Earthwych

Earthwych (/ɜːθ/ /wych/ [Translation Unavailable]) is a subtropical Large City located in Ironwick Dutchy, Hathe County, within the Sylvanian Empire.

The name Earthwych is derived from the Sylvin language, as Earthwych was founded by Skafida Yelling, who was culturaly Sylvin.

Climate

Earthwych has a yearly average temperature of 16°C (60°F), with its average temperature during the summer being a pleasant 25°C (77°F) and its average temperature during the winter being a cold 8°C (46°F). Earthwych receives an average of 261 cm/y (102 in/y) of precipitation, most of which comes in the form of rain during the summer. Earthwych covers an area of nearly 285 km² (114 mi²), and an average elevation of 434 m (1423 ft) above sea level.

Overview

Earthwych was founded durring the late 14th century in summer of the year 1278, by Skafida Yelling. The establishment of Earthwych was somewhat plagued by a lack of willing colonists, leading to Skafida Yelling electing to pay people to resettle in Earthwych.

Earthwych was built using the conventions of Sylvin durring the late 14th century. Naturaly, all settlmentss have their own look to them, and Earthwych is no diffrent. The city's buildings feature masoned stone construction which prominantly features pointed arches, pointed ribbed vault cielings, flying buttress', and window tracery all of which share a simmilar gemoetetic patern halfway between organic and inorganic in design formaing a very distinct aesthetically integrated style. BUildings tend to reach for the havens, and more expencive homes are easily identified by their floor count as well as the addition of decorative features intigrated into the building's design such as statues, gargoyals, and embelished joinery.

Earthwych is buildings are arranged arround a network of restrictive flagstone streets which form a diagonal shaped grid, where each square verries in size given the proximity of the paralell streets forming each section. The ocasional smaller square has been used to construct a park, plaza, and other communal structures. The city has a fortified albit thin brick wall. The wall has most of the feeatures of a typical castle wall, just on a much smaller scale and and budget. Notably brick isn't a particuarly soild choice for resisting siege weapons. Earthwych's wall wouldn't hinder a proper army, but it is more than sufishent for bandits and other small marauding groups. Earthwych's monster and outlaw focused fortifications are suffering from significent damage, so much so that examples can be pointed to no matter which section one might have within their line of site, and most of which render sections inoperable at present.

A look around Earthwych gives the unmistakable impression the town is one of the strictest places imaginable. Everyone’s actions are clearly directed by laws they keep in heart and mind at all times. Orderly byond order is a phrase which Earthwych brings to mind.

Civic Infrastructure

Earthwych possesses a Aethary Link for its accademic, government, and financial institutions. Public Aethary access is available through one or more of these intitutions.

Earthwych has an animal control department which works to enforce local ordinances relating to the control, impoundment, and disposition of animals.

Earthwych has an Office of Civil Groundskeeping, which works to enforce local ordinances relating to the construction and upkeep up of all plant life, water features, and other natural decorations within Earthwych. They are also responsible for the maintenance of these features. Notably, the OCG is not responsible for Earthwych's parks.

Earthwych has an Office of Civil Vicary, which is responsible for providing a livelyhood for all officialy recognised religious figures within Earthwych.

Earthwych has a government-funded child care program, overseen by the local Department of Nursemaids, which is responsible for providing childcare to working-class citizens according to local ordinances.

Earthwych has a Gravedigger's Guild, which is responsible for collecting the dead and laying them to rest according to all applicable laws and religious customs.

Earthwych has a Guild of Nurses, which is tasked with caring for the elderly and infirm in accordance with local ordinances, religious values, and customs.

Earthwych has a Department of Firefighters, which is responsible for organizing fire fighting efforts during a fire and enforcing local ordinances relating to fire safety.

Earthwych has a Highwayman's Guild, which is tasked with maintaining the roads and highways leading into town as well as keeping them safe for travelers.

Earthwych has a Hall of Slayers, which is tasked with maintaining the roads and highways leading into town as well as keeping them safe for travelers.

Earthwych has a monistary of an order of Civil Monks, who provide divine-related services to the general public and maintain Earthwych's public wards, blessings, and other arcane systems.

Earthwych has an Arts Academy which provides higher education in many fields including math, language arts, philosophy, engineering, and other such disciplines.

