**Vinsklar** is a skycity, currently the largest city in the world at over 20 000 people. Built within a massive cave overlooking a narrow gorge, Vinsklar is the trading capital of [[the Mountains]]. Its central location makes it a stop-off point for most travel through the area, and its merchant-leaders have made every effort to build the city into a free-trade paradise. As a result, it is the very epitome of a market city, where anything can be bought and sold and everything has a price. > [!infobox| right wikipedia] > # Vinsklar > ![[Medieval Town - andreas rocha.webp|cover hsmall]] > ##### Geographical > | | | > | ---- | ---- | > | **Planet** | [[Jord]] | > | **Continent** | [[Adenland]] | > | **Region** | [[The Mountains]] | > | **Districts** | 5 | > ##### Government > | | | > | ---- | ---- | > | **Government** | Oligarchy | > | **First Citizen** | [[Grimulf]] | > ##### Miscellaneous > | | | > | ---- | ---- | > | **Population** | ~20 000 | # General Vinsklar was founded in 3022 VL by merchants and traders who fled the restrictions and regulations imposed by the priests at [[Gudesberg]]. The city is located about 3 miles into Merchant's Gorge, a large but narrow canyon between two mountains, with sheer vertical sides and a floor shrouded in mist and darkness. At Vinsklar, the canyon widens considerably, and a massive cave opens up into the north wall. The city is built within the cave, right up to the cliff edge, with airship docks and piers extending out over the abyss. The wind whipping through the gorge turns turbulent and treacherous in the open space outside Vinsklar, creating strong currents in chaotic patterns. Many airships were wrecked before a large windbreak was built across the chasm. However, the memory of the perilous winds lives on in the city's name, which means _cave of wind_. Vinsklar is a large, prosperous city, partly due to being [[Lord Haakon|Haakon]]'s base of operations before [[Prosperity]] was launched. The city's leaders have always focused on free trade and ease of commerce. No fees and no taxes means that businesses of every kind flourish within the city's vast marketplaces. Any conceivable good or service can be found, for the right price, and every day fortunes are made and lost, subject to the whims of capitalism's invisible hand. The cave has a nearly flat floor, making it ideal for habitation, and is large in all dimensions, running quite deep into the rock. A large glowing orb, the Auriphane, is chained to the cave ceiling, bathing the city in sunlight despite the weight of the mountain above it. This alchemical marvel, created at the university, is also known as the Sunsphere, and although it dims at night, it never goes completely dark. Vinsklar's water is supplied by the River of Trade, far below on the canyon floor. Water elevators continually haul buckets of water up the cliff face to the cave's mouth and dump it into sluices and cisterns. Some of the water is used there in the Market Quarter to resupply airship engine boilers, while the rest is carried through a network of pipes to fountains and wells carved into the rock. Vinsklar grows no food of its own, save for odd varieties of fungus in the Junk Yard, and all of its food comes from external trade. There is no sewer system in the city, due to the difficulty of excavating such tunnels in the solid rock, and each building is obliged to contract with private waste management companies to empty the privies and chamberpots each day. # Government Vinsklar is ruled by a Council, or [[Vinsklar Raed|Raed]], of the wealthiest merchants and businessmen in the city. Any sitting Raedman can be challenged by a newcomer who believes they are more worthy. An [[Arbiters of Rhetios|Arbiter of Rhetios]] conducts a precise accounting of each party's holdings, and the one shown to be richer is given the seat on the Raed, while the disgraced party is fined a substantial portion of their wealth for their misplaced pride. The most successful Raedmen donate lavishly to the city's public works, to demonstrate that they fear no challenge. The Raed elects a leader from among themselves to speak for the city as First Citizen Among Equals, a position currently held by [[Grimulf]]. # Crime and Military Vinsklar was founded on the concept of a free market. There are no taxes or port fees, and there are no laws or regulations concerning economic activity. All trade and commerce is done in the expectation of good faith and honest dealings. In this aspect, the [[Arbiters of Rhetios]] take on a greater role in settling trade disputes, enforcing contracts, and ensuring fairness between parties. The proclamations of the Arbiters are observed with great attentiveness, and are posted at the Hall of Arbitration. Additionally, gazettes and newspapers that publish reports of poor quality or dishonest practices are widely circulated and contribute greatly to market shifts. Vinsklar does have a domestic guard force: [[the bailiffs]]. They prosecute crime against persons and property, and are paid out of the Raed's Public Safety Fund. The bailiffs are enforcers, prosecutors, and judges. Only crimes committed against Vinsklar's citizens within the city are prosecuted, although there is a longstanding convention to ignore crimes committed in the Junk Quarter. Piracy is an important exception to these rules: as piracy interferes with all trade, its suppression is an animating force among Vinsklar's merchant elite, and consequently the bailiffs. Any credible report of a current or former pirate within Vinsklar is sure to draw the