Ryslatel

This city acts as the de facto capital of the Archipelago. Seat of the Royal Family of Pozara, ruled conjointly between them and 2 councils - the High Council of nobles, and the Low Council of community leaders. Semi-popular tourist destination due to crystalline beaches and the ruined sapphire towers that scatter the rolling hills beyond the city.

Statistics
Size: Metropolis

Population: ~100,000 Adults as of 540 RE (Roughly 3 years ago)

Size: 20 sq. mi. (~13,000 acres)

Races: Human (majority), with sizable communities of the common races (dwarves, elves, etc.) and isolated appearances of more uncommon races (tengu, tiefling, etc.)

How Ryslatel Turned To Shit

 * 470 RE. A series of wars between the kingdoms of the Southern Wilds drives refugees north to the shining city of Ryslatel. Although the King and Councils welcomed them with open arms, the refugees did cause a strain on the economy. By 475 RE, with no sign of the wars or stream of refugees stopping, the people of Ryslatel were discontent.
 * 477 RE. The Low Council approves a measure limiting the rights of those who were not born in the Archipelago. Among those were the right to work, marry, and own property. In addition, new refugees would have to prove their worth in order to enter Ryslatel proper.
 * 478 RE. The Riots of Lord’s Way. After a year under the new measures, refugees and their supporters lead a protest all the way to the Royal Palace. The sympathetic King encourages the High Council to lessen the measures. The Low Council and common people view this as betrayal. The refugees view this as being too soft a gesture. The King’s approval rate drops to 15%, the lowest it had been for 2 centuries.
 * 482 RE. The kingdoms of the Southern Wilds sign a cease-fire, which the High Council sees as a good opportunity to remove the measures the Low Council had put on the refugees 5 years prior. The Low Council blocks this, and the two enter a stalemate with neither wanting to make concessions. The King, unfortunately, has fallen deathly ill, and cannot break the argument with his vote.
 * 483 RE. The King dies and is succeeded by his 5-year-old daughter, Emile Sofsongar, with the Queen as her regent. Begged by the High Council to put an end to the stalemate that has plagued this particular bit of law, the Queen Regent orders a compromise - refugees having lived in Ryslatel for 5 years (and can show proof of this) can become full citizens of Ryslatel and Pozara. Although criticized by the leaders of the refugee acceptance movement, the Low Council and High Council are pacified by this compromise.
 * 487 RE. The Queen Regent goes into seclusion early this year. Several months later, she jumps from the highest tower in the Royal Palace. The 9-year-old Queen is shattered and retreats from the public eye.
 * 491 RE. Erik Daeli travels to Ryslatel in one of the last waves of refugees from the Southern Wilds. Facing prejudice and discrimination, he and his 2-year-old son Andre Daeli settle in the slums in the southern end of Ryslatel.
 * 492 RE. The High Council, lead by Tybalt Rutherford, begins to introduce alterations and subtle changes that makes the High Council more powerful and the Low Council less powerful. Although initially met with protest from the Low Council, Queen Emile Sofsongar passes the High Council’s changes with a royal order. Accusations fly as Tybalt’s daughter, Celeste, is the caretaker and advisor of the Queen.
 * 496 RE. Queen Emile Sofsongar is officially coronated on her 18th birthday, and she once again enters the public sphere. Although her kind nature and quiet demeanor make her a popular figure among the common folk, she does little to interrupt the political machinations between the Councils.
 * 498 RE. After becoming a full citizen, Erik Daeli opens a tailoring shop along Lord’s Way, 20 years after the monumental riots that split the Councils and Royals apart. Although plagued with problems, the shop becomes moderately successful. Queen Emile Sofsongar, pressured by the High Council, takes a husband.
 * 501 RE. Malik Sofsongar is born to Queen Emile Sofsongar to much rejoicing. Ryslatel forgets its troubles for a time in the festivals that follow the first child born to the Royal Family.
 * 502 RE. As Erik Daeli ponders opening a new shop in the north end of Ryslatel after the success of his first one, the shop is burnt down by an unknown arsonist. Anti-refugee sentiment is still high and the guards do little to find the arsonist. Having lost everything in the fire, Erik and 13-year-old Andre Daeli return back to their home in the southern slums of Ryslatel.
