Egorian (eh-GOR-ee-an)

Egorian became the capital of Cheliax upon the Thrune Ascendancy in 4640 AR, replacing the city of Westcrown. House Thrune wished to create a new imperial capital to honour its new allegiances far from the nobles and history of Westcrown. It is also known as the City of Thorns.

Demographics

Egorian is one of the largest halfling settlements in the Inner Sea region, with most of the population held in slavery. Halfling slaves are especially popular among Egorian nobles, and are derisively called slips by their owners. Egorian halflings are naturally much tougher, less happy, and less warm than halflings elsewhere, but are not afraid to take advantage of their masters where they can.

Religion

As the capital of Cheliax, Egorian is the heart of the faith of Asmodeus, and the largest concentration of his worshipers can be found there. They are led by Aspexia Rugatonn, Grand High Priestess of Asmodeus. The Midnight Temple in Egorian is dedicated to Asmodeus, and human sacrifices are made there upon the Black Altar.

Districts

Egorian is divided up to 23 official and unofficial districts. Cheapside is a catch-all term used by the upper classes of Egorian to describe any of the city's low-rent districts. These are the Riverside, the Devil's Dance, the Dice End, the Bilgetown, the Trick Alley, the Whipcrack and other districts. The upper-middle-class neighborhoods of the city are the Briarpatch, the Triumph, the Parley Circle and other districts. The wealthiest districts of the city are the Hell Hound Hill, the Long Market, the Mireside, the Thorntown and others.

History

Throughout most of Egorian's early history, it was little more than a sleepy fishing village on the shores of Lake Sorrow. Only when first Taldor and later independent Cheliax rose to be the dominant power in the region did its fortunes rise, becoming the second most-important city after Westcrown. After the end of the Chelish Civil War, Queen Abrogail I moved the nation's capital from Westcrown to Egorian and instituted a major urban renewal program in order to re-imagine the city in a more orderly image.

Geography

The imperial capital sits on the southern banks of Lake Sorrow, where the Adivian River continues its meandering course to the south. Egorian's position on the lake grants it access to the connecting inland waterways of the Sedna, Tomarsulk, and Jeni Rivers, and the cities of Kantaria, and Dekarium.

The city itself is a mismatched combination of two distinct architectural and design styles: the older, organic of Imperial Cheliax, and the newer, inflexible and autocratic philosophy of the infernal House of Thrune.

The newer sections are built in the gothic architectural style, with towers and minarets that are barbed or capped with sharply pointed conical roofs. The favoured construction material is a red-veined black marble imported from Arcadia. The expense of importing such material has been one of factors inhibiting further city development.

Old Egorian appears far more welcoming to foreign traders and visitors. Temples not dedicated to Asmodeus are usually found in these districts.

Demographics 
71,500 humans, 7,900 halflings, 1,350 tieflings, 1350 other

Alternative Name(s)

City of Thorns

Type

Metropolis

Population

82,100

Inhabitant Demonym

Egorians

Owner/Ruler

Lord Mayor Grachius Alazario

Owning Organization

Cheliax

Characters in Location

• Lord Mayor Grachius Alazario