There has been a city in the general location of Petrana for centuries, due to the fact that this point marks the only place for fifty miles in either direction that the River could be bridged.
The River is navigable by sea-going vessels as far as Petrana's South Docks, and it's two main upper branches support a great deal of trade traffic in the forms of small sailing/rowed craft and barges. Petrana is also situated along a long-standing east-west trade route known (fittingly) as the Long Road, which stretches more or less unbroken for almost 3000 miles.
The city's location is thus of double importance, for it is one of the few places where the Long Road traffic and sea trade meets; it has always drawn traders and merchants to its streets, and as a result has occupied an economic prominence far in excess of what one might expect given its local natural resources.
There are seven gates land-bound travelers can use to enter the city, known as (clockwise from the north) the North Gate, Caravan Gate, Common Gate, Judges Gate, Horse Gate, Cold Gate, and Ambassador's Gate. The Caravan and Horse Gates face onto the Long Road east and west, and receive most of the trade traffic; within the city, this road goes by the name of the Street of Caravans, and is an exceptionally broad and well-traveled thoroughfare. The Ambassador's Gate is more or less reserved for the passage of local and visiting nobility, and less-desirable types are usually encouraged (not necessarily subtlety) to use another route.
Petrana is broken down into seven major sections, six of which are politically coherent areas known as boroughs. The six official boroughs (and one unofficial area) are:
- The Commons: the crowded home of most of the city's laborers, craftsmen, and other common working folk.
- The South Docks are an important part of the Commons, and home to the Iron Hand.
- The Greens: the most affluent area of the city, where the majority of the rich (both noble and guilder) reside.
- The Labyrinth: the oldest part of the city, thick with thieves and the poorest of the poor.
- The Cauldron: where the bulk of the city's non-native population live and work.
- North Corridor: one of the primary business districts, location of most government buildings, guild halls, and home to many of the city's successful merchants and upper-level guildsmen.
- South Corridor: a major commercial area with many important 'sub-sections'.
- Citadel Island, a mile-long year-round bazaar and marketplace whose population is a constantly shifting mix of the area's traders, craftsmen, and wandering minstrels. Citadel Island is not recognized as a political entity in the City's Council of Boroughs; the Island is almost a city unto itself, with rules and customs that differ from the remainder of Petrana.
A rough ASCII map of the city follows, with legend and key after:
=====================[64]==========
~~~~~~ // | \\
~~~~~~~~~~ [01]--[02]--------------[03] \\
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ // `-. | .-` | `-. [63]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ // [04] .-` | `-. /
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ // `-, .-` | `-. / \\
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [05]--------[06]--------[07]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ `-. | .-` \ \\
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ `-. | .-` \
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ `-. | .-` \
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [08] \ [12]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / `-. \ /\\
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[66]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ [09][10][11] \ / \
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ [13][14]`-. \ /
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ ~~~~~~~~~ [17]------[18]
// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ / \ / |
// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [15] ~~~~~~[16]~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ \ / |
// ~~~~~~~~~~~~ `-. .-` ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~ \ / |
// ~~~~~~~~~~~~ [19] ~~~~~~~~~~[20] ~~~~~~~ [22] |
// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / | `-. ~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ \
// [21] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ [23] `-. /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ |
// / | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~ `-. [24] ~~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ [26] |
// / | ~~~~~~~~~/ `-. | /~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ \ |
/ / | ~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~~~ `-.| / ~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~ \|
/ | [25]~~~~~~~~~~ [27] ~~~~~~~~~~/~~[31]--[32]
[28]--[29] [30] ~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~ /
| / \ / / ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ ~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~ /
| / [33] [34] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~[35]~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~[36] /
| / | \ / ``--.. ~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~| /
|/ | \ / ``--..,~~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~~| /
[37] [38][39] | [40] ~~~~~~~~~[41]~~~~~~~[42] /
| \ / .-` \ ~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~ //
| [62] / ___.----[44] \ ~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| [45] \ .-[43]-' .-` \ \ /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|/ \ .-[48]-' .-` \ \ ~~/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[46]----[47]-' .-` [49] \ /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| `-. .-` | \ /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| [50]---[51]-------[52]--[53]--------[54]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| / | | | .-` ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| / | | | -` ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[55] / [57] | | -` ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ ``--. | | .-` ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ [58]--[59]---... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ | | ```---[65] ~~~~~~~~~~~~
\\ / / | // ~~~~~~~~
\\ / | | // ~~~~~~
\\ / | | // ~
\\ / | [60] // ~
\\ / / //
==[56]== | //
\\ | //
\\ | //
\\ [61] //
=========================================
LEGEND
Wall ==, //, or
Street \, /, or -
Area [##]
Water ~~
MAP KEY
Map# Name Map# Name
1 Ambassador's Gate 2 Northern Heights
3 The Greens 4 Bluffs on The Heights
5 Riverside 6 Trademaster Square
7 Street of Caravans 8 Stone Bridge Plaza
9 Temple of Eollana Grounds 10 Believers Lane
11 All-Father Cathedral Grounds 12 Copper Gate
13 Shadowed Grove 14 Dark Courtyard
15 New Citadel 16 Stone Bridge East
17 Journeyman's Plaza 18 Pfenning Square
19 Northern Loop 20 Eastern Wooden Bridge
21 Tower Square 22 Watersedge
23 Western Loop 24 Eastern Loop
25 Stone Bridge West 26 Redonso's Grain Mills
27 Southern Loop 28 Dwarrow Square
29 The Green 30 Cauldron Beach
31 The Breakwater 32 Warehouse District
33 The Dell 34 Summ Plaza
35 Western Wood Bridge 36 Nimrodel's Shipyards
37 The Cauldron 38 Hypotenuse Square
39 Erinhir 40 Leiderstrasse
41 South Islet 42 South Docks
43 Junket Square 44 Plaza of Troubadours
45 Centaur Trolley Barns 46 Horse Market
47 Old Horse Gate Square 48 Street of Caravans
49 Street of Silk Veils 50 Harp Street Junction
51 Thieves Market 52 Kurgan's Rout
53 Lech Corner 54 Southbridge Shore
55 Horse Gate 56 Judgement Gate
57 The Abbey 58 Kurgan's Way
59 Kurgan's Way 60 Cust Way
61 Bucklebrass Way 62 Magic Street
63 Caravan Gate 64 North Gate
65 Kurgan's Hill 66 Sorcerer's Isle
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