The City of Naressina
A Republic of Traders
Naressina trades with all the world at large, notably with the hot dry lands Overseas and the distant tropical islands of Aoya. The most lucrative imports are silks and spices, for which the trade companies exchange wine, cloth, salt, timber, and the fine instruments for which the artisans of the city are famous. Much of what is sold is either brought down the great Zannain river that flows westward to Naressina from the ancient border forest, or traded from the northern parts of the old kingdom.
“I know the risks of the spice trade, and there is some truth in the saying that the South Traders go from silk to rags before the West Traders have finished bringing in the cargo.”
— Mirael Enniolfi, merchant of the West Trading Company
Black Silk
Trade beyond the borders of the city is largely organised by the
three largest trade guilds in the city: The North Venturers, The
South Traders, and the West Trading Company. Although historically
each of the guilds only operated in certain areas outside the city,
the original division is no longer as strict as it once was, and
merchants from every guild set out in every direction. They are
still bound, however, by the decisions of their guild elders who
dictate which goods may be imported in what quantity. Operations
outside the rules of the guilds are not unheard of, but very few
merchants would risk any kind of large venture without the financial
backing and other assistance of their guild. Their considerable
influence has brought the masters of the trade guilds into the
magistrate, the ruling body of the city, where they and the heads of
other guilds — often in more than the literal sense —
sit opposite the nobility.
Membership in the trade guilds is open to human and zereshi alike,
making it possible in theory for a zereshi to become a member of the
magistrate by rising to the hightest position within a guild. As
yet,this has not happened. By law, a zereshi wishing to remain a
member of a guild pays the ‘zereshi’s tenth’ in
addition to the usual contributions to the guild. This additional
fee makes many zereshi think twice about joining.
The guilds also train and pay the captains and navigators that work
on their behalf. Each guild jealously guards its knowledge and maps,
although the elders have been known to turn a blind eye to the
occasional sharing of information among crews and captains. Both
humans and zereshi are trained by the guilds, and especially the
South Traders, who routinely travel into lands where humans are less
prevalent, employ zereshi captains and navigators.
The long distance trade across the ocean relies on good sailing
vessels. The Naressine trade guilds prefer their large, sturdy
galleons, but the sleeker, faster ships preferred in other parts of
the world are slowly gaining acceptance. Most shipbuilders belong to
the highly respected Shipwrights’ Guild, but individual
craftsmen, often zereshi who wish to avoid paying the special tax,
exist as well. As the guild sets the standards of engineering, these
independents are often the agents of innovation.
Above and Below
Naressina is divided by the Lowtown Canal into two parts: The sea level slums of Lowtown, a maze of canals, bridges and plazas, and Uptown. Uptown rises steeply from sea level through the districts of Steepside and Market into Temple, where the palaces of the nobility and the wealthiest citizens enjoy a splendid view across the lagoon and the river.
The shining jewel of the Temple district is the Temple of Aiellos, the Lord of Light. Its golden domes, a landmark visible far up the river, shine bright in the light of the rising suns. Surrounding this oldest building in the city are gardens of flowering trees and fragrant shrubs, which have been carefully tended by the same families for generations. It is a favourite place to practice fencing, or walk in the shade, enjoying the clean air. Flowers hang thick over the walls of the garden, and over many of the palaces' courtyards, filling Temple with their sweet fragrance.
The wrong side of the canal: Lowtown
“By the blood of my ancestors, we have been robbed, swindled, threatened, assaulted and disgraced, all within the last two hours — and you tell me there are worse places than this?”
—Sariel Celîn Zi Zuatravez, Viscount of Rigila and Zelai.
Black Silk
The perfume of Lowtown is rather different. An exquisite bouquet of Fishmarket, stagnant water and anything that has been thrown into a canal to decompose permeates the air, vying with the sea smell of the harbours, the pitch and tar of the Arsenal dockyards and the smoke of the infamous Cannon Alley. To say nothing, really nothing at all, of Tanners Alley and Soapmakers Steps.
Within the stench, happen deals. If it can be made by human or zereshi hands, someone in Lowtown has it. If it can be acquired by any means known to either species, someone in Lowtown will know where to go. The city's heart of manufacture and trade beats in its dirty underbelly, and its criminal mind resides here as well.
Lowtown is notorious for its gangs. Around the great Guildhall,
where the city's merchants meet to trade, the city watch patrol the
streets in their red and yellow uniforms, armed with halberds,
pistols and swords. They do not enter the narrow alleys. Nor does
anyone else who isnt't from ‘down below’.
The two
harbours, the Salt Harbour and the much larger West Harbour, are a
much safer place to be and welcome large numbers of sailors from
every corner of the world. Their entertainment is provided by the
taverns and other establishments along the Waterfront, many of which
are also meeting places to do business away from the eyes of the
watch.
Well hidden among the thriving, riotous bedlam that is Lowtown in all its dirty glory is the ancient Temple of Zelis, the Merciful Mother, as run down as the rest of Lowtown. The priestesses offer what aid they can to the poor, the sick and the hungry. As Zelis is also the protectress of all those who go to sea, many merchants give to the Daughters of Zelis. Their support has led to the building of Naressina’s only hospital. Rumour has it that the priestesses can work miracles of healing, but as many Naressines have observed, a bucket of soap and water would work a miracle in Lowtown.
Halfway up the hill
Most of the denizens of Lowtown have never been to Temple. Steepside, just on the other side of the great canal, and Market, is as far as most of them have gone. And for one of the nobility to set foot in Lowtown would be unthinkable. It is the people of Market and Steepside who know both sides of the city.
