Opleneer

Opleneer's fabulous waterfront

The city of Opleneer, resplendent on the shores of a glittering sea, lies at the southern tip of the land of Elothnin. The landscape of the area takes the shape of a coastal plain, with rolling hills gradually descending towards expansive beaches of beautiful sand that varies in color from a bright white, to a brick red, to a dark black-blue in some areas. The city is centered around a deep, natural harbor sheltered from the squalls that routinely hit the coast by a set of high cliffs that allow wayward sailors to weather even the most adverse conditions. The city further takes advantage of its location with the creation of a series of canals that allow goods to be moved efficiently throughout large segments of the city.

The inhabitants of Opleneer span a wide spectrum from gruff, gritty seamen and roustabouts, to the most refined patrons of the art in all Elothnin, but the city's most noteworthy residents are the artists themselves. The birthplace of Elothnin's traditional art form, silothil, has the highest concentration of artists any area in the country. The bulk of these artists are of the starving variety, eking out wages through a variety of less-than glamorous professions. The city itself reflects this wealth of creative force, with an almost unwieldy amount of glass fountains and other works of art littering every available open space.

In addition to its historical significance, the nation's artists are attracted to Opleneer because of its reputation as being accepting of and willing to reward individuals with artistic talent, regardless of the milieu into which they were born. Ambitious youths from even the most remote corners of Elothnin have been able to come the great City of Glass and become famous through a combination of skill, luck, and charm. However, the artistic set of Opleneer society is also notoriously fickle, often abandoning one artist or style after another at a truly staggering rate. Nevertheless, both in terms of quality and quantity, the birthplace of silothil is the undisputed leader of Elothninian art.

The city is also distinguished from its counterparts by its renowned university system. Though they do not offer as thorough an education in the sciences as those of Neerhemhind, the universities of Opleneer are at the forefront of Elothninian philosophical and literary thought. The city's artists are kept company by a thriving community of bohemians aspiring to excellence in the written word.