Important locations and places within Port Azure and the surrounding countryside:
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:14, Sat 02 Apr 2022.

Greater geography and history-

The Empire of Zahar - One of the largest realms among the south of the Beautiful Lands, it stretches from the Gravestone mountains in the north, to the Brightwater coast in the south. From the jungles of Angh in the east, to the Dream Isles in the West. Born on the back of the ruins of ancient civilizations lost to the age of legend it is currently ruled by the Zaharian Emperors from the capitol of Zahren.
Founded by a unified people with a sense of divine right to rule, the empire spread quickly across the continent, absorbing smaller realms, tribes and kingdoms as it moved, a few by diplomacy, but most by military force.
This expansion however has slowed over time. As the empire grew and grew, creaking under its own weight and becoming more and more unwieldy, requiring more and more resources to maintain and expand, the emperors were forced to find such resources wherever they could. During the Empire's war with the Mage Clans to the north, the emperor Klavin the third found himself without the means to pay his armies and continue the fight.
Desperate to carry on and claim the glory that would secure his place in imperial history, he was approached by the Merchant Prince of Port Azure, offering a way to do just that. The Prince would present the Emperor with a great amount of coin, collected from the merchants and nobles of the city, and in return the Emperor would allow the Prince and his people to purchase the island of Halra, directly off the southwestern coast of the empire. A deal was finally struck and a treaty was signed.
Some say the emperor never intended to uphold the agreement, reckoning that he would quickly be able retake the city and its impudent merchants. Unfortunately for him, the war in the north continued to grind on and on, the mages resisting every attempt to cross the Gravestones. When the conflict was finally abandoned, Port Azure had managed to secure lucrative trade treaties and alliances with several other lands and kingdoms ensuring that trying to retake the island would only lead to an even  more costly war, and the city remained free.

Though outwardly civilized towards Port Azure and its people, the city is still seen by most Zaharians as a blemish on the Empire's history as well as pride, and the Guild Council have little doubt that should the empire see an opportunity to reassert themselves, then Port Azure would once again fall under the rule of the Emperors.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:09, Sun 03 Apr 2022.

City Districts -

The Docks - Among the oldest parts of Port Azure, the docks is a sprawling hub of busy trade and industry. Bustling with people at almost all hours, the district seems alive with noise and the voices of sailors, cries of merchants and citizens. Uneven cobbled streets snake their way haphazardly through the buildings and plazas, like the tentacles of a kraken.
Wooden and stone warehouses, offices and houses of every known and, for most, unknown architectures and nationalities fill the district down towards the waterfront.
Stone quays and jetties reach out into a massive harbour, creating a labyrinth of shifting paths, tiny islands and docked ships of every kind.

The Warrens - The newest of the citys districs the Warrens had sprung up outside the old city walls after Port Azure's independence, as people from began migrating to the city from all over. With no real organisation or planning behind it, the district quickly became a veritable labyrinth of muddy streets and cheaply built houses. Crime ran rampant as unscrupulous people preyed upon the unpoliced population. It was only after a few years the Council recognized the Warrens as part of the city proper and the Gilded Guard were charged with keeping the peace there as well  that some semblance of order was imposed, often quite brutally. It still remains the poorest and largest part of the city, and though Guard still patrol the streets, crime remains a staple of life there.
Not wanting to move further out from the wealthier districts of the city, some of the inhabitants of the Warrens had begun building up instead to accomodate growing families and population. Leaning two and three story structures, some of the most extreme bowing so close to eacherother above the streets that it was possible to reach out of a window and touch the building across the street. This lead to a cavernous feeling in some neighbourhoods where the sun rarely shone directly on the ground beneath.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:28, Thu 05 May 2022.

Locations within the city -

The Sea Towers - Situated within the Docks district, the Sea Towers is the formal headquarters of the Port Azure Navy. A stone fort built from dark granite and green slate the name, Sea Tower, actualy belies the larger nature of the building. Guarded at all times by marines the tower gives a sense of busy readiness to all who approach. Runners and messengers constantly moving to the fro during the day, weaving their way through crowds and cargo to the ships or further into the city.
Three squat towers, the give the  rise from the fort, each bristling with ballistas, and the experimental weaponry of the Clockwork Guild, that reach far out into the harbour and beyond, the Towers are an active part of the city's defense and are treated as such by those eho serve there.