Sanskra

#### **Overview**

A marvel of magic and engineering, the city of Sanskra floats on an island of wooden docks, pontoons and bridges, hidden in a mist-shrouded lagoon.

No one truly knows how Sanskra came into being, or how long since. Truthfully, many people in more traditional cities across the continent believe it is little more than a faerie tale. However, the city of Sanskra is very much real and alive, especially to the citizens living there. Hidden from prying eyes deep in the mangrove swamps and perpetually surrounded by thick mist, it would take travelling adventurers a great deal of either luck or skill to find the city.

The city's origin tale varies from person to person, but almost all revolve around a mysterious figure, a powerful Marid from the Elemental Plane Of Water, who designed and created the city with arcane power. The stories all speak of how the Marid fashioned the Bamboobloom, their ornate palace, on a quiet lagoon in the Mortal Plane as a place to relax. Their immense power drew smaller creatures and peoples to them, some travelling through a gate from the Plane Of Water and others from beaches and seas on the Mortal Plane as well. These peoples, most of them aquatic in nature, found peace in the lagoon around the palace and would pull wood from the surrounding mangroves to establish docks and rafts, so that they could be near the Bamboobloom and the presence of the Marid. The Marid, seeing what they had started, used their arcane powers to grow and develop the conglomeration of floats into permanent structures. They allowed for tiered structures, streets and houses to be built and float weightlessly on the waters surface, and pulled together the mist to hide the city and keep it safe from those who would do the citizens harm.

#### **Populace and Governance**

##### **Species**

Due to the unique nature, location and histoty of the city, Sanskra is home to many aquatic and amphibious races. Water Genasi, Triton, Merforlk, Tortles and Sea Elves all find home on the lagoon, safe and sheltered from both environments and peoples that may do them harm. The perpetual proximity to water, damp environment and lack of direct sunlight make it a comfortable environment for these species who are accustomed to life beneath the water. Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes and other species of elves do find themselves there, although in much smaller numbers. Some visit as travellers, some come by it by mistake after being lost in the mangrove swamps, and some may be there in hiding from the rest of the world.

##### **Governance**

The city is ostensibly ruled by the Marid who created the city, known as Baron Balthazar, Blue Of Scale. However, the Marid has not been seen outside the walls of their palace, the Bamboobloom in many mortal lifetimes, and those permitted inside the palace are few and far between.

The City of Sanskra has an organised guard, who are tasked with protecting it's best interests and keeping the city safe. The guard are known as The Eyes Of Sanskra, and are clad in a blue-green scaled armour, with spiked helms, round shields and short spears. Many of the Eyes are of a race which has some inherent control over the water, allowing them to use the waves and mists to their advantage in catching criminals.

#### **Locations**

As space is limited, the wooden buildings of the city can only expand upwards, with stacks of houses built on top of each other like precarious, elaborate nests. Narrow alleys between the heights of buildings wind through the city, dark and damp on thick planks and docks. A fog seems to perpetually shroud the city streets, making it difficult to see down the end of a long avenue, figures seemingly disappearing into the mist or manifesting from it.

The buildings themselves are marvels of engineering, built exclusively of timber from the mangrove swamps. Dark, nearly pitch black, wooden buildings climb up into the mist, blue green lanterns hanging on strings, softly illuminating the fog with an eerie glow. The woodwork of the buildings is intricate and detailed, with swooping pitched roofs and swirling patterns carved into beams. Wooden gargoyles crouch on the corners of buildings, a constant flow from their mouths as the fog condenses and runs down the rivulets of roofs. In the shifting airs of soft lamps and swirling mists, citizens swear that they see the gargoyles grin, wink and even move on a quiet night. The heavy air of even the quietest avenues are punctuated by a slow dripping of water from terraces or the slow lapping of the waters against the stilts and poles supporting the city.

##### **South Bridge**

A bridge at the south of the city spans the lagoon, offering the only walkable entrance from the mangroves into Sanskra. Standing at one end of the bridge only lets one see the length disappear into the shifting mists. It is possible to row from the shoreline to the city in the middle of the lagoon, and coracles and rowboats can be found tied up to the tree roots.

##### **The Terraces**

As open flame is not permitted in the wooden streets, there are designated areas for the cooking of food, as wel as traditional forging and smithing. Such areas are on the edges of the city, on large steel grilles suspended over the lagoon surface and kept seperate from the wooden bridges and buildings. During all hours of the day and well into the night, large steel drums are upturned and used as cooking vessels, where all manners of seafood, meats and vegetables are grilled and served to the populace.

##### **Notable Shops and Buildings**

Jewelry Stores

* The Dazzle Factor
* Gnomes, Gnomes, Gnomes!

Tailors

* Beedritch Bombaster's

Alchemist

* Jupiter's
* Rum and Monkeys

Smiths

* Fire and Brimstone
* There Be Smoke

Armory

* The Ten Tails

Bathhouse/hotel

* The Water Snakes