Averum

Averum is the largest city on the Sister Continents, the origin of the Averum Republic and the birthplace of The Pouchers. Averum is arguably the most important city amongst the Sister Continents, holding considerable influence over the states of the Kasetian and Skortenian mainlands. The waters around Averum are patrolled heavily and well guarded from attacks at almost all times. Averum is the hub for virtually all waterborne trade happening throughout the Great Maw, the Rokall Strait and even into the Western Ocean. While most trade in Averum concerns the moving of goods throughout the Great Maw, the Averum Republic administers its overseas holding throughout the Rokall and further west.

Averums size is so vast, that it touches both the western and eastern coastlines of Daugstads northern tip, providing it a deep-water harbour on both sides of the city. Averum derives its name from the people who settled there originally, a group of high elves who upon finding the humans prior to the Great Migration, abandoned the civilization there, with some moving onto Kasetia and others returning to Tila'thyu. The ruins of the settlement were found by Chondat settlers and expanded upon. The city maintains connections to the Surface Underdark, which is the only 'land' route onto the island.

Demographics

Averums population has slowly grown to its impressive size, though has taken considerable beatings in its history, with . Averum can said to be the only truly multi-racial state throughout Kasetia, with no race having a majority presence. Chondat humans remain the most numerous humans, though it remains thoroughly diverse.

Humans - 43%
Dwarves - 10%
Elves - 10%
Halflings - 10%
Dragonborn - 7%
Half elves - 5%
Gnomes - 5%
Tieflings - 4%
Half orcs - 4%
Other - 2%

Professions and Classes

Class division in Averum is less based on wealth and more seen on the basis of professions instead. While this class divide exists, it is far less prevalent in Averum than in other cities, such as Axrid, Kogbali or Komsopole. Most professions are drawn from the labourers of the city, who make up the bulk of the cities class structure.

Nobility - Not strictly a noble class in the traditional sense. The nobles of Averum consist of the oldest families in the city, with them controlling many of the oldest organisations in the city and owning considerable amounts of land.
Adventurers - There always remains a heavy influx of adventurers in the city, with the cities close access to the Underdark and both Sister Continents a main reason for this. Some of these adventurers settle into the city and become semi-permanent residents, while others may stop by for various lengths of time.
Merchants - A rising merchant class composed of artisans, crafstmen and skilled labourers has developed as the population exploded after the Decline.
Sailors - Sailors may be some of the most important people in the whole city, as waterborne travel is the main means for most people arriving in Averum. Skilled sailors are always in need, though the number varies greatly at any one time.
Guardsmen - The city maintains a police force along with private army and navy. Despite the cities heavy integration, both remain overwhelmingly human in demographic.
Farmers - The fields north and south of city remain relatively fertile and the farmers work those areas for much of the year.
Mercernaries - Being an enormous, neutral city, Averum attracts untold numbers of mercernaries. So much so that foreign powers contact Averum when looking to bolster their army numbers.

Criminals make up a small collection of the population too, but the numbers on their distribution are unknown. In general, the police force of the city do a good job in stopping most, but not all crime. Virtually all forms of crime can be found in the city, save slavery, which was outlawed in the year 56.

Government

Averum is ruled by a group of immensely powerful individuals called Pouchlords. Apart from the Open Pouchlord, their identities are entirely unknown. The Open Pouchlord is always the current leader of the Pouchers. Knowledge of a Pouchlords postion is always a source of great debate and conversation especially among the upper class of the city. Pouchlords are chosen from among the populace by higher ups in the Averum Republic.

The Averum Republic is the formal governing body for the city in its entirety, however many duties regarding its administration are delegated to the Pouchlords. The Republic tends to deal more with foreign powers, diplomats and oversees all trade deals with foreign governments. While it once played a more active role in the cities growth, recent years saw their focus shift to expansion of influence overseas. The heads of the Republic introduced the notion of the new Pouchlord roles in the year 1057 to ensure stability in the City of Two Coasts and allow the Republic to focus on its foreign goals.

