Ethran: Merelan City

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Merelan started out as a Merlish fishing village that was invaded by the Blucrans about five hundred years ago. The Blucrans discovered what they believed to be the sacred pool in which Rusaar spawned the life of their world near its peak, and they built the temple of Rusaar to protect it from the common hordes. The city grew in size owing to the steady flow of Ruzarian pilgrims, and the defeated Merles were pushed out towards the outskirts and around the harbour, where they continue to fish the surrounding ocean and feed the growing number of hungry mouths. More and more nowadays those mouths are driven to the city by hunger, not faith, since Ethran is in the grip of a deepening drought that seems to have no end.

There is a large fish market on the flats beneath the frowning cliffs on the north side of the island, and everywhere the homes of the people are snuck up against the cliff or borrowed into it for protection from the screamers - toothless pterodactylian predators capable of scooping up the unwary... and swallowing them alive.

This initial sketch shows the extent of the temple grounds on the peak of the island, and the ridges radiating out from that peak. I have also sketched in the names of the regional parts of the city, and marked where the observatory is on the north side of the island's cap.

Since this is the first city I have ever attempted, your advice would be most welcome

These two images are the first and the current versions.