Borrel is the capital city of Pemembras and the hometown of our protagonist, Ireen and her family.
History
Borrel is one of the oldest cities in Themble and has changed ownership of several countries within its long history. The early history is lost, but it is known that the city — back then a town — predates the Feylands by at least a hundred years. Much of the knowledge of pre-Feylands Borrel has been lost or destroyed, but archaeologists generally conclude that Borrel was once one of the largest towns in Themble when Fey occupied the province. Based off of surviving archaeological records and various ruins, Borrel may have been partially destroyed just before or after the creation of the Feylands.
By the early 100’s, Borrel was a growing port city. As trade increased due to technological advancements, Borrel became a regional epicenter of trade and government as the centuries passed. Many notable businesses made Borrel their home, including the late Red Swallow Freight. When Pemembras came into power in the 460’s, Borrel became the capital city, which it remained until the Black King overthrew Pemembras in 774 at the end of the Second Maithan War.
Nowadays, The Black King is currently residing in Borrel to encourage the transition from Pemembran rule to Maithan. However, the Maithan government continues to run into opposition from the Revolutionaries, a small but dedicated band of Pemembran citizens.
Notable Locations
The Borrelian Palace
The Borrelian Palace is the former seat of government for the entire country of Pemembras before it was conquered by the Black King in spring of 774. Designed more for beauty than defense, the massive palace is known for its hallways lined with tall archways, sprawling gardens, and lavish rooms and offices.
Crown Street
Crown Street runs between the palace and a prolific shopping district selling elite goods, from tailored silk robes to diamond-encrusted necklaces.
The Borrelian Temple of Ravieka
A architectural marvel, the Temple is visited by thousands of pilgrims a year and is infamous for its stunning mosaics and sculptures. The Temple has a long history of feeding the poor, especially through its gardens. Citizens are encouraged to bring extra food, seeds, and food waste that can be used to feed the poor or grow the garden.
Carcella’s
Carcella’s is the restaurant that Ireen works at and that her friend and former mentor, Carcella, owns. Carcella’s is located on Goby Way by the Capoc Canal, and only two blocks away from Eset Street. It is a two-story restaurant with a patio in the back that lines the Capoc Canal.
Capoc Canal
This man-made canal was originally built to transport goods by small boat to seaworthy ships. The Trade Avenues slowly migrated west as the city grew so that the stink of the tanneries and more were farther away from the city center. With this, the Capoc Canal grew, leading the east half to become a part of a lower and middle-class shopping center and the west half a continued part of the Trade Avenues.
Trade Avenues
Named well, the Trade Avenues are where consumer goods are created. This atrociously smelling district is home to tanners, weavers, potters, smiths, spinners, candlemakers, and more. It is located on the edge of the city, on its eastern border.
Eset Street
Eset Street is a main thoroughfare with a wide variety of everyday shops, restaurants, and apartments. It is not uncommon to find the occasional musician playing on a street corner.
Scales Marketplace
Scales Marketplace is a thriving plaza where traders, farmers, and artisans of all sorts ply their wares. Scales Marketplace overlooks the ocean and is the shape of a rectangle. Loggias (picture a roof held up by archways and columns) pen in the three sides not facing the ocean. In the center is a large, cracked stone obelisk where creatures gather to play games of Scales and Two-Shell Abalone. Scales Marketplace is well-known, as it is one of the largest markets in all of Themble.
Seabird Street
Seabird Street is where Ireen, her parents, and her two younger brothers live. It is an older neighborhood featuring one-room houses that often have an attic. It is not a centralized location like many of the apartments available nowadays, nor does it feature a courtyard like many shared by houses in new neighborhoods. However, Seabird Street has a quiet, if run-down charm to it.
Stone Pine Circle
Stone Pine Circle is where Suebin’s family lives. Thanks to Talem’s job as a blacksmith, they are able to afford a small house that has the pleasure of having access to a small garden courtyard shared with two other houses.
Lavender Row
Ireen and Golgi’s favorite bakery is Lavender Row. The bakery serves tea and various baked delights in the small café in the front, but also sells copious amounts of fresh baked goods both to the public and to restaurants.
Capital Museum
A large museum that charges a small fee in which to enter. It primarily educates the public about the history of Pemembras, but also sports a small amount of Fey artifacts. It is best known for its large maritime museum, which includes several restored historic boats.
Borrel Bay
Borrel Bay is the inlet of the sea that the city of Borrel borders. It features a deep harbor for ships such as caravels and several beaches so that its citizens may relax. Dolphinfish Beach used to be the stretch most populated by tourists during the summer, but the Black King’s navy ruined much of it during the Second Maithan War. Now many go to White Rock Beach, but Ireen prefers the most remote and secluded Seaperch Beach.
The Blacktip and Other Bathhouses
Borrel sports no fewer than six public bathhouses, with a seventh resuming construction after the Second Maithan War. Each of the bathhouses were named after a species of fish that can be caught in the Cenen Sea. The most famous bathhouse is also the smallest: the Blacktip, known for admitting only the most wealthy and prestigious into its ranks. The Marlin Bathhouse is arguably the largest and most stunning public bathhouse, but Ireen and her family prefer the one closer to their homes, the Stingray.
Citizens
Antona – Female human. Ireen’s mother and a basketweaver
Carcella – Female coyote therio. The owner and chef of the restaurant Carcella’s
Golgi – Male minotaur. Carcella’s longtime friend and fellow chef
Gren – Male coyote therio. Carcella’s husband
Ireen – Female human. Our protagonist, a friendly, outgoing chef
Luca – Male human. Ireen’s youngest brother, an adventurer
Neto – Male human. Ireen’s younger brother, a dreamer
Partridge – Female human. Suebin and Talem’s youngest daughter
Sanson – Male human. Suebin and Talem’s shy son
Sejon – Male human. Ireen’s father, a commercial fisherman
Suebin –Female human. Ireen’s older sister and Talem’s wife
Talem – Male human. Suebin’s husband, as involved in politics as his wife
Tepen Ranco – Male griffin (deceased). Former king of Pemembras
Carcella’s Restaurant Staff – Short biographies for each of Ireen’s co-workers