Absalom

The City at the Center of the World

Absalom, the City at the Center of the World, has stood at the geographic and metaphorical fulcrum of Inner Sea intrigue for 5 millennia. Indeed, Absalom’s continual influence has shaped not only the face of the planet but the very nature of the cosmos. Its founding is the basis of the calendar system used by nearly all cultures in the hemisphere. More importantly, Absalom is the origin place of four once-mortal gods, and to many, the city is a symbol of the true capacity of humankind. In Absalom, a person can be whatever and whoever they want, and for the right price, it is said, they can procure anything in its grand markets.
Most newcomers travel to Absalom on a ship bound for Kortos Bay. From there, one can at first see only the towering Kortos Mounts, which stand like titanic sentries at the center of the Starstone Isle. The mountains gradually give way to the marvels of the city—the Absalom Lighthouse, the Blue Tower and the The Watchtower, the countless seaside manors and the colossal keeps—as the ship navigates the treacherous Flotsam Graveyard before finally dropping anchor at one of Absalom Harbor’s many docks. Finally safe on land, the true size and scope of the city-state looms large. The glimmering city core appears, flanked by dilapidated, sunken slums along its western wall and shattered, broken ruins on high cliffs to the east. To say nothing of the colorful throngs of citizens and visitors who people its streets, Absalom befuddles the senses with its sheer scale as well as variety, both testament to the many different peoples who have made the city their home over the millennia. The oldest buildings evoke the sensibilities of the Azlanti: flat-roofed stone and metal structures with elegant geometric designs, quartz keystones, and anthropomorphic columns. Other buildings from antiquity feature architectural elements from Qadira, Taldor, Osirion, and Vudra. In the city’s younger corners, shops and homes bear marks of obvious Chelaxian-gothic influence or the deceptively simple elegance of Minkaian tilework, and the newest buildings borrow significantly from practical Andoran or luxuriant New Thassilon.
Absalom’s ties to the other nations of Golarion aren’t limited to immigration and construction. Taldor, Qadira, and Cheliax in particular have long vied to make Absalom a firm ally, if not a vassal. But Absalom is as shrewd an international partner as it is a sturdy bulwark. So many besiegers have tried and failed to claim the city that even ardent historians can’t keep track of the innumerable attempted invasions, the ruins of which have created a secondary economy of treasure hunters from all over seeking to make their fortunes in Absalom’s graveyard of would-be conquerors, the Cairnlands.
Yet Absalom is a place not only of death but also of birth—and rebirth. When Aroden raised the Starstone from the Inner Sea and became a god nearly 5,000 years ago, he founded a new cradle of humanity as well as a divine meritocracy, and three other mortals—Cayden Cailean, Iomedae, and Norgorber—have since passed the Test of the Starstone to become living gods. Through acts both mundane and otherworldly, Absalom has asserted itself as a major player on the global and cosmic stages.
In a city where nobles can disappear into a crowd and commoners can attain literal godhood, the question is not where to look for adventure, but where to start.

Culture

As one of the world’s major crossroads and oldest continuously inhabited cities, Absalom is a nexus of culture—a fact its citizens rarely let visitors forget. Yet for all its inhabitants’ braggadocio, Absalom truly is a product of countless cultures and their historical idiosyncrasies. Its four-millennia-old adaptations of Vudran customs intersect with barely-familiar evolutions of three-millennia-old Osirian greeting rituals, mixed with two-millennia-old elven recipes and millennium-old superstitions from the Shining Crusade. Yet from all its borrowed elements, Absalom has cobbled together a culture all its own, at once uncannily familiar and utterly unique.

