Drawbacks of Syliras
From Mizahar Lore
For all that Syliras has a reputation for being a shining beacon of hope and light for humanity - and for all that it actually is a happy little beacon - that doesn't mean the city is without it's problems. What follows are some of your Storytellers' opinions on what the drawbacks of Syliras are. It's ain't all pretty, people.
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Dusk's Breakdown
When it comes down to it, Syliras is a vicious dictatorship. Vicious. The Syliran Knights rule it with a gauntlet-covered iron fist. For all that they have a Council to hear cases and a little jail cell to keep you in until you get sentenced to several horrible years of backbreaking labor for your crimes, they would just as soon kill you if you look at them funny. Think about it - there are 7000 people in charge of 50,000. Do you really think they have time to wonder if you're actually a good guy who just happened to look like he was attacking someone? Nope. They'll just stab you, until they feel as if they've stabbed you enough.
If you're not doing anything expressly illegal but you earn yourself the ire of the knights, they'll simply grab you by the back of the neck and haul you to the city gates, chuck you out of them, and leave you to fend for yourself. Living in Syliras is a privilege which they allow, and they're just as likely to revoke it whenever they please.
Also, those who are living in Syliras or staying for an extended period of time who are either unemployed or don't seem to be contributing anything to the society as a whole will find themselves press-ganged into service somewhere. Oh, you'll be paid wages for your work, but everyone works. Beggars and buskers are soon to find themselves hauled off the streets and set to doing something worthwhile.
If you are a magic user, you're as like to get shot full of arrows for pulling off a spell as you are to accomplish whatever goal you had. Visible magic, and most especially offensive magic, is looked upon with automatic suspicion and hostility. Yes, there are mage knights, and someone who wishes to do enchanting can easily find themselves a very lucrative trade, but when average citizens start throwing reimancy around, they can expect swift repercussions.
Slavers get killed. Done. Slaves get freed, whether they wanted to or not, and if they can't adjust to real life then the knights will find them employment. Everyone is useful, and freedom is a very subjective sort of concept.
And those who are actual knights have a great deal of privileges and rewards for doing so, but they're held to very high standards. Those who fall behind or openly flout the oaths and responsibilities given to them will find themselves with less mercy than those citizens who commit crimes.
Archon's Breakdown
While many of the other cities about Mizihar have their groups of people that are uncared for or despised, Syliras makes an effort to not have such people. Those who obey the rules and don't upset the Knights can live in relative peace and comfort, but with Syliras being a military-focused dictatorship it functions much like a machine, and such machines care little if some of the workers get ground in the gears during their work.
Yes, the Knights are highly respected, honored, and compensated for their efforts, but anyone else in the city would not receive such treatment. A widow of a Knight can likely find employment with the Knights, but what of the widow of a man who died working the docks? If a Knight is injured in their duty they have access to healers to help them get well, but what of the worker who is injured while maintaining the citadel?
The outer shell of goodness and nobility that Syliras holds up would do little to help protect the little, unimportant people from the cold, uncaring machine that powers the city's military might.
Templar's Breakdown
99 out of 100 Kelvics dislike Syliras, why? Because the city is crowded. Overcrowded. Anyone unimportant will get a 20 x 20 room to live in. Which is not a whole lot of space, especially since it has no natural light. It is cramped and anyone with claustrophobia would run screaming away from the city. Step out of your room, and there are people... There are many, many people and they have some place to go. You're in their way. They are pushing you out of the way. Stop blocking the hallway.
99 out of 100 Kelvics dislike Syliras, why? Because they have a finer sense of smell than you. 50,000 people are living closely together and they eat and drink closely together. That food and water has to go somewhere. That somewhere doesn't smell very nice. Many places in Syliras STINK. Reek. Torches are everywhere, polluting the air. Knights are everywhere, sweating in their heavy armor. Stinking the place up even more.
Leviathan's Breakdown
Syliras has knights! But wait, isn't that a good thing? Yes! Yes it is a very very VERY good thing. If you live in Syliras, these dudes and ladies keep you safe and cozy-comfortable in your little stone rooms you call a home. If you are a Billy Bob Blacksmith or Sally Sue Servinglady in a tavern, your life is perfect, safe, and you never ever need to worry about violence coming down on your pathetic boring little head. If you are Sorry Sam Stabber or Painful Patrick Punchaholic, then there's another story. You are in trouble for existing. Yep, the knights aren't your friends, which makes them your enemies. Oh, and did I mention that your enemies are everywhere? Did I mention that your enemies rule your city? Did I mention that even if they aren't your enemies, or if you're Bonny Betty Betrayer, then you may not join their Cool Kid Club? Yeah, they have this tree, and it knows if you are good or bad, like Santa Claus, except not so nice with Christmas Goodies. He knows if you are a lying sack of manure trying to breach the Knights to cause catastrophe from the inside out, which means you will not get your chance to cause catastrophe from the inside out. In fact, you'd be lucky to survive.
Speaking of survival, did I mention that it is easy to do that in Syliras? Well, you know, if you are Brandon Builder McInnocentPerson or Tasha Tailor. If you are Carl CageFighterGuy then you are gonna be in trouble. To make things better, they are racists. *Gasp!* Yes, the truth is difficult to swallow. If you are an Akalak, Symenestra, Nuit, Zith, Myrian, or a Murderer then you are likely to die if you so much as give a dirty look or don't have the correct table manners. There are no real second chances for these Unmentionables. You make a mistake, you are exiled or, quite possibly, dead.