Stormwall

Stormwall is the only large city on the island-continent of Crimshan and sits squarely on the western coast, where Crimshan meets the persistent storms of the Stolen Divide. The city is named for the titanic wall that has slowly been constructed on the western edge to protect the inhabitants from the storms of the sea. In times past, the storms that came from the sea were powerful, cataclysmic tempests, but have calmed to persistent but no longer apocalyptic in nature. The wall now serves to help the citizens of Stormwall live in relative comfort and as a beacon to sailors sailing the still treacherous seas of the Stolen Divide.

Physical Features
Stormwall is first and foremost a city built to survive storms, and the Storm Wall that the city is named for is just the start. The city is built on top of an intricate sewer and irrigation system. The houses themselves are even designed with heavy and constant rainfall in mind. Perhaps to contrast against the sea that constantly attacked the city in its early days, the entire city is shrouded in red trim, from the shingles of rooftops and trim of doors and windows to the banners that hang from flag polls and whip in the wind, the city bleeds crimson and against the general white stone of the structures themselves, it is quite a brilliant sight.

Housing
Roofs are generally made of red clay shingles and designed in slants and curvatures to make sure that water doesn't pool and instead runs off, flat roofs are all but non-existent in the cities as even the poorest shacks are built with a slanted rooftop. The buildings themselves, as stated, are general build out of the stone found in the many cliffs and rocky plains of Crimshan. The stone is white rock battered and stained by the sea to be a off-white tone in most cases. The houses built closest to the storm wall are generally the shoddiest, not from construct but from receiving the most torment from the storms and because of this, the poorer residents congregate in this portion of the Rain Ward (See Districts section for info on the Rain Ward). As you move further away from the wall, the houses become better maintained, and move slowly from single story housing to second and third story housing. The rooftops are brighter red, the stone lighter white tones, the ground less muddy.

In the Pridewell, the housing is more grande in just about every way. Instead of the customary red roofs the manors and estates kept on the gated grounds are blue. While the same white cliff-stone is used for their construction, the stone is kept clean by both maintenance and magics. Golden gates and ornate trappings ordain the large housing here.

The Storm Wall
Once just a pile of loose stone, mud and sticks meant to keep flood waters from washing away camp fires, the wall grew taller as more and more fishermen began to follow the Brothers Leddy to the Eastern shores of Crimshan for their weight in fish. Over time the piles of loose rocks were replaced with chiseled stone, masons made as much living as the fishermen, and eventually the titanic wall that stands now was constructed, stretching well into the clouds. The stone itself is the same sturdy white-stone that most structures are built out of on Crimshan and in Stormwall in particular. Larger stones were eventually used by way of ropes, logs and wet dirt. As technology progressed, with the help of cranes the wall was able to grow more and more until eventually there were stone masons working day and night, building the stones on top of the wall itself, by bringing the raw materials to the top rather than making the rigid, heavy and dangerous stone on the ground.

Portholes were carved into the rock, and various hallways and maintenance tunnels installed. Water is regularly moved in and out as the various drainage systems do their work, working in concert with the man-made lakes to keep the city from flooding during storms. The large drainage holes have metal grates that slide open and closed and are almost constantly draining some amount of water down the side of the walls. The wall is built in tiers, one tier slightly less thick than the layer it was built on. This allows walking space on each layer, which are lined with sturdy railing so that guards, mason workers or general maintenance workers can traverse each layer safely.

There is only one spot in the wall where there isn't a thick stone wall and that is near the bottom right in its center on the outside, which is where the city's port is. The port is technically under ground and shrouded by cave as it was carved deep into the cliff-side that the city sits on. Essentially, the port is a tunnel that moves beneath the blockage of the wall and allows ships to venture into the city from below during low-tides. The massive opening can be closed during storms and sealed tightly by use of both engineering feats and magic back ups. The air-tight seal is closed down during hight tides and heavy storms so that the ships inside the port aren't crushed against the ceiling like they would if the manmade cave was filled with water.

These technical marvels were built recently as the storms decreased in severity and more people came for the incredible fishing opportunities in the western Stolen Divide.

