Talus 2:Places:Valahna
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The Outcast Settlement - Valahna Pronunciation: VAL - uh - naa
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Basic backstory
The area around Valahna has always been important strategically and commercially. As a result it has always been habitated by humanoid creatures. The convergence of the two forks of the Orsha river and delta area is vulnerable militarily so the area has always passed control around and been taken over by various groups. These groups have a hard time holding on though because of the geographics and because of the rivers themselves which have been prone to great floods over the centuries.
The current settlement of the greater Valahna area is eclectic in the racial mix of its people and partly reflects the physical presence of different races that have occupied it in the past, and partly reflects the personal state of those who are different and not readily accepted by their race or culture and have found kindred spirits here. They are free to be who they are. Lawful religious alignments will not care for the settlement, for Valahna plays fast and loose except for the rigid structures of its merchant, pirate, rogue, and assassin guilds. Money is what rules in Valahna and those in power recognize that a rigid code keeps them in gold.
The current city of Valahna is built on a much older settlement that had been flooded and is used now partially as sewer and partially as a rogue's den. It is possible, from under the city, to reach the pirate outpost on the delta. After many centuries of flooding merchants have shored up levies along the river, knowing that the flooding affected the flow of goods in and out of the city, and thus their purses.
The current power structure of Valahna is a symbiotic coalition - the merchants need the ships and personnel that the pirates/merchant marines provide, for they rule the waters. The pirates provide protection for merchant trading and over the decades have given themselves a legitimacy that they would otherwise not have. There are no royalty and nothing rules this land save the value of a coin and the power it brings. Money rules Valahna.
As long as the money is in place and trade is flowing, the current power structure is stable. The lands to the south and the west are quite wild, though, with creatures roaming and ruling those lands on the other side if the rivers. Valahna is vulnerable to invasion and yet is strategically protected by water as well. The ruling merchants have plenty of gold to get their way. The rogues and pirates tow the line because it is in their interest to do so - if you do not abide by their code you will be killed or banished. There are plenty of marauding bandits, pirates, or mercenaries out in the lands that are on their own; some by choice, and some not.
If there is a concern on the part of the people, from richest to poorest, it is that their autonomy may be taken away from them. Religious persons or groups are highly distrusted here and while you'll find a priest in an alleyway dive you'll not find a temple here. Royalty exists only to skim gold and profits, so you won't find them either, and the people here always have concerns about what ruler(s) may have designs on their city. The monsters outlying are potentially a destabalizing force so there's always concern for that. The people band together in the face of these obsticles because they have a common thirst for the freedom and opportunity that Valahna represents to them.
System of Government
There are several parts to Valahna and how it is governed:
- City of Valahna This city is the largest demographically, lying on the east banks of the Orsha where the two forks of the Orsha river converge. It is ruled by a merchant council. The merchant council is headed by the richest merchant in collaboration with a few other of the wealthiest merchants in Valahna. There is representation by the trade, crafting, and shipping guilds at the council.
- Kenting Rush This is the pirate enclave, a large shipping village that lies on the spit between the West and the East Orsha rivers. These are the pirates that control the waterways of the Orsha. Kenting Rush does not exist without Valahna and Valahna is not the prosperous city that it is without the muscle of the pirates, who see themselves (and are seen by Valahna's ruling council) as merchant marines and shippers more than pirates. The pirates of Kenting Rush will board and seize any cargo on a vessel navigating the Orsha that is not theirs, for without the monopoly of shipping in the Orsha they lose their legitimacy. They are ruled by a junta that all ship captains and their underlings answer to.
Name of Ruler or Rulers
(to be added at a later date)
Major Imports
Farm and ocean food products, wood, made goods, smuggled goods, stolen goods
Major Exports
Gem and ore commodities, animal products, range livestock, horses, Underdark goods, smuggled goods, stolen goods
Trade Routes (which rivers, which cities)
There is a land route that becomes more treacherous the further away from the settlement and ranches you get. The main route of travel is the Orsha river. The East and West forks of the Orsha converge at the settlement. The West Orsha is said to eventually lead to a flank of the great Dragon's Back Mountain range and go underground to a merchant port of the Drow. The East Orsha comes from great wilderness and terrible unknowns in the Dragon's Back Divide.
After the Orsha becomes one, this great river heads north toward various settlements and eventually leads to a human settlement on the coast. Pirates rule this waterway and are paid for the safe passage of persons and goods along the Upper Orsha. Stray too far and you will find marauding bands of thieves and pirates. If you've survived them, you probably won't survive the unknown creatures that lie beyond....
Crafting Resources
The surrounding area does not have much in the way of exportable wood. Most wood is imported from the north. There are parts of the Dragon's Back Divide that has rare gems and ore but you procure these at your peril. There is an active lapidary and tinker trade in Valahna.
Animals in immediate area
- Range livestock
- horses
- gazelle
- antelope
- big cat predators
- snakes
you won't find woodland creatures like bears or deer here.
Monsters nearby
Nearby is a swamp/marsh at the convergence of the rivers that has lizardfolk. Further south is rumored to have kobold and giant encampments, and there may even be dragons in the Dragon's Back (and these dragons are behind the occasional half-dragon you can run into). The West Orsha eventually goes to a merchant Drow city and what lies beyond is great fodder for rumor and superstition. To the north and off the west bank of the Orsha you are bound to find orcs. (I'll talk with Longtide and Mike about what lies in the land expanse between the Outcast Settlement, Halfling settlement, and the Human city).