The Absalom Mindset

Absalom thrives on ideas—new ideas, foreign ideas, and lucrative ideas alike. With strange cultural intersections woven deep into its history and a cathedral capable of transforming anyone (and their ideas) into the divine, Absalomians often believe that dedication and devotion to any ideal, no matter how abhorrent, has intrinsic value. As a result, even beliefs and cultures strictly banned elsewhere can find an open-minded audience and, with proper passion, the most pious philanthropists and heinous demagogues can gather a curious audience within minutes. As patient as Absalomians seem with strange notions, however, they’re vocal in their disapproval after having given a bad idea due consideration. Thus, the notion that citizens condone prejudice and tolerate violence largely stems from observers who never stuck around long enough to watch a sympathetic crowd turn on a bigoted loudmouth.
Residents crave new experiences, which most can satiate by sampling unfamiliar foods or learning any of the city’s myriad languages. Some even seek out unpleasant experiences, reveling in the novelty of the discomfort and the knowledge that they’ll have an exciting story to share about the affair afterward. This mindset provides fertile ground for fads of all types—clothing, food, cults, impractical dueling styles, political ideologies, and more—most of which flare up and die out within a few weeks of ravenous consumption, preserved only in the cultural memory as snide jokes and worthless collections. On the other hand, those cultural movements and styles with true staying power can survive for years, leading many Absalomians to insist they’re the best crucible for innovations. Fortunately, Absalom’s laws and citizens are fairly forgiving of strange customs and actions, sustaining the city’s role as a testing ground.
No matter how inventive the craftspeople, trade sustains the city. The merchants know it, and anyone from wholesalers to street peddlers consider themselves superior to crafters (who occupy the social ladder’s middle) and laborers (who rank near its base). Money and political power influence these assessments, yet it’s not uncommon to see a fearless fruit vendor dress down an aristocrat. This soft power turns merchants into minor powerbrokers, serving as social patrons to their regular customers to make connections throughout the city.
For all their cosmopolitanism, Absalomians exhibit a short-sightedness regarding other nations’ traditions and relative importance. After all, as longtime citizens often posit, Absalom is the City at the Center of the World, where all other cultures vie for a place. Particularly after its disastrous Virtue Corps in centuries past, Absalom prefers to let the rest of the world come to it.

Industry & Trade

International trade lies at the heart of Absalom’s longevity and wealth, and remains fundamental to the realm’s independence and political strength in the greater Inner Sea region. Lumber harvested in the Immenwood travels by the Deluge River to Diobel or by road to Otari, and from thence to markets across the Inner Sea. Diobelian pearls, harvested from the oyster beds of Diobel’s shallow harbor, are considered among the finest available in the markets of the Inner Sea. Iron and other precious metals and stones mined on the island (especially by the dwarven mining enclave at Galizhur) feed Absalom’s many craftworks, whose products are exported worldwide. Skymetals harvested from the Diobel Hills or discovered on the ocean floor and traded to the city by Low Azlanti are among the most sought-after treasures in the world.
Within Absalom, trade is considered the most civilized and respectable business with crafting second and labor last. A common shopkeep often holds himself higher than a master swordsmith, who in turn looks down on a world-famous performer. As with all such social judgments, money and power often compensate for cultural biases.

Infrastructure

A city the size of Absalom requires significant support when it comes to food and water for its populace. While much of the city’s foodstuffs come from farmlands or the sea, a staggering amount is imported as well, if only to keep up with the aristocrats’ desire for variety on the dinner table. Water supplies are handled simply by a combination of cisterns, underground reservoirs, and a large number of water towers and rain barrels.
Cleaning up after Absalom’s many animals is one of the largest concerns of the city, if one never addressed in polite company. The richest districts usually handle the issue via hired wizards, who are often all too happy to help, though the government also employs a legion of well-paid street cleaners under the auspices of the city’s famously corrupt Sanitation Commission. Less wealthy districts vary in their approach; Eastgate has had success using manure in gardening, while the Docks often just shove the mess into the Puddles and forgets about it.

Districts

Over the millennia, Absalom has grown to include 11 proper city districts.

