Khester, The City of Whispers

Know its secrets, hear the whispers

In the great lands of Illdaen, lies the City of Whispers, a place unlike any other. The city, rising high over the forests of the Sàmhglaen Reserve, has been the site of many schemes and plots that have changed the political landscape of Illdaen - often with bloodshed.
Those who come to the City of Whispers seek one thing, power. Question is, what would you do for just a sap of the power that is held in the hands of its rulers?

Demographics

The city of Khester covers an area of approximately 6573 acres, which includes its surrounding towns and villages, with a total population of 399,000 people. The population is mostly elf (64%), with smaller numbers of humans (19%), halflings (5%), dwarves (3%), gnomes (2%), half-elves (6%) and half-orcs (1%).
Majority of the population are Commoners (362031), whereas Aristocrats only make up 1989 of the population. Amongst the population, expert workers linger, with quite a high capacity (11935).
Across the City and its smaller dominions, there are approximately 19892 guards that patrol the streets. They are run by higher ranked guards that reside in the Enan Quarter, of who have enough military might and service records to take on even the toughest of adventurers. However, there are only 6 of them that could be considered honoured as heroes of the realm (level 15-19).

(Population demographic is for 1st level commoners, aristocrats, and guards. Higher level populations accommodate the outstanding numbers)

Government

The government is run by a head of state, the Riaghladair, a woman by the name of Sìthiel, often called The Lady of Mysteries. She has control over the city's assets and dominions surrounding. She requires that all magi are registered with their local guard garrison, that they are within the city for either consultations, education, or on a democratic mission.
In terms of her taxation, she has employed an income based system. The lowest earning percentage are taxed 5%, whereas the highest earning percent are taxed 45%. The nobility have taken a strong dislike to her as she is taking almost half of their income. There have been talks of revolution, yet, the money she has put back into the city and its dominions has equipped and paid the guards enough to silence them, for now...

Defences

Loc Nàthad and Lake Muíne are the main line of defence for the City of Whispers. Beyond there are three checkpoints on each side that are constantly and heavily guarded with towers that create daunting sights as you approach.
Any foes that make it through the primary defences are met with the might of the city guard, who are well trained and in high numbers. They are also trained to deploy siege weaponry that can combat larger groups of invaders.

Industry & Trade

The trades within Khester vary between fishing, smithing, and arcane items. The vast array of skills within the city pour in enough money to keep the people and settlement afloat. As the people create products, they export around 20% of what they make to surrounding settlements.
Within the city, the many embassies that have been instated take some trade from within the city and send it to their homelands at a premium.

Infrastructure

The city is built around Lake Muíne, a freshwater lake with high minerals that are at the heart of the health of many within the city. The Elvish architects figured out the most effective means of transporting it into the city and has such created an aqueduct that uses a mysterious ancient Elvish magic to force the water up the duct.
Underneath the streets of Khester, an intricate sewer system has been devised that allows foul water to be purified as it leaves to the lake beyond. All waste is fed down into a deep pit that the workers call The Below. Occasionally, there are monstrous noises that rumble up from The Below, but has been assumed to be trapped gasses that have escaped.
In the surrounding dominions, watermills have been set up around the rivers that connect Lake Muíne and Loc Nàthad. In the farming regions, windmills have been set up on the higher points of the landscape to maximise production of flour and some alchemical ingredients.
There are no roads that lead into the city, and one must cross the lake to reach it. This is both an ingenious defence tactic and allows the ports to be well supplied and funded. The shipyards have able-bodied shipwrights that can maintain the ships that make port in the city. Docking fees range between 3 cp for a day for small ships, to 3 gp for the larger vessels.

Assets

The city's gold piece limit is 200,000 gp. Anything, whether it be mundane or magical, having a price under that limit is most likely available for purchase. The total amount of available coinage, or the total value of any given item of equipment for sale at any given time, is 1,995,000 gp.

Guilds and Factions

• Vazinir Embassy

• Saen Tai'irian Embassy

• Khorvairi Embassy

• The House of Draíhm

• The House of Glass

History

The city of Khester was built back in the year 261, by a travelling group of Saen Tai'irians who settled in the area as they journeyed towards the southern most point of Anderall. They began to build a small village that began trading in ancient Elvish farming secrets and then had enough money and renown that they employed Dwarven stonesmiths to begin building the walls that surround the lakes. As the years went on, the Saen Tai'irians began to vanish, their culture dying out.
However, their predecessors, a tight family of Elves, began upholding their legacy and continued to build upon what Khester was becoming. They erected statues of their founders, commemorating their roots. The new religions began emerging and slowly started to take control of the streets and the statues were destroyed in the first ever revolt - The Pelorian Revolution.
Many revolutions began after the Pelorian Revolution, almost every year. The city fell into poverty and ruin until one final revolution, in the year 1214, lifted Khester from the ashes. The March of the Summer Sun was the last revolution that Khester has seen in over 800 years as it brought a new form of government into power. The House of Vilhani, that still rules to this day, began rebuilding everything that was destroyed in the centuries of bloodshed.
Today, the City of Whispers holds a yearly festival that celebrates its centuries of peace called the Festival of the Summer Sun.

Architecture

The architecture of Khester is a strange array of ancient Saen Tai'irian design with more modern constructions of the races that settled in. The city has traditional strong standing stone structures that still bear the scars of revolutions long past. Many people have taken to painting their homes in bright colours and adorning their homes with the crest of the House of Vilhani.
In the streets, the banners of the House of Vilhani fly proudly alongside the arcane lanterns that pepper the streets. Of which, have not been in operation since the Pelorian Revolution and nobody knows how to rebuild the system that powers them. For now, only torchlight brightens the darkened streets at night, fit for scheming and dark powers to work from.

Geography

Khester sits upon a flat island that is surrounded by Lake Muíne, a clear water expanse that stretches to the edge that begins the roads to neighbouring villages. Beyond the lakeside, a small stretch of plains and forest lies before small hillsides that stretch towards the next city - Bannerhold.

Natural Resources

The lake provides fish and clay, the forests provide wood. Surrounding farmlands supply the city with meat and grain, as well as some alchemical ingredients. The mines that run deep underneath Khester supply the city with stone, ores, and discoveries deep in the earth.

Alternative Name(s)

The City of Tongues

Type

Large city

Population

399,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Khestian

Location under

The Uncharted Lands of Anderall