What's your favorite city/town/village you've created?

[Jorick]

What's it like and why do you like it more than others you've made? Would you want to live there?

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My favorite created city is one I just made very recently. It's a place called Jaka, an independent city-state in my world of Ethcolan created for a roleplay. In that world most goblins are enslaved by orcs, but in the past some of those that got free congregated in an out of the way area of the world and made a settlement. It grew into the first and only goblin city in the land, and word got back to their enslaved brethren. For those goblins, Jaka became synonymous with freedom and the promised land. It was just that for a long time.

Unfortunately, that land of freedom turned out to be a little bit too free. Where other places had banned certain kinds of magic and policed it violently, Jaka didn't have any such rules. Some of the goblins turned to dark magics, curses and necromancy and sacrificing people for great power. A cabal of five was formed, and they used their powers to take over the city in an iron grip. Their cruel rule turned the bastion of freedom into a pit of despair, where the strong prey on the weak and all manner of ills and evils are not just permitted, but indulged in and celebrated. The rule of the five was maintained by setting a simple rule: one could only attain a spot by defeating or killing a current member in a magic duel. This assured that the very strongest dark mages of Jaka were the ones in power, and few would ever be fool enough to openly oppose such a potent force. The city remains a beacon of hope in the minds of the enslaved goblins, who either haven't heard of its current state or refuse to believe what they think are oppressive orc lies, and so they yearn for an escape into a home that might actually be worse than slavery.

It's my favorite largely because of how twisted it is in the world. Just a city ruled by evil magic users who go in for sacrifice and slavery of such isn't anything fantastically new, but the fact that it was born from a bastion of freedom and is still viewed as such by the poor, enslaved goblins? It's great. I would not want to live there because I'd probably end up dead real quick.

 

[Kaida]

Mid-Yearly.

A hastily created township in a land that is ravaged by civil wars and outside invaders. Mid-Yearly was a gift made to a young noble lord from his royal mother. The castle is modest, though well maintained, and often open to the people. The people of Mid-Yearly were imported there, from the lands of the young noble's father, by the monarchy under penalty of death for non-compliance. It is less than an hours ride from the main seat of power of the country, is surrounded mostly by open fields that are edged in by a thick, unforgiving forest, and is uncharacteristically clean. It has absolutely no defenses outside of the young noble's sword and magic and what the towns people could muster in a moment's notice. None of this is really fantastical or exciting.

I love Mid-Yearly the most because of what it represents. In the story line it's a ticking bomb. The young lord knows that his mother gifted it to him not out of love, but out of some other scheme. He doesn't know what scheme yet. And he's not wrong. Through most the story the mother has spent her life trying to show her eldest that she loves him and cherishes him, but he rebuffs her repeatedly. Up until the betrayal that falls upon Mid-Yearly, it seems that the young noble is being a little shit and is unfair to his mother. Then she uses Mid-Yearly as bait and basically levels it.

On a deeper metaphorical level because of where the people came from (and who they turn out to be), it also represents the royal mother exacting revenge on the young noble's father.

The destruction of Mid-Yearly gives life to the "Beware the mid-year wrath" saying that the nobility and peasants quote, for different reasons.

 

[Absyinthe_Artica]

I would have to say that my favorite settlement that I have crafted is 'Grymme City', a fictional place located in the middle of the forests in Germany. It was run by the fairy-tales that sit inside storybooks, and you better believe it was well guarded with the most ancient and dark magic, because these fairy-tales aren't what you remember. Following the corruptions of the seven deadly sins, this city is run by the king pin type leaders "The Brother's Grimm". These two brothers created this haven for the twisted fairy-tales that they had created. and each well known figure was the head of an underground industry, whether it be drugs, sex, or even assassinations. The city itself was protected by twenty-foot enchanted stone walls, and there was only two ways in and out of the city. Inside it was split into eight sections with a downtown area in the middle, each quarter was ran by a head of the underground industry and the styles all varied by the quarters. I like it as equally as much as my other builds. As well, I wouldn't want to live there because it is rampant with sin. ;P

 

[The Mood is Write]

Oof. For this, it's actually a tie. I have either the capital of Empire Lands or the capital of the Empire of Pehl-la.

In Empire Lands, the temple started with a small cave at the base of a mountain. As the First Empress grew in power, the castle was grown into a mountain. Rockshaping magic is used to hollow out hallways and tunnels, and the top of the mountain-castle is a grassy expanse with benches and tents. The Castle's halls are labyrinthine and spiraling, and certain doors only open to certain people, despite only being in the bronze age.

The city around was built around it almost as an afterthought, with the wealthiest and longest-standing supporters living nearest the castle, and the poorest living in tents and magic-made structures made of grown plants or stone. There's no grid-like quality to the city all, but there are walkways over, under, and even through homes that offer people a quick way to and from the inner to the outer parts of the city.

Three races (four if you count the Empress's current incarnation) live in harmony after being united by force by the First Empress, and you can see the hallmarks of each race as you walk through the city, from buildings formed from a singular stone or tree to houses made of brick and mortar or logs, and then homes made from mud and thatch and decorated with flowers, bones, and shells. There are even homes that use a combination of constructive techniques.

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Moving on to Pehl-la, the most eye-catching part of the city is the castle, which took inspiration from jellyfish. Tall spires in soft iridescent shades dominate the sky, with slender stems and fanciful buttresses topped with translucent domes that let in light. It's rumored that the construction is mirrored underground, but few care to investigate.

Outside of the castle walls, opalescent domed homes give way to blockier domiciles scheduled for reconstruction into the very fashionable domes.

The culture is pacifistic due to a massive pseudo-hivemind that permeates the entire nation. The people are very honest, and wealth is often an afterthought in transactions because they've realized if one person is in pain, they all feel it.