Law & Order

The Averi Guard is the police force of the city. They are tasked with capturing criminals, settling minor disputes between citizens, helping people when needed, calling upon medical aid when necesary and more or less being a form of public relations to the people living in Averum, ensuring it was a safe and friendly place for all.

The Merchant Board was in charge of the lower courts of the city, and dealt out most justice within its walls. They were also tasked with planning investigations into more severe crimes, or actions taken by members of organised criminal groups. People found guilty were given the choice of appealing to the Pouchlords, who were given the choice of rejecting such cases. Doing so for crimes of a relatively minute or unimportant nature were often fined or given harsher punishments were they to do so.

Every year, the Coin Council meet to discuss current laws in the city and whether additions or reductions to the existing system need to be made. This leads to a constantly evolving set of laws, where one needs to be kept abreast of the changes yearly or risk not understanding them. Slavery and the trading of slaves was outlawed in the year 56.

Magic items were at risk of being entirely outlawed after the Mindlickers Fray. A period of almost 3 years where cheap, unstable magic items flooded the city, leading to a spike in criminal activity and growing discontent. The source of the issue was found to be a group of mind-flayers looking to use the period of distraction to find the Pouchlords and enscorcel them. Ever since, trade of magic items is strictly regulated, with all magic items entering or leaving the city needing to be registered with the Merchant Board and the owner needing a licence, or risking confiscation otherwise. Licences can be purchased from any Averi Guard office for 25gp each, requiring yearly renewal. Item registration cost is based on a case by case basis, though normally costs 1 quarter of the items worth. Confiscated items can be re-acquired by the original owner should they provide the registration fee within a month of confiscation.

Defences

Three seperate forces are administered by the city, the Averi Army, Averi Guard and Averi Navy of the Republic. The Averi Army is both the professional soldiery of the republic and that of the cities. They are posted to outposts throughout the ocean, deployed to overseas holdings. Inside Averum, they mainly perform drills or teach new recruits. Among them are the Cliff Cavalry, griffon riders tasked with watching over incoming vessels and rooting out piracy around Daugstad. The Averi Guard are the police force in the city. The Averi Navy of the Republic is the merchant and wartime navy representing the interests of the Republic at large overseas. They have few roles in the city itself, mainly helping to monitor incoming ships and questioning some prior to docking at the shipyard.

Land walls built on the cities north and south sides protect form any land-borne threats, rare that they may be. The eastern dock of Averum is built into a sheltered bay and numerous small islands that provide a natural defence from ships, while shipwalls and watergates were also constructed to further improve this defence. The western dock lacks such natural defences, but maintains most of the cities navy. Part of the cities greatest defence are the cliffs surrounding it, which has a number of keeps and outposts. Furthermore, many of the outlying islands around Daugstad have outposts administered by the Republic.

The many adventurers of the city also tend to help in defending the city in times of crisis, though the Republic officially does not ike to rely upon them.

Averum maintains a mixture of ballistae, catapults, trebuchets and even cannons. Cannons have slowly become more commonplace throughout the cities defences.

Industry & Trade

Averum is the hub of all trade throughout the Great Maw. The city was one of the first to discover firearm technology, which remains one of their most prized after resources. The city now needs to import much of its stone and timber needs, having exhausted much of the supplies on their small island. Both the raw resources and the produced firearms are one of the cities greatest exports. Furthermore, the works created by the many artisans of Averum are also prized after.

Infrastructure

Countless structures were built in Averum over the years. Notable construction works include:

Semi-functional plumbing system, capable of carrying sewage and waste through the city.
Aqueducts carrying freshwater throughout the city, providing residents with water and bath-houses with water for cleaning.
A small system of man-made canals runs along the cities western coast, helping ships to dock and unload.
Temples to many gods of Pantheon of the Sister Continents. The most impressive were those to Silvanus, Tyr, Lathander, Sune, Selune, Kelemvor, Torm, Gond and Tempus. There was also an open temple courtyard called the Open Hand that allowed worship of any gods.
Temples dedicated to the deities of the Morndinsamman, The Seldarine, Yondalla's Children, The Golden Hills and Bahamut.
Field of the Fearless, the cities arena. Horse races and wrestling are common sites in the arena. Fights to the death are rare, normally happening twice a year at most.
Deep ocean shipyard port on the cities west coast, with unbuilt upon ground areas for construction of new ships along the dock.
Most wards of the city have either one or multiple courtyard/s dedicated to it, acting as meeting places for the people living there.
Most roads in the city are paved with stone.
Banks, with the two most prominent being Bank of Chrome and Aelingold Bank.

