Arjuf

Layout

The city of Arjuf is laid out in traditional Shogunate military style. At its south can be found the Dock Districts, filled with wharves, shipyards, and warehouses, back alleys home to brothels and taverns for sailors who must remain close to their ships. A broad central avenue, the Gateway of the South, runs north from the Dock Districts, passing first through the bustling Grand Arjuf Market, then the Temple District at the center of the city and then on to the Scales District (government buildings) and wealthy villas occupying the City’s northern end. The avenue continues outside the city walls to link up with the nearby Great Coast Road as well as other roadways heading northward into Arjuf Dominion.

Local administrators and House Ledaal have worked together for years to ensure that the growing city does not become chaotic, working hard to ensure all new structures fit into the grid system of wards and are built according to proper geomantic principles.

House V’neef has a presence in the city, though minimal influence in its administration. Their holdings are centered on the western side of the Dock Districts, in the walled compound known as the Bastion of the Coastal Shield, which serves as headquarters and primary port for the merchant navy. It is here that captains of the merchant marine are trained and vessels outfitted, most purchased from Arjuf’s shipyards. The Bastion is equipped with several large trebuchets and firedust cannon to defend against hostile fleets attempting to gain the port of Arjuf, but while its walls on the shoreward side are strong they are poorly equipped to repel an attack from land.

Economy

The city of Arjuf is a trade hub, known across Creation as an excellent place to sell all manner of goods. Those captains who agree to sell the majority of their cargo at the Grand Arjuf Market have their portage fees halved, which has attracted merchants from all over the Isle and Threshold. Only the Imperial City can match Arjuf’s market, and while the capital has the edge in the highest luxuries Arjuf has the greater variety of goods on display. The market includes a Guild factory, with the port one of only six on the Isle where the Guild is permitted to trade. It is also home to a House Cynis slave market, the Theater of the Bright Panoply, which in recent decades has begun to put on gladiatorial contests between slave-fighters.

Arjuf is also home to the largest shipyards on the Blessed Isle, producing the majority of merchant vessels used by the merchants of the Realm

Though not a major contributor to the local economy compared to shipbuilding and trade, Arjuf is also a center for organizing Dynastic expeditions to the Southern Threshold. The city is home to a number of guides and suppliers experienced with such expeditions, and Dynasts from dedicated archaeologists to curious Scavenger Lords to young scions looking for a bit of sun-seared adventure come to the City to arrange their journeys.

Politics

Governor: Rainbow Faith

House Ledaal dominates Arjuf city in much the way it dominates Arjuf Dominion, with fingers at every level of business and government, including the local Guardians of the Realm. The magistrates here under the Empress were amongst the most fiercely devoted to their duty, but none of them have survived her disappearance and there is little doubt as to the cause: their replacements have all been members or allies of House Ledaal.