Watersmeet

Watersmeet is the capital city of the Wonderlandian province of Motherland. Infamous for its “mean streets,” it has long been touted as the lasting legacy of the so-called False Kings. The inequality between the rich and the poor is on full display here, despite several kings and queens dedicating their lives and reigns to the pursuit of positive change.

Geography

The city sits at the confluence of the Bü‘ükopo Oadü and Novoya Volga. Like the great plains of Nalké on the northern side of the Oadü, this is a flat place and only lightly forested.

Early in the Second Age, in the time of Kings Vladimir I and Alexey I, there was a small patch of woodlands nearby called the King’s Wood. It was there that a feral yeti terrorized passersby for more than a decade. But during Alexey I’s reign, the spiteful king had the forest burned down. He claimed this was done to root out a gang of brigands and bandits who’d moved in after Queen Gretel’s slaying of the yeti, though whisperers said it was meant to be a dig at his huntress wife.

Architecture

Watersmeet is perhaps the oddest-looking of all the cities in Eden—at least to recently arrived Earthling refugees. While the city center and palace complex are a near-perfect copy of Moscow’s Red Square, the architecture in other places looks like it’s come straight out of a Hollywood western.

After the Conflagration of 144, which devasted much of the town, a third architectural style was introduced: Victorian steampunk.

Notable Landmarks

The city’s most recognizable landmark is its copy of Saint Basil’s Cathedral, which was used by Vladimir I and his successors as the royal palace. Beyond that, the “western” section of town is home to the Lasso Lounge—birthplace of both Frieda Jacobs and of the Sisterhood of Sex Workers. And then, of course, there is the bridge over the Novoya Volga now called Vlad’s Crossing. It was there that Vladimir I brought an end to the Fight for the Field of Plenty with an army of wooden soldiers.