Carrida
Come, my friend, sit with me and have a cup of Qahfa. We will lounge beneath the veranda, and let the breeze from the river cool us.
Fate has smiled down upon me recently, and I feel like She has not looked away just yet. The floods are coming, and if Fate will bless me with Her touch one more time, I will rise to the Masirjaar and take my rightful place as one of the elect.
That is for the future, though. Tonight is for the burn of the Qhafa, the cool breezes from the great river, and the goat that is roasting in the oven. We shall have the servants attend to us, and live the life we deserve, whether Fate continues to smile or not.
You see the decadence of the city, no? The air itself is foul all around it, sickening and brown. They are a plague upon the land, taking the bounty of the desert and the high mountains and twisting it to their own ends.
But worse, they steal the land's Fate. They take that which belongs to us, what should make us grow strong, and they take it for themslelves. Their sorcerers send their efreet and djinn to steal the magic of our children, their priests call the dev and the zaban to steal their faith, and their lords send slavers to take their lives. We are left with the soulless and the broken, and soon enough, we shall fade from the land.
Before then, we will sack the city and reclaim our Fate. We shall burn the sorcerers' dens and the temples of their evil deities. We must do this, or our children will become them, and we will be lost.
Demographics
Humans are the largest species in Carrida, making up a total of 42% of the population, with 98% of those humans Kaderian. Scopulae are the next largest group, making up 26% of the population. The Scopulae started from those that left the nomadic tribes during droughts, but most that live there now were born there, and they share a culture with the Kaderian.
Dwarves from the Spine Mountains are another 15% of the population, and Dragonborn make up another 13%. 70% of the Dragonborn are brass, with silver, blue, and red making up almost all of the rest. Various other species are found in the city, but they are not well established and shift in relative numbers regularly.
The merchant class, the wealthiest of the city, make up about 1% of the population, and control about one third of the wealth of the city-state. The burgher class - artisans, physicians, priests, and the like - make up about 20% of the population, and control another third of the wealth. The remaining 80% are the labor class, and control the remainder of the wealth.
Government
The government is nominally run by the Rava Anqadar, although they only have whatever power they can pry from the Masirjaar, or Council of Merchants. The Rava can come to power in several ways, including hereditary dynasties, military juntas, and populist waves.
No matter the Rava, they still have to contend with the Council, who in most ways controls the city. They provide the coin to run the city, so the army and the guards owe them more allegiance than the Rava. The Rava generally works with the Council, enacting their desires so that they would allow the Rava to rule in less important matters.
A substantial bureaucracy exists in Carrida to enact the Ravas decrees and to maintain the existing laws. This is mostly run by the church of Iuris, which grants the church outsized influence on policy.
Infrastructure
Carrida relies on significant infrastructure to function. The vast majority of it is involved in making use of the Shiryan River, whether that be for mills, irrigation, travel, or other uses.
Water Wheels
Water wheels are a common sight on the south side of the river, both on the Great River itself and the tributaries coming in from the mountains. On average, a wheel can be found every few hundred yards along the river. While the sheer number of water wheels on a river make sedimentation events much more likely, this is an advantage for the city as it relies on regular floods spreading the sediment to improve the farmland around the city. The advent of the wheels was the first step in the city growing to its current size.
These wheels have been expanded for uses beyond milling, although the term water mill remains the catch all for anything using a wheel to capture hydroelectric power. The current number of wheels by purpose are in the accompanying table. Wheel types vary. While most wheels are horizontal axis stream wheels, there are a few vertical access wheels and close to a fourth of the mills use diverted water. Blade types and water shot types vary, mostly depending on when they were constructed.
| Type | Number | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Grain mill | 180 | Grain mills are concentrated closer to the ocean and the flood plains where farming is done |
| Textile mill | 24 | Textile mills are most common on the tributaries coming from the mountains and the locations where sheep and goads are raised |
| Stamp mills | 18 | Exlcusively up on higher tributaries near mines |
| Smithy mills | 30 | Includes hammer mills, bellows mills, blast furnaces, and the like |
| Paper mills | 2 | Papyrus is produced at one on the lower end of the river, while a newer paper mill is in place near the western end of the city |
| Fish wheels | 25 | Clustered near mouth of river, basket scoops to gather fish from the river |
| Pumps | 24 | Pumps to clear mines and quarries in the cliffs south of the city, or to provide water for irrigation, drinking, or home use |
| Sky lifts | 32 | Cargo lifts, elevators, gondolas, any method of transport powered by the river |
Bridges
There are seven permanent bridges across the river. Temporary pontoon bridges are placed throughout the farmlands as new farms and canals are created regularly. There are numerous small bridges across various tributaries that merge from the Spine.
Gateway Bridge
Marking the beginning of the Mouth District, the Gateway Bridge spans the river immediately before the floodplains begin. It is carved from the sandstone the city is built on and crosses the Shiryanjust west of the beginning of the delta and floodplains. The bridge is a mile long and supported by 25 pylons secured at the bottom of the river. There are four water wheels attached to the bridge, used to power cargo lifts and trams to move goods across the river and into storage.
Tower Bridges
Also known as the Twins, these two bridges meet at the Magistry Complex. Each is a beam bridge made from sandstone and supported by 18 pylons. A tunnel travels beneath the Complex to connect the two bridges without entering the Complex. Each bridge has a single water wheel attached to it, providing power for lifts and a mill inside the Complex.
The Grand Bridge
Near the center of the city is the Grand Bridge, the greatest engineering achievement of the architect Albidus Harrow. It is an arch bridge made from carved limestone slabs and iron joints, with 15 support pylons over the three mile distance. The bridge goes from the lowest bench on the southern side to the Hills district on the other side, a hundred feet above the other bridges in the city. It has four water wheels attached for lifting and transporting cargo.
Districts
The Outlet
The Mouth is a roughly 3000 acre district at the mouth of the river. It covers from the ocean's edge a little over two miles inland, stretching from the southern cliffs across the river to the beginning of the Farm district. The sea docks are all located in this district, as are many warehouses, silos, and other storage locatiions. This district contains a number of boarding houses, itinerent hotels, food halls, taverns, and other businesses catering to sailors, dock workers, and other laborers.
Farmlands
North of the city, stretching from the normal banks of the river across the flood plains to the beginning of the desert, lies the agricultural center of the region. This district is by far the most tightly controlled by the government, as its successful management is the key to staving off famine for the city and many tribes from the mountains. The Council of Merchants funds the Agricultural Collective, which maintains the Farmlands district. They form the farms from the silt deposits, building new farms each growing season and ensuring appropriate irrigation. All the farmland is owned by the city, with farmers paid well and held to specific performance numbers.
The outer edge of the district, beyond the flood plains, contains housing and support for farm workers as well as some processing, storage, and trading infrastructure. Desert tribes that seek trade with the city will arrive here and can easily trade for basic goods.
Benches
The southern edge of the city that covers the foothills and benches of the Spine Mountains is collectively called The Benches, although it is functionally two districts. The western Benches are an industrial center, with mills to deal with the mines higher up the mountains, while the eastern Benches are the wealthy residential areas of the city. The higher up the bench, the wealthier the residents. These benches have transportation systems powered by the river. Gondolas carry people up the mountain, and large cargo trams carry goods.
Islands
The government and religious center of the city are concentrated on the islands in the river.
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