Assets

The Republic maintains 5 huge cellars below the cities surface to store excess food below ground year-round. The city maintains an impressive store of weapons and armor, some magic, inside the Averi Guardhouse. Griffons are raised on the cliffs further north to be used by the cities army.

Guilds and Factions

While the Pouchlords are thought to run the city, the guilds are known to be immensely powerful in their own right and hold much sway over operations inside. Prior to the Pouchlords existence, the guilds could be said to be those that did indeed run the city - with the Years of Oversight being an example of how they can bring instability.

Trade

Guilds for traditional artisanal crafts are the most common through the city, with one for virtually any craft found somewhere in the city.

Pouchers

While each guild seeks to represent their own interests and help themselves, the Pouchers seek to ensure these guilds work alongside one another fairly and in a co-operative manner. Numerous times in history, artisanal guilds had a penchant for overtly harming the others, which often damaged the city. The Pouchers as such were an organisation sponsored by the Averum Republic to manage this situation. They in essence act as a unifying 'guild of guilds,' whereby leaders of artisanal guilds represent the interests of their craft and attempt to broker agreements with other guilds in Averum. Guilds must pay a monthly fee to the Pouchers for their continued presence in the city. The Pouchers also assist the guilds in solving problems plaguing them; such as hiring adventurers to clear out monsters, training caravan guards or helping them in the completion of large scale deals with overseas powers. This allows the smaller guilds the potential to solve small-scale problems by themselves or to better hone their craft.

Game and Chance Administration

Most games of chance were outlawed late in the Ascension at the behest of the noble families wish to make Averum a more 'upper class' town. This effect was only felt later, with a huge influx of illegal gaming houses showing up in the 4th century DC. It was early during the 9th century DC, during the year 807 that games of chance were made legal and would be administered under the Game and Chance Administration. Gaming houses now must be registered with the administration or risk heavy fines and jailtime for the people involved with them. The games administered under this include; all card games excluding Three-Dragon Ante, all dice based games and any others games using a similar fashion of competition, unless otherwise stated. Dragonchess was one such game exempt from this list. While this has reduced the number of illegal gaming houses, some still persist.

Banks

The financial world of Averum, while once being an unregulated mess has developed in a much more structured system. The Royal Averum Exchange is the high treasury of the city and of the Averum Republic. It exists to regulate the financial institutions of the city and store the wealth brought in by trades, taxes or other revenue streams. The Exchange uses a number of pocket dimensions to store much of the wealth generated. Apart from the Exchange, local and guild banks remain common parts of the community. The two largest non-state banks are the; Bank of Chrome - run by the powerful Dastudrdihrekim Clan of dragonborns and the Aelingold Bank run the similarly powerful Aelinklar Clan of gold dwarves.

Houses

While Averum has no royal family to speak of, numerous powerful families have grown to prominence over its long history. Many of these families have taken to a specific facet of existence in Averum. The number of houses in Averum reaches into the thousands, though the most powerful ones are recognizable to most of the cities populace. Most houses only have one species of humanoids present, such as dwarves, elves, humans, halflings or dragonborn, however this is not always the case.

Human Houses

House Fullaeki - a house commonly producing skilled explorers. They have close ties to the Travellers and Adventurers Society of Averum.
House Tshianza - creators of the Tshianza Academy and skilled magic practitioners.

Elf Houses

House Aetheraal - A high elf house known for its famed scholars and writers.
Ith'Thriss - A drow house who specialises in legal proceedings.

