Offetstine

Offetstine
Country	England
Region	Yorkshire and the Humber[amend]
Population	~20 000 (c. 1998)
Incorporated	c. 800—900

Offetstine (/ˈɔf.ɛtˌstaɪn/, GenAm: 🔊 listen) is the eponymous town of its respective fictional world, a small seaside town of about 20 000 people and the center of the Greater Offetstine Area. Despite being comparatively rural and diminutive in relation to its neighbors, including Hallingmere and Winthorpe, Offetstine is the heart of significant amounts of demi-human and magical activity.

Despite its small size, Offetstine is a center of demi-human activity and magical energy. Estimates suggest that as many as 1 in 600 people in Offetstine are demi-human, as opposed to a much more lax estimate of 1 in 20 000 worldwide. However, these statistics are presented weakly by virtue of the Masquerade. While many businesses are established in neighboring cities which have established themselves as commercial centers, many criminal organizations such as the Coalition are or were headquartered specifically in Offetstine due to its relation to magic. Demi-human families often choose to live and raise their children in Offetstine, as closeness to magic and comparatively increased freedom of expression amidst the Masquerade are much-vaunted benefits of the city.

A map by Vampy showing the town of Offetstine in full detail.

Geographically, Offetstine is trisected by the Stenbrook River^[amend], which converges at a delta near the city center and harborside of Offetstine. Upstream follows west from the delta as well as south. The city center is bordered on the east by a small beach, and many of the old attractions of the town, including its library, cathedral and the Offetstine Castle are south of the delta.

History

Offetstine in its modern form was most likely initially incorporated in the 9th or 10th century. The exact details of the history of Offetstine are lost to time. While attempts to recover and preserve the history of Offetstine are largely without success, many historians and anthropologists who believe in magical epistemology have not given up hope in restoring the town's storied history.

The precise origin of the town's name is unknown, although it is suspected to be a corruption of the Old English phrase *"of ān stān" (lit. "of one stone", "upon one stone")^[amend] and has previously been attested in the forms "Offestine" and "Offenstine" before the modern "Offetstine". The exact mechanic of the sound shift is likely lost to time, although it is suspected the term was filtered through a folk language spoken by demi-human populations before the Masquerade was as prevalent in Offetstine as it is presently.

Before its present settlement, though, Offetstine was likely occupied for centuries. Prior to approximately AD 43, the region was occupied by various human and demi-human tribes and was free from the Masquerade. Little information remains about the nature and culture of these early tribes, although it is likely that they saw the approximate geographical bounds of modern-day Offetstine as belonging to a trading port for mages and demi-humans, and the river that ran through it as the fountain and heart of its magical energy.

Over time, especially following Roman colonization over the following years, the city's native population was ousted while its magical proclivity remained. Magic was forgotten over time by the general human public as demi-humans began to live in isolated environments, leading the Masquerade to Offetstine. While the settlement grew and developed as a regular human town, it remained the host to an abundance of magical energy. Demi-humans who lived in the town's outskirts or who donned human masks, and mages who continued their practice, maintained the true nature of the town well into the modern age. To date, Offetstine is seen as not only a refuge location, but a capital location, for demi-humans and mages.