Lord's Crossing

Politics

The city of Lord’s Crossing is a large Shogunate-era city, one of few which persist in the current age. It is the capital of Lord’s Crossing Dominion and the heart of House Tepet… nearly every major post is held by a member of their family. Because House Tepet is so closely allied with the city, the recent losses of their legions to the Bull of the North have cost nearly every citizen a brother, father or a friend. This has cast a pall over the city as they mourn their dead.

Economy

The city of Lord’s Crossing makes a great deal of money from trade, as the rich mining and silk resources of the Dominion join its agricultural surplus here before leaving on caravans heading across the Isle. Shipping by land is expensive, but the value of many local products means merchants are willing to bear the expense. In better times, House Tepet has exploited its control of the trade network for great gains (the Tepet tax on wagon wheels, even attached to wagons, was the opening shot of the first Realm-Guild trade war, and until a few years ago there were tariffs of 15% on goods attempting to take the cheaper river routes of the Caracal). Many tariffs have been reduced as other Houses bring pressures to bear on the beleaguered Tepets, who are dependent on the flow of trade: in the Realm, the Great Houses are responsible for funding the bulk of infrastructure and government in the territories assigned them, along with maintenance on manses and similar elements, paid for from coffers filled by the Imperial stipend payment. House Tepet retains all of its expenses while its stipend income has been quartered, and without the valuable goods of Lord’s Crossing and the Bereavement Subsidy the House would have been bankrupt within a year of the Battle of Futile Blood.

The city's central location has seen development of a criminal element involved in lucrative smuggling. House Tepet has never been able to snuff it out, and privately some Tepets whispered the criminals enjoyed support from a Great House or perhaps even the Throne.

History

Lord’s Crossing’s very name speaks of its important role in the history of the Shogunate. For the daimyo of the Western and Southern Blessed Isle, and the Threshold beyond, the road to the Shogunal throne led through Lord’s Crossing… advancing through the city, either as its allies or its conquerors marked the crossing of a lord from daimyo to Shogun.

The last daimyo of Lord’s Crossing was from Gens Kurosa, which made the transition to a Great House after the Empress took the Throne and they declined to oppose her. While the bulk of Kurosa’s military might, as with the rest of the Shogunal Gens, was lost in the Threshold to the Fair Folk, they remained a potent force for many years. The rise of House Tepet from a lesser Gens of Lord’s Crossing displaced them, though the two lines has a history of intermarriage that continued until the last Kurosa were adopted into Tepets in RY466 after the Unbroken Rushes rebellion devastated their holdings.

Culture

(some sort of duel tournament whose details escape me)

Geography

Lord’s Crossing is landlocked, with even its local river leading to a small lake rather than the distant oceans, but it is located at a major crossroads of roadway infrastructure, serving as transshipment point for goods moving through the Blessed Isle’s interior by land. The city is arranged in a pentagonal shape, with five major roads leaving from it (one at each point):

- East: Cloud Highway to Juche.

- Southeast: Fire Dragon Road to the Caracal river (and Arjuf beyond).

- Southwest: Eagle Highway to Eagle’s Launch.

- Northwest: Farmers’ Highway to the Dominion’s richest agricultural lands.

- Northeast: Poet’s Highway to the Castle of Morning Mists and the Dominions most productive mining areas.

The city is circled by walls, with an outer boulevard just behind. At each corner, a highway heads out from the outer side of a fortified gate, and a boulevard heads in through the city, connecting to a plaza at the city center surrounding the Castle of Flying Cranes, a massive fortress and ancestral seat of House Tepet, as well as headquarters of the 9th Imperial Legion.

The city is divided into five districts. Each contains upper and lower class areas, a few small public parks and local markets for food and consumer goods, though some have reputations for providing the best quality in certain areas:

- 1st District: NE. Includes the Artists’ Market, known for quality sculpture, and the Temple of Immaculate Observance, a massive edifice dedicated to the Five Dragons.

- 2nd District: SE. Includes the Smiths’ Market, known for quality metalwork.

- 3rd District: SW. Includes the Soldiers’ Market, where Lord’s Crossing’s only slave market is found.

- 4th District: W. Includes the Gourmand’s Market, known for the quality of its restaurants and teahouses.

- 5th District: NW. Includes the Tailors’ Market, known for the quality of its silk garments.

The city retains much of the infrastructure from the time of the Shogunate, including strong walls of plaster-covered metal and amenities such as running water and sewer systems, as well as essence-powered lights on its major boulevards & central plaza. Buildings tend to be high and sturdy, with bases of sky blue glass and plaster upper floors. Throughout, roofs are covered in blue slate tiles.