Kingsmead

Kingsmead (/kɪŋz/ /miːd/ [Translation Unavailable]) is a subtropical Large City located in Stonesummer Dutchy, Marlingia County, within the Sylvanian Empire.

The name Kingsmead is derived from the Sylvin language, as Kingsmead was founded by Trînkdsm McMillan, who was culturaly Sylvin.

Climate

Kingsmead has a yearly average temperature of 13°C (55°F), with its average temperature during the summer being a warm 26°C (78°F) and its average temperature during the winter being a freezing 0°C (32°F). Kingsmead receives an average of 138 cm/y (54 in/y) of precipitation, most of which comes in the form of snow during the pleasantly short winter months. Kingsmead covers an area of nearly 315 km² (126 mi²), and an average elevation of 3668 m (12034 ft) above sea level.

Overview

Kingsmead was founded durring the late 15th century in summer of the year 1390, by Trînkdsm McMillan. The establishment of Kingsmead was plagued by a lack of willing colonists. After attempts to pay people to resettle failed Trînkdsm McMillan struck deals with nearby nations and communities to establish Kingsmead as a prison colony.

Kingsmead was built using the conventions of Sylvin durring the late 15th century. Naturaly, all settlmentss have their own look to them, and Kingsmead is no diffrent. The city's buildings feature waddle and daub construction with good timber frames and a stone foundation protected by thatched or shingled rooves. Most buildings with second floors are built in such a way as to overhang into the streets on the upper floors for more space, as building size seems to be the primary indicator of wealth within the community. Most buildings are not decorated with any integral features, but instead use ivy, flowers, and other natural elements in planters of on trellices to breathe life into the structure they grow upon.

Kingsmead is is constructed arround a series of premissive cobblestone mainstreets which form concentric circles, with smaller strait roads linking the circiles to each other at varrious points. 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. Kingsmead's wall wouldn't hinder a proper army, but it is more than sufishent for bandits and other small marauding groups. The monster and outlaw focused fortifications have not been wellmaintained over the years, and while functional are in dire need of some loving care and perhapse light renovation.

A look around Kingsmead gives you an uneasy feeling. Everything is just a little too worn down, a little too dirty, or both. No one makes eye contact. Kids play quietly, but happily. Occasionally a passerby glances at you out of the corner of their eye, staring jsut long enough for it to be uncomfortable. Beneath this surface, the people of Kingsmead can be overheard having academic discussions, as well as talking about scholarly subjects in general. It’s quite clear Kingsmead places a lot of value on education and being a learned individual.

Civic Infrastructure

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

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

Kingsmead 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 Kingsmead. They are also responsible for the maintenance of these features. Notably, the OCG is not responsible for Kingsmead's parks.

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

Kingsmead 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.

Kingsmead 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.

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

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

Kingsmead 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.

Kingsmead 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.

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

Kingsmead has an Administrative Academy which trains individuals in the administrative arts.

Kingsmead 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. Kingsmead's grid is powered by an arcane means.

Kingsmead 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.

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

Kingsmead 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.

Kingsmead 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 Kingsmead's natural decorations nor waterways.

Kingsmead 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.

Kingsmead 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.

Kingsmead 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.

Kingsmead 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

A substantial minority of the locals are descended from foreigners alien to their local neighbors. They may have been religious exiles, economic migrants, indigenous locals surrounded by the existing polity, or a foreign settlement conquered within the relatively recent past. The locals may not be enthusiastic about being ruled by others not of their kind, and their neighbors may look askance at the way foreign customs or even laws may be maintained.

Kingsmead's mayor's house was built using a different architectural style from the rest of the town. The style used is which made use of the classical orders and mathematically precise ratios of height and width combined with a desire for symmetry, proportion, and harmony. It used columns, pediments, arches and domes are imaginatively in buildings of all types. Decorative features were seen as largely unnecessary as the sheer beauty of the structure itself was often close to art. However, many buildings with large ceiling spaces had their ceilings decorated with elaborate paintings, simply because the large flat spaces could feel wasted.

In Kingsmead rain occurs in reverse with water pooling up from the earth then falling into the skies to from clouds, this unsettles every visitor that sees it.

The Mud Elemental, Large near Kingsmead are known to be quite timid.

Kingsmead's citizens partake in a curious ritual relating to their local kami. It takes place in winter and involves line dance to channel Conjuration energies of tier 2 via divine sermons.

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.

Kingsmead Census Data: Year 2000

27988 of Kingsmead's population work within a Foundational Occupation.

• 1555 work in Agriculture
• 6312 work as Craftsmen
• 2324 work as Merchants
• 4205 work as Service Workers
• 2931 work as General Laborers
• 1158 work as Skilled Laborers
• 4035 work as Civil Servants
• 2428 work in Cottage Industries
• 1576 work as Artists
• 1464 work in Produce Industries

42618 of Kingsmead's population do not work in a formal occupation, but do contribute to the local economy. 3716 (5%) are noncontributers.

Points of Interest

Kingsmead's is something of a geological and arcane anomaly, as neither physical nor magical law entirely explains its formation.

POI

History

In time immemorial, reportedly some time during the late 2nd century a local hero by the name of saved most of the town when a natural disaster struck Kingsmead. A small order of knights was founded in 's honor, and bears his name to this day.

History