Societies

Various societies and social clubs exist in Averum and while none have a particularly strong hold over the machinations of day-to-day life, some have powerful members or act as meeting places for important discussions to take place. The most well known societies are those for the various ethnicities and humanoid races in the city.

Arcane

Numerous groups dedicated to the practice of arcane magic exist in Averum and are often employed by guilds when magic is required to perform a task.

Azuth Academy - Prior to his ascension to godhood, Azuth founded this magical academy. It fell into disrepair after he left, but was reclaimed by the city to be a formal school of arcane practice and has become the largest in the city. Most public servants who use magic are trained here.
Fellowship of Arcane Song and Art - Bardic education centre focused on teaching students the various methods a bard can employ to express their magic.
New Cindira - Bardic college focused on rebuilding Cindira, an old bardic college in Averum.
Order of Sorcerers - Institution of sorcerers who help to teach those born with innate magical skills how to control their abilities.
School of New Age Alchemy and Inventions - A school dedicated to instruction of artificing and alchemy. Made by the now renowned gnomish inventor Jellamy Joggen, from Alsassenland in the year 1364.
Tshianza Academy - Magic school made by the Tshianza Family.

Criminal

While crime is always present in Averum, crime rings are a different story all-together. The Averi Guard takes significant steps to thwart organised crime before it can thrive, though some organizations remain or became prominent at some point.

Ahnvae'Nevae - A strictly dark-elf only organization made up of arcanists, assassins, blackmailers, poison-makers and swindlers. Destroyed twice in the years 593 and 1264. Currently run by the House Ith'Thriss.
Darkened Blades - Group of assassins and spies, known to have few objections to any request. Partially responsible for the Slaughter of the Open Hand.
Doorknockers - Group of burglars, pickpockets and thieves. Maintain a strict code of non-violence (killing at least) when working jobs. Broken up after an attempted heist of the Royal Exchange in the year 1008, though the name has since been adopted by other groups.
Masked - Part of the clergy to Mask, spies, thieves and pickpockets. All attempts to oust their presence from Averum have been met with failure.
Sealed Faces - A group of thieves, fences, burglars and worshipers of Leira, who often employ illusion in their schemes. Well versed in forgery and disguise.
Sisters of Chance - An underground ring that controls the illegal gambling industry of Averum.
Tahldrils - A group of of various races of humanoid who were entralled by the mindflayer Srux, who worked mainly as smugglers, blackmailers and fences during the period of time known as the Mindlickers Fray.

Martial

In truth, rather few martial societies exist in Averum, as the Averi Guard is efficient enough to keep violence to a minimum. Despite that, the city has a few groups well known amongst the continents, though small in size.

Bare Knuckle Society - A group of pugilists, wrestlers and monks. Administrators of the illegal 'kill' fights throughout the city.
Enlightened Mastery of Body - A monastery dedicated to teaching students about the Way of the Open Hand, Kensei, Mercy and Drunken Master monastic traditions. Origin of the Way of the Drunken Master and home to its creator, the dwarf Rardbera Runejaw.
Weaponmasters of Averum - An organization of primarily skilled fighters, though has members who are barbarians or rangers as well. Foremost society for those looking to improve their martial fighting prowess.

Secret Societies

The city of Averum has numerous societies hidden from public view, all with their own agendas and goals.

Darastri Agency - The secretive information arm of the dragonborn-state, Darastri.
Street Shephards - A heavily secretive group of vigilantes operating in the various wards of the city.
Vismali - A secret organization of cultists devoted to the Dead Three. Based out of Warenint Keep, they have infiltrated Averum once in the past, which culminated in the Slaughter of the Open Hand.
Waterborne - A secretive group of mainly druids, rangers and bards with the goal of rooting out corruption amongst the rulers of the city and helping the environment thrive.

