Towne of Alameda

* Location
* Book

Castle Ruins
Grand Library
Bazaar
Trading Post
Creature Nursery
Royal Palace
Temple of the Sun God
Moon Goddess' Church

The **Towne of Alameda**, often known as simply Alameda, is the capital city of Ostlea. It is where many of the on-site locations, such as the Nursery and the Bazaar, are canonically located.

It is also the first chapter in the Library book *The Guide to Notable Cities and Towns*.

## Introduction

The Towne of Alameda, usually shortened just to Alameda, is the capital of Ostlea. It's by far the largest city, with a highly diverse population of around 40 000. It is home to the richest of the rich - like the King and his family - and the poorest of the poor - like the many people living in the slums on the edge of town, hoping to somehow share in the town's riches. The majority of the population is human, but unlike most other Ostlean towns and cities, there is a large population of other races as well.

Being the capital, Alameda's main economic income comes from trade. People from around the country come to the city to sell their wares or buy what they need. A merchant's tax ensures the city gets its share of the money involved. Because of this tax, however, black-market trading is extensive. Officials are always trying to write laws to stop this, but somehow it only seems to get worse with every passing law.

It's not all bad, however. Anyone with papers to prove they live in the city has a right to basic healthcare and education, and the many festivals which are abundantly celebrated ensure happiness among even the poor.

## History

Alameda could be called the seed of humanity in Ostlea. It is the very spot the Phoenix and Dragon led the very first Ostleans to. It didn't take long at all for them to set up the basics of their society: a small town council, a ruler, homes, and temples to honour their new deities. A few generations later and the foundation of the great Towne of Alameda was all there: a small military, the beginnings of what would become the Royal Academy, an explorer's guild to explore the rest of their country, and everything else they needed.

But all was not well anymore. The king of this time was King Robin the First, great-great-grandson of the very first ruler of Ostlea (Irvin Presor, or King Irvin the Wise). He was unhappy with how his ancestors had ruled the country; he found them too soft, too friendly, and too willing to compromise.

He felt the common people - which is how he saw the people who only a few generations ago had been his great-great-grandfather's friends and family - had to look up to a ruler, to fear them, and to do whatever the ruler wished of them.

There were some who agreed. His council however, all of whom had previously served Robin's father and had loved him very much, were vehemently against this new direction King Robin wanted to take the country in. They accused him of being power-hungry and attempted to pass a law to pass on the crown to King Robin's five year old son, Prince Irvin. King Robin, however, fired his entire council and instead appointed his close friends, giving them unprecedented power.

The old council left court, but didn't let it end like that. They vowed to the Sun and Moon to do everything in their power to stop King Robin from destroying their beautiful, young country, which showed so much promise. Using connections within the royal castle, they kidnapped the young Prince Irvin. They perused the old laws from the founding of Ostlea and found a few loopholes which would allow them to have the prince crowned - but they would need the Ostlean Amulet, a royal heirloom given to the Ostlean people by the God and Goddess themselves, which the King wore upon him at all times.

Both sides rallied people to their cause. One side called themselves the Royalists, supporting King Robin, in favour of a stronger rule and more power for those in charge. Opposing them were the Irvinites, those who held to the old ways, who wanted Prince Irvin to be crowned and the old council to rule until he would be of age. The Royalists attempted to rid themselves of the Irvinites by force, but the Irvinites were smart - they spread around, never gathering all in one place, and operated in secrecy. They managed to imprison half of King Robin's new council, including his general, greatly weakening his defences.

The Irvinites made plans, and one otherwise beautiful spring night, they sprang into action. The Royal Castle was a sight to behold in the still small Towne of Alameda, but it wasn't made to withstand an attack, as at the time it was built no one expected it to ever need it. The castle was destroyed, its royal inhabitants captured, and the king had lost his life defending what he believed in. The Ostlean Amulet however was nowhere to be found and remains lost to this day. A fake amulet was made in secret, which has been presented as the real one used in coronations ever since.

Small battles between the Irvinites and Royalists continued to crop up for years after this, but peace returned to Ostlea. Prince Irvin was crowned King Irvin II (who would later be known as King Irvin the Explorer, as he loved exploring his country and discovered many of its creatures), a new, stronger Royal Castle was built some distance away from the ruins of the old one, and the old council ruled until the young king was of age. They carefully reviewed the laws the Royalist council had passed and decided some actually did have merit, and they realised that opposition would not always be such a bad thing. They started monthly Council Days, where the council would present the laws they had come up with to the common people and listen to their criticism.