Steepside, which has a reputation as the zereshi quarter, clings to
the cliffside above the canal. The views are not as spectacular as
they are from Temple, but they are among the best in the city. Many
well-to-do humans live here as well, as do many craftsmen and
shopkeepers of both species. The Hundred Steps Square is its central
meeting place, named for the steep flight of steps that leads up
from the ferry over the canal into Lowtown.
The district of Market and Riverside, where the barges that go up
the Zannain dock, rises from the Lowtown Bridge over the canal
towards Temple, and takes its name from the large Market Square,
around which are gathered the Magisterial Palace, the Courts of
Justice and the main garrison of the city watch. Most people living
in Market are craftsmen and shopkeepers, like in Steepside, but only
the wealthier zereshi tend to live here among humans. Often these
are members of one of the city's trade guilds, and have lived here
for generations like many other merchant families have.
The craftsmen and artisans who live and work in Market tend to sell expensive goods and services: Gold Lane, where the goldsmith’s and jewellers gather, is in Market. In spite of what seems to be an abundance of opportunity, Market is surprisingly safe even at night. Even compared to Temple, where the time-honoured art of noble intrigue can make life every bit as dangerous as on a Lowtown back alley.
Princes of the Blood
The citizens of Naressina, that is, those who live in the city and
are rich enough to have a vote, tend to look down on those who are
not citizens: Those from Lowtown, most craftsmen, and naturally any
zereshi. Although some zereshi are citizens, having gained equal
rights by inequal taxation. The nobility, who are most certainly not
simple “citizens”, have a word that is bigger than the
petty difference of having or not having civil rights: commoner. A
commoner is subject to the Common Law. A nobleman is — not.
The Laws of the Blood, and the Code of Nobility alone serve to
inspire a nobleman to greatness — and people who believe that
are in for a rude awakening.
While the Code of Nobility exists, it is more concerned with vital
questions such as whether the embroidery on a bodice should always
match a young lady's shoes, and with the rules, such as there are,
of feuding. The Laws of the Blood, passed by the Kings of Annaen in
centuries past, detail the duties of vassals and liege lords. There
is nothing, not one line of text, that says that the Naressine
nobility may not run amok in the city streets, taking what they
fancy and doing as they please. Common sense and the occasional
torches and pitchforks keep the nobility from exercising their
powers too much, but it remains as a usually forgotten fact that
those of the blood are above the city laws. Yet, they have a large
say in ruling the city. The nobility make up half the members of the
magistrate, and they hold a vote in the city's Grand Council as
well. That the nobility debate and decide the city's laws has led
many a common citizen to the false assumption that these laws would
also apply.
In theory, the nobility answers to the king in Rienna. But Rienna, capital of the kingdom of Annaen, is far away. In practice, the nobility are free to do whatever they want wherever they hold domain. Many seek to emulate the king, and adhere to the Crown Law, but not all nobles follow it within their own jurisdiction. They decree their own laws, which govern all within their respective domain. Very often, a nobleman's domain does not extend far beyond a few farms and a manor house, or he might be lord of dozens of tiny holdings scattered throughout the old kingdom, but some — like the Viscount of Monverro — claim considerable closed territory as their own. Within their holdings, the nobles are free to order everything as they see fit, from the amount of taxes they levy to the management of orchards, vinyards, mines and large farms. Many noble families employ a majordomo to deal with the administration, and concentrate on politics.
Neighbours of the Beast
What if humans weren’t the only intelligent species? What if that other species were humanoid? What if they weren’t beautiful and wise, but deadly? And ran the bakery next door?
“ Salin swallowed uncomfortably as he understood. He had heard all the stories - zereshi got drunk on blood, zereshi could rip people to pieces and did so for fun, they did not feel pain, and they couldn't be killed except by fire, and although they might walk and talk like a human, deep down they were murderous animals that ought to be hunted and killed on sight. With enough palm wine inside, people sometimes tried. Sometimes they tried on a dare, just like Yassid had more than three years ago, with Verigo the Knife watching. Yassid Quickblade had been in for an unpleasant truth. But while Cirrin had been just as fast as drinking hole wisdom had it, the other part of the story had fortunately not been true, and he had just pinned Yassid on the floor. ”
Black Silk
The ‘spawn of night’ were cast from the light for their
beastly nature, so the priests say, and most (human) people agree
that all you have to do to see why, is look at them. Fanged. Clawed.
Eyes that glow in the dark. That must be evidence of … what,
exactly? A functional tapetum lucidum, but apart from that? At which
point, the geniuses at the bar in places like ‘The Leaky
Keg’ shake their heads and mutter: “ I knew they be
hiding somethin’…”
There are also those
snake like tentacles that can stun a strong man, says a friend whose
cousin works at the barber shop where a customer once told him that
his sister’s best friend’s next-door neighbour once
heard someone say — well, you know! You just have to look at
them. Which is all the proof in the world that some people need. Not
that zereshi would consider stunning people any way to behave, but
very few people in the city talk about these things. Those that
don’t mind their neighbours don’t because they
don’t want to seem prejudiced, or intrude, and those who do
mind their neighbours think they have all the answers.
The zereshi exist, that much is certain. They have always been part of the world, and they have lived in the city of Naressina for a very long time. They do have claws and fangs, and those tentacles. They see very well in the dark, and their hearing is very accurate, too. They don’t like bright lights and loud noises, and in the hottest regions of their world, many zereshi prefer a nocturnal existence. In Naressina, they go about their business by day: Many of them are craftsmen or work as traders, some are merchants, some thieves, some are ship builders. Many have families with children. But the rumours persist. And so, the Kaliari family keeps their claws blunted and talks without showing their fangs. As merchants, they have many dealings with humans and think nothing of employing human workers and domestic staff. Their son goes to school with human children, indeed, Zîf and Kiana Kaliari have almost forgotten that they are any different. And they don’t want to be.
But the fact remains that zereshi are easily capable of killing.