Thalstead

Thalstead is a city on the planet Euphera.

Thalstead resides in a temperate area of the world. The city sits on a river and utilizes that river for trade and transport.

To the north and south of the city are small mountain ranges, and the valley in between the mountains is fertile land with lots of cultivation. Historically, the city has prospered greatly from the combination of the river and the fertile land.

For hundreds of years, the city has been ruled by the Casurus family line. The Casurus's have been a stern but fair family, and have kept Thalstead prosperous for many years.

Thalstead used to be one of the best cities to live and work in, but in the past 20 years or so the city standards have been falling, which is making room for more and more nefarious individuals.

Most people blame Praesens Casurus. Praesens took over the city when his uncle died 20 years ago. His uncle didn't produce any sons before death so Praesens took over which caused a lot of tension between the powerful figureheads in the city (the first time a direct son did not assume the position). Many people feel the city is being poorly run under Praesens.

Under Praesens, the city has four powerful figureheads. One is the leader of the docks, one is the leader of the city guard, one is the leader of foreign relations, and one is the leader of civil issues. The leader of foreign relations and the leader of civil issue often agree with each other, and many suspect they have an unofficial alliance.

Thalstead doesn't have a central religion, but allows all peaceful forms of worship. The Thalstead Market is the center of activity in the city.

Established vendors have built permanent shops to cater to their regular customers.

Other vendors/traders set up tents to trade for the day and move on.

In recent times, thugs and gangs will set up shop in the market and offer to bully and thwart anyone and everyone for the right price.

Under Praesens, even drug use is openly on the rise in the city, with addicts wandering the city looking for the next high.