New Cresdale

**New Cresdale**, also known as the City of Balance and formerly known as Admiroff, is a large and influential cosmopolitan city located in the heart of the Maratou Bay. As one of the larger members in the Unyielding Six, New Cresdale boasts some of the continent's most talented artisans, artists, and scholars, and their numerous skills have nurtured New Cresdale to become a thriving commercial hub for financial interests.

## History

New Cresdale was initially established as a human-centric settlement, founded by the legendary human politician Alice Portner. The settlement was originally named Vecktimest, after Portner's favorite tree, the Vecktimest Pines, that is native to the Maratou Bay. Vecktimest was a theocracy, with both the Cult of Order and the Cult of Entropy having a massive influence on the construction and policies of the new city. For the next 22 years since the founding of the city, the human residents focused on building barriers and other defenses, as well as constructing grand monuments and buildings dedicated to the gods Entropy and Order. However, with the murder of Timedeus Littlefoot, a popular worship leader in the Cult of Order, the shaky alligance between the Cult of Entropy and the Cult of Order collapsed and sparked the Vecktimest Civil War.

The civil war brought devastation and chaos to the residents, and was close to completely destroying Vecktimest before the Transfiguration of Preyor brought the two opposing sides to a truce. Many former Vecktimest residents, including Alice Portner's son Avery Portner, wanted to abandon the city and found a different one far away from the destruction. However, a charismatic politician named Olaf Admiroff managed to convince the surviving residents to build a new city in the same location, arguing that preserving heritage is more important than trying to start from scratch. With his inspiring speeches, Admiroff rallied the survivors to recreate their former city, without the former influences of the Cult of Entropy and the Cult of Order. Finally, on the 3rd of the First Block in 29AE, the rebuilt city was completed and renamed to Admiroff.

For 20 years, Olaf Admiroff ruled over the city named after him, but the residents quickly discovered that Admiroff was great at rhetoric, but horrible at actually ruling over a city. This weakness was further exposed when refugees from the nearby city of Cresdale fled to Admiroff after a balhannoth attack ruined their city. Olaf Admiroff initially accepted the refugees, but treated them with such disrespect and disdain that it left a horrible impression in all of the residents. Eventually, Lain Cresdale, leader of the former Cresdale refugees, started a revolution to overthrow Olaf Admiroff and create a new government. Due to his unpopularity, Olaf was quickly abandoned by his guards and was beaten to death by an angry crowd of refugees on th 10th of the Third Block in 101AE. Lain Cresdale was quickly chosen as his replacement, and on the 12th of the Third Block, Admiroff was renamed to New Cresdale and Lain was appointed its first mayor.

## Geography

New Cresdale is located on West Esterra at the north-central region of the Vecktimest Peninsula and includes significant stretches of the Maratou Bay within its boundaries.

The various roads to New Cresdale are well paved, patrolled, and funded by powerful traders and politicians. The major trade routes include:

* Yehmirr Road, the main trading route passing through the Faithful Seven
* The Vibrant Road, the trading route leading directly to the Golden Harvest Regions

#### Climate

Due to its proximity to the Maratou Bay, New Cresdale normally retains a remarkably mind year-round climate with little seasonal temperature deviation. The winter Blocks are mildly cold, foggy, and occasionally rainy, while the summer Blocks are cool and sunny. The highest recorded temperature (excluding the First Calamity) in New Cresdale was 101F, while the lowest recorded temperature was 34F.

## Government

New Cresdale's government is a strong mayor-council system, which means that the mayor is given almost total administrative authority with few checks from the council. The founding mayor, Olaf Admiroff, initially created the council positions as a way to fill them up with his friends and family members, but they have been quickly replaced by powerful politicians and influential leaders who have as much, if not more, weight in New Cresdale as the mayor.

New Cresdale's current mayor, elf Eliwen Aradove, has turned the city's energy toward self-sufficiency, almost to the point of isolationism. This has caused her to clash with the New Cresdale Council, who wanted New Cresdale to become the trading capital of Esterra. The eldest member of the Council, high elf Fern Reddington, has been particularly vocal about his displeasure in how Eliwen has been steering the city toward isolationism, mostly due to the fact that his family business run by his two sons depend on open trade.

## Cuisine

Food in New Cresdale is a melting pot of different cultural foods in Esterra, due to the massive amound of immigrants living in the area. Traditionally, New Cresdale's main source of food is from the ocean, with fish and mollusks being the primary source of protein. The most popular and famous seafoods from New Cresdale include the Blushing Scallop, a bright pink scallop that is typically served seared, and the Fanged Maratou Mackeral, a medium-sized fish with big tusks on its lower jaw that is typically used to create arrowheads. Due to the popularity of seafood in the area, breweries and distilleries have also developed, and it is not uncommon for distilleries to claim that they have the best "alcohol to serve with seafood".

Since the influx of immigrants in New Cresdale after the First Calamity, New Cresdale's cuisine have become diversified, with fusion foods quickly becoming a crowd favorite. Food imported from the Golden Harvest regions are also very popular in New Cresdale, especially around the upper class.