Melchiar

**Melchiar**

Grand Industrial City - A massive sea based trade city on the easternmost coast of the Kotesh.  The largest of Kotesh's cities, Melchiar serves as the starting point of all major trade routes throughout the Vaanthian continent.  It is a prosperous, but dirty and cluttered industrial city.  Sitting right upon the Mithrlochr, safely in the Koskyr Bay, near its Hildenian border; Melchiar opens westward to the Selchur Desert, a path known as the Barto Tradeway.  Eastward is the Timond Valley leading into the lowlands of Hilden, the Dorset Plain of Westershire.

Melchiar is known for its shipyards, carpenters, coopers and woodworkers.  Using particularly the famed Hildenian Oak, various Contielian trees, Hanzelite Cedar, and Rhegrhein Pine lumber and timber, the city has become a famed stage for all wood related arts.

The people, proud as all Koteshee are, simply prefer to be called Koteshee and their possessive is Koteshen,  however, outsiders use these virtually interchangeably, with the demonym often being used as the possessive as well.  They are sometimes called the Kosh or Koshee because of  the name of their language.  They are sometimes called Rush or Rushes, an offensive term.  In the case of exclusive things to Melchiar, they are known as Melchean.

Language:  Common (New Hilde), Koshion (a dialect of the Sheneo-Sotedian some refer to it as Shenoto).  Being right on the Timond Valley border to Hilden Koteshee from Melchiar will often pass on the use of Koshion, save for private matters that must be strictly kept from Koffah, such as government business.

Population:

* Dominant - Human
* Minority - Dwarf, Tiefling, Hobbit, Orc
* Enclave - Gnome, Elf,
* Groups Goblinoids, Genasi, Kobold
* Individuals - Goliath, Dragonborn, Lizardfolk, Tabaxi

Unwelcome as "unlucky," "bedeviled," or simply as being the offspring of Herodians in many places, tiefling find a comfortable existence on the Vaanth continent proper in Kotesh, and in Melchiar specifically, where they have grown into a significant minority and have embraced the Kadree a Koff, even rising into Melchean families.

The primary religion is Ennea with more temples than anywhere else.

The economy of Kotesh includes the imports of wood, lumber of all sorts, coal, leather, pipeweed, game (considered a delicacy), copper, tin, iron, and many other major ores, sugar, ivory and quartz.  The major exports include ships, furniture, carpentry products, steel, horses, granite, tea and sheep.  Their currency is the silver Dran system:

* Copper Peck 1 cp
* Quadran 2-2.5 cp value silver quarter-dran chip.
* Hadran 5 cp value silver half-dran piece.
* Dran 1 sp, a breakable coin.
* Half Hec 1 ep
* Hecdran 1 gp
* Lodran 1 pp

The governance of the city and the region about Melchiar falls under the Satrap Parvana an'Hotu, Satrap bon Melchiar.  Outside of a contingent of the Bansra, the main forces of the Melchiar region are Hoshe.  A small city guard called the Melksra guard the city proper.

**Barto Tradeway** - Major trade route starting at Melchiar of Kotesh eastward through the Selchur Desert, through Dabuul, then Peatol, past the Three Rivers all throughout Hanzel and back over again to Hilden.  The greater Trans-Hargnean Tradeway through Sotede splits off just outside of Kotesh, heading north.

**Koskyr Bay** - Huge double inlet bay on the northeastern edge of Kotesh meeting with the Mithrlochr.  Famed for being the Bay of the Kotesh or one of the two great bays upon which the nation is named.

**Melchiar Highroad** - A road passing from Kelenor’s East Gate, through the low-passes of Mt. Dorman across the Dorset Plain north of Lake Katan, finally arriving at Melchiar.  This road serves as the main travelway between Hilden and Kotesh.  Some have called it a continuation of the Barto Tradeway.  The road itself is well maintained by both Koteshee and Hildee efforts.

**The Sorretto Bankers** - The gnomes of the Sorretto family were pushed out of Velnor, forced to vacate Hargravia, and sent to the poor districts of Melchiar in Kotesh.  The gnomes had little chance to recover before receiving word that they were being forbidden practice of nearly every skilled trade in Kotesh.

Gnomes are nothing if not diligent workers, and being cast out of their forested homelands, and the trade routes they had built for Velnor during the civil war, the gnomes began to work in the only trades they could manage with their fortune, gemology and banking.  In short order the Sorrettos had cornered the money market of Melchiar, rising to prominence, in spite of the Koteshee racism.

In time this led to lending operations and financing.  The family owns a great many properties, and Realty and land speculation are among their present interests.  Some allege that criminal matters, money laundering, and strong-arm tactics are among the techniques used by the Sorretto's.  Regardless, from humble beginnings they have become true power brokers in Vaath.

**Selchur Desert** - A centrally located Koteshee desert.  The tradeways pass through it, so it has been a historical locale for bandits.  Kotesh law permits summary hanging for any act of theft done in the Selchur.