South Point

Bayside is a small harbour city in the Frontier Region of the Atarlie Empire, situated on the shore at the mouth of the Great River of Stars. It's the largest settlement of elves in the region and was once a city in the Petrenean Republic prior to the Southern Campaign. The port is important to the Atarlie economy as a center of trade with the south of Wisteria (especially the Shimmering Shore), and as a port of trade for goods from the Hearthlands bound northward. The city's harbour also plays frequent host to passing columns of the Imperial Legion on their way to reinforce Navarre's Crossing.

Geography

South Point is north of the estuary, along a section of coast where the slopes are steep and the water is deep near the shore. The harbour complex is large, and a walled city sits behind it, originally of human construction, and since heavily modified and reinforced by the elves. The bulk of the city itself is along the slopes of a hill, giving it both a High and Low quarter.

The high quarter is largely governmental offices and the residences of prominent merchants and captains of industry in the city, mostly Atarlie elves. The Low City, such as it is, is further divided into richer and poorer districts, and much more cosmopolitan as many who live there are traders who settled in the city, preferring the stability of the elven lands (or their beauty) to the insecurity and starkness of the Shimmering Shore.

There are two roads from South Point. One, to the northwest, reaches the Hearthlands and eventually joins to the city of Hall Hill. The other, shorter, leads southwest and reaches a small ancillary village with a river landing. This village is considered a suburb of South Point and this road is used to move goods from the city to the landing to facilitate them heading upriver.

Economy

South Point is a rich city, and its trade with the Shimmering Shore has enriched it to the point that it has the economic pull of a large city, disproportionate to its actual population, with most of this trade heading north to Bayside. This trade consists heavily of important arcane and alchemical reagents along with luxury goods in the form of exotic incenses, spices, and enchanted objects. Much of that trade travels further north to the ports at Sunport.

Politics

Southport is a border city and therefore under military rule. Day-to-day wellfare of the city is managed by a council of the city elders, but since most of the population are humans who have been subsumed into the Empire relatively recently, the city is often fractious.