Ascendant Court

Viewed by many as the heart of Absalom, the Ascendant Court is home to the Starstone Cathedral, where any visitor might someday join the other ascended gods. Surrounding the massive temple are a dizzying array of shrines, churches, and other holy places, where faithful from all manner of religions pay tribute. Within this district, one can find adherents or sites dedicated to many rare or persecuted religions, since Absalom is tolerant of all theologies (as long as worshippers respect the laws of Absalom first, of course).

The Coins

Those looking to take advantage of Absalom’s numerous world-famous markets go to the Coins, a bustling mercantile quarter that hosts an almost-endless array of shops, wares, and independent traders. Within merchant houses, whole caravans can be bought and sold and the fortunes of cities made and lost, all while unscrupulous brokers make high-stakes bets or manipulate prospective outcomes.

The Docks

The Docks, or Dock District, serves as the main avenue onto or off the Isle of Kortos, and it’s a hub of both international trade and immigration. Absalom’s port of entry is hardly a peaceful haven for newcomers, however. Thirsty sailors work out their tension at the district’s numerous tap houses, visitors from nations such as Cheliax and Andoran routinely pick fights to address centuries-long international rivalries, and run-of-the-mill criminals prey on any arrivals who look like easy pickings. While entertainment venues along Besmara’s Boardwalk promise a good time, those in the know pursue other, safer forms of recreation. The Docks extends offshore: Pilot Island is best known as the site of the immense Absalom Lighthouse, as well as the Harbormaster’s Grange, an infamous administrative hub where Absalom’s harbor pilots fraternize and tax collectors set rates or process mounds of paperwork.

Eastgate

Eastgate is a quiet residential district with several iconic landmarks, including the Postern Gate, Blue Tower, and the Watchtower. The Green Ridge neighborhood is known as the main site of druidic activity within Absalom, centered as it is around a massive, ancient fig tree called the Grand Holt.

Foreign Quarter

The opportunities of Absalom draw residents from across the world to the city’s Foreign Quarter. The largest district enclaves are home to immigrants from Cheliax, Osirion, Andoran, Taldor, Qadira, and even as far as Vudra. Other Absalomians frequent this district to attend rousing events at the Irorium, to train at one of the many dojos or fighting schools in the area, or to request assistance or information from Pathfinders stationed at the towering Grand Lodge of the Pathfinder Society.

Ivy District

Absalom’s old arts district is known for the flowering trees along every road and the countless stunning homes. Many of the Inner Sea region’s most influential plays and musical productions make their debut in one of the many theater halls, opera houses, and tea houses within the Ivy District. Performers can learn from the very best at the White Grotto and other notable bardic colleges, while adventurers and nobles visit the Vault of Abadar to store valuables. Anyone in need of a custom magic item can also find numerous options for commission in this quarter, since the Ivy District is home to many of the city’s most talented specialty artisans and independent crafters.

Petal District

The grandest homes of Absalom’s rich and powerful line the stately streets of the Petal District. Even in death, important guild members and other Absalomian notables reside within this district, albeit entombed in the enormous Spiralcross Cemetery. Nonresidents come to the Petal District to study at the oldest school of magic in Absalom, the College of Mysteries, or to hire mercenaries at one of the district’s many hunting lodges turned– adventurers’ guilds. Beneath the district’s austere guise, nobles and power brokers meet to conduct much of the city’s unspoken Shadow War in prolonged bouts of spycraft and treachery.

Precipice Quarter

Formerly called Beldrin’s Bluff, this ruined quarter was once one of Absalom’s most beautiful and vibrant districts. In its prime, it featured ancient magical towers, brightly colored homes, and a resplendent fairground, but all that was turned to rubble two decades ago, when an earthquake nearly destroyed the sector. The quake sheared entire cliffs from the district and cast countless historical monuments into the harbor and the Docks, leaving the Precipice Quarter so ruined that it was abandoned to the undead and strange magic that arose in the disaster’s aftermath. Only in the last year have sustained efforts been made to tame the ruins and rebuild, with efforts finishing just in time for the Radiant Festival of 4720 AR.

