Seawall

Seawall is a city-state in the March of Gullstrand along the Pale Sea. It is the capitol of Gullstrand and governs a number of smaller settlements all along the coast. The city's namesake is a massive, 500 foot tall seawall protecting a natural bay.

turned a blind eye to the smuggling that made it such a profitable port-of-call. During the Fallow Wars it established itself as a safe port for any ship left stranded at sea and thousands of refugees settled there.

History

Originally Seawall is just another fishing village along the Pale Sea. Although it boasted a natural harbor it was vulnerable to Sealfolk raids. When the Marches were conquered it was chosen as the Ecumene's port-of-call in Land's End, growing into a reputable port

Description & Culture
Buildings are tall and look like steeples, leaning into each other such that they form arched, wooden and stone tunnels. The streets area maze of switchback alleys and there is a hugely disproportionate number of winesinks, taverns, inns, markets, brothels, and guildhalls. Because of how crowded and bustling the streets are guards tend to patrol on rooftops instead, shooting thieves on sight. The canals are the lifeblood of the city, bringing barges and poleboats full of goods and food to market. There are no streets, only boardwalks, and the city is often draped in fog.

It is customary to wear masks in public (a bare face is considered gauche, and it is also a throwback to the city's origins as a haven for criminals). Some are highly decorative and ornate, others are grotesque or plain; they denote station, heritage, and wealth. Nights and days are full of partying; feasts, fetes, galas, balls, carnivals, festivals, etc.

Districts

 * Alleytown
 * A warren of crooked streets and backalleys Alleytown is an overcrowded slum near the base of the Seawall. It's home to thieves, beggars, orphans, whores, packs of wild dogs and a proportionate number of winesinks, potshops, gutter merchants, barbers, and butchers. The city watch in this district is made up of ethnic gangs, and remarkably manages to keep the "peace" rather well.
 * The Bowery
 * industrial area; tanneries, dyeworkers, slaughter houses, breweries, blacksmiths, glassblowers, carpenters, mills, granaries, stables, etc.). Populated by guildsmen, merchants, and artisans
 * The Seawall (dam, dike, and seawall, over a 100 feet high)
 * Alienage Squae (walled off ghetto for nonhumans)
 * The Locks (the city's docks, moored 100 feet above the city itself). Ironically Seawall used to be a smugglers den, now its ports are swarming with customs inspectors and aldermen, but that hasn't slowed down business.
 * Tidewater-upon-Heights: the manses of the wealthy above the flood line
 * Lowpoint, the Points
 * Where the weight of the Seawall is the land slumps down (everything drains down to the Points), meanest slum in Seawall
 * Rook Ridge
 * The 10,000 Steps
 * a switchbacking stairway up the Seawall
 * Driftwood
 * a drowned forest, peat bogs, marshes
 * The Palisades
 * Seawall's outer limits and suburbs
 * Inglenook

History
Seawall used to be a miserable little fishing village, prone to flooding and hurricanes, and a smuggler's den. But 200 years after the collapse of Tiberium it has become the largest - and richest - city in Ur, all because it took advantage of a power vacuum and quickly reestablished trade.

Government
No single authority rules over Seawall so people must either look out for themselves or seek the patronage of a strong captain. Only captains (the Admiralty) can vote and the worth of their votes depends on the size of their crew (usually counted by the number of oars on their ship). It is a fiercely democratic society - so long as you own a ship even the poorest fisherman can have a stake in government. Even trusted foreigners are allowed to vote (Seawall is a city of masked strangers, after all).

Policing is provided by a mix of merchant guards, ship gangs, and a city watch. Customs officials search all ships before they are allowed to dock; if they are carrying sickness they are burned or quarantined, if it slaves then they are turned away.

Industry & Trade
The city's shipwrights are famous for being able to mass produce whole fleets at a time; a three decked galley pulling three hundred oars can be finished in a single day! Seawall is the naval power of its time, but unfortunately there is precious little wood available (the coastal forests are needed as stormbreaks for hurricanes).

Lumber is therefore imported, as are most goods (except fish). The city makes its fortunes from banking, its skilled craftsmen and artisans, and its iron grip on the sea's trade lanes.