Katheer

Katheer, also known as "Glorious Golden Katheer", is the capital city of Qadira, and serves as the seat of power for the Satrap Xerbystes II. The city possesses a canyon-like harbor and is the center of trade for goods to and from the distant Empire of Kelesh, as well as from throughout the Inner Sea. Each day, ships arrive from and depart for the major trading ports throughout the Inner Sea region, including Quantium, Absalom, and Katapesh. Katheer is also renowned as a center for learning, and contains dozens of academies of mathematics, philosophy, and healing.

Industry & Trade

Caravans of salt, spices, silk, heatstone, and other goods require a commission granted by Xerbystes II. Most are awarded to those princes and princesses he favors. To accommodate all of these caravans, Katheer contains the largest camel population in the Inner Sea region. Besides the many camels and sailing ships, Katheer is also a port for sandships: magical vessels capable of floating above the landscape, powered by elemental winds.

Visitors to Katheer often marvel at the wealth and strangeness of the capital, while others declare that it is a pigsty compared with the glorious cities of central Casmaron.

The rainbow crocus is a one flower that can only be found in the plains north of Katheer. While its bloom is beautiful by itself, the real value lies in its stigmas—they change color as the flower grows, and can be dried to create one of the most valuable spices on the market—coruscant. This spice varies in flavor depending on the maturity of the flower when its stems were collected, and its vibrant hues can dye the dishes in which it is used. Coruscant's cost depends on the flower's age, with younger varieties selling from 1 gp per ounce, and mature ones costing up to 3 gp per ounce.

Academies of learning

Katheer contains more than two dozen colleges and centres of learning, and the greatest of these is the Venicaan College of Medicaments and Chirurgery, which has perfected advanced healing practices that provide Qadira with an advantage over Taldor, where the healing arts are less developed.

The city is also home to many competitive arcane magic colleges, including one focused on veil magic. Individual instructors also promote themselves as claiming to teach the most correct forms of magic.

History

Katheer has founded in 1290 AR, next to the ceremonial ground of the annual Histaqen horse race in its inaugural year. Katheer began as a meeting ground, soon turned into a trading camp, and then to a city of stone and mortar. When Keleshites came from the east, they took the city for their own and named their new land after its name ("Katheer", pronounced by the explorers as "Kadeera", and finally written as "Qadira" by the court scribes of Kelesh). Keleshites came in large numbers from the interior of Casmaron, expanding the city, and bringing commerce, learning, and temples. The Keleshites mixed seamlessly with the native Qadirans. They built piers for their ships to ferry supplies up and down the Pashman River, saving their horses and camels for the roads to and from Casmaron. In time, the piers grew into a harbor, and that harbor into one of the wealthiest ports on the Inner Sea.

Founding Date

1290 AR

Alternative Name(s)

Glorious Golden Katheer

Type

Metropolis

Population

132,450

Inhabitant Demonym

Katheerites

Owner/Ruler

Satrap Xerbystes II

Owning Organization

Qadira

Characters in Location

• Satrap Xerbystes II