Seshi (澀市) is a town in the Northern Earth Kingdom, in the East Shuizu State, near the border with Xinbei Province. It is on the Third Sister Bay, northwest of [[Avatar/Beigang|Beigang]], the nearest city. It is located where the Astringent River meets the sea.

== History ==

The town was officially founded (in the eyes of the central government) by Ganjinese merchants, who established a trading post to buy alum, which has long been extracted artisanally by Beituzhu and settler miners. However, there was an existing Shuizu village nearby, which has since been subsumed into the town that grew around the trading post. The name of the original village has been forgotten.

== Ethnic Composition ==

Unsurprisingly given that it is a coastal town and part of the East Shuizu State, many of the inhabitants of Seshi are Shuizu, i.e. waterbenders who belong to tribes who pledge fealty to the Earth King. About 50% of the population is Suizu, falling to about 30% in the downtown core. Another 30% or so are Beituzhu, earthbending northern aborigines who are the indigenous inhabitants (predating even the Shuizu). The remaining population are mostly Zhongzu settlers from the central earth kingdom, though there is a small community of Ganjinese merchants living there in a formerly-enclosed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_(trading_post)|factory]].

== Economy ==

Seshi is a significant market town, competing with Beigang for this role; although it lacks access to the Third Sister River and thus the canal system of Ba Sing Se, many prefer it for local trade as mercantile activities there do not suffer as much oversight from the Earth Kingdom's central government.

Shellfishing and shellfish processing are major industries. Fermented shellfish sauce is processed. There is a small tryworks, but marine mammal populations are depleted locally and it is little-used. There are several tanneries and leatherworks. The town is named for the mineral astringent mined in several places along the Astringent River; barges travel downstream to unload alum mined from these deposits, and it is also refined in the town to make a fine quality product for dyeing and medical use as a styptic.

There is a modest service sector, but it is depressed by proximity to Beigang, which dominates. A few waterbending healers and an acupuncturist practice in Seshi.

== Geology and Environment ==

Like much of the Northern Earth Kingdom, Seshi has a humid subarctic climate. The biome is coastal, giving way to boreal forest inland.
The soil is mostly sandy clay. Buildings are often constructed on earthbent pier foundations with wooden roofs and finishing.

== Food and Agriculture ==
Seshi has extensive fishing and shellfish-harvesting, controlling good shellfish beds nearby. Some short-season sorghum and buckwheat are grown on cleared land, and northern vegetables. Trapping and hunting supplement the diets of many inhabitants, especially the Beituzhu minority.
 
== Infrastructure ==
There is a sewer system carrying waste away from downtown, and several public fountains fed from a tunnel meeting the river upstream. Unlike the system in Beigang, however, the water is delivered at only a few meters of head (as little as about 100 cmH2O in the highest parts of the town) and is not used for hydraulic power.

There are docks suitable for receiving oceanic vessels (though not the huge military ships seen in Beigang).