attention of the bailiffs. At the Hall of Justice, sentences range from fines for minor infractions, to exile and banishment for major or repeated offences. Murder or manslaughter is punished by death, which can be avoided by payment of a weregild and voluntary exile. In keeping with the traditions of old Skadyrik, the punishment for violent offenses such as battery and homicide is "an eye for an eye", with the bailiffs allowing the victim or victim's family to execute the sentence if they wish. Fines (and weregilds if not claimed by the family) are paid into the Public Safety Fund, as are the assets of any executed criminals. Given the incentives this creates for the bailiffs, the Raed exercises close oversight of the bailiffs' activities and judgements. The Hall of Justice, where trials are held, is located in the Market Quarter. The gaol, where criminals are held pending trial and sentences are executed, is in the Industrial Quarter. ## Market Quarter The largest district of the city is the Market Quarter. This district is almost synonymous with Vinsklar to most outsiders. It occupies the southern portion of the cave, including most of the docks and other structures at the cave's mouth. At the edge of the city, most facilities are catered toward general trade: docks, warehouses, longshoremen and porters, airship hangars and repair bays, and the like. Farther north, the Market Quarter becomes a bustle of shops, stores, market plazas, and other businesses. Any good or item from anywhere in the world can be found in these streets and alleys. Many who visit Vinsklar never leave the Market Quarter, for it caters to every and all material need. Many store owners sleep in lodgings above their establishments or simply in the back rooms, and there are also many inns, taverns, and boardinghouses for workers and visiting traders. The Hall of Arbitration, where Arbiters of Rhetios can be found, is located in the centre of the Market Quarter. ### Places %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview TABLE WITHOUT ID file.link AS "Places", placeCategory AS "Category", faction AS "Faction" from "3-Places/Places" and #District/Vinsklar/Market where publish = true sort placeCategory ASC, file.link ASC ``` %% | Places | Category | Faction | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | [[3-Places/Places/The Riverworks.md\|The Riverworks]] | Agriculture | — | | [[3-Places/Places/Westwind Salvage Yards.md\|Westwind Salvage Yards]] | Agriculture | — | | [[3-Places/Places/The Arcade of a Thousand Things.md\|The Arcade of a Thousand Things]] | Commerce | — | | [[3-Places/Places/The House of Weights.md\|The House of Weights]] | Commerce | — | | [[3-Places/Places/Hall of Arbitration.md\|Hall of Arbitration]] | Government | [[4-People/Factions/Arbiters of Rhetios.md\|Arbiters of Rhetios]] | | [[3-Places/Places/Hall of Justice.md\|Hall of Justice]] | Government | [[4-People/Factions/The Bailiffs.md\|The Bailiffs]] | | [[3-Places/Places/Vinsklar City Hall.md\|Vinsklar City Hall]] | Government | [[4-People/Factions/Vinsklar Raed.md\|Vinsklar Raed]] | %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% ## Industrial Quarter Vinsklar is primarily a city built on trade and exchange, and is not often known as a place where goods are manufactured or created. Yet it does have a bustling productive economy, primarily based in the Industrial Quarter in the east of the city. This district has always been dominated by Lord Haakon's interests, and even after the launching of Prosperity, his heavy industries are still located here. Large, steam-powered automated manufactoria mass-produce airship engines, cannons, and other bulky metal items in assembly lines, with only minimal human supervision; most of the employees at these manufactoria are security. Other Vinsklar magnates have built their own manufactoria here as well, but lack the sophistication to fully automate their processes. The Industrial Quarter does have some housing units for manufactorium workers, but generally lacks many of the institutions one would expect to find in a typical city district, as it is almost entirely focused on the manufactoria. Other unpleasant activities, such as the waste management operations, are centred here as well. ### Places %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview TABLE WITHOUT ID file.link AS "Places", placeCategory AS "Category", faction AS "Faction" from "3-Places/Places" and #District/Vinsklar/Industrial where publish = true sort placeCategory ASC, file.link ASC ``` %% | Places | Category | Faction | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------------------------- | | [[3-Places/Places/The Char Distilleries.md\|The Char Distilleries]] | Agriculture | — | | [[3-Places/Places/Vinsklar Gaol.md\|Vinsklar Gaol]] | Military | [[4-People/Factions/The Bailiffs.md\|The Bailiffs]] | | [[3-Places/Places/Agnar Holm.md\|Agnar Holm]] | Nesting | — | %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% ## Civic Quarter The Civic Quarter, in the north, caters to the upper class of Vinsklar. The members of the [[Vinsklar Raed|Raed]] and other very wealthy merchants live here. This district abounds in public works such as ornate fountains, intricate statues and murals, and welcoming plazas – all commissioned by the rich and donated to the city in a display of magnanimity. There is a large playhouse here and also the cathedral of the priests. The university is also located here. Interestingly, City Hall, where the Raed meets, is not entirely within the Civic Quarter, but in fact sits on