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Vienda

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Vienda is the capital city of Anaxas, located on the bank of the Arova River next to the Vienda Bridge. Its population is largely human, but the City Seat is held by galdori. The Palace of the King is located at the north side of the city, as well as the buildings of Congress and several official Courts.

Image Of Kingsway Market

History

Founded in ancient times by the human warlord Kasshar the Courageous, who named the land after his wife, Vienda has grown from a tiny hamlet to a major city over the centuries. Legend holds that Kasshar washed up on the banks of the Arova after battling an enormous wildebeest and plunged his sword into the sand, proclaiming it to be a new world. (In some versions of the legend, he was recovering from a night of revelry.)

Vienda was once the primary human stronghold in Anaxas, but it was sieged by the galdori during the War of the Book in 98 AT. The galdori set up a strong central government, reigning in human criminal activity to a manageable level and exerting control over the rest of Anaxas from the central hub. The dominant human underworld was forced to find a new home in Old Rose Harbor, where it remains to this day.

Population

Vienda is a large and prosperous city. It is home to over fifty thousand humans and twenty thousand galdori. Wicks used to make up about 10% of the population; many nomadic wicks once used Vienda as a sort of base, returning every year or so to restock their caravans. Currently, nomadic wicks are banned from the city, while those who have lived in the city long enough to get a writ of residence are allowed to remain, provided they have a job and a home.

Some free passives choose to live in Vienda, usually in human neighborhoods.

Economy

Vienda has a large factory district which produces a vast array of goods. Exports include mass-produced machinery and parts, textiles, and literature - many famous writers take up residence in the city.

Most trade in Vienda is river-based, with the goods coming to and from Vienda along the Arova to Old Rose Harbor. Many farmers and livestock herders come to Vienda to trade, and load up steam barges along the bank of the river.

Vienda is a primary location for the purchase of the exotic and luxury goods which the galdori have a fondness for. Fabrics, spices, perfumes and jewelry are hot sellers. Most of these goods come from Old Rose, but there is a booming luxury business in Kingsway Market, spearheaded by local artisans and entrepreneurs.

Transit

Transit in Vienda is fairly similar to travel throughout all of Anaxas; the main methods of getting around in most cities are foot travel and bicycles, with taxis and omnibuses available for us. No other city in Anaxas, however, has a tram system like Vienda's, nor waterway transport.

Taxi Companies

The fastest, if more expensive, means of getting about the city is through the hiring of one of the two-wheeled, moa-drawn cabs operated by a variety of private companies and subject to an elaborate array of regulations, charters, and certifications both by the civil authorities. At present there are a number of competing taxi companies and acquiring charters and certifications is a very cut-throat business.

Because of their comparatively high cost, the taxis are mostly used by either the well-to-do who do not possess a private vehicle, or by the middle classes to get about on specific jaunts.

Costs for a cab are are often 1 tally to hire, and an additional tally-per mile driven (subject to variable fees, congestion charges, district markups, and so forth and so on).

Omnibuses

Like the taxis, the omnibuses of Vienda are operated by private companies but for considerably lower costs, with corresponding lower speeds and flexibility. Large carriages capable of carrying dozens of passengers drawn by draft kensers or horses, the omnibuses play their way about the city on either fixed or variable routes.

Much used by the lower classes to get about the city, the omnibuses tend to be slow, crowded, and prone to not un-occasional delays, but are sturdy affairs with generally reliable service. They do operate through most of the day, and well into the evening hours, but night service can be spotty.

The cost of a journey via omnibus is usually about 1 tally, 2 for especially long routes.

Trams

Developed from the omnibuses and often built by the same carriage companies, the trams run on tracks laid upon a number of major streets and arterials. The tramps are slightly more expensive than the omnibuses, but offer a more consistent and swifter service.

Observers from Thul Ka often compare these to a considerably inferior form of that city’s much celebrated cableways.

The cost for a usual tram journey is usually about 1 tally and 2 hats.

Waterways

Although Vienda's waterways are largely used for commercial transport, there are certain routes - particularly to or within the Soot District - where passengers are allowed on large, flat-bottomed freight ferries, propelled with long poles. These ferries tend to be unregulated, and are not necessarily scheduled; this method is generally recommended only for the entrepreneurial traveler (or one who wishes not to be seen on the streets above). Nonetheless, for certain routes it can be a fast and effective form of transport.

The cost of a usual waterway journey varies with length, one's negotiating skill, and the strength of one's desire for privacy.

Locations

City Landmarks

Uptown

The Dives