The City of Bree
The capital city of the Kahn province is perhaps the smallest in both square kilometers and population, compared to any other province (though many are still unsure how to consider the cities of Sed and FrostRight in the census). The city of Bree, named after the fabled Kahn brothers (Bree Kahn and Dree Kahn) rests at the tip of a long peninsula separate from the Gulf of Kahn. 
Though it is surrounded almost entirely by water, the city is a true desert city. The stone buildings that make up the area are built in circular or teardrop shapes to protect against the relentless buffeting of the desert sands and are clustered together near the shore. Very few people actually live within the city, and those that do, work at the docks or as traders in the small markets.
Far to the northeast of the Kahn province is the land of Sed where a majority of Atla’s goods are manufactured and produced. Because there are no significant ports on the eastern side of Atla, Bree is and has been for many years, the first stop for all goods coming from Sed by ship (since the northern route has proved impossible by ship). However, in recent years the railcarts have gained a significant role in transcontinental trade. Because of this, Bree has become somewhat desolate as Sed has shifted almost exclusively to rail shipping.
Few ships come by Bree in recent days, and the once booming economy that came with the simultaneous growth of the manufacturing plants in Sed and shipping explosion, has vanished. The Bay of Prosperity that was at one time as busy as FreePort has now become an ironic footnote in few history books. At one time the city held more than 200,000 people just along the coast. At the height of the industrial era, Sed and Bree were the two fastest growing cities on Atla (and it is worthwhile to note they are two of the most inhospitable places on Atla). Businessmen and traders were becoming wealthy over night as the need for goods, and ships to carry those goods bloomed.
During the city’s height of prosperity it became widely known and indeed notorious for its organized crime and shady, underhanded markets. Illegal drugs and counterfeit goods were passed along behind closed doors perhaps more frequently than even the legitimate business trades. Business fronts claiming to transports sheet metal or cotton were merely facades for what went on behind the closed doors. The entire city was run for years by the most powerful crime organization of the time (most groups held total power no longer than a year before another coup put yet another group in charge, however, one group held power over the city for over 50 years before they were overthrown), and few outsiders ever ventured to the land because of its reputation. Those foolish enough to do so were often captured and sold into forced labor or caught up in the crime lifestyle.
Now, however, Bree’s criminal past is mostly behind it. The few people who remain to operate the port and run the struggling businesses are for the most part legitimate. That is not to say the past has completely been forgotten or resolved. Those who actually live there have stayed because even now in the age of railcarts, the city is too distant for Provincial Law to effectively control. Unless something significantly threatens the trade or shipping throughout the rest of Atla, most of what goes on (though vaguely known by the government) is dismissed.
There is no official government or even law enforcement in Bree. The province of Kahn is so remote and uninhabited that it has been left to the care of the rest of the provinces. During the semiannual provincial meetings, the latest events of the entire province, which usually amount to nothing more than a few bullet points that happened within the city, (the population throughout the rest of the entire province is equal to Bree itself) are discussed. It is during these meetings that any new regulations or procedures are put into effect. Usually one or two Provincial Council Representatives are sent before and after to see that the minor changes are implemented effectively, such as new shipping regulations or schedules. The most drastic changes are usually a change to taxes for shipments. On a daily and local level the city can’t be governed by the Council, and is instead, as it has been, run by the most powerful person or organization there at the time. And even these organizations (crime or legitimate) loosely follow the regulations of the Provincial Council to ensure there is no ‘major’ need for military intervention.
What has kept businesses and organizations (again, crime or legitimate) in the land for so long, is that the land has been seen as a diamond in the sands for its opportunity to be exploited without any repercussions by the distant and almost non-existent provincial law. Reality sets in quickly for those wishing to take advantage of the situation however. Aside from the constant threat of the ‘authority’ of the land being usurped by the next organization wanting to get a grasp on the city, the brutal environment itself is usually the deciding factor in how long a person or business remains. Most people abandon the city after only a few years, being driven mad by the constant wind, sandstorms or 100+ temperatures year round. The few that have found a permanent home in the barren, brutal land manage to do quite well for themselves against all odds.
Despite the continual corruption, there is still a need for people to work in Bree. And so few are willing to work in such a hostile environment, that those who actually reside there are often quite wealthy.
The fate of Bree at this point in time is uncertain. Many say that the city is no longer necessary, that the distance to Tru Dahn, now that sea vessels have given up their dependence on the wind, isn’t that much farther to warrant the port’s existence. Ships are quick enough and safe enough now to make the journey from the ports of Sed to Tru Dahn with ease. It seems that every other day a new Magi-Tech ship is built that can carry more, faster and farther than all the rest. Others however, maintain the idea that keeping the city prosperous is beneficial not just to organize the goods before they reach major ports, but it is also a great tool for explorers and researchers whose destination is in the lower half of the Kahn desert.
No other major city offers the ease of access to the Desert of Kahn as Bree does. While Gale sits at the desert’s northern border, the Range of Turmoil is a formidable obstacle to overcome in heading any farther south. And with no plans to implement a rail line through the mountains, it will likely remain a formidable challenge. Further, Bree is geographically closer than any other city to the majority of the Kahn ruins, including the two major cities found within the desert separated by the Gulf of Kahn (Old Dree and Old Bree).
One major factor has kept Bree from becoming a geologists, archaeologists, anthropologist or any other scientists, researcher or explorer’s paradise (aside from the very dystopian weather), and that would be the crime. Most scientists and researchers are not known for their skill in hand to hand combat or warfare (though a few adventurous types have proven otherwise).
It is often the case that the researchers and explorers will carry valuable equipment with them. And mixing well trained crime organizations with a group of explorers and equipment has resulted in the same outcome almost every time.
Bree will probably remain as it is now: a decaying port with crime and a few wealthy individuals, living at the bottom of the world. Perhaps it will simply vanish from the maps as people slowly leave, allowing the city to finally succumb to the desert winds and sand. Or it might become a research base for future expeditions into the historically significant region where treasure both physical and ideological await. If that is to happen however, it will take a massive initiative by the rest of the provinces and the Grand Provincial Government to clear the area of crime and donate money to the cause. And with so many other problems throughout Atla, it is unlikely that what is needed to reform the city will ever be given.