Wooham

Wooham, ironically named the Golden City, is mostly a black blotch on the skyline. It received this name from its humble origins, belief that gold was in the land. The settlers drove away the natives and began to tear away at the ground. But, there was very little actual gold, instead they found black gold. Coal. The stuff became extremely popular, and within only a few short years, coal was in more demand than gold.

As such, the city’s population skyrocketed, and there just wasn’t enough housing to fit everyone. Quickly, slums began to develop on and around Coal mines, and miners would abandon the second a strike looked to be ending. These would grow to be the slums. Factories were built to lessen the cost of sending the coal to different parts of the world, and soon they were exporting all kinds of trade goods. One of their most popular, the automobile.

Gerald “Mongoose” Thaimor was one of the big names that began to pour money into the city, and as such, he generally could do whatever he wanted. His children, and their children, and so on have continued that tradition, and with the added effort of the coal mines now being owned by one family, they quickly took control of the city, and made it into whatever they pleased. Often times disobeying laws they pushed for, just to get a slight advantage over any competition.

This corruption grew and even infected the City Guard, well known as the Legion. The Legion was brutal to its recruits, treating them worse than the criminals, which some thought impossible. But every member that survived the boot camp came out a hardened soldier. It is said that one hundred members of the Legion took on an army ten times its size and won. Now, that isn’t quite true, but it displays the qualities the Legion prefers. Hard working, no nonsense, and loyal people. They whip them into a military obedience, and then march into war with the people of their own city.

Almost no one in Wooham can say they weren’t accosted by the guards at some point. Maybe a neighbor was doing something fishy, and dragged the whole neighborhood in with them. Or their kid joined a gang. Somehow, everyone has been affected by the Legion’s brutal, though effective, law keeping. However, some have found that loosening their coin purse can cut them a better deal or even get free entirely.

However, not all is bad in Wooham, the Middle Class and Upper Class enjoy a relatively safe lifestyle away from the majority of factories. In fact, many turn a blind eye to what goes on in the slums, preferring to forget they even exist. After all, worrying about some other person typically lowered one’s profits.