Sel-Katin
The city of Sel-Katin is one of the few non-monarchial Merfolk states, taking advantage of its unique position. Its status as the guardian of the straits between Yyradayn and Ifyrial makes it one of the first stops for the various Merfolk clans which live a migratory life in the Endless Seas north of Yyradayn. Due to the swift, realtively cooler currents which run along this sector of the world, the various settled Merfolk have never founded nations past this point, with Piscimar giving way to Meduzoans. The seas there also tend to be much deeper, as they are off the continental shelf, and this would hinder merfolk crops and settlements due to the lack of light. Sel-Katin, positioned just south of Ifyrial's westernmost point, is shielded from these currents, and benefits from warmer and sluggish currents. It is known as a blend between Piscimar and Meduzoan cultures, as it is a very common stopping point for various Meduzoan tribes to exchange whatever goods they may have found or any surplus kills for weapons and luxuries that are sparse on the open ocean. It's also a common place for old Meduzoans to retire once they are greatly aged and no longer able to travel, as opposed to just letting them die as was commonly done in the past.
History
Sel-Katin was founded in [tbd] by enterpising merchants involved in business deals with the Meduzoan tribes. Initially settled by no more than a few hudnred, the city swelled into a respectable town during the Great Calamity and hosted many of the Piscimar refugees from the seas of Ifyrial. Unlike the rest of the Ifyrialn merfolk states, Sel-Katin's immigrants soon became the majority. Although there were efforts by certain elitists to establihs a caste system in Sel-Katin similar to those of the other Merfolk states to keep the immigrants down, such proposals failed due to staunch opposition by the more liberal-minded and no small amount of threats and unrest. After this, Sel-Katin became more than just a caravan stop and middleman city, but a strong destination for trade in general, and became an entrepot for the region. During the events of the Crusade for Yyradayn, in which reclaimer bands of Piscimar returned to the continent, the city saw a brisk trade in maps and supplies, as its location close to that continent was considered a good jumping off point. However, the trade died out swiftly as the Reclaimers were met with force by the Andreon Empire, and Reclaimer outposts were forced to flee the continent. While eventually certain Ifyrialn Merfolk would resettle the coastline, these were small numbers which never matched the fervor of the Reclaimers. With many of the Reclaimers being Katinians, these events damaged the city's demographics. However, since that time, it's been on an upwards trend, and as the largest Merfolk city in the world, is set to prosper if explorers from the northern continents begin operating in the region.
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