mejoze

Mejoze is a fictional city-state in the world of Arcadia, created for worldbuilding and speculative fiction. It sits along a twisting network of inland canals that connect fertile river basins to a gulf harbor, enabling both irrigation and trade. The Mejozean climate is temperate with distinct wet and dry seasons, supporting crops such as rice, barley, and citrus.

Founded by a federation of port towns, Mejoze grew into a mercantile republic whose wealth depended on guild networks and transit tolls. During its golden era, the city welcomed sailors, artisans, and merchants from neighboring regions, fostering a cosmopolitan culture. The decline that followed shifts in trade routes and a series of floods is a common theme in Mejozean history, though the city retained regional influence through crafts and shipbuilding.

The government is a merchant council where guild delegates elect a Prefect who presides over the executive. Laws blend customary practices with codified statutes, particularly in property, contracts, and canal management. The economy centers on trade, shipyards, textiles, ceramics, and metalwork, with the canal network generating steady revenue from tolls and service industries.

Mejozean society is diverse, with communities speaking related dialects and sharing a pluralistic religious landscape. Public life centers on the Great Market, canal-side promenades, and annual festivals such as the Tide of Lamps, which marks seasonal transitions with lantern processions and music.

Mejoze has appeared in worldbuilding compendiums and some fantasy literature as an archetype of a thriving mercantile republic framed by water and infrastructure.