Drache

From #BlkDragon*Inn
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Drache
Information
Realm: Arangoth
Province: Transdariania
Population: 55,000
Predominate Races: Humans,
Elves, and
Dwarves
Year Founded: 465
Currency: Bank Crown
Head of State: His Grace, Sithire Marcion Aldenbar
Privy Council: Julius ul-Arduin Malbraxa,
Branth ul-Alfrith Truxton,
Simpelta ul-Sankord Marnix, and
Marnuth ul-Porre Elgabralk
Religion: Menxism



The City of Drache (in Arangothek: Drekith) is the present-day capital of the Kingdom of Arangoth and lies at the mouth of the Darian River. The name, although now spelled under draconian influence, probably comes from the Arangothian word dreki, meaning a port.

Origins & History

Twelve years ago there was virtually nothing in Drache but trees and fishing hovels; its population exploded after King BLKDRAGON and Queen AngelSin established the place as the new capital of Arangoth. There was little time to plan its streets and quarters, and so there are no wide avenues or boulevards, with the sole exception of Market Street. Rather, Drache is a spontaneously-generated city of convoluted, twisted alleyways, abrupt dead-ends, strangely-shaped "squares," and mismatched skylines and rooftops.

Very few people are natives of the city; the average "native" citizen grew up on a farm somewhere to the north in Transdariania, and at least half the population was not even born in Arangoth. It is a very cosmopolitan place: one finds Elven restauranteurs and Khalar horsebreeders setting up shop next to "silfemevas" devoted to exotic Leturian tail-dancing. If not for the high number of magic-users and healers, Drache's cramped conditions would have long since led to terrible epidemics, but as it is, few die of illness in the city, and the excrement and garbage is removed from the streets each morning by a corps of magical gongfermers who "portal" it to a vast landfill in Ruthmarna.

Government

Arangoth was originally a confederacy of Grand Duchies before King Tagran became the first king of Arangoth. Sithirel, or Dukes, have been the traditional rulers of the various Arangothian provinces for centuries. When Queen Alysia (called AngelSin) and her consort King BLKDRAGON established their new capital in Drache in the year 465, they ruled it directly from Castle Black for a small number of years, a change from Arangoth's older traditions.

After their abdication, The Raven took over as Regent, though he too soon disappeared. A Regency Council rose to take on the mantle of government in the year 469. After a powerful controversy sparked a political uprising in Drache, the Council was disbanded in 473, and one of its last members, Lord Marcion Aldenbar, named Lord Chancellor. King Arlok eventually restored the traditional forms of government and appointed a new Sithire to govern the South on his behalf.

Layout and Architecture

The heart of the city lies on the eastern bank of the Darian River, surrounded by the city docks all along the waterfront. The area directly east of the mouth of the river is the most reputable--the BlkDragon District--and this is where some of the most important buildings of the city are located: the BlkDragon Inn, the central offices of the Arangothian Royal Guard (under Captain Lucius von Stahl), the Royal Chancellery and the Arangothian Royal University. This is also where the better houses and mansions are located, most with tall walls and towers to discourage intruders. There is also a public park, the "Forest Reserve," located between the river and the Inn, preserving a section of the thick woods that covered the whole area only a few years ago.

The further eastwards one travels from the river, the further one descends into the Arangothian underworld. This area is known as the Wharf District, just out of sight of the BlkDragon Inn, consisting of warehouses, shipyards, net makers, and the like, as well as lower-class drinking establishments such as the Ewe's Udder Inn. If you are looking for a cockfight or an opium den, you are in the right place; however, you are also in the right place to have your throat slit and your purse snatched. The eastern fringe of this section contains Drache's famed Red Lantern District, lined with brothels of varying repute. This is in fact the oldest part of Drache; just ten years ago it was nothing but a fishing-port frequented mainly by pirates and thieves. The Iron Gate is located at the western end of the Wharf District; this is a gateway at which he Royal Guard frisks suspicious-looking persons who want to pass through into the upscale BlkDragon District.

Until the year 471, Royal Guards did not often enter the Lower City. Under Captain Alastair "Solace" Courrant, the Royal Guard built a new a garrison in the Wharf attached to the city granary as part of his campaign to clean up the city. The Wharf Patrol developed a more aggressive style of law enforcement under the direction of Lucius von Stahl and his successor, Trilous Pyrder. Even with the Guard's presence in the Lower City, it is still not advisable for anyone to travel there unescorted after dark, as the many would-be bodyguards who gather just inside the Iron Gate will tell the foppishly-dressed outsider. The Wharf Garrison is now commanded by Commander Zesstra Riknueth

Leading north out of the BlkDragon District is Market Street. Passing by the free hostel known as Rilpoki's Corner, this thoroughfare ends at the Merchants' Square, the heart of Drache's bustling business district. This is the address of Jessie's Bakery, Rummi Gummi's Magic and Pawn shop, Desert Moon Imports, Braxton's Interdimensional Emporium, and Tinny's Repair Shop, among other establishments. The square itself is a vast farmer's market in which produce from the back country is carted every morning just before daybreak. Also facing this square is the Drache Municipal Theatre, used for various purposes.

East of Merchants' Square, and northeast of the BlkDragon District, is a section of the city set aside for religious structures, and here one finds the Royal Church of Arangoth.

Further out from the city center are smaller settlements vaguely resembling suburbs, some permanent, others mere shanty-towns, and these gradually pass over into the village-dotted countryside of Transdariania, the farmland on either side of the Darian River. One such suburb is the so-called Gessi District, formed when members of the Cult of the Silver Flame decided to settle in Drache after the Cult's dissolution.

The west bank of the Darian is more sparsely inhabited than the east. Straight across from the BlkDragon Inn stands the Castle Black, the official (and rather mysterious) seat of the Arangothian monarchy. North of this spot is the suburb of West Drache, which centers upon a large Royal Arangothian Ironworks producing tools and weapons of various sorts.