Caffa

Caffa is the second-largest city in the New Sammichian Empire, after the capital city of Fulfwotz. It serves as a major shipping hub, having the largest port in the northwestern Shire. Despite being under the jurisdiction of the Empire and overseen by a Chancellor, the city is notorious for its well-established system of intimidating aristocratic families who are frequently accused of bullying, harassing, or threatening the Chancellor in order to maintain thinly-veiled control over the city's government. Its aristocracy, which is used in a much more literal sense than the informal Fulfwotz Aristocracy, is made up of numerous wealthy and influential families within the city. Caffa covers Isola di Caffay, a large island with its entire eastern shore carved out into a harbor.

Torre di Bellaluce, one of Caffa's most recognizable landmarks.

The city was originally settled by escaped Venezian slaves from the Old Sammichian Empire. During the period known as the Mandatux Imperatia (Thrennexian for Imperial Mandate), which lasted from roughly 210-70 PRY, the Empire began hording vast areas of land and territories. When indigenous people were discovered living in those regions, it was common for them to be brought back to Ceriumuse and forced into slavery. This is exactly what happened when the Empire encountered the ancestors of the Venezians in the south-central Shire in 187 PRY; they were brought back to the then-capital and forced to work on construction projects or mine beneath the city. Finally, in revolt, the Venezian slaves organized themselves and fled the city to the north, where they established Caffa. With the Empire unaware of the slaves' location, Caffa built itself up in solitude and isolation, careful to not alert Ceriumuse to its existence. The city only exposed itself after the dissolution of the Empire in 58 PRY; within a century, Caffa became a wonder of the Old Shire, and trade increased to unseen amounts. The massive harbor was constructed, along with the Colossus di Caffa (known as Magnus Phallus by locals). With so much revenue being generated, Caffa reorganized its bank system and is credited with developing modern banking. Today, Caffa is still an important trading center.

Unlike Fulfwotz, Caffa is not divided into any identifying neighborhoods or districts, but rather territories belonging to the various nobles within the city. While the areas are not actually property of the families, it is similar to gang territory in Fulfwotz. It is an unwritten code to not interfere in the business of a district of another family, and they typically employ private paramilitary forces to guard and maintain order in their respective areas.

With most of the Empire's sea cargo entering Caffa, and many cities eager to trade with it, Caffa brings in a vast amount of income, however, most of this is squandered on construction projects or exuberant festivals which can last for weeks. Caffa has (quite ironically) declared bankruptcy twice since 1900, relying on the decreasing fiscal generosity of their parent Empire. Most of the city's wealth lies in the citizens themselves, and not the government, which is another way the aristocratic families control the city. Caffa's economy is focused on luxuries, such as perfume, clothing, jewelry, spices, tea, olives, and wine, along with more infrastructure-oriented industries, such as shipbuilding and banking. The city includes many cultural institutions, such as the Basilica di San Madonna, Castello Alto, and the Colossus di Caffa.

History

Formation

Caffa owes its creation to a group of escaped Venezian slaves from the Old Sammichian Empire. During the Mandatux Imperatia, Sammichian legions occupying and mapping the central Shire encountered the Venezians in 187 PRY. At first, they attempted to lure the Venezians back to Ceriumuse with gold and jewels, but when that failed, the Sammichians kidnapped an estimated 3,500 and forced them onto ships bound for the capital. The journey lasted for months, and many Venezians died during the trip. When they finally arrived in Ceriumuse, they were promptly enslaved and sent to work around Thrennex by decree of Emperor Lascivix XXX. A slave named Laurentis recounted the conditions of the mines in a journal discovered in the ruins of Ceriumuse: "...the mines stretched beneath the city in every direction. The air was thick and hot as we dreamed of the wintry city above. When we were caught resting, the Xamichine [sic] Overseer would send us to visit someone named the Grief. No one knew who or what the Grief was because no one ever returned."

The oppression of the Venezians continued until about 98 PRY, when a teenager named Bianca di Guerra watched her parents get sent to the Grief for badmouthing the Empress. In her own grief, she rallied the Venezian slaves and revolted. After attacking guards and killing the Overseer, they made their way up into the city and fled through the sewers. They knew of an exit from the city through a collapsed watchtower at the city's perimeter; Bianca was captured by a group of guards, yet the forces of Ceriumuse were unable to capture the rest, as the city was weakened during the mass exodus to Fulfwotz. Far from home, they stole a ship, sailed north, and shipwrecked on an island during a storm. With little other choice, they repurposed the materials from their ship into shelters until limestone and clay deposits were discovered on the nearby coast. While Bianca's fate remains unknown, Caffans maintain the belief that she was tortured for information, but would not divulge their escape route and died a martyr.

Exposure

For about 50 years, Caffa built itself up quietly, careful to not alert the nearby capital of its existence. It wasn't until 58 PRY that this changed; after the dissolution of the Old Sammichian Empire by Empress Flux, word had reached Caffa. Knowing that fear of retaliation and annexation by the Empire was no longer required, Caffa began to communicate with nearby towns, expanding its economy to trade. With such desirable exports, such as olives, wine, and various spices, the city's economy exploded. Some of the largest merchant guilds in the Shire at the time were in Caffa; by the Reckoning Year (0 CE), the ledgers of various merchants and citizens suggest that in terms of individual wealth, Caffa might have been the wealthiest city in the Shire; the government at the time, the Council of Kings, was also very rich, since it was compromised of the city's most affluent merchants and it imposed a rather steep tax on trade.

Despite being relatively well-known at that point in time, Caffa was still far-flung from the rest of the Shire, with its region largely unmapped. Bizarre rumors of the city were exchanged between uneducated Shirefolk, such as winged fire-breathing men and prostitutes with six breasts like a dog (not to be mistaken with Edie Lilac, an actual six-breasted prostitute who lived in Fulfwotz around 1920). The rumors, however, only managed to increase business more. In 340, the city revamped its port and hired a team of 300 led by famous sculptor Cicero di Colonna to construct the massive Colossus di Caffa, a 350-foot tall statue which is now one of the wonders of the ancient world.