Commission: The City of Pyrus

[Wingshaw]

Presenting my first completed Commission Map: the City of Pyrus (made for Shadire).

You can see the original WIP thread here.

Thanks to everyone who commented along the way, or supported the project (special mention goes to tainotim). And, of course, thanks to Shadire for letting me work on this, and for being so relaxed about the time it took and the creative liberties along the way.

I don't have a catchphrase for these situations, so how's this one:
Feel free to drop a comment, spend some rep, give us a thumbs up, or roll your eyes in annoyance!

THW

Method
This map was drawn freehand, and then coloured, shaded, and annotated digitally.

The work took a total of 87 days, 55 days of which were spent on the drawing*
*this statistic may not be of interest to anyone else, but I want to keep a record of how long these projects tend to take me.

Description (by Shadire)
"The Noble Republic of Pyrus was founded as the City of Karlediath in the year 3126 of the Ithil Age of Luxos by High Lord Karl Heinrichson and his subjects. After the Sinking of Luxos 8 years later, the city broke free of the Empire of Luxos and crowned the Heinrichsons as their kings. After centuries of religious strife and political turmoil, the worship of the Phaerimm was made to be the true faith of the city. It was only in the year 326 of the Divided Age that the city was first called Pyrus, after the lands surrounding it. The years after the renaming of the city were met with fierce famine, leading to the toppling of the Kings of Pyrus and the rise of the reign of the Guilds. The fierce work of various influential Pyrians led to the fall of the Guilds and the rise of the Noble Republic in the year 1242 of the Divided Age. The city weathered the storm of the Gorthrokin Invasion of 1823 DA, and now stands as the centre of the world's spice economy in the year 1456 of the Burning Age.

The Noble Republic of Pyrus is run by a council of members of ten noble families, with the Lord Advocate heading the council for their natural life. As the leaders of the city are also the key members of the financial elite, Pyrus is a highly mercantile society. Ships laden with Pyrian spices and wares from the north constantly move in and out of the harbour. The city's spice industry is the backbone of its economy. Every nobleman in the city has some hand in it, although relations between the competing houses are surprisingly calm nowadays. This may be in part due to the well-funded guards of Pyrus, who answer to a council with members whose seats are hard to lose. These guards also act to ward off the many hobgoblin raids from the west, as well as root out the nests of smugglers and thieves who call Pyrus their home.

Adventurers in Pyrus need not look far for work. The Council of Ten is always looking for extra hands to escort their precious cargo to far-off lands, and the guards are in constant need of fresh hands to strike at the hobgoblin armies in their own lands. The more minor houses of Pyrus often employ adventurers to aid them in their search for riches in their attempts to obtain their own seats on the Council. Surveying expeditions far out into the Phaerimm Wastes, collecting information of strong political weight, and sellsword work to please the Guilds that remain prominent in the Noble Republic are all thriving pathways for adventurers. As for the common citizen, they work under the Charter of the Noble Republic to aid their city. Farmers work tirelessly in fields owned by themselves or the noble houses, and the Spice District is a hub of spice refineries and spice merchants going to and from their properties and the Great Exchange of the city."