Wavecrest Keep
Wavecrest Keep is the royal palace of Stormwall, where the Diarchy and all of its constituents hold gatherings and reside. In recent years, this palace was constructed as an upgrade from the meager town hall that had once been kept for the same purposes when a particularly rich and egotistical Diarch was chosen for office. The palace is a six story building that takes up around 75,000 square feet of space. The roof is the defining feature of the palace, which is otherwise a simple square construction. The roof is built to mimic the curvature of a wave, starting shallow then slowly raising and cresting as it moves from west to east. The curve is so deep that in actuallity only half of the building is truly 6 floors, the shallow half of the building's wave is only 5. The roof is shingled with bright red clay shingles that are well-maintained. The entrance of the palace is a gated area of several clean water pools lined with stone benches and small, well-groomed trees. There are large pillars carved with ornate waves, mermaids and spear-wielding warriors of legend. The ten pillars hold up a stone awning that covers the door, at the front of the coverage lined in gold are the words, "Waves of Blue, Waves of Red, Stormwall Stands Against the Head".

The entire keep grounds are gated by palisade walls, white stone inlaid with black metal bars that reach around 15 feet in height. Every 20 feet, the walls are equipped with lanterns hanging on black hooks that are lit every dusk.

The Highground
The Highground might be as famous around Prynh as the Stormwall if it wasn't overshadowed by that vary structure. Literally. The Highground is a massive stone bridge that reaches from the city's front gates to the wall itself. The highway stands above most of the rooftops of Stormwall, thus its name. If the entire city was to flood, the highground would serve as just that, a safe high place for the city's denizens to stand and safely watch their lives quite literally wash away. Granted this is unlikely to happen because of what the highground is bridged over... a massively long and deep paved trench that allows water to pour in then is forced into the massive boilers that the city has housed beneath the wall, where it is converted into steam to recycle back into the atmosphere.

Every mile or so, there are mirroed exits on either side of the highground to a particular part of the city, metal gates cover each entry/exit but are largely kept open all hours of the day and night save the gates at Wavecrest Keep which is open until dusk then locked and the Pridewell which is kept locked at all times and only opened by the guards manning the gate for authorized citizens and soldiers to enter. The trench beneath the highground is generally filled with water in the modern days, like the man-made lakes the are scattered throughout the western portion of the city. With the cataclysmic storms ceasing, it was safe to keep Fisherman's Quarry filled halfway with water, and likewise the trench is often kept filled with water to add another way to travel the city, by way of small boat or gondola.

In the end, the Highground is used as a main way of traveling the city quickly, but works as a safety net for the people of Stormwall in case of a massive flood. Additionally its a popular place for merchants to setup small carts or adertise their shops in the merchant district by word of mouth. In general the Highground is bustling all day every day and even at the peak hours of the night there is still a large contingent of traveling people.

Districts
The city itself is separated into four different districts or neighborhoods.

King's Grove
King's Grove is in the North Eastern corner, the location of the palace, called Wavecrest Keep, and a gated community for the wealthy called The Pridewell is located. Wavecrest Keep is an absolutely massive structure that houses not only the throne room and various royal establishments, but also several offices of high ranking officials, a courtroom and several other important governmental keeps. The Pridewell, named after a particularly prosperous king named Cenrick Pridewell, is a gated section off of the eastern portion of Wavecrest that houses the various training facilities and barracks of Stormwall’s royal guard, the Spear Sons. On the Eastern side of the Wavecrest keep is a large, well maintained man-made lake that is meant to be a barrier between the keep and the rest of the city as well as the elements.

Rain Ward
Rain Ward is the primary district for common living quarters. Technically, the “Rain Ward” is the designation for the large community of houses built around 70 years prior. The ward has grown, though mandates set in place by the government when the project was started has made sure that all homes are built with the same dimensions and patterns as prior, as to fit in with the various drains and sewage systems meant to keep the entire portion of the city from taking on water. As the area grew, however, loopholes were found and when a man-made lake was added to the Northwestern corner of the map, businesses began to spring up at it’s shores. So now the ward has an unofficial market district built in, which in retrospect has been an amazing boon to the general livelihoods of the inhabitants of the ward. The Rain Ward is largely known as the poor district, but in recent years, poor is relative and many have a comfortable life even in the Rain Ward neighborhoods, with crime and poverty only really affecting the sections of the neighborhood closest to the storm wall.

