Vilyacoron, the Old City, from below
Clancapaill is a bustling city of some considerable size; in fact it is the largest city of the North with a population of 50,000 or more. It is the main port of call for coasters trading between the North and South1, being built on and around rocky bluffs at the mouth of the River Donn, which meanders down from the snowbound mountains of the Northwest.
Like most large settlements, Clancapaill is built over, and from, an older city, which had itself been built on the ruins of a yet earlier one. The site has been continuously inhabited for aeons, far longer than any known records tell. Nobody knows who (or what) the original builders were.
The city is comprised of two parts — the Old city, built into and on the bluffs overlooking the sea, and the New City on the river-flats below. The New City isn't really very new any more, but the Old City is undeniably old; it was already in existence (and deserted) when the Elves settled the site over twelve thousand years ago and called it Vilyacoron. The Elves are now also long gone from Clancapaill, but the Old City remains.
Relatively few make their homes up in the Old City (not more than two or three thousand at most), despite the fact that there are ancient palaces up there standing empty and free for the taking. It's widely held down in the New City that the only people who would live up there by choice are freaks, perverts, weirdos and wizards, or else outcasts who can't find anywhere decent to live down by the river. However, not all the inhabitants of the Old City are freaks, perverts, weirdos or wizards; there are some very old, rich and respected families whose ancestral homes are there (though it must be said that they tend to live elsewhere).
Beneath the streets of the Old City are networks of basements and tunnels2 which are now used as sewers, but which were originally the streets and buildings of an earlier age. The under-city has an ecology and society of its own, separate from and hostile to that of the surface-dwellers. The denizens of the tunnels occasionally venture cautiously out at night to scavenge what they can and then to retreat again; they are usually blamed for any mysterious disappearances, whether it be of goods, livestock or people. In general the under-city dwellers are timid, but from time to time they can be dangerous, and sewer workers seldom venture down in groups of less than three or four.
The day-to-day running of the city is carried out by a reasonably efficient bureaucracy, headed by an appointee of the Guild Lords' Council who holds the post of Ar'slaf3, an office of considerable power. In fact, so far-reaching is the power of the Ar'slaf that it is quite difficult to remove one once he has the reins, so the Guild masters tend to go to great pains to make sure that candidates for the job are malleable ciphers who can be relied on to do what they are told. For this reason, the job almost invariably goes to someone of advanced years, normally as a sort of retirement reward to one who will just quietly enjoy the perquisites of the position and not make a fuss. From time to time though, an Ar'slaf is installed who proves to be more venal, or more idealistic, than had been perceived, and when that happens life in the city can get quite interesting until the offending official can be removed — one way or another.
The economic life of Clancapaill is controlled by an elaborate guild system. There are few occupations that do not come under the auspices of some guild or other, besides casual day-labourers and the like. Each guild is jealous of its own preserve and will raise a howl of outrage at any perceived encroachment, and tradesmen who attempt to do business without guild approval (and without paying guild dues) are likely to find their stock burnt and their bones broken at the very least. Each guild is headed by a Guild Lord appointed according to the particular customs of their guild, each of whom is entitled to appear and vote at the Guilds Councils that are held every few months. Naturally, not all guilds are of equal power or influence; the Night-soil Collectors' Guild, for example, is not held in as high esteem as the Goldsmiths' Guild, though it might be well argued that they are far more essential to the regular life of the city.
There are several powerful officers outside the guilds who are important to the welfare of the city. The Ar'cuan is the harbour-master, having final authority over any matters to do with the wharves and the harbour, and has the power to arbitrate between any of the guilds that operate within his sphere of control. The Ar'garda is responsible for the armed defence of the city, as well as providing a City Watch to keep the peace within its walls. He also controls the city's prison, and is responsible for carrying out the sentences of the criminal courts. Those courts, and the investigation and prosecution of crime in Clancapaill and its immediate environs, is the responsibility of the Ar'dain and his judges.