Göteshafen is the trading port of the Hermetic Order State, and lies on the northern shores of the White Sea. It is the only Hermetic city that is open for foreigners, and few have ever seen the hinterlands. For centuries merchants have traded with the Masters of the Tower, and Göteshafen has is a busy, rich, multi-tribal melting-pot where dialects from all over Eria are heard in the streets. All under the watchful eyes of the ever-present Proxima.
The first thing visitors to Göteshafen notices is the wealth and cleanliness of the local inhabitants. All streets are cobbled and free of sewer and garbage, and beggars are as rare as street-magicians in Aragorn. Merchants come in from the hinterlands with their goods, and it is said that the crops have never failed in the Order State. In many ways, Göteshafen appears to be an ideal city.
One thing that sets the inhabitants of the Order State apart is that they seem to live in a bygone era - their tools and attires are those of centuries past; tunics and breeches are worn instead of shirts and trousers, cloaks are worn instead of coats, swords are broader, armours heavier, and there are no mechanical machines to be found. Likewise, the traveller who expects to see arcane wonders, flying horses or giants doing manual labour will be disappointed, in fact, few foreigners ever see a wizard - unless they have connections or important business with the Tower.
The Burgmaster of Göteshafen is Master Vermis Ludenius bani Bonisagus, a shrewd diplomat and merchant. It is said that nothing happens on the White Sea that he doesn't know of within three days, and that he better at factoring costs than a Wezellian. Since he took over as Burgmaster, trade has more than doubled, and even if all Humanists have been expelled, there are now more ships visiting Rederhafen than ever.
The coastline is patrolled by the Orders fast and deadly galleys, and only the most desperate smuggler will attempt to sneak past their picket. So far, none have lived to tell the tale. It is this type of ship that makes up the bulk of Battlefleet Hermetica, now deployed to the Erian Gap and the Pendrellian Coast.
[Picture source: 1 The ORB; 2 Radojavor on DeviantART]
Interesting. It's always the little details (suggestive, perhaps, of larger mysteries) that make a good locale description.
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