The Puddles

Always Absalom’s poorest district due to its propensity for flooding, the Puddles sank deeper during the same earthquake that turned Beldrin’s Bluff into the Precipice Quarter. Now, many of the streets in the Puddles are partially submerged most—if not all—of the time. The district’s former central green has become a tidal lagoon filled with monstrous fish and parts of washed-up shipwrecks, many still containing sunken treasure. A vast semi-flooded tunnel network called the Siphons serves as the literal criminal underground for the quarter’s ne’er-do-wells, many of whom end up in the Brine, Absalom’s largest and foulest prison. The Puddles’ de facto law enforcers, the so-called Muckruckers, do little to alleviate wrongdoing, and the same might be said of the second-rate officers stationed in nearby Fort Tempest, who don’t include the Puddles in their official jurisdiction. Perhaps nowhere else in Absalom are citizens so left to fend for themselves than in this waterlogged district.

Westgate

Westgate is home to many of the best-established non-noble families in Absalom, many of which have occupied the district’s baronial townhouses for multiple generations. Westgate also features Absalom’s westernmost entry point by land, the Sally Port, which is also the garrison and mustering point for the city’s mounted unit, the Kortos Cavalry. Westgate’s many traditionalists and old-money aristocrats strongly dislike the disorder and revolutionary edicts marking recent years in Absalom, and some politically minded Westgate residents are stumping for a return to the old ways. Rumors say many of the district’s old neighborhoods hold the secrets of powerful families, and wild speculations circulate about what historic relics might be unearthed during the ongoing construction of Westgate’s new second sewer system.

Wise Quarter

The soaring towers of the Arcanamirium and the pyramid of the Forae Logos are but two of Absalom’s many repositories of knowledge. These institutions and countless other libraries, schools, and museums give the Wise Quarter its name. The Wise Quarter is also a vital place of governance, since it’s the seat of Absalom’s Grand Council and home to the Absalom Mint. The district’s archives contain some of the most valuable and most dangerous objects in the world. The infamous Blakros Museum, as just one example, has been the site of planar incursions, probes from alien worlds, and a giant ape attack, all in the last few years.

Other Areas of Interest

In addition to Absalom’s full-fledged districts, several other regions hold importance to the city’s daily life.

The Undercity

Absalom has been occupied, besieged, rebuilt, and built over repeatedly for thousands of years. As a result, many layers of streets and buildings have ended up below what is now the surface city. The tortuous byways of this “undercity” serve as service tunnels, secret passages, or sewers for the citizens above and ramshackle subterranean villages for the people brave (or desperate) enough to call the region home.
The Undercity’s many different areas are variously claimed by azarketi outcasts, monstrous criminals, tribes of kobolds, and people who simply fit nowhere else in Absalom. The deepest layers contain ruins from the time of Absalom’s emergence, as well as intentionally hidden sites such as the Labyrinth of Absalom. In this mythical maze, legend has it, Aroden defeated a terrible eons-old creature drawn up from below when the Last Azlanti raised the Isle of Kortos from the ocean floor.

Keeps

Absalom’s largest fortress is Azlanti Keep, a marvel of ancient architecture. Although only the military First Guard and its staff live or work here, Absalomian traditionalists perform pilgrimages to Azlanti Keep’s soaring Grand Vault to swear oaths before the Tablets of the First Laws, and educated folk come to see the trophies of thousands of military victories. Created by Aroden himself, the Grand Vault is large enough to shelter much of Absalom’s populace should a siege breach the walls. Since the Fiendflesh Siege in 4717 AR, Azlanti Keep is also the home of the city-state’s acting primarch, Wynsal Starborn.
Absalom’s other major keeps are less ambitious but still awe inspiring, constructed as they are in the soaring, many-tiered, flat-roofed style of old Absalomian architecture. Starwatch Keep, perched atop the escarpment of the city’s rocky eastern peninsula, overlooks Absalom Harbor and is home to the interdistrict police force called the Starwatch. On the opposite side of the harbor is Fort Tempest, the squalid outpost of Starwatch and First Guard flunkies.

