Dravia
Dravia is a city on the coast of the western continent. It is a rich port city, with ships that carry cargo worth as much as entire kingdoms. Because the ships carry so much valuable loot, the city of Dravia has one of the strongest navies in the world. Their ships are built to withstand heavy cannon shots, and the ships have many powerful cannons on board to retaliate against people who dare to attack them. The sailors who man the ships also have a lot of combat training just in case they get boarded. Being a sailor for the Dravian navy is one of the best ways to get sailing experience, and those that have served in the Dravian navy are some of the most valuable sailors in the world, sought after by nobles and kings.
Dravia trades a little bit of everything, spices, cloth, silk, etc. but they got their start when the founders got lucky and discovered a rich vein of platinum. The vein of platinum provided the founders with immense wealth, enough to raise an entire city from nothing, and then to one of the most prosperous cities in less than a decade.
Dravia was formed when a group of prisoners from the Swordspire that were being transferred to Anfel by ship broke free from their restraints and took control. They pirated with the stolen ship in the Central Sea for some time before they sailed to the Western Continent to make a village. The ex-prisoners accidentally stumbled upon a platinum vein right on the coast, and used the loot they had pirated from the Central Sea to start mines. Soon, there was a sprawling city.
Dravia is the largest city on the Western Continent, and is seen as the unofficial capital of the continent. Many of the other cities on the Western Continent were started by Dravian businessmen that saw larger opportunities by starting their own city somewhere else. Nobody knows who founded Dravia, the founders didn’t want anybody to be idolized like kings or monarchs, so they forbade any written texts as to who founded Dravia. They also made it so there was no official leader of Dravia, the city is protected and controlled by whoever has enough money to pay guards. There are three main companies in Dravia, The Golden Sails, Platinum Brigade, and the Dravian Bank. Although all the companies share similar interests, the prosperity of Dravia, they are often at odds, wanting to make the most money possible at the expense of each other.
The Golden Sails is the largest sea trading company in Dravia, they control over half the trade that takes place within Dravia, easily raking in hundreds of millions of gold a year. The Golden Sails is led by Donovan Drake, and since he has the most money, he has the most control over the city. The Golden Sails is a very reputable company, boasting that they’ve never lost a shipment to thieves. Due to a lack of laws in Dravia, the Golden Sails execute any pirates they come across and hang their bodies in the port as a deterrent. Donovan Drake also runs the navy for Dravia. Any sailor who worked for the Golden Sails holds a high reputation in the sailing community, as it is not a job that is just given out. Some people work their whole life and never get to join the Golden Sails.
The Platinum Brigade is the company that controls most of the Platinum Mines in and around the city. Although the platinum is mostly dried up in Dravia, they are still able to rake in a sizable fortune every year. The mines are well protected, as platinum is very valuable, the company has many highly skilled warriors working for them that they sometimes even loan out as mercenaries. The leader of the Platinum Brigade is Alexander Sharp.
The Dravian Bank is a wealthy bank, although not as wealthy as the Adamantine Bank, but it is sought after for its independence of the Valtorian government. Even though it is technically illegal to do any business with Dravia, many nobles like to hide money away in the Dravian bank just in case.
Since Dravia is so big and rich, it has a reputation for having everything in its markets. People from all over come to Dravia to seek their fortune or to escape their past and start over. Many people in Dravia live in grand estates and manors, and the wealthy elite socialize and network in the high end establishments here.
Despite Dravia's prosperity, it has its fair share of problems. Crime is a porblem in the poorer areas of the city, and wealth disparity is large in the city. The three major companies often perform many different types of underhanded actions to get the advantage on the other companies, usually criminal activities. Since they run the city, they are never held liable for their crimes.