the border between the Civic Quarter and the Market Quarter, demonstrating the importance of trade in the city's life. ### Places %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview TABLE WITHOUT ID file.link AS "Places", placeCategory AS "Category", faction AS "Faction" from "3-Places/Places" and #District/Vinsklar/Civic where publish = true sort placeCategory ASC, file.link ASC ``` %% | Places | Category | Faction | | --------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [[3-Places/Places/The Cathedral.md\|The Cathedral]] | Philosophy | [[4-People/Factions/The Order of Priests.md\|The Order of Priests]] | %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% ## Junk Quarter The Junk Quarter is the oldest part of the city, lying to the west, near the windbreak. It was here that the winds were calmest, so the first docks were built here and the city began from there. However, after the windbreak was built and the currents came under control, the city core gradually moved east to occupy the more central part of the cave. The older section was simply left abandoned by those who could afford to move. For those who could not, the choice was to adapt or to die. They began operating less savoury and upstanding businesses: professional thieves, procurers of blackmail, and even the occasional assassin. However, a city as cutthroat as Vinsklar has no lack of demand for such services, and so the Junk Quarter remains as industrious as the rest of the city, despite receiving no attention whatsoever from the market authorities. Due to this strange sort of isolation, the Junk Quarter is almost a city within a city, with parallel sets of services and institutions serving its unique clientele. Gearsmithing rings, where gearsmiths build powerful constructs and battle in vicious combat for sport and money, are also located here. > [!example]- Image > ![[slaughter in spittlefeld - JG O'Donoghue.webp|800|center]] > Slaughter in Spittlefeld book cover – JG O'Donaghue \[[ArtStation link](https://www.artstation.com/artwork/WKbLlE)] ### Places %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview TABLE WITHOUT ID file.link AS "Places", placeCategory AS "Category", faction AS "Faction" from "3-Places/Places" and #District/Vinsklar/Junk where publish = true sort placeCategory ASC, file.link ASC ``` %% | Places | Category | Faction | | ------------------------------------------------------------- | -------- | ------- | | [[3-Places/Places/The Hand.md\|The Hand]] | Nesting | — | | [[3-Places/Places/The Pauper's Crown.md\|The Pauper's Crown]] | Nesting | — | %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% ## The Scrapyard The rear of the cave, north of the Civic Quarter, was used by Haakon's engineers as a dumping ground for waste and failed experiments. Dumping into the River of Trade is frowned upon, so airship wreckage and other jetsam were transported here as well. Vinsklar's poor congregated here when they were forced out of the Junk Quarter, subsiding off the abandoned wreckage and the fungi that grow in the rear of the cave. The Scrap Yard's population grows every time a business owner stakes too much on a risky venture, or when an employee is fired for stealing and their name passed around town. Few ever leave the Scrap Yard for better prospects. Eventually, a wall was built to enclose the Civic Quarter from any incursions from the Scrap Yard. ### Places %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview TABLE WITHOUT ID file.link AS "Places", placeCategory AS "Category", faction AS "Faction" from "3-Places/Places" and #District/Vinsklar/Scrapyard where publish = true sort placeCategory ASC, file.link ASC ``` %% | Places | Category | Faction | | ------ | -------- | ------- | %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% ## The Chasm On the far side of the chasm is a large, flat area adjacent to the windbreak. This is the old construction site of [[Prosperity]], where the city was built in parts before being flown out of the chasm and fixed together. The area is still littered with old structures and metal scaffolding. Haakon owns the land but has no immediate use for it. # NPCs %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview TABLE WITHOUT ID file.link AS "NPCs", gender AS "Gender", faction AS "Faction", district AS "District" from "4-People/People" where settlement = this.file.link where publish = true sort district ASC, file.link ASC ``` %% | NPCs | Gender | Faction | District | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- | | [[4-People/People/Einar.md\|Einar]] | Male | [[4-People/Factions/The Order of Priests.md\|The Order of Priests]] | \- | | [[4-People/People/Fromund.md\|Fromund]] | Male | [[4-People/Factions/The Order of Priests.md\|The Order of Priests]] | \- | | [[4-People/People/Godfred.md\|Godfred]] | Male | [[4-People/Factions/The Order of Priests.md\|The Order of Priests]] | \- | | [[4-People/People/Grimulf.md\|Grimulf]] | Male | [[4-People/Factions/Vinsklar Raed.md\|Vinsklar Raed]] | \- | | [[4-People/People/Ealdraed.md\|Ealdraed]] | Male | — | Junk Quarter | | [[4-People/People/Edwenna Scirheahsdottir.md\|Edwenna Scirheahsdottir]] | Female | [[4-People/Factions/The Bailiffs.md\|The Bailiffs]] | Market Quarter | %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% # Gallery ![[Medieval Town - andreas rocha.webp|center|800]] Medieval Town – Andreas Rocha \[[link](https://andreasrocha.blogspot.com/2012/05/medieval-town-old-concept-i-never.html)] --- ![[vinsklar_simple_map.webp|center]] Vinsklar simple map sketch – GrayArchon