Parala, the underwater kingdom
About
Parala is a hot spot for commerce (due to its strategic geopolitical location) and technology. To the West it has the Bombelwind Peninsula (Dwarf Kingdom and halflings), to the South there is Ilphanhain (Wood elves empire), to the East Feylinum (mostly uninhibited but some satyrs live there), to the North the Ekoris continent (orcs, yuan-ti…).
But the most important aspect of its location is the proximity to Crystal Crest Island (Gnome Las Vegas). Parala has been able to exploit its own resources and its trade both in the surface and underwater (since recent scientific development has allowed to create a sort “underwater bubble” around a small area of the city for surface visitors). Thanks to all of this it remains one of the richest cities of the continent with jaw-dropping underwater architecture.
Different intelligent underwater species live in it, but the two main ones are the Merfolk (which the Royal Family is part of) and the Cephlopods (a humanoid-octopus species). The political system of the city is complex, as it is a symbiotic relationship between both species: the Cephlopods are in charge of technological development as they are very intelligent, but they are very frail and their lifespan is very short; while the merfolk are in charge of the military to protect their scientists and compose the monarchy due to their larger lifespan (they are generally considered wiser to take political decisions thanks to their own experience).
Nevertheless, the political power of the royal family has been reduced over the last couple of centuries through its democratization: political decisions are taken jointly by the Royal Family and the City Council (conformed by 12 Cephlopods).