Outskirts

The towns of Copperwood, Dawnfoot, Shoreline, and Westerhold cluster outside Absalom’s walls near major gates. Copperwood and Westerhold consist mostly of homes for various support staff and families of workers in nearby parts of Absalom, while many of the guards and administrators stationed in Starwatch Keep call Dawnfoot home. The suburb of Shoreline houses sailors, local fishers, and messy businesses such as tanneries, but it’s also a hot spot for smugglers and troublemakers who want to trade with Absalomians while avoiding the hefty fees and taxes imposed by the city’s harbormaster. In times of siege or conflict, the residents of Copperwood, Shoreline, and Westerhold withdraw into Absalom’s gates, while residents of Dawnfoot evacuate into Starwatch Keep.
South of Absalom, countless intentionally scuttled ships create a reef of debris and obstacles. The so-called Flotsam Graveyard is one-part military buffer against naval invasion and one-part unconventional tax, since it allows the Harbormaster’s Grange to make extra money by hiring out experienced pilots capable of navigating the perilous waters. Beyond the Flotsam Graveyard lies Kortos Bay, a massive bight dotted with a few rocky islands.

History

With nearly 5,000 years of prosperity, influence, and continuous activity, Absalom is second to none in shaping the Inner Sea’s destiny. Situated between a host of influential nations, Absalom consistently exerted influence by controlling Inner Sea traffic, attracting talent from countless realms, and assimilating disparate beliefs into a vibrant, multifaceted culture that has steered innovation and thought ever since. But the city is not a shining metropolis without flaws. Its buildings stand atop the past’s rubble, the wounds of countless sieges scar its walls, and the sins of generations past stain its streets.
Age of Aroden (1–400 AR): The Isle of Kortos owes its existence to Aroden, who raised the Starstone and the surrounding sea floor. Aroden took the Test of the Starstone and became a god. A primordial version of Absalom emerged from the ground as the Starstone Isle coagulated into its permanent shape, designed to match Aroden’s vision of a perfect city. For several centuries afterward, Aroden oversaw Absalom’s growth and helped defend its shores, granting the city unmatched influence. Virtually no records from Absalom survive from this time, though the nascent island’s neighbors maintain ample documentation of the city’s meteoric rise.
Age of Independence (410–1618 AR): Over the ages, Aroden increasingly departed from Absalom to pursue other godly objectives, and by the start of this period, he had visited the city for the last time. Absalom now controlled its own destiny. Increasingly, the island attracted prestigious visitors and avaricious raiders alike, enticing waves of Garundi, Tian, and Vudran immigration and influence. For all the wealth and innovation the booming population brought, the city swelled beyond the infrastructure Aroden envisioned centuries earlier. Thus, during this time, Absalom constructed many of its key structures and walls.
Age of Excess (1619–2925 AR): With centuries of prosperity and cultural dominance, Absalom’s populace began to consider itself superior to neighboring states. Sweeping legislation mandated foreign labor take an ever‑greater role in maintaining the city, ostensibly to free its enlightened citizens to pursue more high‑minded endeavors. These laws instead opened Absalom to foreign agents, encouraged indolence, and slowly drained the treasury. The first two mortals to pass the Test of the Starstone and apotheosize after Absalom’s establishment truly embody this era through their areas of concern: Norgorber, god of greed, secrets, and murder; and Cayden Cailean, god of alcohol, bravery, and freedom.
Age of Expansion (2926–4605 AR): A series of mainland earthquakes caused many of the controlling foreign powers to withdraw from Absalom. The citizens reclaimed control, overthrowing corrupt leaders and overturning pernicious laws. With newfound energy, Absalom renovated its dilapidated edifices and supported its neighbors in thwarting evil—particularly against Aroden’s ancient foe, the Whispering Tyrant. Absalom’s pride remained as strong as ever, and its missions abroad imposed the city’s values on foreign lands, looted treasures, or even conquered territory. Yet, the rash of retaliatory invasions that followed quashed Absalom’s imperial and moralistic ambitions.
Age of Inheritance (4606 AR–present): With the death of Aroden, Absalom staggered onward, demoralized. Increased conflict with Cheliax nearly saw the city overwhelmed in culture and military wars, and many of the tools Aroden left in the city’s care gradually lost their power. Although Absalom entered this era weakened by its founder’s demise, the catastrophe drove the city to establish its own identity and technologies to defend itself against new threats.

