Sidaca

The capital of Sidacin, it holds the original throne of the Golden Expanse before The Golden Divide, but now is the seat of power of King-General Miron Ghika.

Description

Sidaca is an intensely fortified and defensible city located within the rolling golden grass fields of Sidacin. Entirely surrounded by 50 foot walls constructed from massive cut stones stacked triple thick and covered in murder holes and other fortifications, it is ringed by a large dry moat, making approaching the walls with rams nearly impossible. 4 large gates with cold iron portcullis and a draw bridges sit at each of the major roads, with no other commonly known way in or out of the city. Lined with paved grey brick roads carefully laid and maintained by a full-time crew, the streets are flanked by time and light sensitive magical fixtures resembling oil lamps that automatically adjust as weather and light conditions change, allowing citizens the safety of light on the darkest days.

Nearly inescapable within Sidaca are the mentions of heroes, legends and the services or goods they sponsor. At nearly every major corner is some form of statue or memorial for a legend of note, ranging from Carrie Blackburn a black-flame sorcerer known for burning a fire elemental to death, to Lucas and Maya the Bright Twins, a deeply racist pair of dwarfish twins that were said to convince a dragon to serve a village instead of pillage it. It is extremely common to see various mentions in shop windows or in front of inns, sponsored messages from a variety of heroes claiming that particular place to be the best place to get whatever service it offers. From a quote of a famous ranger telling you to buy arrows from this fletcher to a barbarian that wrestled a kraken telling you to drink this place's ale, seeing the smiling visage, a quote, or some kind of famous symbol of any number of heroes in any type of establishment that takes money is just a normal part of life in the city.

Primarily made of 2 massive rings, the outer ring between the exterior wall and the interior castle ring is where all its citizens live. Though not specifically split into districts, the populace naturally separated itself into pockets of residential and more commercial and public services like trading squares, parks and merchants, with nearly every main road being rows upon rows of shopfronts and businesses, and the spaces in-between crammed full of homes with their only access being common alleyways, often groomed and maintained with benches and small patches of bushes and trees. As a result of this natural growth that has been unregulated since the castle in the center was first built, the city itself has a complex winding of roads and streets where a road wide enough for a cart can suddenly narrow into a passage barely wide enough for a man to walk down. The complex of signage all across the city and crowding nearly every intersection and corner are supposed to provide some sort of guidance for people new to the city, but often only remind visitors the hopeless maze of roads they have gotten themselves lost in.

The inner ring of the city, consisting of another set of metal reinforced walls, a shallow dry moat, and much smaller doorways holds the entirety of the government functions as well as the king's castle, throne, and home. Built into the shape of a massive 6 pointed star with a flat top, the actual castle itself is decorated with a variety of siege weapons meant to return fire on anyone attacking even from outside the exterior walls, and it's said that an archer can stand on any corner and defend over half the castle by himself. This is partially due to the large lawns with minimal decoration that create a large open field between the inner wall and the structure itself, allowing any attackers that would breach the inner wall no cover from the plentiful archer positions from the slitted windows and odd star shape battlements of the castle proper. The inner ring of Sidacin, even from before the Golden Divide, is often referenced in textbooks or military lessons for siege engineers, commanders, and other parties interested in war strategy. The only reason it's star shape isn't more common across Sinstram is due to the intense cost of construction, building materials, and the force required to maintain its repairs, something the centrally located country of Sidacin can luckily afford due to the overwhelming number of traders coming and going across it's borders.

Locations of Note

Good Berry - Vegan Restaurant run by Druids.

Soul of Heroes - Cobbler

Wesson's Smith - Weapons and Armor manufactory that often works directly for the crown.

Half-A-Map - Trading Good company

Red Eye's Aim - Fletcher that specialized in magical ammunition for bows, crossbows, dart guns, and nearly all types of ranged weapons.

Starter's Square - A Popular street market close to the northern entrance of the city.