Oversea

Oversea is the capital city of the Duchy of Zeemarch, in Bastonia. Oversea Bastion, its fortified heart, is the seat of power of the Duke of Oversea. The city is home to several schools of arcane knowledge, and the head cathedrals of the orders of San Sylvester and San Marino. It is one of only two metropolises in Bastonia, the other being the capital city, Whiterock.

The city contains both a suburban environ (the Oversea March), a walled-off Upper City, and a fortified core in Oversea Bastion. It is built atop high chalk cliffs above the Western Sea and serves as a major hub of trade in both material goods and information.

Geography

Oversea is build on a high bank of white chalk cliffs, and is somewhat radially arranged. Its high ground, Oversea Bastion, is suspended magically over the sea, with the Upper City being to its east atop the cliffs, away from the ocean, and the march beyond that, the two distinguished by the walls of the Upper City. The area is rocky and difficult to farm, but Oversea also oversees the largest foreign trade port in all of Bastonia, and a supporting settlement known as the Lower City. A grand bridge is the only connection between Oversea Bastion and the Upper City, and this floating bridgework is known locally as the Spar of San Marino.

Economy

The economy of Oversea is second to none among all the cities in the Kingdom of Bastonia, owing to its trade with the coastal city-states of the Shimmering Shores and heavy support for Ars Magica, the premier schools and laboratories of which exist within this city. Its economic importance is, however, being deminished of late (circa 1500 AB) by the increase in imported foodstuffs from the relatively new Duchy of Sudmarch and the increased direct trade between Bastonia and the Atarlie Empire at Coldwater.

Politics

The Duke of Zeemarch, often also the Count of Oversea, is third in line to the throne by tradition, behind the Dukes of Bastonia and Estmarch. Politically, Oversea is highly conservative, with the focus on remaining the dominant centre of trade with the wider world.