Fal Skiddy
Fal Skiddy is a small fishing town located at the north-west most point of the continent. Beyond it lays the Great Divide, a deep gash in the earth that is impassable, and a gash that leads outward into the seas, blocking all further passage north of the village. To the east is the ocean, and it provides food and supplies for the village, mostly in the form of caught fauna, but also in the trading ships that land in the small harbour. The harbour is only large enough to support three or four adequately sized trading vessels at a time, as there is a lack of deep water. Much of the rest of the harbour is used by the inhabitant fishing vessels.
To the west and the south of the city lies the trading route that supports the city, skirting around the desert that occupies the central area of the continent. These areas immediately around the town are covered in grain and wheat farms, and are very flat, somewhat dry terrain, with only a few major waterways traversing the land. Primarily, the trading route between the cities of Bhreac Veryan and Niam Liad passes through the town, and much of the populace is dedicated to supporting this through-trade, either in the form of inns and other locations of hospitality, or in the necessary services that are required, such as coopers, wainwrights, blacksmiths, carpenters, and other basic needs of caravans passing through. While there is heavy traffic from the trading route, very few members of the merchants actually stop in Fal Skiddy for more than a few days. It is a waystation, not an endpoint, in their travels. Traders will repair, restock grain for their animals, gather other like-minded caravans, and then traverse west across the bandit-ridden desert. Those travelling to the east will often stop only for a night, unless there is an issue that needs to be resolved.
The largest of the area’s rivers passes through the town itself, and effectively divides the town into two separate halves. The segment of Fal Skiddy on the seaward side is almost exclusively concerned with the sea and with fishing, and only deals with the group across the river by necessity. The landward area of the village spends their year supplying the trading groups who pass through the city, and often will take the three to five winter months off, relying only on the trading season to supply their income during the course of the year. However, some of the people who work in ventures dedicated to the merchants will also have a stake in some of the farms and breeding grounds located outside of Fal Skiddy, as a means of support should the trading become poor.
The population of the town, is, as described, split into two distinct segments, one focused outward to the ocean and the other inward to the trading route. These two fragments of the population are antithetical towards one another, and drink in separate taverns, and often do not mix. It is not so much one town as two villages, the populace of which will often scuffle with one another. The fishing village is lead by a man called Physgodwr, a grizzled veteran of the seas who was born in Fal Skiddy and has been sailing on fishing boats since he was of age to do so. He is now in his fifties, of grey beard and beaten countenance, and captain of the largest of the fishing boats that plies the waters. He attained that position when the former owner sold the boat to Physgodwr, and he has captained it for approximately twenty years.
The other segment of the town looks towards Gwesteiwr, the proprietor of the largest inn in Fal Skiddy, and one of the largest along the Trading Coast. He has continually added to the structure, and it sprawls outwards, a series of long and low buildings that are only partially connected. He has recieved some opposition from the other innkeepers of the village, as they see themselves losing business to Gwesteiwr, and it is likely that at some point in the near future, there will be an attempted coup, bloodless though it will be.
Each side of Fal Skiddy has a small council of the most eminent citizens who decide upon issues relevant only to their area of the town, while a full meeting between the two groups is necessary for any difficult problem that will affect the whole town. This often results in a split along factional lines for many of the issues, and it is a common occurence for one side of the town to vote upon an issue, while at the same time the other is attempting to make it a full town issue, or concludes their deliberation in an altered direction, resulting in further arguments and angry clashes. Currently, the town is in the process of deciding on tariffs upon the goods brought in by non-residents, both by land and by sea. It is currently quite acrimonious.
The immediate future of the town has been called into question, as the brewing hostilities have caused almost all traders to retreat to their native lands, depriving Fal Skiddy of one of its primary sources of income. Bhreac Veryan has also indicated that it may desire to capture the town and use it for its own, extending control over much more of the trading routes and using it to choke those who rely upon the trade, and in this way become once more the dominant power within The Four Part Land. Fal Skiddy is a small player in these great doings.