History

In the year -872, the ruins of the elven city of Ikthrona were found by a group of over 400 human settlers during the Great Migration. The ruin were used and built upon as the foundation of Averum and the city was born. It acted as little more than a site of trade and fishing activity for much of the Ascension, though slowly grew - even attracting families of other human ethnicities and humanoid races. It was at the end of the Ascension that the name 'Averum' was adopted by its populace, meaning 'New Great City' in the native Chondat tongue.

Far from a city yet, Averums population grew tremendously from the year 382 DC onwards, after its fields were enriched as a result of the Time of Absent Magic. This in turn brought the first of the cities crafting guilds in the following years. Averums importance only continued to grow throughout the Decline, as peoples wavering faith in the gods brought them to one of the few places remaining relatively stable through that period. The Slaughter of the Open Hand caused a mass emigration of many citizens who rightly feared for their lives, though this lasted only for that year. The re-introduction of legal gambling caused a large influx of citizens in the year 807, giving the city a population of well over 200,000 by the end of the Decline.

A census in the year 953 revealed that humans no longer made up a majority of the cities population, dropping below 50% - which caused both some racial tensions but also much in the way of celebration and the creation of the All of Us Averi, which praised the Averites for their ability to co-exist. By this time many societies had appeared in the city and slowly grown in influence.

In 1057, after the Years of Oversight or the Guild Wars, the Averum Republic instituted the roles of the Pouchlords into the city as a means of avoiding any further conflict between the guilds and societies of the city. Both the Averi Guard and Army were formally established at this time, causing an explosion in population, more than doubling over the course of the next 300 years, even breaking 700,000 at one point.

In 1409, a the first group of adventurers to the Barisle returned and brought with them a horrible disease, causing a severe drop in the cities population. In a stark contrast to other plagues, the poor who mostly lived outside the city made it out somewhat unscathed, owing to their reliance on their own water sources, so had avoided the waterborne Barisle Curse.

Tourism

The City of Two Coasts is likely the most frequented tourist destination worldwide. Two main periods bring an influx of new activity to the city, the start of Spring and the start of Autumn. All throughout Ches, untold numbers of merchant vessels arrive to the city looking to sells their goods before returning home come Marpenoths start or prior if they fail to succeed. During this period is when most foreign nobles tend to visit as well.

Festivals

The festivals of the Calendar of the Darastri were all celebrated, in addition to a few others.

Artisans Day - A half-tenday period of competition held amongst the artisanal guilds of city from Flamerule 1 - 5. During this period, members of the various crafting guilds strive to create impressive works of their craft that are judged by the Pouchers themselves. Most merchants tend to offer slight discounts on their stock during this time. This is considered an informal celebration to Gond.
'Neath Day - A small holiday held on Mirtul 10, celebrating both the cities discovery of its Underdark connections and the end of the Surface Wars . This has been both a source of tension and peace between the Averite population and local drow community. Many surface dwellers venture into the Ward Below, with the brave ones even wandering the Underdark. Celebrations also occur around the Gateway Below above ground.
Peacetide - A celebration to the Goddesses of Peace and Joy on the night of Tarsakh 19. This is a celebration of continued peace through the city and for greater joy in the future, celebrated primarily in the Open Hand and throughout the many taverns of the city. The night ended with a ball inside the Open Hand, ending at midnight.
Sea Devils End - A day of remembrance on Eleasis 15 in the citys Eastern Dock Ward celebrating the end Sekolahtide, a war fought between the cult of Sekolah and Averum. It also marks the first appearance of sea elves in the city, whose intervention was vital in Averums victory. This is marked as a day of solemn remembrance for the many citizens of the city who died and brings the highest influx of annual traffic to the Eastern Dock.
Seasdawn - A festival lasting the tenday of Alturiak from 20 to 30 along with the first day of Ches. The tenday was a means of appeasing the gods of sea, a period where all ships were to remain docked at port and none allowed to leave or enter. Any ships attempting either were promptly fired upon. On the final day of Alturiak, boats containing offerings to the deities of the sea were cast out in a practice known as 'Water Placation.' The following first day of the first tenday of Ches brought much celebration, with boat races, plays and acrobatic performances all being common place.