With this new, stronger foundation, the Towne of Alameda, and Ostlea with it, kept growing. It has remained mostly peaceful until this day.

## Layout

The new Alamedan Royal Palace was built on top of a hill, allowing for good visibility over the surrounding lands. The rest of the city was built around it and slowly developed some city districts. The Royal Palace now sits at the center of the Palace District, which it shares with other prominent nobility's lavish homes, the Royal Council, embassies, and the Grand Library. The Palace District is well guarded, both by a wall and by the Royal Guards.

The Palace District is surrounded by the Richess, where the minor nobility and other richer people live. While the rich people often have their own guards to guard their homes, there's no wall around the district. Aside from the rich homes, this district houses the various Academies, good healthcare facilities, public libraries, etc. The Richess ends at the river Eltik, which runs through the city from northwest to northeast, curving under the hill the city is built around.

Sitting on both sides of the Eltik, with the Grand Bridge at its center, is the Bazaar. The Bazaar is without a doubt the largest and most prominent marketplace of the city, if not all of Ostlea. It is always bustling with activity, both during the day and at night.

The rest of the city within the walls on the north side of the Eltik, is simply called the North District. Since none of the three city gates lead directly into the North District, it is generally seen as a safe place to live. On its eastern side, sitting next to the Eltik and near the Moon Bridge, is the Moon Goddess' Church.

South of the Eltik are three more districts, dividing the south side of the city into three roughly equally sized sections: the South District, reaching from the Bazaar to the Gryffin's Gate; the Runeward in the west, home to the Temple of the Sun God and many a magically-inclined person (with the Old Gate leading out of the city and the Sun Bridge crossing the Eltik); and the Espial Quarter, often seen as a seedy part of town, but at the same time home to the eminent Explorers' Guild.

All the above districts together are the core of the Towne of Alameda, surrounded by a city wall. Wedged in the corners of where the Eltik and the wall meet are relatively small harbours, where larger river ships unload their wares into the many warehouses, to be brought to the Bazaar later on with the smaller city boats. The city wall is patrolled by the City Guards at all times, although they barely ever have to actually do any fighting. Three gates lead out of the city: the Old Gate to the west, the Gryffin's Gate to the south, and the Wild Gate to the east.

## Politics

Alameda doesn't have an elected City Council like most other larger Ostlean cities, and is instead ruled by the Royal Council, which is also responsible for advising and assisting the King in his or her royal duties. The Royal Council is chosen by the king, but citizens are allowed to start petitions to bring certain people to the attention of the king or to have them removed from the council. Once a certain number of signatures has been placed on the petition, all Alamedan citizens will be able to vote on it. The King can veto the final result, but this would generally cause distrust among the citizens and is therefore rarely done.

The Royal Council writes new laws and continuously reviews old ones and updates them where needed, but they also report all the important goings-on of Ostlea to the King. There is no set amount of seats on the Council, but generally there is at least a Master of Intelligence, a Master of Arms, a Master of Ships, a Master of Magic, and a Master of Law. It is rare for a King to only have those five positions, however.

Gender, social status, wealth, race etc. are all factors which are not important for the position of Councilman (which is used as a general term, rather than a term referring to just men). In fact one of the most famous Masters of Intelligence was a spy from the Slums born as a boy but for all intents and purposes being a woman, who was rumoured to have a Mermaid grandmother and could breathe underwater because of it - that last bit was never confirmed, however.

## Religion

As is the case in most of Ostlea, the main religion in Alameda is that of the Sun and Moon (which, of course, refers to the Phoenix and the Dragon). Alameda is home to the main religious centres of both branches of the religion; the Temple of the Sun God and the Moon Goddess' Church.

However, smaller religions also have places of worship within the city. For example, situated on the banks of the Eltik in the Old Quarter, is a temple to the Ocean Deities worshipped by the Merfolk. Spread throughout the city are temples and churches dedicated to the other religions found among the population of Ostlea.

Once a year, during the Summer Festival, followers of all the different religions come together on the Day of Harmony. Each performs a play about the gods they worship and presents the King with a representation of their religion (like a red-coloured feather for the Sun God's Disciples, a dragon scale for the Moon Goddess' Clergy, or a cup of saltwater for the Ocean Deities). Thanks to this special day, religious discrimination within the city is virtually non-existent; people are content to let each other live in peace.

## Links

* The Guide to Notable Cities and Towns
* Towne of Alameda