On the Creation of a City

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[SIZE="5"][COLOR="Yellow"]On the Creation of a City[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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The page following the title is furnished with a drawing of the side of a halfling's face looking off to the left. There is a small smile on his face, and his head is tilted slightly upward. Beneath the head in bold lettering the words William Bell University appear.

It seems to me that every would be city has both potential assets and obstacles on its path to success, and that if history is any indication of success, exploiting its strengths to bypass and remove the obstacles altogether is the only way to ensure the prosperity and success of a would-be metropolitan.

Every city at its birth profited from the disenfranchised.  I speak of course of desperate plebians, people who came in search of freedom, peace, or prosperity.  The city of Sanctuary, for example, suffered no shortage of these people, and because of the good will of their leadership they were able to thrive for 153 years in a place no goodly sort of being had any right existing, the foul abyss known as the Underdark.  That they eventually fell against such challenges is more an indication of extreme circumstances rather than a failure of state (though there are of course some examples of those in their fascinating history).  This is a rather extreme example though.  Consider what happens in a small town when a source of gold or some other precious mineral is discovered in the vicinity; men seeking their fortune travel fair distances for a chance at claiming that wealth.  In a young city there is opportunity for many as construction is undertaken and the readily available resources are exploited.  Such opportunities do not exist in old cities, one based around keeping the ruling class in power and a steady stream of gold flowing into their pockets.  In their minds they have already achieved all that can be had, and as such, the city stagnates and the populace gets hungry... hungry for an opportunity.

The influx of people seeking this opportunity gives rise to cheap labor, meaning that the construction that would typically be undertaken in a young city is made all the easier because the newcomers are willing to work themselves to exhaustion for coppers, as any demand for more coin would simply mean some other newcomer would take their work.  Large projects can be seen through at relatively low cost because of this, and their completion generally creates a better value of life for the inhabitants of the city.

This blessing is a mixed one, however.  The rapid influx of people generally puts a strain on the currently existing city.  Living space comes at a premium, food becomes scarce, and with the inevitable crowding comes other concerns such as sanitation and disease.  While cities have gotten by only addressing one or two of the former concerns, it has always been to their disadvantage.  While one can strike fear into the heart of a man and make him work till his death, how often does their master's gaze fall upon them?  When the fear is no longer present, when the whip is elsewhere, rest will be had.  A man miserable, be it in chains or no, will only work as hard as he has to.  A man who lives in a clean city, who does not stare each morning at his starving and diseased children, look at his wife and feel shame that they have not even curtains to block the site of others staring into their lives... he will put his soul into his work, especially if he has known such woes before.  Moreover, peoples can endure in the face of much, and while the best and brightest will likely survive the worst of troubles, how can one be contented to live in such a place?  Some might desire to return to a more hospital place, and when economic or physical barriers prevent this for whatever reason, a quiet anger begins to form.  Every would be ruler must always fear the plebian, for in the heart of every person lurks a dangerous truth, that no matter how low or high born they be; every person has the same gods-given rights as any another, and even the lowest man can ascend to heights unthought of if given cause or opportunity.

Living Space:

We have lived on top of each other since the earliest founding of this place, in fear of every terror that creeps upon us.  We need to expand, and we need to build.  It is simply that simple, but we must remove the threat that complicates this aim the most; the Nightrisers must be culled.

For this, do not look to some being held in place by a curse likely placed for good reason.  Look to your strength of arms and your ingenuity.  Question why no Nightriser has ever been seen far removed from these ruins, from this Mythallar.  Experiment, and find a way to keep them from pulling themselves back together, then destroy them one damned bag of bones at a time until they fortify within their ruins and venture not into our domain out of fear for their necromantic existance.  Once safety is had people will likely see to building their own homes quickly enough.

On Food:

When I look around this would be city, I see hungry men and I shake my head at this, for there are so many reasons why this should not be.  Clearing the land about the Ziggurat in large amounts is potentially undesirable, as this will not only raise the ire of whatever druids travel in the vicinity but also the various natives.  Starving animals deprived of their foodstuffs found in their jungle homes will move further away and die out, or if predatory in nature, trouble us unduly.  That little has been done on this front so far I applaud, because alternatives exist that I think will work for everyone's betterment.

We've an ocean, yet where are the fishermen and their vessels?  As exhaustable as these islands may be, our Ziggurat would be hard pressed to make even a small difference in the numbers of fish in the Shining Seas.  A small amount of industry by making a few rafts, nets, and some cages could easily feed some hungry mouths and put some coins into pockets.

I have another solution as well, one that is somewhat more complex to implement but might ultimately be for everyone's benefit.  While we have a limited space of land that we would have to fight tooth and nail for every inch of, the ruins around us remain something of an untapped resource.  With a little work, one could easily tunnel into soil from a number of places.  You're likely wondering how building a cavern and growing crops there is realistic at all, but in my studies of Sanctuary it became apparent there are several foodstuffs that grow without the need for light.  My understanding of experimentations with such plants have yeilded the result there is some type of magical energy in the Underdark this feeds off of, but who is to say that the latent energy present in our own Mythallar could not substitute that need?  All one would need to acquire is the seeds or spores for such growth, and with a little industry we can have access to close and easily defended foodstuffs.

The final thought I have on this issue is that I have come across a remarkable amount of evidence suggesting the Netherese of this island took the art of transmutation to its limits, altering many of the organisms on this very island.  For proof of this, consider the surprisingly nutritional orchards neighboring our settlement.  In the past the Archaeological Society discovered a disease the natives have named Y'krish, a disease they claim that those same wizards engineered ages ago.  There is also the presence of beings in the ruins here that some have suggested may have been created and have since survived, but I have not had a chance to study these beings yet.  What this all means for us though is that the possibility exists one could rediscover something of this lost art and possibly use it for the creation of a hardier crop or domesticated animal.

Disease and Sanitation:

For a city to have healthy, strong, and hard-working souls who take pride in where they live, a standard of cleansliness must be had.  This encompasses many things, not the least of which is the state of the streets.  Garbage dumped about wherever one sees fit is hardly standard of the ideal urban environment.  A few laws with minor fines attached would likely go a long way towards making people work towards cleansiness at first, but even hiring a few men to make an honest living through street sweeping would take this idea one step further.  The men would likely work for coppers, and to take care of this city effectively you'd likely need to hire no more than five for the task.

Interestingly, I am sure it is no surprise to many that the Netherese engineered water to flow about in quite interesting ways.  While I do not believe we can readily harnass the action, I do believe some rather mundane engineering could channel flows for drinking and sewage purposes.

In Conclusion:

I think that anyone with a genuine desire to help the Colony can do it, provided they have good swordarm, some ingenuity, and perhaps even a bit of coin.  That some have to suffer these woes is what I hope to be a lack of creativity.  Here I have provided a list of ideas, and anyone who would wish to make their make their desire for the betterment of all more than words need simply check it off item by item.

Asdon Garlin, Lorekeeper of Oghma and Founder of William Bell University