Castradeus

The World's Holiest City

Castradeus, sometimes referred to as the Gold Harbour or the Sunhold, is the capital city of Deusolom. Designed like a fortress and built of polished stone, it is a marvel to behold from up close and afar. The home of the Pontiff, Castradeus is the seat of power for the Purashran Church . It is also the home base of operations of the The Order of the Golden Sun. Castradeus is defined by its religious fervour. Its government, a theocratic absolute elective monarchy, and its church are one and the same. Furthermore, Castradeus prides itself on being, in their view, the most devoted practitioners of Ashraism on the planet. They profess to be the only population on Cynos that correctly and adequately follows the will of Ashra; as it happens, they are right. While other pious mortals do gain the favour of Ashra, and by extension access to his power, by acting in general accordance with his values, the Purashran Church of Castradeus is the only religious body to correctly exercise a strict, no-tolerance policy against Chaos of any kind. Arcane magic, for example, is totally illegal anywhere in the country of Deusolom, since its power comes from the moon, Boda. Though considered extremists by many, The Purashran Church's rigid devotion to Ashra has paid off for them in certain aspects. The city of Castradeus itself is blessed by the Sun, bolstering the power of divine magic and allowing for greater feats of power to be performed there. One such example is the amplified Daylight spell that is kept in effect atop a tall lighthouse overlooking the Sunlit Sea; it not only serves as a guide for approaching vessels, but also to illuminate the city even when it is nighttime. The Purashran priests are still able to maintain this supercharged Daylight even after the Impact, allowing Castradeus and its neighbouring regions to grow crops and raise livestock despite the deathly cold. Pilgrimages to Castradeus have always been a regular journey for Deusolites, primarily for religious reasons, but in the post-Impact world, it has become doubly important to visit the capital in order to obtain foodstuffs that are no longer available anywhere else.

A Holy Lifestyle

Castradeus is further set apart from the rest of Cynos by the way of life required of all of its citizens. Temporary accommodations are available for guests, but if someone wishes to live in Castradeus, they agree to leave behind the practices of the outside world and assimilate to the Purashran teachings. One notable difference is that no trade or commerce is conducted in the city, nor is there any exchange of currency. Instead, residents of Castradeus volunteer their time by contributing to the Church, and in return they are given food, clothes, lodging, and all of life's other necessities. Three times each day—dawn, midday and dusk—a city-wide Mass is held at every church and cathedral. Every resident is required to attend the worship ceremony to praise and honour Ashra. The Masses are followed by the distribution of food; in order to be served, each resident must proclaim to the church how they have served Ashra since their last meal. Other necessities such as clothes and tools are available from the church upon request, so long as a person can explain their need for it. Since every church is encircled by a permanent Zone of Truth effect, dishonesty is not anticipated (or tolerated).

Demographics

Humans: 70%
Dwarves: 11%
Halflings: 5%
Half-Orcs: 4%
Half-Elves: 3%
Gnomes: 3%
Tieflings: 3%
Dragonborn: 0.75%
Elves: 0.25%

Government

main article: Purashran Church

The Pontiff

Castradeus operates under the framework of a theocratic absolute elective monarchy, in which the Pontiff, leader of the Purashran Church, exercises supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power. The Pontiff is elected by the Conclave—a convening of all the cardinals—after the death or resignation of the previous Pontiff.

Cardinals

The body of Castradeus's leadership, called the Conclave, is made of up religious individuals called cardinals. Castradeus's hierarchical structure divides the cardinals into three categories: cardinal bishops, cardinal priests, and cardinal deacons. Cardinal bishops are the most elevated of the cardinals. Each cardinal bishop is the chief authority, second only to the Pontiff, on a single aspect of Ashra's divine glory. There exists only five cardinal bishops at a time, one for each of Ashra's divine domains: Light, Life, Tempest, Forge, and War. Cardinal priests are the greatest in number; they bestow the word of Ashra upon the people of Castradeus. Each cardinal priest leads one of the many chapels throughout the great city. Finally, cardinal deacons are the caretakers and overseers of the most sacred, crucial, or otherwise significant buildings and structures within Castradeus. While still of great authority, deacons are the lowest ranking of the cardinals.

Defences

As much a fortress as it is a holy city, Castradeus was built with sustainable defence in mind. Built atop a high cliff, would-be invaders must fight uphill before they even reach the city gates. The interior of the city is built with a tiered architecture, with districts climbing higher and higher until they finally reach the Chapel Solaris at its highest point. Each level is protected by its own wall and traffic is funnelled through fortified gates at key locations. Guarding the perimeter of its surrounding land are eight strongholds: Marvya, Silvya, Itervya, Colvya, Monvya, Otavya, Praevya, and Vilvya. Castradeus and its surrounding strongholds are staffed and protected by the The Order of the Golden Sun. This military-esque holy order is a subsidiary of the Purashran Church and they are bound by all of the same tenets as the rest of the country. The Cardinal Bishop of War leads the Order of the Sun in all of its endeavours.

