Emon
Emon stands defiantly against all who would threaten Tal’Dorei and its people. It is the cultural heart of human civilization on this continent, and as the republic’s capital,
Emon is a nexus of politics, justice, business, industry, and education within the realm. Dense farms and farm communities surround the northeastern boundary of the city, while large slums cap the northern and southern landscape outside of the city walls.
While classically the heart of a human empire, Emon boasts a diverse populace, with citizens of nearly all races from all of Exandria’s many nations, thriving on the newinnovations and ideas of its diverse citizenry. Tal’Dorei’s tight alliances with the elven nation of Syngorn and the dwarven hold of Kraghammer invited some of those nations’ greatest artisans inside Emon’s walls, and their friends and families soon followed until Emon was home to a significant minority of elves and dwarves. Under the rule of Zan Tal’Dorei, Emon developed into a city whose people valued innovation and collaboration, especially in small, cohesive groups—virtues that some historians
believe has given rise to the prominence of the modern adventuring party.
While Emon is becoming more commercial and the use of gold as currency has been ubiquitous throughout Tal’Dorei’s history, many communities within the city are still close-knit enough to use the barter system. During the reign of Drassig, the humans of Emon adopted a dwarven oath called rudraz, an intimate promise between two people to repay a deed or trade. Though the rudraz is not a contract, the dwarves believed that an oathbreaker would be forever barred from passing beyond the BrightguardGates of Hilmaire (hill-MORE-uh the gates that allow dwarves to pass to the afterlife. Humans in Emon treat the rudraz more lightly, often using it to seal matters of business or politics rather than personal promises, but breaking this oath still carries massive social repercussions— few look kindly upon a person with the epithet “Oathbreaker.”
Demographics
68% Human, 7% Dwarven, 6% Elven, 19% Other
Though the people of Emon have come a long way since the human supremacy of Drassig’s rule, prejudice and discrimination still burns like a lingering fever. Overt
racism is most common in the Upper and Lower Slums, where gentrification threatens to eradicate the culture of one of Emon’s oldest immigrant districts. The scholarly
elite of the Erudite Quarter and the nobility of the Cloudtop District like to pretend they are too enlightened to succumb to bigotry, their wealth and power allows them to leave their own prejudices unexamined. While elves and dwarves are fully welcomed into human society for their stereotypical characteristics (elven beauty and arcane talent, dwarven honesty and metallurgical prowess), tieflings, half-orcs, and dragonborn rarely rise to Emon’s highest societal ranks.
Government
Emon is the seat of the Council of Tal’Dorei, the nation’s highest governing body. Though the council originally served under the Sovereign of Tal’Dorei, the nation’s final
Sovereign was killed when the Chroma Conclave attacked Emon. Following the death of Thordak the Cinder King and the rest of the Conclave, Emon was rebuilt and the
Council reformed as the backbone of the new Republic of Tal’Dorei. One unintended consequence of relying on magic to rapidly rebuild Emon is that the mages of Tal’Dorei now hold incredible influence over the fledgling Council. Some fear that without a Sovereign, the Council will be unable to keep the arcanists in line, and Tal’Dorei will dissolve into magocracy.
Defences
Encircled by 60-foot-high walls that stretch from the eastern fields to the western shore, Emon is accessible only through its heavily-patrolled gates and by skyship, the
denizens of the city are generally well protected from outside attackers and sieges. A well-trained force of guards known as the Arms of Emon enforces the laws of the land
from the Military District.
Guilds and Factions
Clasp
Council of Tal’Dorei
Alabaster Lyceum
History
Emon is still recovering from its destruction at the talons of the Chroma Conclave and Thordak’s subsequent occupation, rebuilding the districts most marred from
the short-lived reign of the Cinder King. Thanks to the Clasp’s underground networks and established hierarchies, Emonian society and culture was able to bounce
back more swiftly than any other major settlement in Tal’Dorei. Because the last Sovereign relinquished his power, without heirs, before he was killed by Thordak, the
Council of Tal’Dorei was able to transition their nation from an imperial power to a republic without war or insurrection.
However, the swiftness of Emon’s rebirth has put the Council of Emon in a precarious position. Not only are they socially indebted to a criminal faction, the Council
now owes vast amounts of gold to mages in the service of the Alabaster Lyceum. These Lyceum conjurers created thousands of tons of stone and steel, and each of their
transmuters rebuilt at the rate of one hundred laborers— and the Council cannot afford to pay them for their service, even with Thordak’s reclaimed treasure hoard. Some members of the Council have already caved to pressure from factions within the Clasp and the Lyceum, and turn a blind eye to the crime and magical abuse that run rampant throughout the city. The fragile new republic already threatens to collapse under the cost of its creation.
Geography
Emon is not a tourist destination for its climate—the city is more temperate and prone to rain showers than most— but those who call it home swear they wouldn’t trade their rain for all the sun in Kymal. The city is blessed with cool summers and warm winters, thanks to its proximity to the cool Ozmit Sea. Though snow rarely falls on the city itself, it relies on springtime snowmelt from the Cliffkeep Mountains to fill its reservoirs throughout the year. Emon is, in almost all senses, a city fated by water; were there anyone powerful enough to starve its farms and reservoirs, the city would be theirs.
Maps
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Emon
Alternative Name(s)
The City of Fellowship
Type
Capital
Population
287,550
Included Locations
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
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