Architecture

Council Ward - administrative ward towards the center of Averum. Home to offices of the Coin Council, Merchant Board and many administrative members of The Pouchers.
Eastern Dock Ward - Based around the old elven foundations of the city on the eastern coastline. Fallen into slight state of disrepair ever since the city expanded to the west coast, leading to more illicit groups forming.
Farm Ward - Found along the northern wall, home to the fields inside the city walls. As a result of the Time of Absent Magic, much of the fields became enriched by magic, empowering them to produce both larger and more frequent crop yields.
Gateway Below - A community based entirely around the Surface Underdark passage. Popular among many adventurers owing to the many inns in the area.
Green Ward - A ward containing the Field of the Fearless and large park of trees housing mainly forest gnome and wood elf families.
North Cliff Ward - A slum ward located outside of the cities walls, extending out onto the cliffs further north, with some living on the broken earthmotes left from the Spellplague.
Isleholme - Least populous ward, based around the small islands in Averums port.
New Dock Ward - Newest ward of the city, built in 1376 on the islands west coast to celebrate the cities 500th year of existence. Has allowed quicker trade with both Kasetia and Skortenia, giving it a high temporary population made up of travelers and sailors.
Southern Field Ward - A slum ward covering the few buildings outside the walls on the southern wall face.
Trade Ward - Commerce ward and home to largest market square across Kasetia
Ward Below - An underground ward that slowly built up after excavations for a city project found access to the Surface Underdark. It houses much of the drow and duergar in the city, and remains the most heavily patrolled.
Zealot Ward - Contains most of the temples in Averum. Most often, a clergy member from a neutral god is chosen to represent the ward on the whole.

Most buildings of the city utilize blue-tiled roofs and oaken wood-based construction, though some do utilize cut stone masonry instead. Due to the multicultural nature of the city, buildings tend to vary greatly in appearance and ornamentation.

Geography

Averum is built on the steps of the northern cliff faces of the island of Daugstad. To the cities north lies a series of jagged cliffs known locally as the Cliffs to the Maw, while the south sports a roughly 20 mile wide strip of land connecting it to Daugstad proper, with light foliage dotting the strip. The city rises up towards a slightly higher-than-the-rest central plateau, that gradually flattens out towards the south, east and west.

Ever since the city expanded to grow its Western Dock, it has had both a western and eastern coastline. In the cities eastern bay lies an atoll/mountain, along with a collection of smaller islands. The western bay lacks such natural cover, instead having smaller sand-beds that sometimes appear during low-tide.

Inside the Green Ward is an extensive park, roughly the size of a large wood.

Natural Resources

The city now lacks much of the natural resources it once had, exhausting the harvestable stone, rock and previous minerals from the cliffs and Mount Averum in the year -382. Many of the trees that littered the island were cut down before public outcry forced this practice to stop in the year 281. The waters surrounding Averum have become too polluted to effectively maintain the sealife once found there, causing fishermen and pearlers to venture further from the city when working.

One resource still maintained in the city are vast farms of magically enhanced food within the Farm Ward. During the Spellplague, the soil nearby the city became heavily enriched with natural magic energy, causing the plants grown there to be of an immense size and number. This has helped deeply in maintaining the cities population.

Founding Date

-872

Alternative Name(s)

Gateway to the Maw, City of Two Coasts

Type

Metropolis

Population

658,980

Inhabitant Demonym

Averite

Location under

Daugstad

Included Locations

Ruling/Owning Rank

Open Pouchlord

Owning Organization

Averum Republic

Characters in Location

Averum

Demographics

Professions and Classes

Government

Law & Order

Defences

Industry & Trade

Infrastructure

Assets

Guilds and Factions

Trade

Pouchers

Game and Chance Administration

Banks

Houses

Human Houses

Elf Houses

Societies

Arcane

Criminal

Martial

Secret Societies

History

Tourism

Festivals

Architecture

Geography

Natural Resources

Articles under Averum

'Neath Day

Artisans Day

Isleholme

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