Estanya City
Estanya is a large city in the Dawnlands. Estanya City is a large, prosperous city built in a clearing of a dense forest region. The city's climate is subtropical in line with some of the milder temperatures in Saydia. Estanya was originally started as a trading post for merchants who traveled between Luaria and Saydia. Today, the city continues to be a large center of commerce on Saylua. Almost all travelers who go between Luaria and Saydia take the routes across the sides through Estanya City. The city is also home to the world famous Sunstead Inn where merchants and tourists alike come to rest.
Estanya City is home to a wide variety of inhabitants, both permanent residents and those passing through. Estanyan culture is unlike any other on the planet, while it clearly has roots in mainstream Saydian and Luarian cultural values, the result is quite unlike either of them. A single block might hold a mushroom stand, an open spit roast, and a stone topped fish fry. Accents and idioms fly thick and fast, and while many people claim to be able to recognize an Estanyan accent when they hear it, no two can agree on quite what it sounds like.
Quite a bit of cutting edge research is performed here as well, with raw materials from all over the world usually less than a mile away if you know where to look. Knowledge is also brought into the city by its many visitors, much of which is compiled in the Grand Memorial Library. Trade guilds fight tooth and nail for talented young prospects, and many move into the fantastically expensive apartments in hopes of starting a new career.
One of the reasons for the high cost of living is that the city started out with walls much too small for its eventual size. Originally planned to be a simple trading post and stopover, Estanya grew at an explosive pace. New sections of wall were built, carving out acres of jungle to do so, but even as construction continues on new sections the people moving in continue to have difficulty finding affordable housing. Some developers have tried to fight the land shortage by building up, with some of the tallest buildings on Saylua being constructed in Estanya City. These buildings have to be very strong and are limited in height by the powerful winds that sweep the dawnlands.
History
The history of Estanya City begins with the establishment of the Great Crossing, the first trade route to cross the Dawnlands that remains in continuous use. The Crossing was established by a joint effort, with teams clearing jungle from both directions to meet in the middle. Although there was a friendly competition to see who could make it to the halfway point first, it soon became apparent that the jungle on the Saydian side was thicker and less navigable, so in the end the meeting point ended up much closer to Saydia than Luaria.
Near the true halfway point, a supply depot was set up, along with housing for workers and a few small businesses to serve the temporary community. Although most of the warehouses and rooms were flimsily built from local wood, one entrepreneur named Andrea Brosh had other ideas. She set up a local quarry, and sold stone at cost to anyone who was planning on putting down a permanent structure. All the while, she was buying up land in the surrounding jungles for next to nothing. By the time the Crossing was complete, a respectable row of well built houses was in place, along with a trade depot, general store, and even a community center.
The depot was turning into a small town, although most of the residents were still temporary workers and those on their way across the Dawnlands. Concerned about Ms. Brosh’s influence, the property owners came together to discuss what was to do next. Everyone knew that travelers would need a stopover, and that trade could be conducted much more efficiently halfway along the journey instead of at either end. Since the town was by far the best equipped place to handle the coming demand it would be sure to grow, and their stakes along with it.
The founders made the bold choice to construct a planned city. Drawn by the obvious opportunity, investors and migrants from around the world began to pour resources into what had been just another patch of jungle. Initial predictions for the size of the city had been much too small, resulting in city walls that were wholly inadequate. Indeed, the city as originally conceived didn’t even fill the modern financial district.
As more jungle was cut and walls were built, the city, now known as Estanya City after its origins, began to take on a new character. Immigration from both sides of the planet have resulted in a cosmopolitan culture. While to this day trade remains a cornerstone of the city’s economy, a number of other industries began to take off. Estanya’s location and demographics make it uniquely suited as a site of cultural exchange, with historians and artists alike seeking to learn from those who pass through the walls. Cutting edge magical research is conducted in labs in some of the outer districts, where the relative abundance of reactants from around the world are studied by some of the best from around the world.
