Strathclyde
Strathclyde is a small, poor city-state compared to other Terranovan capitals. Yet, Strathclyde also has the highest per capita revenue on the planet. Nowhere else is the ESE’s unequal distribution of wealth more apparent than here. At the heart of Strathclyde lies the Ethereal Palace, the sprawling abode of the league’s patriarch. Nearly one hundred square kilometers of manicured gardens and forests surround the pagodas of the palace compound. The Ethereal Palace is surrounded by white marble-like walls that are constantly patrolled by the Patriarch’s troopers. Forming a ring around the palace grounds is a region known as the Middle Tier. It is here that the parasitic middle class of the city resides. Foreign corporations and embassies maintain offices in this sector. Like the Palace, the Middle Tier is surrounded by defensive walls. Outside the Middle Tier lies the Barrens, a vast slum inhabited by the majority of Strathclyde’s population of commoners.
Strathclyde’s economic situation is highly peculiar. The entire city’s economy is geared towards catering to the whims of a single individual: Patriarch Oliver Masao. This has led to a life of instability and poverty for much of the city’s population. As in most ESE cities, lower class uprisings are commonplace and invariably suppressed with brutal efficiency by the Patriarch’s legions. The soldiers guarding the capital city of the Eastern Sun Emirates are the most fanatical of all. They will willingly lay down their lives at the order (or the whim) of the Patriarch. The current retinue is composed of 200,000 men and women, all trained to a high degree in the various arts of war. Of those, 2000 troopers are assigned to the palace itself as honor guards. The rest are dispersed throughout the city-state’s surrounding territories, where they act as police and peacekeepers.
The patriarchal family long ago perfected the art of providing bread and circuses. City officials see to it that every known resident of Strathclyde gets their meager ration of rice, bread or jhong. This meal is enough to prevent citizens from starving, but leaves them hungry and thus motivated to work. In order to allow citizens to channel their frustrations, the patriarch sponsors the most elaborate bloodsport in the ESE: miniature battles.
Every week, hundreds of convicts and political prisoners are dressed up and forced to participate in recreations of historical and literary battles, duels and showdowns. These combatants are armed with real weapons and sent out to fight for their lives. While the costumes and equipment used in the battles are historically accurate, the outcome of each conflict depends on the gladiators of the day. Occasionally, when the battle particularly please the crowds, a special raffle is held among the surviving gladiators. One tenth of these fighters will win a pardon from the Patriarch. Spectators can attend the battles by either watching from the sidelines or paying a special fee to observe the battle from the safety of an underground bunker. Popular favorites include recreations of the Alamo, the Spartacus rebellion, and St. Vincent’s War.