The Current State of Absalom

After a brief period of peace coinciding with the first half of Primarch Gyr’s reign, Absalom has experienced some of its worst trouble in decades, culminating in two attempted sieges within the same number of years. Three years ago, in 4717 AR, forces both within the city and without conspired to lay siege to Absalom in an event since known variously as the Black Echelon Uprising or the Fiendflesh Siege. The conflict began when an army of demons, fiendish constructs, and Baphomet-worshipping minotaurs encircled the city from the Cairnlands. Before they launched their formal attack, though, strange lights shone from the Pathfinder Society’s Grand Lodge in the Foreign Quarter, and a horde of undead invaders rose to fulfill a centuries-long pact and wreak havoc within the city’s walls. These undead saboteurs—members of Taldor’s ancient Black Echelon order—struck at the city and managed to take Fort Tempest. To make matters worse, a long-sunk armada in league with the Black Echelon rose from the depths of Absalom Harbor to join the attack.
In response to the surprise attack from all sides and because Primarch Gyr went missing sometime before or during the fray, the Grand Council named Wynsal Starborn siege lord of Absalom, granting the former military captain broad emergency powers. Starborn granted freedom to any enslaved person who would defend the city, an edict that eventually led to the abolishment of the Flesh Taxes and outlawed slavery. An alliance of the First Guard, freed slaves, and loyal agents of the Pathfinder Society ended the threat. With Lord Gyr of House Gixx still missing, Starborn’s rank of siege lord also bestowed upon him the title and responsibilities of acting primarch.
Absalomians savored their victory only briefly. In 4719 AR, the lich king Tar-Baphon launched an unprecedented attack on Absalom using a doomsday device called the Radiant Fire. Only the sacrifice of brave heroes whose souls intertwined with the device thwarted the Whispering Tyrant’s siege and saved the city from destruction. Shortly thereafter, Watcher Lord Ulthun II, of the fallen nation of Lastwall, arrived in Absalom with the news that the Tyrant had emerged from his failed surprise attack to gather an enormous undead army centered on the Isle of Terror, and that he would surely come for the Starstone once more. Citizens of Absalom view Ulthun and his retinue—including the self-styled “goblin king of Absalom,” Zusgut—as either heralds of Absalom’s imminent demise or vital sources of insight for its survival.
With so many recent catastrophes, most Absalomians either brim with energy inspired by their survival or harbor increasing dread of future perils. Luckily, the former is the prevailing attitude, and leaders are using the surge of enthusiasm to make good on major projects, including rebuilding the Precipice Quarter and rallying new recruits to fill out the ranks of the depleted military. For many, especially the formerly disenfranchised, there has never been a better time to call Absalom home. Yet for some, such as those who still mourn their dead or who must make room for so many new citizens, it is a trying era. In the same breath, an Absalomian might laud Acting Primarch Starborn’s liberal policies while speculating that the former captain’s thus-far 3-year term as “temporary” primarch is a step in the direction of a military coup.
In the near future, many civic leaders hope to finally settle the matter of choosing a new primarch and restore a sense of normalcy to the beleaguered city. The most prominent bidders for this position include the politically connected Scion Lord Avid of House Arnsen, the moderate yet visionary Scion Lady Darchana of House Madinani, and the popular and forward-thinking noblewoman Adrielle Neprathep. Traditionalists wish for a return to the old way of doing things and have thrown their weight behind Scion Lord Avid, whom they view as most likely to continue Lord Gyr’s lax policies. Then again, many military-minded Absalomians and a not-insignificant number of civilians have been so impressed with Wynsal Starborn’s conduct that they are calling for him to be installed as primarch permanently. Only time will tell how the tumultuous political atmosphere in the City at the Center of the World will resolve itself.