Earthwych possesses a Galvanic Power Grid, which brings galvanic current to most if not all buildings in town, and permits a great many consumer goods to function within the Large City. Earthwych's grid is powered by a direct leyline tap.

Earthwych possesses an older civil lighting system consisting of street lamps. In spite of the Galvanic Grid, these lights continue to use their old fule sources to provide nighttime illumination to all city streets.

Earthwych has a first rate hospital which caters to anyone in need of long term medical care.

Earthwych has a library, which keeps a large collection of books, scrolls, and archives all manner of physical items. While not open to the public, the librarians and scholars employed by the library will assist anyone with their research needs, and wealthy individuals can purchase membership to access the library's materials themselves. In spite of being generally closed to the public, the library has a room with several Aether Linked devices available to the public during business hours.

Earthwych has a Parks and Recreation Department, which is responsible for the construction, management, and usage rights for all of its parks and parklands. They are not to be confused with the Office of Civil Groundskeeping as they do not hold authority over nor responsibility for Earthwych's natural decorations nor waterways.

Earthwych has a Guild of Roadworkers, who are responsible for maintaining the roadways and public paths within town. They also have the duty of enforcing all civil laws relating to the roadways.

Earthwych has a public schooling program overseen by the Hall of Sages who has the responsibility of ensuring access to affordable high-quality education in all basic classes (Reading, Writing, Mathmatics, General Sciences, General Arcana, and Social Education) is made available to all citizens.

Earthwych has a public septic system, which allows its citizens to have indoor bathrooms. The septic system is overseen by the League of Sewerkeepers, who posses the legal authority to enforce all laws relating to the septic system, and are also tasked with its maintenance and upkeep.

Earthwych is home to a University which provides higher education in a variety of fields, and also serves as a research institute for those same fields.

Cultural Notes

Earthwych's bank was built using a different architectural style from the rest of the town. The style used is known for its buildings being predominantly formed through the combination of basic geometric shapes. However, it shown in the detailing given to the structures such as its characteristic tall columns, intricate detail, symmetry, harmony, and balance in their designs to an astonishing degree of precision. Decorative elements for the buildings tended to be built into the structure itself, making great use of fluting, frescoes, inlays, and embossing.

In Earthwych it is impossible to directly or indirectly lie.

The Herd Animal, Stag near Earthwych are known to be almost tame, such that they can be put to domestic use.

Earthwych's citizens partake in a curious ritual relating to their local kami. It takes place in summer and involves destroying a prepared ritual vessel to channel Transmutation energies of tier 1 via moments of science.

Economy

The following information was obtained via the Imperial Census Bureau as part of the Eyom Economic Outreach Program. It differs from Standard Imperial censuses in that many of Tom's citizens, regardless of culture, work in more than one occupation or hold more than a single job. The Imperial Census Bureau has ruled that a job is a job, hence, the intigers within the data presented here can count an individual more than once.

Earthwych Census Data: Year 2000

25611 of Earthwych's population work within a Foundational Occupation.

• 1411 work in Agriculture
• 5849 work as Craftsmen
• 2046 work as Merchants
• 3876 work as Service Workers
• 2577 work as General Laborers
• 1047 work as Skilled Laborers
• 3786 work as Civil Servants
• 2211 work in Cottage Industries
• 1448 work as Artists
• 1360 work in Produce Industries

39828 of Earthwych's population do not work in a formal occupation, but do contribute to the local economy. 2023 (3%) are noncontributers.

Points of Interest

Earthwych has access to some sort of functioning ancient infrastructure, whether it's an array of wall-mounted arcane energy projectors, running water, moving roadways, community-wide climate control, or some other inherited luxury. This infrastructure may be the result of a still-functional Working, or it could be the product of some venerable occult engine that's still operational, or it may be the fruit of the labors of some specially-designed organism or Blighted populace.

Earthwych is accessed from a nearby river via an intricate series of locks.

POI

History

In time immemorial, reportedly some time during the late 2nd century several years of heavy rains culminated in a peculiar disaster. A great hole opened up beneath Earthwych, swallowing large sections of the community. Earthwych lost 256 people, 284 livestock, and 24 buildings in the disaster. This disaster is often refereed to as The Death Swallowing.

History