Crotan

Crotan is the capital and largest city of the Crotani Republic. With a population of over 15 million people, the city is also the most populous city in Temiran, and one of the five most populous cities in all of Vantowyn.

The city stands at the mouth of the River Ruca, in Temiran, and has been a major settlement for since its founding. The River Ruca flows out of Western Temiran and into the Basdan Bay, one of the world's largest natural harbors. This location makes Crotan an important strategic and commercial hub for continent of Temiran. The city of Crotan itself is made up of five distinct Cariffs, some of which were originally independent towns of their own. The Cariffs are Basdan, the Isle of Cyre, Mantir, Rucatan, and Undertown.

The Crotani are a cultural group and nationality based on shared customs, values, and ways of life. Originally, the term was a demonym applied to specifically the Human residents of Crotan itself, the original tribesmen of King Cyre I and their descendants. As the nation around that city grew, the word quickly came to encompass all citizens within the nation's borders.

The Five Cariffs
Each of the five Cariffs that make up the Metropolis of Crotan has its own history.

Basdan
Basdan is built almost entirely over the bay from whence it gets it's name. It's a place of docks and warehouses and waterfront markets, all built upon stilts over the shallow bay. Basdan was originally built upon a series of small islands in the shallowest westernmost part of the Bay. The few natural islands in this shallow part of the bay became the foundation for a village built on stilts. As that village grew, so too, did the elaborate nature of its construction, until the whole western part of the bay became a floating city. A city of canals and bridges sprawls between the mainland coast and the Isle of Cyre, flanked by cliffs between the waterfall and the sea.

Today, it's a place of bustling commerce, and a melting pot of cultures from across the world. For many, this Cariff is their first taste of the city.

Isle of Cyre
The Isle of Cyre is where the original settlement of Crotan was built. It rests on an island in Basdan Bay, with steep cliffs on all its sides. The only ways onto the island are the man-made bridges from Rucatan, or the winding road cut into the cliffside that leads down to the east side of Basdan. Locals often simply refer to this part of the city as "The Isle." The old Crotani Imperial Palace is built on The Isle, and even in the time of the Republic, the seat of government for the nation still rests here.

Mantir
Mantir is built around the base of the Great Northern Spire. Originally, it was a monastic community built around the Spire itself. The founders of the monastery were an order of monks devoted to the preservation of knowledge and history, known as the Order of the Keepers. A larger settlement built up around the original monastery over the centuries until its incorporation into the metropolis.

Rucatan
Rucatan is named for the River Ruca, upon which it sits. It's the highest Cariff of the metropolis, being built upon the cliffs over the bay below. It's one of two Cariffs within the metropolis that has direct access to the Isle of Cyre. Rucatan possesses a bridge on its eastern side, which spans the roughly march-long gap to The Isle.

Undertown
Undertown is the most recently established of all the Cariffs, having been built after the consolidation of the other four into the City of Crotan. Undertown is a place of caverns and tunnels carved underneath Mantir and Rucatan. The Cariff is largely populated by Goblinoids, as well as some Draconids and Giantkin, all of which played an important role in constructing that part of the city. Undertown's key feature is its diversion of a part of the River Ruca into the Undertown Canals, which allow ships to be lowered gradually down to the level of the bay.