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Cadwallon Overview

"Cadwallon. The name itself embodies the majesty of the free city state. Outside there is only a world thrown off-balance by the Rag'narok, slowly slipping towards total war."
— Vladar the Arrogant

A free city of roughly 300,000 on a peninsula in Lanever, neutral in the Rag'narok and prosperous on the bones of an older civilization. Two-thirds of its inhabitants are native Cadwës; the rest are foreigners — refugees, diplomats, merchants, scholars, and worse — drawn from every nation on Aarklash.

Geography

The city sprawls across a peninsula between two seas. Three waters define its access:

  • Kraken Harbor — to the north, the continent's biggest merchant port. Squadron of goblin pirates ensures "protection."
  • Buoyancy Bay — to the east, defended by an Akkylannian fort on a small island. The Ways of Light's preferred approach.
  • The Port of Ondine — to the west, small and rich. Nobles and diplomats land here.

A great lake — the Little Sea — sits at the heart of the upper city.

A Double City

The city has two faces, walled apart and economically inseparable:

  • Upper City — walled citadel built atop the ruins of an ancient Cynwäll city. Aristocrats, embassies, guild halls, the Ducal Palace. Cynwäll towers reach into the sky; Lanever dragons glide past to visit their titanic kin in the Dyrsin Tower.
  • Lower City — the sprawl outside the walls. Where most Cadwës live, work, and die. Crowded, cheap, vibrant, dangerous.

Power

Three forces share the city, in uneasy balance:

  • The Duchy — currently Duke Den Azhir, who lays down decrees. The ten Peers administer the eleven fiefdoms in his name (the Duke's own fief is run by his steward).
  • The Guilds — trade and craft guilds controlling commerce, infrastructure, and most of the city's day-to-day work. See Factions.
  • The Free Leagues — heirs of the Dogs of War. Adventurers, mercenaries, treasure hunters. The political force that elects the Duke and protects the city's neutrality.

Then there are the embassies — four official (Alahan, Akkylannie, Syharhalna, No-Dan-Kar) and a secretive Cynwäll ambassador in his tower. Every nation on Aarklash has unofficial representation somewhere.

Daily Life

  • Motto: "My kingdom for a ducat!"
  • Currency: the ducat, originally goblin coinage, now the trade standard across Aarklash.
  • Language: Cadwë — a creole of mercenary slang, Akkylannian grammar, and loanwords from every nation that has business in the city. The upper city speaks a more formal register seasoned with Cynwäll terms.
  • The Tide of the Dead — periodic supernatural event when corpses surface in the lake and water sources turn fetid. Cadwës board up and stockpile clean water until it passes.
  • Magical Groves — small jungles that sprout spontaneously anywhere in the city. Destroying one is a crime.

Aesthetic Note

Tone target

Sigil-of-Planescape energy. Cosmopolitan grime, fashion built on stolen aesthetics, every conversation negotiable, every favor logged. Bright colors against soot.