Today, I continued to draw out the plan for Turtletown, one of the unnamed city’s districts, and as a result, I made some decisions about the city:

1. The city and the rest of the kingdom are governed as a tribal federation, made up of various clans of Kalis and Oreens, who are bound by some sort of vassal agreement with the king known as the “Rustking”. The tribes pay him taxes and are required to appear in response to his call to arms. However, as the king’s personal strength, wealth, and power have diminished, the tribes view this agreement with disdain – they avoid paying taxes (known as tribute or gifts) or only pay a reduced amount, and only some of the tribes appear in response to the king’s call to arms.
2. This lack of central governance creates interesting conflicts in the city, as we now see it not as a unity but as a group of small tribes living in an unstable peace. As long as the Rustking was strong, his word was law and he resolved conflicts between the tribes. Now, the tribes of the city no longer turn to the Rustking and resolve conflicts on their own, likely in a much more violent way than with a neutral judge.
3. Therefore, the city is in a somewhat post-apocalyptic situation, where a large number of people have gathered on a small territory, grouped into different tribes, and peace between them can break down at any moment.

13 tribes of Turtletown

Turtletown is home to 1/8 of the city’s population (about 12,500 people), divided into thirteen separate tribes. These thirteen tribes also represent the city’s middle class – Turtletown’s fishers are not poor or the wealthiest tribes in the city. Their source of income, the sea, provides them with a steady wealth that is not affected by being on the outskirts of the main trade routes.

Since all families in Turtletown have canoes or catamarans that require parking space and there are canals in addition to streets between buildings, it can be inferred that the district is the largest in terms of area, perhaps even half of the city’s total area although it is home to only 1/8 of the population.

The tribes of Turtletown are required to pay taxes to the Rustking in the form of pearls and coral. In the past, when kings had more power, the handling of pearls and coral was only allowed for the king and his loyal followers. They were used by kings to pay for iron, tin, and other overseas goods from the asteanic merchants. Paying the asteanic merchants in pearls would result in a death penalty. Now, the Rustking is unable to fully control this restriction, but it doesn’t mean that trading in pearls would be a good idea. The Rustking’s chief of bodyguards, Nene, and the defense forces are still loyal to the king and will punish pearl trading immediately if it comes to their attention.

Yesterday’s video of drawing the canals and some base concepts: