Corsair Coast names and Port Liure districts

The Corsair Coast is a pretty cool name, but I doubt anyone who actually lives there would refer to it as such, just like the Barbary corsairs didn't call themselves either Barbary or corsairs, but rather residents of whatever city-state or tribe that they belonged to. The actual name of the Corsair Coast as a region, would be Baix Pallars, based on a Catalonian word; Pallars being a region in Catalonia, named after the historic Frankish County of Pallars in the same area. Baix (pronounced with a long I sound and the X as a J and an SH jammed (jshammed?) together) is the Catalan word for lower, referring of course to the southern orientation of the Corsair Coast relative to the rest of the setting. Baix is the Catalan cognate to Spanish Baja, except that it retains the old usage of x whereas in Spanish, the X, which was like an SH in Medieval Spanish started to become pronounced like the Spanish J, and eventually was replaced by the Spanish J in most words other than older names, like Mexico. Linguistic spergy interlude over, but its worth pointing out that this name for the region replaces my previous attempt to call it Porhomok. That latter name might possibly still stick for the deeper jungle interior, but I'll probably quietly let it fade away and be forgotten.

Baix Pallars, then, is the entire region, including the Corsair Coast itself, a few outlying islands nearby, and the interior, to some degree. There will be a few city-states on the Corsair Coast: Razina, Alcassar, St. Haspar, and Segria and numerous smaller ones as well. Some of those, in earlier versions, had diacritics (Alcàssar, Segrià, Sènt-Haspar) but that's too much trouble and too foreign. Getting rid of the accent marks means that I'll probably pronounce Alcassar and St. Haspar, etc. differently, but that's OK. Of course, the most important city in the region is Port Liure. Port Liure is located on Gandesse Island, which is only a mile off-shore from the mainland, within sight and even within swimming distance for most. The following is a list of the major neighborhoods or districts within Port Liure. The Watch has formalized these to some extent; each of these neighborhoods has a Watch barracks, and most Watchmen have a regular patrol that is limited to just one neighborhood.  

Academie: Named for the Academy which takes up most of this area; a rather staid university district, which strives to be taken as seriously as the institutions in Mittrmarkt or elsewhere, but which has a long way to go still in terms of gaining prestige, longevity and funding. Still, the Academy at Port Liure is a popular one for wealthier students around the area who are more interested in the experience than necessarily their education—it's widely seen as a "party school" compared to its competitors. Young sons of minor nobles and merchants make up the majority of the student body. In addition to the halls of the Academy itself, this district has the dormitories of the students, staff and faculty, and a number of small shops that cater to the students, staff and faculty, and other hangers-on.

Castle Gardens: Named for the large "castles" that fill the district, this is a wealthy one, where the summer homes of nobility from around the area, as well as the local nobility and wealthier merchants, are found. With private docks, opera houses, and high class accommodations and services, this is a fairly quiet and peaceful neighborhood, and the Watch's relationship with various private security forces is sometimes somewhat tense.

Chersky Quarter: More broadly a middle class neighborhood, but Rue des Hamazins, which is renowned for its hamazin restaurants and small ethnic neighborhood is responsible for the name of the entire district. Infamous as a hold-out of the Chersky Mafia—the Watch here is suspected of being thoroughly corrupt.

Old Town: Jacob Bernat's original keep, and a great deal of the old money and old power of Port Liure make their homes here. In reality, few people actually "live" here, though—this is a busy quarter during the day, with the running of the business and administration of the city-state's government, but goes very quiet at night. The Watch presence is strong and implacable, by reputation.

Foghorn Park: A lower-class neighborhood far from the waterfront and nestled in the arms of the foothills at the edge of town, many of the people who live here are laborers in the farms outside of town, or hunters in the mountains, or otherwise have occupations that keep them busy away from the commerce of the city. Overland smugglers are said to thrive here, and people walk relatively carefully due to suspicion of gang activity. Much of the woodwose population of the city lives here; even so-called "urban woodwoses" are consumed with enough wanderlust that they feel more comfortable being able to leave the city quietly, unobtrusively, and relatively frequently.

Little North: Little North is actually on the south end of town, but because it gained character as a Hillmen and Timischer ethnic neighborhood, it became known as Little North. Curiously, it's not particularly settled by Northerners anymore—it's a low class laborer neighborhood, and a hotbed of gang warfare; a crossroads of various gang's territory, as it were. The Union of the Snake† headquarters are located here, near the docks.

Les Corts: The origin of the name is lost to history, but no Courts hold sway in this neighborhood anymore. Both the Watch and private security don't wait for sentencing to mete out punishment to anyone who violates the peace here, as Les Corts is primarily a warehouse district, and goods worth a king's ransom move through this district almost routinely.

Little Kurushat: The last neighborhood named for an ethnic component, this one lives up to its name, and the neighborhood is famous for its Kurushan architecture, signage, cuisine and more, although Kurushan presence is more muted than you'd expect. The neighborhood in general, though, has become a slum for all kinds of expatriates living in Port Liure, and it could as easily be named for any of them. Gang violence (and other violence, for that matter) is not unusual here, and the Watch sergeants who work this beat are reputed to be unflappable and highly used to all kinds of terrible things. Kaz's Crew‡, a gang of mostly drylanders, curiously, has much of the district in its grip, but other gangs work the area as well.

St. Vincent: An almost "anti-ethnic" neighborhood, the residents here are proud of their Pallaran heritage and have little patience for immigrants and the troubles that seem to follow them.  The Watch is firmly in the pocket of the Castiadas crime family here, who maintain a respectable façade.

Soddens: The poorest slum in the city, Soddens is supposed to be nearly lawless. In truth, the Watch keeps a strong presence here, but no matter what they do, it's insufficient. Firmly in the grip of crime families, all of the industry of this district is illicit—smuggling, drug dens, prostitution, slave markets—if it's illegal, or even frowned upon, it happens here. Life is cheap, and dead bodies in the street are hardly enough to spur the Watch to become concerned. Named for the thick fogs that roll off the hills and blanket this district, it's also notorious among those who tell these kinds of tales, as a haunted district, and much of the supernatural activity that rumors and ghost-stories love to regale are centered around Black Maria's Square, where old Jacob Bernat's daughter-in-law was supposedly executed in the early days of the city.

White Stones: Infamous as the headquarters of the Fuzeta da Ponte crime family, this neighborhood is named for the pale granite flagstones that make up much of its streets. Boats slip in and out of this neighborhood at all hours, and nobody asks too many questions of their neighbors, which keeps this a relatively peaceful neighborhood most of the time; although one infamous for things happening which are not supposed to.

Liure River: The Liure river runs right through Port Liure. Although it is not truly navigable beyond the city, small ferries, gondolas, and other small watercraft ply the river, as well as the many canals that spring off from the river and penetrate deeply into the city.  Because cool sea breezes blow in after dark, the river and the many canals are the source of frequent blankets of fog and mist that rise from the waters as the temperature changes.  This thick blanket of mist helps to cement and encourage the many legends and stories of hauntings and ghosts that have given Port Liure it's nickname as Port of Ghosts, but the persistence of the rumors and legends and stories... as well as the disquieting frequency with which new stories seems to be added to the corpus suggests to many that they are not merely quaint urban myths, but indicative of a much more serious condition.

Many such stories originate on the infamous Rua de Xavier.  The Rua is, strictly speaking, a bridge rather than a street, but the name persists regardless.  The Rua is almost a half mile long, and bridges the Academy to the Old Town district to the north.  Built on a series of stone starlings, the Rua is fairly wide, and has developed almost into a mini-neighborhood in its own right.  Buildings—houses, business, and more line both sides of the bridge, and hang out over the river to a considerable degree.  Many of them also overhang the street, so walking along the Rua is often compared to walking through a dim, man-made tunnel.

One of the most infamous buildings on the Rua is the vacant Church of Starry Wisdom.  Once a business owned by a locksmith, later converted into a pub, and later again into a meeting place for said church, this building is now often claimed to be haunted.  Five years ago, a cult was rousted from the Church after allegations of kidnappings, sacrifices, and odd summonings of unearthly, unnatural creatures.  After a closed trial, there was a very public execution of twenty-one individuals associated with the church.  Rumors hint at ten times that many members who slunk away quietly to disappear into the city.

Since that time, the ghosts of the executed members of the Church of Starry Wisdom are among the least of the stories that still remain.  Strange and furtive individuals are still said to lurk about the church at night.  Disquieting behavior from rats in the area is often reported, including a persistent rumor of a rat that has the face of a noted assistant of the executed "high priest" of the cult.  This fellow was know as Brown Jenkin, and a large rat with Brown Jenkin's face has been reported by no less than five people who live in the area nearby.  There are rumors that something that was summoned remains in the area. Perhaps trapped in the building of the church itself (hopefully) but perhaps not.  Residents nearby close and lock their doors on moonless nights, especially if the mists are up.

Strange sounds, often disembodied, are heard in the area.  Chittering sounds, or the chanting of many voices (although no source for the chanting can ever be found).  Sounds of uncertain provenance are frequent in Port Liure in general, and this is to be expected for a city that is frequently blanketed in thick mists, but the frequency of which they are reported in the Rua de Xavier is higher than anywhere else in the city.

Gradually, many people who live or work on the Rua itself have been selling out, often at a loss, and moving to other neighborhoods.  Sometimes this means new neighbors—an always troubling prospect in a city like Port Liure, but sometimes it simply means that buildings go vacant for months at a time as new owners attempt to figure out what to do with real estate that hangs over a bridge.  It is estimated that over the last five years, almost ten percent of the former inhabitants have left, and of that ten percent, probably about half have been replaced.  Five percent of the buildings on the Rua are vacant... but troublingly, not necessarily abandoned or empty.  Because the Rua is a bridge that connects to neighborhoods, it did not have an assigned Watch, but the Watch has since added the bridge to the route of the patrols for Old Town, and the Academy Guard also keeps a wary eye on the place.  This has improved the feeling of security for many in the area, but dark rumors persist.

† In St. Haspar, anyone who sells anything; a good, a service, a slave--no matter what—risks the wrath of whatever applicable guild governs his actions if he doesn't first buy a membership in the guild. This often isn't much money, especially for those who want to sell fruit from a cart, or be available for temp labor, or something like that—a single noble or other local gold coin for a year-long membership, for example—but because the Lord Governor gives these guilds tacit authority to police their industries, anyone who risks dodging guild membership is setting himself up for a severe beating and confiscation of his money and merchandise at best, or a permanent stint as shark food in the harbor at worst.

Some guilds, however, are more than simply shakedown rackets; some of them have a great deal of power, influence and money even beyond St. Haspar's borders. The Union of the Snake is one such guild. Because the Lord Governor has not deigned to outlaw or control any substance in St. Haspar, it has become the poison and drug capital of the Corsair Coast, and because the poison-maker's guild has decided to define drugs as long-term poisons that frequently have pleasant short-term effects but certainly poisonous long-term effects, the same guild monitors both poison and drug manufacturing and sales in St. Haspar and beyond. This wasn't always the case, but when almost all of the important guild heads of the drug producer's guild died in a single night, the poison maker's guild had made their point. Since St. Haspar is the capital for such activity throughout the Corsair Coast, that makes the colorfully named Union of the Snake one of the primary movers and shakers of the local economy, with a cash flow to make kings weep. Named for the deadly and subtle serpents that the poison-makers aspired to be compared to, the Union of the Snake has secret agents and assets in every major urban center in the entire Corsair Coast beyond.

Union members are much less casual about their affiliation than many other guilds in St. Haspar; most have a small tattoo of a poisonous asp or cobra on their wrists or ankles to identify themselves, they pay much larger dues, but in return get a great deal more support from the guild, especially in terms of contracted security for major shipments or deals. Although closely allied with the assassin's guild, outside of St. Haspar, expatriate Union of the Snake members often are themselves assassins, and can command a premium in many other markets such as Port Liure and elsewhere, known for their subtle use of poisons that sicken or kill their victims and make it appear like a completely natural death. Other contract killers, especially those associated with the Chersky Mafia are more brutal and appropriate when a message wants to be clearly communicated, but the Union of the Snake is infamous for its subtlety. 

‡ Port Liure has a reputation as a lawless, anarchic place. That's not entirely true. One of the conceits for its very existence; a necessary caveat for its powerful neighbors to the north accepting its bid as an independent city-state in the first place, is the establishment and enforcement of a rule of law in Port Liure, and agreeing to do so was old Jacob Bernat's key compromise in his bid to establish himself as the newly minted Lord of Port Liure at the end of the Pirate Wars 150 years ago. How seriously that endeavor has been taken over the years has, of course, waxed and waned. At its most stringent, the streets were nearly as clean as in any Timischer or Hillman city, and at its most lax, the Lord of Port Liure was little more than among the most prominent gangster warlords in the city, with the City Watch as his personal enforcers. Naturally, most of the time, it's somewhere in between.

But even at its most strident, the streets of Port Liure have never really been clean.  t's just not in the nature of Liurans to roll over and accept too much authority, and the result of that is that organized crime is one of the most enduring and notable features of the city.

Currently, the following are among the most prominent elements of organized crime in the city.

• The Chersky Mafia. Headquartered "overseas", this mafia was formed and remains run to this day by kemling crime bosses. Originally meant as a method to raise money and resources for a resurgent "glorious revolution" and revitalization of Baal Hamazi itself, as the years have passed, the patriotic zeal has proven fleeting. Most likely, the organized crime business is simply more profitable. Although nominally run by kemlings, in reality, they tend to be distant and rarely seen authority figures. Much of the actual muscle of these gangs are made up of shaggy urban woodwoses and local humans. They deal in the usual vices: prostitution (not strictly illegal in Port Liure, although discouraged in some locales), smuggling, drugs, protection rackets, bribery of officials, and the occasional contract killing.
• The Union of the Snake. A small group in Port Liure, this is actually a Hasparan outfit that specializes in assassination and poisonings. Because their reputation is so good, the business is incredibly lucrative, and they can charge so much, the Union has surprising clout given their small numbers. They are much more specialized than most, however.
• The Castiada Crime Family. A local Pallaran family business with estates on the mainland, which has grown over the years to be a major player in the city. Ruled by the "Old Gray Lady", it's not entirely clear who this person is. It's not entirely clear that it is in fact a single person, or even a person at all. Commonly, it's believed that the Old Gray Lady is a leader in disguise, and the actual running of the family is confined to a small group or triumvirate who take turns donning the Old Gray Lady's robes when the occasion demands. Some have made wilder claims; that the Old Gray Lady is the ghost of an ancient Castiada matron who still rules the family from beyond the grave being one popular tavern story, but if anyone knows the truth, they're not saying. In addition to playing in the usual vices, the Castiadas have made a concerted effort in the past to corral all the cat-burglars and pick-pockets in the city under their umbrella.  They haven't been completely successful, but they've managed to take a cut from a fair amount of them, and freelance operatives better learn to take very small, discrete steps around town or risk their brutal wrath.
• The Fuzeta da Ponte family. Another local gang, but one with tendrils extending throughout the Corsair Coast.  Old Man Heitor, the capo emeritus of the family, spent many of his younger years at sea as a pirate, and only retired to take over the organized crime business from his father when the sea lanes got too hot for him. He's now stepped aside for his own son, Leonardo, who plied the seas with a little more legitimacy, sailing with a letter of marque issued by the Lord of Port Liure himself. Fantastically connected, both locally with the nobility, abroad with various important VIPs throughout the region, and with a number of old pirates and smugglers on the waters as well, the Fuzeta da Ponte family might be the most potent player in the city, although their strength is difficult to estimate. Although they dabble in everything, their specialty is smuggling and piracy, and many pirates on the clear blue waters of the Kell Sea are sailing with debts owed to the Fuzeta da Ponte family, which they ensure they use as leverage to take a cut.
• Kaz's Crew.  Kazimir Bartunek's ancestors were drylanders from the north, as a casual glance at his name suggests. However, his family has lived in Port Liure for generations.  Seen by many as a newcomer, and therefore with some disdain, Kazimir's success derives from his reputation for potent, dangerous, and cursed witchery, which he learned from an old vampire hag he took as a lover while traveling in Timischburg. At least, so say the rumors. Regardless, his rise has been meteoric, and his crew have an almost unnatural, off-putting mien to them.  Few can say to have directly witnessed any action of witchcraft, but everyone whispers about it nonetheless.