Netena

Netena (called Demza by foreign visitors, and The Leech by detractors) is a city hosting the only official civilian port in the Stitched Lands, and the one place outsiders are permitted without special supervision or permission. Originally, the Stitched Lands were entirely closed to foreigners, but internal and external pressure led to the opening of a restricted trade port which quickly grew into a large settlement.

Physically, Netena is its own small island connected to the mainland by a bridge. Its perimeter cliffs are almost entirely covered in docks and shipyards, and much of its interior is occupied by accomodations for merchant sailors and the native merchants permitted to trade with them. To most visitors, it's a fairly normal port city, so long as you intend to leave by airship— but for those who go looking, the tension between the Stitched Lands' deliberate isolation and external forces trying to gain a foothold is easy to find.

Netena has almost no local government of its own, existing entirely under the purview of the Stitched Lands' government and military. Life in the city for permanent residents is very different for natives and foreigners: Natives of the Stitched Lands can leave easily, but outsiders find that the island is an effective prison. Even then, there is plenty to do in the city, a lot happens in major trade hubs!

Locations

Root Quarter

Almost all of Netena's food — both for inhabitants and ship stores — is grown by farmers deeper in the Stitched Lands. The Root Quarter is an old neighborhood near Netena's side of the bridge, made up mostly of accomodations for the farmers, merchants, and caravans bringing food in. Catering mostly to natives rather than foreign sailors, its architecture and local attitudes often seem unusual, and its working-class inns and taverns are a popular destination for travelers who want to push the boundaries and meet locals, or for poorer inhabitants who don't have the option to leave to the Stitched Lands proper.

Gate Fortress

The Root Quarter is welcoming enough, but the fortress at its center is not. The approach to the bridge is fiercely guarded by a high stone fortress, containing customs and entry facilities in addition to the island's guard. It is, in a sense, Netena's government center.

Bone Pier

Skybeasts are rarely hunted for construction materials any more, so only the oldest docks on Netena are made from these enormous weightless ribs. Nowadays, it's rarely used for commercial traffic; the architectural icon mostly serves to greet diplomats and official delegations from the rest of the Independent Islands of Loft. Stitched Landers less concerned about foreign influence have opened a few museums and galleries in the historically-important area too, showing off local culture to visitors.

Captain's Row

Located near the Bone Pier for prestige as much as convenience, Captains' Row is a neighborhood of manors and mansions in local style available for wealthier travelers to rent, usually only the captains of particularly prosperous merchant ships or visiting dignitaries.

The Row supports a surprisingly large segment of the local economy; the large semi-living manor houses and their attached gardens have to be carefully tended to, and the wealthy guests usually demand security.

Temple Plaza

Foreign religion only has a small presence in Netena, but sailors and travelers still want to commune with their gods. The temples are respectable places — largely since Stitched Lands authorities carefully vet any priests and clerics who wish to work in the area. Problems here instead usually stem from the close proximity of many temples and churches that don't always like each other terribly much.

Market Square

The large-scale alchemical trade that really moves money in the Stitched Lands is almost exclusively handled in the offices of farming and cultivation interests, but there are other things to sell in Netena. The Market Square was originally a public plaza under a grand clocktower donated by Cael Pluma, but it was rapidly and haphazardly overtaken by an open-air market. Craftscreatures and traders from across the Stitched Lands come here to sell sundries to travelers, and less reputable types find other ways to extract money from tourists.

Cyclamen Hospital

The hospital is a beautiful organic building, a twisting structure of wood and leaves that regularly blooms into a mountain of pink flowers. Originally, it was meant to care for ship crews and inhabitants of Netena itself, but the Stitched Lands' access to medicines and the skill of its healers has drawn attention. For outsiders who can afford to travel for medical care, Netena's hospital is the best around. The healers are reluctant to prioritize patients just because they're rich, though, leading to some conflict with powerful outsiders.

Splintersquall Shipyards

There are quite a few shipyards in Netena, for repair and construction, using the unique materials and techniques available in the Stitched Lands. None are so notably disreputable as Splintersquall, though. It only builds ships on paper, with several incomplete half-dead husks littered around the facility. It has connections to just about every criminal organization in the Stitched Lands and outside, and is almost certainly the site of several smuggling operations.

Hanging Gardens

The Hanging Gardens are a hidden gem of Netena. Most apartments and inns for sailors are crowded, mostly-adequate places, but the lodgings built in platforms and bridges suspended under the island are downright pleasant. Some locals cultivate fragile plants in the shade, too, turning the neighborhood into a strange floating forest.