Sushit

Biodata

Geography and Districts

• Central peninsula: Contains Bols, Lower Korus, and the Old District. These districts hold most of the population and much of the city’s administrative, commercial, and industrial activity 14 117.
• Rivers: The Sona separates Saint-Roc District from Bols District. The Rhine lies west of Bols and provides a shipping route to other cities; the Old District stands near the rivers’ confluence 14 50 117.
• Surroundings: Fauville Mountain rises southeast of the city, while windmills on Korus Mountain supply power to textile workshops. Farmland and Earl Foulis’s hilltop castle lie along the eastern post road 11 41 85.
• City walls: By Charlotte’s arrival, the walls have become historical relics rather than an effective barrier to leaving the city 11.

Economy and Transport

Textile Industry

• Employment: Roughly 40 percent of residents work directly or indirectly in textiles 76.
• Production: More than 10,000 looms operate throughout the city, mostly in homes and small workshops dependent on skilled manual labor 76.
• Traditional machinery: Both plain-silk looms and patterned Jacquard looms are large and cumbersome, generally requiring two or three skilled workers. Some stand nearly two stories tall, explaining the open interiors of many Lower Korus workshops 79.
• Mechanical power: Workshops near the rivers use water power; others receive windmill power from Korus Mountain. The Church of the Artisan promoted and maintains these systems, making machinery an important foundation of its local influence 41 52.
• Markets: Sushit’s silk reaches Trier, Loen, and Feynapotter through cart and ship transport 102.
• Roselle’s proposed reforms: Roselle begins with improved looms intended to reduce dependence on skilled labor and make centralized production practical, creating eventual demand for steam power 76.

Publishing

• Sushit Weekly: Founded by Roselle Gustav, Green Randall, Charlotte Sauron, and Morvan Durand. Their contributions include content and technical improvements, printing and distribution resources, political permissions, legal expertise, and investment 31 32.
• Launch distribution: The first issue has a planned print run of 1,000 copies. Sales channels include freight networks, bookstores, cafés, participating shops, and temporary street sellers near King’s Road and the bridges 49.
• Expansion: Improved printing and rising sales lead the printing house to hire more workers and distributors to employ children as newspaper sellers. The paper subsequently announces twice-weekly publication 94 118.
• Supernatural censorship: As the city’s only newspaper at that point, it becomes a focus of official efforts to prevent public exposure of Beyonder incidents. Benjamin Mori helps intercept dangerous material on behalf of the Machinery Hivemind 126 127.

Transport Links

• Roads: A northbound post road connects Sushit toward Trier. The kingdom’s post roads use gravel and crushed stone, with stone reinforcement on uneven stretches, signposts, and milestones 50.
• Waterways: Rhine cargo boats transport goods including silk and timber. They are cheaper than overland travel but uncomfortable for passengers and potentially slower when traveling upstream 50.
• Travel costs: Coach fares can consume several months of a worker’s or farmer’s savings, leaving many residents unable to travel far from their birthplace 50.

Government and Public Security

Civil Administration

• City Hall: A locally distributed bulletin generally requires its permission and a reputable guarantor 19.
• Sheriffs: Sushit has twenty sheriff positions. Charlotte’s assessment describes most officeholders as opportunists who obtain their positions through money and connections, then use their authority to recover the expense 97.
• Blocked police reform: Sheriffs and their associated interests obstruct attempts to reorganize the Patrol and Firearm Guard into a police system modeled on Trier’s 97.
• Public complaints: Old District residents accuse night watchers of bullying vagrants while ignoring criminals. Lower Korus workers accuse sheriffs of protecting merchants unless paid to act otherwise 107.
• Firearms: Openly carrying guns is legally restricted, although ordinary citizens with sufficient money can purchase them 79.

Official Beyonders

• Limited personnel: The city has only around twenty official Beyonders for more than 200,000 residents 97.
• Shared responsibility: The Purification-ers, Machinery Hivemind, and military divide incidents geographically. Cases involving particular religious affiliations or family backgrounds may be transferred or investigated jointly 29.
• Regional response: Incidents in outlying villages and countryside are usually handled by whichever official Beyonders are nearest and receive the report first 29.
• Emergency measures: Simultaneous incidents are prioritized by danger, with support requested from other dioceses and dangerous Sealed Artifacts deployed when necessary 97.
• Underground gatherings: Both Churches monitor local Beyonder gatherings. Their observed trade largely involves low-level exchanges, stimulants, and fraudulent formulas rather than readily available Sequence 8 ingredients 106.
• Information sharing: The Churches protect their institutional secrets and Sealed Artifacts but exchange intelligence about threats to the entire city 132.

Notable Locations

History and Major Events

Earlier Textile Unrest

Before Roselle and Green were born, silk merchants jointly lowered purchase prices, provoking a major demonstration. Protesters temporarily controlled the Old District—then the city’s most prosperous area—and demanded intervention from City Hall. Warehouse looting and attempts to spread the unrest followed, prompting City Hall to summon the Anai Fort garrison to suppress it 100.

Events During the Story