Tourism

The sheer number of visitors who travel to Absalom on a daily basis is dizzying, but the vast majority of these folk can be organized into one of three categories—all three of which can certainly include adventurers as well.
Pilgrims: These visitors come to Absalom for religious reasons, be it to pay homage to a famous (or infamous) temple or shrine, to seek advice from some of the Inner Sea’s wisest clerics, or as the result of another would-be deity hoping to ascend via the Test of the Starstone. Some of these pilgrims may even fancy themselves as Golarion’s newest deity-to-be!
Tourists: Absalom attracts curiosity from across the Inner Sea and beyond, and those who come to marvel at its history, its skyline, or its legacy are legion. Many locals have a love-hate relationship with tourists, whose influx of money is well-appreciated, but whose ignorance of local customs and traditions can cause unwanted strife.
Inlanders: Beyond Absalom’s walls and outlying towns, many folk of Starstone Isle dwell in crude settlements nestled in the island’s hills, mountains, and forests. These isolated communities nonetheless are a part of the island’s economic sphere, and most Inlanders inevitably visit the “big city” at least once in their lives, occasionally resulting in cultural conflicts. Absalomians tend to look down upon these Inlanders, arrogantly considering them uncivilized.

Maps

• 

  Absalom

  Map of the city of Absalom

Founding Date

0

Founders

• Aroden

Type

Metropolis

Population

306,900

Related Ethnicities

• Lirgeni
• Yamasan

Inhabitant Demonym

Absalomian

Location under

Isle of Kortos

Included Locations

• Ascendant Court
• Azlanti Keep
• Coins
• Docks
• Eastgate
• Foreign Quarter
• Ivy District
• Outskirts
• Petal District
• Precipice Quarter
• Puddles
• Sphinx Gate
• Undercity
• Westgate
• Wise Quarter

Owner/Ruler

Wynsal Starborn

Ruling/Owning Rank

Primarch

Owning Organization

Absalom Government

Related Traditions

• Radiant Parade

Related Historical Events

• 4137 AR
  Cheliax besieges Absalom
• 1 AR
  Absalom founded

Coat of Arms, Colors, and the Mother-Sphinx

Absalom’s coat of arms features the unblinking Eye of Aroden on a field of ocean teal (or sometimes green). Each of the crest’s three corners features an identical golden crown, representing the wellsprings of human culture that combined to form Absalom. The top two crowns symbolize the human kingdoms of Avistan and Garund, with the bottom crown representing the Ancient Azlanti origins of Aroden and his following. The small golden circle above the eye represents the aeon orbs raised from the Darklands by Aroden to give life to the flora of Kortos. Three rays of light—knowledge conveyed to humanity from Aroden—radiate out from the god’s eye.
Absalom’s colors are golden yellow (to represent the Starstone) and rich teal (for the sea) or green (for the verdant plains of the Swardlands or the industrious forests of the Immenwood).
Among the oldest symbols associated with the city is the mother-sphinx, a winged, quasi-divine civic icon with a lion’s body and the head and torso of a human woman. Her hands grasp a scale and scepter, signs of rulership and justice. She’s sometimes shown pregnant, holding a scroll, or sitting atop a wave. Brought to the city by Osirian settlers in Absalom’s earliest days, the mother-sphinx represents the hybrid nature of Absalom, drawn from many traditions into one wise, powerful whole. She is also popular as a symbol of knowledge and arcane power, and features prominently in the iconography of some of the city’s most venerable secret societies.