaria).   Sessions are public, but senators may invoke the “mask-right” tradition—speaking through ornate masks to deliver veiled invective without personal dishonor.   The Senate is notorious for intrigue, with the Alnetos and their allies forming the dominant bloc, opposed by a coalition of rival patricians and reformers.

City Walls: Stone ramparts with bastions; river gates fortified with chains and fire oil.   River Locks & Forts: Defensive locks upstream and downstream to control traffic.

Perfume & Cosmetics: Floria is famed across the Velvet Coast for perfumes distilled from imported resins, flowers, and spices. These goods are exported as luxury trade to Novaya and even Syama.   Viticulture & Wine: Vineyards line the hills outside the city, producing sweet wines popular in noble courts.   Ceramics & Pottery: Floria’s workshops produce fine painted pottery, often depicting myth and festival scenes.   Naval Trade: Floria profits heavily from maritime contracts, mercenary escort fleets, and privateering against rivals.   Theatre & Arts: The city’s plays and performances are a cultural export; playwrights sponsored by senators often perform abroad.

Aqueducts: Water is carried from the cliffside springs into the city via arched aqueducts, feeding gardens, fountains, and public baths.   Roadways: Terraced switchback roads link the Harbor Quarter to the Senate and Gardens, allowing for controlled traffic and tolls.   Senate Hall: A domed marble structure, decorated with mosaics of myth and civic virtues, used both for governance and theatrical display.   Festival Grounds: The Plaza of Masks, a wide forum at the city’s heart, doubles as marketplace and stage during festivals.

Harbor Quarter   Shipyards, fish markets, sailors’ inns, and mercenary recruitment halls.   Known for taverns with colorful reputations, frequented by adventurers and privateers.   The Senate Quarter   Center of politics: Senate Hall, archives, guildhouses.   Bustling with messengers, scribes, and public orators performing in open courtyards.   The Gardens   Terraces of fountains, promenades, and flower markets.   Center of elite social life — senators and nobles parade here in public to display wealth and beauty.   Upper Villas   Gated marble mansions of the Alneto family and allied patricians.   Highly fortified; entrances controlled by family guards and mercenaries.   The Maskmaker’s District   Narrow streets filled with workshops producing masks, costumes, dyes, and musical instruments.   Year-round economy driven by the Festival of Masks.   Outer Vineyards & Villages   Surrounding countryside dedicated to wine production.   Villages supply the city with grain, fruit, and labor for its terraces.

The Alneto Treasury: Holds the reserves of the ruling family, including tribute, mercenary contracts, and seized privateer prizes.   The Senate Archives: Records of Senate decrees, mercantile contracts, and ancient Elven documents seized from ruin-traders.   The Perfume Guildhouses: Storehouses where exotic oils, spices, and resins are processed into Floria’s luxury perfumes.   The Naval Docks: Fleet assets include around 30 ships — mostly swift galleys, corsairs, and 2 larger flagships employed for prestige.   The Garden Terraces: Both an aesthetic symbol and an economic asset — foreign nobles pay heavily to import exotic plants and flowers cultivated here.

Vintners’ Consortium   River Traders’ League   Three Laurels Bank   Fraternity of the Shield   Black Rose Society   Laurel Reformers

Floria rose to prominence as an administrative hub of the Imperial League, its patricians—especially the Alneto family—renowned as record-keepers and financiers. When the League collapsed after the Devastation of Skyreach (12 IE), Floria absorbed thousands of refugees, archives, and treasures, declaring itself custodian of Imperial law. This brought it into lasting rivalry with Mevania, whose Seneca dynasty claimed the Imperial Mandate by conquest.   Over the centuries, Floria endured crises and intrigue. The First Blockade of the Artis (47 IE) foreshadowed recurring economic struggles; the Mask Famine (130 IE) and plague sparked riots, quelled only by reforms that introduced the Bread Law and Civic Laurels as fixtures of civic life. Throughout the Ashen Century, proxy wars, assassinations, and guild feuds deepened divisions but also entrenched the Alnetos as Floria’s ruling family.   In 201 IE, the rivalry erupted into the current war after Mevania accused Floria of sponsoring an assassination attempt. The ensuing blockade of the Artis has strangled Floria’s trade, leaving its Senate fractured between hawks, doves, and reformers. Yet Floria endures through inland convoys and public resolve, even as rumors of an Elven return across the sea threaten to eclipse its feud with Mevania.