Industry & Trade

As alluded to earlier, there is no traditional economy in Castradeus. Instead, each resident must contribute to Ashra and the Church in their own way, and in return, they will be given food, clothes, and lodging. A Castradite may contribute by whatever means they are able: builders are required to maintain the infrastructure; volunteers are needed by churches to prepare food and mend garments; farmers are needed to grow crops and tend to livestock; miners are required to extract ore from the quarries and cliffside tunnels; people are needed to sweep streets, clean windows, deliver mail and all number of tasks. With this system, every person has all they need—but nothing more—and the city is taken care of at all times. The only roles reserved for members of the Church are those involving education, medicine, government, law enforcement and—obviously—religious leadership.

Infrastructure

Castradeus is a heavily-populated city. As such, it is outfitted with many technologies to aid in the managing of so many inhabitants. A sophisticated sewer system carries waste out of the city and dumps it into the sea far below. Roads are paved with stone, allowing pedestrians, animals and wagons to easily travel along them. Buildings are built very closely together and some streets are quite narrow; a consequence of its high population. The only establishments guaranteed some breathing room are the churches, which are always built with sufficient free space surrounding them so that the masses can come together for worship. Just outside the city, there are dorm-style inns to house guests and newcomers to the city. If there are not any homes available to offer newcomers, they will stay in these inns until a home becomes available for them. Alternatively, when the inns become too full, the Church will instead build expansions to the city, absorbing and repurposing the inns and moving the tenants into their new, permanent homes. Despite its lighthouse and sea-side location, Castradeus does not have a harbour of its own; those sailing to Deusolom must dock at one of the neighbouring villages and travel up to the capital by land.

Assets

Castradeus is a wealthy city, but not in the conventional sense. Money does not see any use in the capital, nor are there any vendors or merchants selling wares. Instead, all assets are received and distributed by the Church. The Church provides every Castradite with all the necessities for living in exchange for their work—work which can come in many forms, as detailed further below. The Church controls the flow of all food and supplies, and though it professes to be non-materialistic, there are many beautiful and expensive treasures in the churches. Priests would explain that these items are meant to honour Ashra.

Guilds and Factions

The only faction of note in Castradeus is the Purashran Church itself, along with its subsidiary, the The Order of the Golden Sun. None of the Global Factions has any presence in Deusolom's capital—at least, not openly. The Shadow Syndicate is known to have eyes everywhere; no one but they can say whether there are Syndicate agents in the Gold Harbour.

History

The first settlers of what would become Castradeus sailed to Deusolom from Intaria under the leadership of Sosem Peregrin. Peregrin had received angelic visions of a holy land to the east where Ashra's light shines most brightly. Upon their arrival on the then-untamed Deusolom, they built their church atop a coastal cliff to the South—a building that would eventually become Pontificalis Basilica, or the Reverential Palace. Word of Peregrin's enlightened practice spread globally, and over the many centuries that followed, others would come from all over Cynos to devote their lives to Ashra in Castradeus. The city continued to expand outward, eventually growing into the sprawling metropolis that it has become.

Architecture

Castradeus is described by some as a wonder of the world; it's construction is as appealing to the eye as it is defensible against invaders. It's walls, though strong and functional, are built with the elegant stoicism of a cathedral, giving the city a very gothic and pious grandeur. The same care was given to the construction of buildings within; no matter if it is viewed from afar or from its very streets, Castradeus is a masterpiece. It's grandest buildings within are its churches. They are many; evenly dispersed across the districts so that everyone lives within walking distnace of at least one. The churches' steeples tend to reach higher than nearby establishments, helping pedestrians quickly find their way to worship services. Bell towers are customary in all religious buildings to facilitate the beginning and end of worship. Most impressive of all is the Chapel Solaris, the heart of the Purashran Church and the home of the Pontiff. Chapel Solaris is located at the very highest point of Castradeus, build to represent the ascension through the Seven Heavens towards pure enlightenment. Chapel Solaris's tall cathedral is built with beautiful stained-glass windows on its east side, west side, and its ceiling, allowing Ashra's sunlight to spill into the chapel at all times of the day.

Geography

Castradeus is built atop a rising cliff on the south-western corner of Deusolom. Chapel Solaris reaches up from it's highest point like a lighthouse presiding over the Sunlit Sea, and the rest of the city is built downwards to the north and west, following the incline of the terrain. The city is always bathed in a golden glow, thanks mostly to the perpetual Daylight spell coming from the nearby lighthouse.

Natural Resources

Most of Deusolom is prosperous land; crops are easily grown, and the cliffs below are rich in ore and minerals. The favourable soil near Castradeus became much more significant after The Impact; with most of the world plagued by an endless winter, the Daylight effect over the city has allowed them to continue to operate their farms. They may be the only region on all of Cynos that has this luxury.