Hi! I am currently in the process of writing a series of short stories and I wanted to share a bit of lore about Muelle, the city where they take place in.

Location

Muelle is an island city located in the Endless Isles, an argipelago created by an ancient order that is tasked with perserving the religions of the world at large. The Order used powerful magics to create the many islands and terraform them to the environment the religion was found in. To study the natural development of religions, they created three islands where cultures could mix, of which Muelle is one. The island is located on one of the few safe waterways into the Endless Isles, making it an important and wealthy center of trade.

Geography

Muelle is a volcanic island, however the volcano itself has been dormant for centuries now. Before the Great Restructuring (more on this later) the island itself has been returned to nature, while the city is built over the seas itself. There are three zones in the reserve. The well kept parc area, the less visited hill and the wild highlands. It is a tropical island with some dense vegetation and wildlife thanks to the large preservation office of the Mercantile Council.

The Great Restructuring

Because of the large population of the city outgrowing the land the island could provide, its sprawl quickly took to the seas. Large walkways spread far and ramshackle houses were built by those who could not afford a place on land. The wealthy class of Muelle were repulsed by the unorganised expansion of their city and used their wealth to undertake The Great Restructuring. They cooperated in buying out all the land on the island, imported large amount of timber and spent a decade building the foundations of the new city.

Muelle is organised in four main zones. The first is Carpaseo. This is where the ultra wealthy live. Instead of looking for a sea view, wealth is measured by how close you manage to live to the sun and to the island. Their homes are tall enough to span all three levels of the city and all border the island directly.

The bottom level is called Salderas. This originaly wasn't in the plans of the Great Restructuring, but the poor citizens of Muelle managed to scrape together enough to build their own houses at sealevel. It is named after the thick layer of salt that hugs the walls and walkways, left behind after every high tide.

In the middle is Entero, the level where most of the common folk live and the artisans have their workshops. This is where things are made and the sound of blacksmiths, the smell of baked goods and the business of daily live it at it's strongest.

Alcansol is the top layer of the city. It has wide walkways, many markets and shopping areas and it houses the wealthy who could and cannot afford a place in Carpaseo.

The second phase of the Great Restructuring was the actual rewilding of Old Muelle. All the old structures were torn down and all forms of flora and fauna had been reintroduced on the island. A more hatdline faction within the council also wanted to introduce larger predators, but the danger to Carpaseo was not worth it. Instead the Great Hunt was formed to keep the population of larger herbivores in check.

The Great Hunt

The Great Hunt is a yearly event where the wealthy can buy a quotum to hunt and keep the controlled populations on the island in check. In actuality, the hunting is done by professionals and servants, while the merchants socialise and network in their extravagant camps. During this event, the entire city has different festivities and visitors from different islands come to Muelle to enjoy everything the island has to offer.

Other interesting bits

To move between the different districts of the city, large stairwells were constructed. The main ones are in Carpaseo, but many are included in the guard outposts around the city.

Since 50 years ago, a new way of moving around the city has been introduced. On a different island, Pelgnomos were discovered. Large troll like creatures covered in fur move large platforms up and down all day. These friendly giants are friendly and are comparable to Golden Retrievers in their intelligence. There is a small snack bowl included with each platform for those who want to thank them for their service and especially kids like to pet the friendly giants.

During the Great Hunt, a Chief of the Hunt is appointed from the ranks of the Guard. This honour is meant to thank a certain guard for their many years of loyal service. Technically, they are in charge of security during the festival, but their days are usually filled with drunken people asking them to arrest a friend for 'being boring' or 'not drinking enough'.

Salderas has a large office of the Maritime Contractors Guild, the official organisation where you can hire independent ship captains or privateers. The unofficial side is that pirate captains are often in league with the guild, using them to sell stolen goods, asking them to help with potential bounties and the likes. It is a no questions asked organisation most people turn a blind eye too.