Daily Life¶

"Even before considering oneself as an elf, a goblin, or a Wolfen, every Cadwë is above all a citizen of Cadwallon."

What it actually feels like to live in the Free City — the people, the tongue, the money, the calendar of fears and festivals, and the strange shared identity that binds a hundred warring cultures into one citizenry.

Who's Here¶

About 200,000 "true" Cadwës (natives) — roughly two-thirds of the population. The rest are:

Foreigners — merchants, envoys, sea-dogs passing through on business; little influence on daily life
Refugees — fleeing the Rag'narok, arriving penniless after expensive, miserable journeys. The lucky integrate via guild work; the unlucky end up homeless, or as alchemists' test subjects, or as Usurer body-collateral.
Established immigrants — settled into guilds and neighborhoods, slowly becoming Cadwë

Being a Cadwë¶

To be a Cadwë is to be born in Cadwallon and raised in its tradition of freedom. Cadwë identity is deliberately abstract — it overrides (without erasing) one's ancestral culture. A Cadwë dwarf is still a dwarf, but he is a Cadwë first.

The values: the endless quest for riches, the will to settle and prosper, pride in being "part of the advancement of a society detached from the nations and their wars." Pride in being Cadwë is less about scorning refugees than about genuinely believing in the project — a free city that refuses the Rag'narok.

Paths to belonging: contribute to a guild's prosperity (and your own), enter a noble house's service (and learn to be a courtier), or — for the impatient and idealistic — join the Militia or the Free Leagues.

The Cadwë Language¶

A living potpourri that "perfectly reflects the nature of the City of Thieves." Built on the jargon of the Dogs of War plus Akkylannian grammar (easy to learn), then layered with:

Barhan, Akkylannian, and Syhar — the dominant influences
Dwarven (Gheim) — most technical terms
Goblin — navigation terms
Ogre — the insults (the most commonly used and widely preferred, naturally)

It's rich in neologisms, multilingual references, and original sayings, under perpetual construction, and spreading across Aarklash. The upper-city dialect is more structured and conservative, based on the four embassy languages — and sprinkled with impressive Cynwäll terms.

Money¶

The klû — originally the coin of the goblins of No-Dan-Kar — has become the international standard. Locally the ducat (D) is minted by the Goldsmiths. The city's real motto is "My kingdom for a ducat!" — and everything, legal or not, has a price.

The Calendar¶

The Cartomancers maintain the Free Calendar: 21 "months" of 19 days each, plus a leap day (dropped every fourth year). The week is three six-day spans — the Prime, the Median, the Final — and days have no names ("the fifth day of the Median of Decarde"). (Full detail in Calendar.)

The Seasons¶

Time of Banners (spring) — the Blade companies raise oriflammes; the merchant fleet prepares to sail; jubilant atmosphere in Kraken Harbor
Season of Blades (summer) — the bloodiest campaign season; risk of siege; the Duke patrols the borders, the blacksmiths work double
Time of Return (autumn) — fleets and caravans come home laden; also when unsatisfied mercenaries prowl and Akkyshan raids loom
Season of Whispers (winter) — intrigue, alliance-building, and the feared Akkyshan raids on the outlying fiefs during the long nights

A strict prohibition

Since Vanius's rule, it is forbidden to celebrate the equinoxes and solstices in Cadwallon. The reason is officially unknown. (GM: the true solstice/equinox points are when the [[Labyrinth]] brushes closest to the surface and Desire's dreams run strongest. Vanius banned the celebrations to keep crowds from gathering at the wrong places at the wrong times.)

The Festivals¶

Week of Freedom (2nd–7th of Odecime) — the great carnival of independence; six days of masks, music, and license. The annual free assembly meets the day before.
Week of the Kraken (14th–19th of Quint) — the merchant fleet sets sail; celebration in the harbor; everyone but the Ferrymen gets time off
The Ducal Jubilee (15th of Octose) — celebrates Den Azhir's accession (996); the only day lower-city citizens may enter the upper city, in militia-supervised processions; free leaguers renew their allegiance
Day of Lanterns (10th of Ondre) — commemorates the Battle of Kaïber; children play at war, adults hang lanterns; Darkness-aligned refugees go into hiding (sometimes violently)
Day of Ashes (15th of Hexadime) — Cadwallon becomes a dead city; ashes scattered to convince the dead the city is a ghost town; the taboo is never look anyone in the eye — everyone walks hooded, heads bowed. (This is the day the Coiling Emissaries arrive each year since 999.)
Day of Flowering (12th of Privime) — celebrates the first magical groves after the Dogs of War's "deforestation"; the orcs observe it most carefully, with shaka ceremonies in the groves

The Shadow Over Everything: Death¶

The first tide of the dead — when the lake carried a putrid stench and hundreds of corpses, poisoning the water and driving the inhabitants into the jungle — left a permanent mark. Cadwës carry an intense fear of death and what happens to the body. Most corpses are burned to avoid "polluting" the ground; the great funeral parlor (the Last Stop, at the Smoky Wisps) sits well away from dwellings at the lake's edge.

The tide still strikes occasionally, less violently than before. Heavy rain is the warning. People lock their doors, stock water, and scrub their homes with boiling water until it passes.