 * 505 RE. Andre Daeli joins a group of privateers lead by the young Lyndly Clare. Public opinion of the Low Council is extremely low following a series of smear campaigns put forth by Tybalt Rutherford. Elections bring a plethora of newcomers that promise change. Many are bribed by various members of the High Council to do nothing.
 * 507 RE. Erik Daeli reopens his tailoring shop in the same spot on Lord’s Way. The future Queen Amelie Rutherford is born to Celeste Rutherford and her husband.
 * 511 RE. Andre Daeli returns home, a much wealthier but colder man. After marrying a shy young woman, he helps his father open up another tailoring shop and begins pushing into the general textile industry which has been dominantly owned by the Rutherfords for generations. Lyndly Clare retires to Munja City and begins running for mayor.
 * 512 RE. Tybalt Rutherford, in poor health, leaves his Council chair to his daughter, Celeste. As news reaches Ryslatel of the founding of a public schooling system in several kingdoms in the Southern Wilds, the common people clamour for something similar. The Low Council tries to pass a measure that will build several public schools in Ryslatel, but the High Council deems it as too costly. With the limitations the High Council has put on the Low Council, the measure fails. Public opinion of the Councils drops. Andre Daeli II is born to Andre Daeli I and his wife.
 * 516 RE. Andre Daeli uses his contacts in the University to gain access to some experimental technology that will allow textiles to be produced at a much faster rate than by hand. Using this technology, he opens a factory that begins mass-producing a range of cloth in colors that the Rutherfords couldn’t reproduce.
 * 517 RE. With exclusive access to many of the unique and colorful patterns his son was producing, Erik Daeli’s tailoring shops become the talk of the town. His styles become fashionable, and within the next few years the tailoring shops are rebranded as ‘Daeli’s Department’. Ilyana is born to a poor couple in Ryslatel’s slums.
 * 520 RE. Ryslatel becomes known throughout the region as a hotbed for fashion. Andre Daeli opens more factories and undercuts any competition. His mass-producing schematics are stolen by Celeste Rutherford, and soon she too is producing cloth at the same rates as Daeli. However, she still cannot match his dyes.
 * 523 RE. In a routine visit to the University, the Queen and King are assassinated. Many view the early deaths of the last two monarchs of an ill omen. The grief-stricken Malik is coronated on the same day as their funeral.
 * 525 RE. King Malik Sofsongar and Amelie Rutherford are married in a lavish ceremony early in the year. Celeste Rutherford produces a cloth pattern that becomes extremely popular in Ryslatel. Erik Daeli begins using it in his clothing designs, much to Andre’s displeasure.
 * 526 RE. Sophia Sofsongar is born to much rejoicing. Karia leaves the Alchemist’s Guild after a disaster involving Boom Jelly on bread.
 * 529 RE. Duke Coffer Nays dies without an heir, leaving an open spot on the High Council. Various lower nobles and wealthy merchants begin to campaign for the spot. The current members of the High Council enjoy the bribes and gifts they are given. In a magical duel between two rival sorcerers, Francis is caught in the crossfire and Validus is created.
 * 530 RE. Andre Daeli discovers Ilyana’s gifts and hires her to give him an edge on the competition. He sets his eyes higher than being the wealthiest merchant in Ryslatel - he wants to rule it on the High Council.
 * 531 RE. Lyndly Clare narrowly beats out Andre Daeli for the seat on the High Council.
 * 535 RE. High Imperator Beatrice dies of kidney failure, opening up another seat on the High Council. The campaigning for the spot begins anew. After a short time littered with several untimely deaths of prominent opponents, Andre Daeli is elected to gain the seat on the High Council.
 * 539 RE. Francis’ village is destroyed when a barbarian challenges Validus to a duel. Tychus enters the Archipelago from the Southern Wilds.
 * 543 RE. Ilyana is nearly killed by one of Andre Daeli’s agents. Realizing that he’s put a price on her head, she flees Ryslatel with assistance.
 * August 543 RE. The game begins.