In addition to housing and storefronts, the Rain Ward is also home to the Magirium, the home and school for the wizards of Stormwall. The Magirium is built in a reserve of the forest that once existed on this part of Crimshan known as Saltwood. While much of the once expansive forest was cut down for wood to build many of the first buildings of Stormwall, the rest of the remaining forest is protected against foresters and poachers as agreed upon by the early leaders of Stormwall when the Magirium agreed to help fight the Sea Wars between Stormwall and the Free People of Kingrise. Now the forest is home to many mysterious creatures that are drawn to the magical ongoings of the Magirium at its center. While dangerous if you were to wonder into the forest after dark, the things living in the forests coverage are warded against leaving the forest and bothering the rest of the city.

Fisherman's Quarry
Fisherman's Quarry was slowly founded after the second of the two man-made lakes in the western section of Stormwall were constructed. Though quarry is a vague term, essentially the government ordered huge quarry-like pits to be dug to help irrigate the city during times of great floods due to the Stolen Divide’s apocalyptic storms. During the excavation, however, a temple was uncovered. Even during the dangerous times of the cataclysmic storms, or perhaps especially during those times, the workers refused to destroy the ruins. Leaving it and the lump of land it sat upon at the bottom of the quarry and digging around it. Years later, when the quarry was filled with the water of the storms, the land beneath the ruins broke away and caused the land and the ruins to float to the top forming an island which would later end up covered in fishing establishments and small docks as the fish farm had grown to a rich fishing ground. The ruins remain on the center of the island, surrounded by fishing huts and warehouses.

Now the eastern side of the man-made lake is covered in a boardwalk with shops and various establishments built along it. A fairy is constantly running from the boardwalk to the docks of Fisherman's Isle.

Stormwall Bazaar
The merchant district of Stormwall, named the Bazaar, is a massive cobbled area of the city covered in various buildings, tents and carts selling any manner of services or items. From taverns and inns to weaponsmiths and pawn shops, the Bazaar truly has anything you could ever need for sell or trade. The Bazaar takes up much of the city's walled land south of the Highground and stretches from the eastern wall all the way to the boardwalk along Fisherman's Quarry. There are several entry points into the bazaar from the Highground pass, including a gated entry near the front gates of the city. Near this particular entrane you will find more important offices that are near Fenwick Park, a well maintained knoll of grass with a small pond and trees that offer shade. You can move past the office buildings and through the park to enter the Bazaar proper. This works as a great way of introducing newcomers to the city. Here are some of the establishments of importance in the Stormwall Bazaar.
 * Tullug's Smithy
 * Sunken Temple Tavern
 * Shipwright's Guild
 * Sunwell Embassy
 * Killaby's Stabbin' Stuff
 * The Magician's Otherworldly
 * Cogwell's Fine Fishery
 * Merchant's Lounge
 * Fenwick Park
 * Stormwall Constable Office
 * Irrigation Stewards

Military
Stormwall is a highly military centric society, due in part to the centuries of war with the neighboring island-continent of Azula, which houses the largest portion of the Free People of Kingrise. Specifically the capital city of the Free People of Kingrise, Tierkin, is on the western shore of Azula and skirmishes still happen in the Stolen Divide despite a treaty being in place for some time.

The military is geared toward both land-combat, but perhaps more naval combat skillsets are perfected by the Stormwall military than all other standing armies. In fact, the general soldier is known as a marine and even the lowest of town guard has ample amount of naval warfare tactical knowledge. There is an elite military force known as the Harpoons that have special training and largely consists of soldiers who have been groomed since a young age. The force known for short as the “Harps” are well versed in all manner of naval and land warfare and often in times of peace take up the mantle of the royal guard, including training grounds on the palace property.

In the past the Magirium, the cities collection of magic users was a large part of the military out of necessity during wartime. Now the Magirium has converted into more of a house of learning and knowledge, though there are clauses in the Stormwall documented government that works as a draft of the various wizards, warlocks and masters of the arcane into the military ranks.

DM Notes
Check out the various notable persons in the people of Stormwall category for help with NPC's and populating your version of the storm city!