Black Wharf (Korihana)

The Black Wharf district in the port town of Korihana (located on the northeast coast of the Illuminated Peaks), long an annoyance to the local administrator, has become a serious threat since Ishi claimed the Illuminated Peaks as his own kingdom and slowly began to close its borders.

Since The Destruction, the movements of non-natives within the Peaks has been increasingly limited, and both nobles and Imperial Guard are forbidden to enter the Peaks unescorted (or so the edicts from Kamitokai state...). Concurrently, a stricter control over the flow of goods in and out of the Peaks has curtailed the profitable lives of many who have relied on the steady stream of commerce.

With many goods now outlawed, black markets have sprung up around the kingdom to meet the demand, particularly in coastal or border towns.

Korihana is no exception.

Despite its name, the Black Wharf district is a spectrum of greys, where the lines of morality and ethics are both hazy and constantly in motion. Town guards are not above bribery, and even the hardest of criminals are hailed as saints for their charitable activities.

But while the Black Wharf district is the source of most of Korihana's illicit activity, it is not entirely corrupt. Many citizens are trapped there, struggling to hang to a legal lifestyle, too poor to relocate, and fighting to remain outside the clutches of criminality. For all the talk of the necessary sacrifices in the name of safety, it's often hard for Korihana's citizens to look at the endless oceans to the east and the formidable mountain range to the west and not feel trapped under the isolationist policies of Ishi.