Kortiki
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Danger: Low
Inhabitants: Fairies, humans, nekos, elves, Tinies
Characters: Mezzus
Under construction
Kortiki is a town situated deep in the Fairy kingdom. It's fairly large by fairy standards and represents a rare exception in Felarya. Indeed, for some unknown reason, the place was declared neutral ground long ago and thus, even though it's a fairy town, it's a relatively safe place for a human to visit or live in. Theories abound on the reasons for this, but when you ask a fairy, all you will get in reply is that eating a guest is "rude and not nice at all"! You could still end up in the belly of a fairy if you do something stupid and rude yourself, but fairies are pretty tolerant and, as long as you don't act really foolishly, by attempting to steal the wares of a merchant for example, the risk of that happening is very low. Some humans and nekos have been living in this safe haven for dozens of years without any problem. Living among fairies is a strange experience though, as they have very little sense of privacy and won't hesitate to invade your home and play pranks. You also can't completely shake that feeling that those friendly creatures remain fearsome predators and that some of them would see very little wrong in shrinking you and gobbling you down, should you encounter them in the wild.
The town is a peaceful, colorful, and beautiful place. Nature is everywhere with some houses built directly inside hollow trees and lianas and vines creeping their way inside. It's interesting to note that many fairies seem fascinated by human architecture and some have tried to build vague replicas of the houses the human inhabitants of Kortiki have built for themselves. Some fairies take an even easier route and decide to elect permanent residence inside a human's house, often much to the dismay of the owner. If a fairy moves into your house, you can expect things to get fun, really fast (and by "fun", read "fun for others to hear about"!). Some fairies have taken a liking to domestic appliances, and unaware of (or disregarding) their original purpose, prefer to live inside chests of drawers, clocks, or even pianos.
The Kortikian culture is an odd and unique blending of the original fairy culture and of that brought by humans over the years. Artists of all sorts are highly regarded in Kortiki and the city is full of painters, poets, and musicians. On some rare occasions, rosic nekos coming from the other side of the continent make their way here as well. Kortiki is also a great place to visit if you seek old, rare books as fairies are fond of reading and the town possesses several libraries.
Access
Reaching Kortiki is very difficult and perilous, as it is situated deep in the core of the kingdom. You have little hope of making it there through normal means if you don't know a fairy who can transport you there. There is however a portal leading directly to it in the Forest of whispers, situated west of the Lake of illusions. It's well hidden though and a canopy fairy dwells on top of it. Her job is to guard it and eat any trespasser who doesn't know the password, usually by simply placing a belly trap just before the gate. She can also quickly deactivate the portal if necessary.
Trade
Kortiki trades with a few other settlements, including Negav. Of course trade with Negav is low-key and discrete as Negavian authorities look very dimly on any form of contact with a fairy town, at last officially. However, to both parties involved in the trade, it looks pretty obvious the magiocrats know of those activities but turn a blind eye on it, since Kortiki has a wide variety of interesting commodities to offers, such as rare plants growing only in the fairy Kingdom, that can be useful ingredients in alchemy, potion crafting , or more simply in rare and exotic dishes. As for Negavians, they know well how fond of books fairies are and will mostly trade them, along with various intriguing trinkets.
Thus, every now and then a caravan from Kortiki will quietly settle in the jungle relatively neear to Negav, meet with its contact in the city and conclude the trade, usually as a barter, under the protection of several giant-sized fairies to prevent any outside interference. The goods are then transported back to Kortiki, with the help of those fairies.
Organization
Other races in Kortiki
For a human, neko, or elf, living right in the midst of fairies is a strange and unnerving experience. You have to be pretty open-minded and patient, for sure, and having a certain fondness or fascination for fairies in the first place will also help you to not turn crazy. On the other hand, fairies are probably the best revelers in all Felarya and a big fairy party is something you'll never forget! Because they are so used to living among fairies, humans in Kortiki have a much better understanding on how their mind works, their quirks and those little things that you can pick up only after years of life in common. Thus, a human from Kortiki would be much less helpless when encountering a fairy in the wild, than say a Negavian, as they naturally interact better with them. They would have a real way to talk their way out of trouble, or even to get the fairy to help them.
That relation is mutually beneficial. Non-fairy inhabitants live in safety, while they can help fairies solve some of their problems. For example, a group of humans would have no trouble whatsoever in clearing a bush of feyweed, while fairies would be likely to suffer casualties. It's interesting to note that fairies don't really see sizes as relevant, so they will deal with tinies in Kortiki just as they do with its humans inhabitants.
- Credits to Stabs and for ideas to develop Kortiki town.
