Xianxing

[RelentlessImp]

Xianxing

LN large city

Corruption +7; Crime +2; Economy +5; Law +6; Lore +4; Society +4
Qualities cruel watch, gambling, population surge, romantic, tourist attraction
Danger +20; Disadvantages

DEMOGRAPHICS

Government overlord
Population 12,000 (85% human, 5% ratfolk, 3% dwarf, 7% mixed other races)

NOTABLE NPCs

Governor Hong Kwan To LE male human samurai//aristocrat 12
Hatamoto Xi Yu LN female human samurai//slayer 9
Wu Ren Zhang Changming N male human arcanist//diviner 15

MARKETPLACE

Base Value 9,600 gp; Purchase Limit 50,000 gp; Spellcasting 7th
Minor Items 4d4*2; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 2d4

Xianxing is one of, if not the, oldest cities in Wai - now East Wai. Situated on East Wai's northeastern peninsula, bordering both the Fenghsintzu River and the Celestial Sea, Xianxing has been a bustling port city for as long as any records can detail. The most populous city, Xianxing is filled with foreigners, tourists, and merchants that flow in and out of its gates and massive harbor in great numbers every day. Xianxing has also, due to the tides of war both within T'u Lung and against Shou, changed hands a thousand times in a thousand years, giving it the nickname of "The City of Shifting Tides and Allegiances".

Regardless of its standing - though now it serves as the crown jewel of East Wai - the people who live there have barely changed. Predominantly peopled by humans, the city has long had a thriving ratfolk community, frequently making their homes beneath the homes of others; many a basement expansion has stumbled into a ratfolk den, at least before the ratfolk began living deeper underground. A small, but prevalent community of dwarves also call Xianxing home, come down from the nearby Ching-hsien-ch’eng-kuan Mountains that sit at Xianxing's back, either from dishonor by choice, though few speak of the Mountainhome contained within in any case.

The markets of Xianxing are the biggest draw; sprawling through several square blocks worth of city, almost anything one could imagine can be found for the right price. The second-biggest draw is the pleasure district, where numerous brothels, gambling dens, and drug dens can be found, where a person could lose themselves in any vice imaginable. It's hard to tell where the markets and the pleasure district end and begin; occasionally, they even intertwine with each other through Xianxing's many streets.

Xianxing's twin harbors rival any in the world, both those that welcome river vessels from the Fenghsintzu River and those that welcome the ocean-bearing vessels from the Celestial Sea. The sea harbor sprawls beyond the city itself, though mostly for The Royal Navy, consisting of 52 ships of varying sizes, which dock here at the far eastern piers. The vast majority of the city's wealth at any one time can be found on the boats and ships settled into its harbors.

Such a rich city needs a kind hand to minister it; unfortunately, the hand that sits atop Xianxing is Governor Hong Kwan To, who is concerned only with his own wealth and keeping the city alive to bring him more wealth. Thankfully, he has a very good second-in-command in Xi Yu, a no-nonsense samurai whose samurai keep the city from getting out of hand, if a bit harshly from time to time; she is not blind to the corruption among her people, either, but only comes down on acts that threaten the security and stability of the city. She is aided in this task by Kwan To's wu ren, an ancient, wizened man named Zhang Changming, whose regular divinations keep her apprised of any truly vile dealings going on in her city. Changming himself desires nothing more than the stability of the city so he can continue his work in peace; what that work is, exactly, is anybody's guess, though he can be seen some days flying high above the sea harbor and looking out on the horizon, seated on nothing in the lotus position.

Despite the rampant corruption, Xianxing is a relatively safe city to do business in, with only the occasional cutpurse or murderer lurking in alleyways; this is because Xi Yu punishes criminals brutally. Outside her headquarters in the Golden Lane district are no less than twelve gibbets, always full, either with skeletonized (or decaying) criminals or those waiting to become corpses themselves. Public executions are a rare sight, but take place beneath the gibbets where the executed have their heads lopped off by Xi Yu herself; legend has it that her katana has sent more than a thousand criminals to their deaths on the execution block alone.

Edited March 27, 2023 by RelentlessImp (see edit history)