Whitethrone
Whitethrone is both the capital of Irrisen and the province of Thronehold. Baba Yaga established the city as her capital on the ruins of the Raemerrund capital of Elkswoad, literally paving the new city’s roads with the skulls of slain Ulfen warriors. Whitethrone sits on the frigid northern shore of Glacier Lake. Its most distinguishing characteristic is the diversity of its populace: Jadwiga, Ulfen, dwarves, fey, gnomes, ice trolls, snow goblins, and winter wolves all live in relatively stable coexistence inside the city. Of course, the majority of the dwarven, gnome, and Ulfen residents are slaves—save for visiting merchants, diplomats, and adventurers, most of whom confine themselves to the Merchants’ Quarter that girds Whitethrone’s Market Square.
Queen Elvanna rules all of Irrisen from the Royal Palace, a magnificent structure of ice sitting atop an enormous ice pillar that rises 200 feet from the surface of Glacier Lake. The palace towers 10 stories high, with at least as many dungeon levels in the ice pillar on which it sits. The queen’s many offspring, the Jadwiga Elvanna, scurry through the labyrinthine hallways and chambers of the palace, carrying out their business of running the wintry nation and seeing to it that their mother’s wishes are carried out.
Elvanna’s eldest daughter, Princess Cassisoche, is the duchess of Thronehold, responsible for the administration of the province and the city of Whitethrone itself. For nearly a century, Cassisoche has devoted herself wholly to her mother’s endless commands, allowing Elvanna to focus her attention on the nation as a whole. To say the princess is a cold woman is to say a raven is black; Cassisoche is severe and humorless, heartless and efficient—a model for the dutiful, hardworking Jadwiga Elvanna. At her mother’s command, the princess has never married and has no children of her own, lest the role of wife or mother distract Cassisoche from her duties. The only indulgence she allows herself is attending performances at the Frosthall Theater, where the royal box is reserved for her. Cassisoche frequently sculpts roses of ice to present to Lady Ilya, the theater’s proprietor and director, and the nature of their relationship is fodder for much gossip among Whitethrone’s aristocrats. On occasions when Queen Elvanna is away from Whitethrone on other business, Princess Cassisoche plays the role of regent, passing judgment and directing national policy. The queen never utters a single word of thanks, but the princess has learned her mother’s lessons well—Cassisoche’s reward for faithfully serving Queen Elvanna is the luxury of waking up the next day.
Demographics
Like most other cities, Irrisen is divided up into several social classes. The divisions in Irrisen are largely determined by birth, however, which lends the hierarchy more the aspect of a caste system than a traditional class system. At the top of the heap are the Jadwiga, those descended from Baba Yaga. The children and grandchildren of the current queen, Elvanna, are given pride of place and accorded the highest status, while descendents of earlier queens form the broad upper and middle classes. Baba Yaga’s monstrous allies—the ice trolls, winter wolves, and snow goblins—make up the next class of citizens, given precedence over all humans but those of Baba Yaga’s blood. Merchants and foreigners fall somewhat below these monsters, but their importance to Irrisen’s economy keeps them from feeling the brunt of their low status. All other humans in Irrisen are slaves—descendents of the barbarians who surrendered during the Winter War or were stolen from other nations.
The ice trolls, winter wolves, snow goblins, and frost giants that call Whitethrone home occupy a position slightly outside the human caste system. By tradition, they are seen as allies of Baba Yaga as much as they are subjects, maintaining some separation from the human society. Most Jadwiga treat the monsters with respect, at least in part because of a widespread (and carefully cultivated) belief that monsters have short tempers that can get the better of them. The Jadwiga belief that monsters can’t always be held responsible for their outbursts guarantees that humans step softly around even monsters of somewhat lower rank.
Jadwiga Elvanna
The Jadwiga Elvanna are the children and grandchildren of Queen Elvanna. They form the aristocracy of Irrisen and of Whitethrone, making up most of the officials of the government and almost all of the officers of the Iron Guard. The Jadwiga Elvanna wield extraordinary power in Whitethrone, and many use that power in cruel and capricious ways. The fact that the Jadwiga Elvanna spend much of their time plotting against each other and jockeying for position means that outsiders who don’t watch their steps may find themselves in situations where they’re guaranteed to anger at least one of Elvanna’s kin. The jadwiga Elvanna have but a short time remaining in their rulership of Irrisen, and will either leave Golarion when Baba Yaga comes again or be reduced in social status as the next queen’s children come to power. They seem to be making the most of the time they have remaining, and numerous monuments and tributes are in the works, threatening to crowd out and overshadow efforts at immortality by previous Jadwiga cohorts.Other Jadwiga
Descendents of previous daughters of Baba Yaga have a lower status than the Jadwiga Elvanna, but in some ways bear a more impressive pedigree. Many important and enduring traditions are carried on by lesser Jadwiga, including the post of Mistress of Gardens and ownership of the Crooked House. While the Jadwiga Elvanna have only 100 years of history in the city, other Jadwiga families have more than 1,000. This long history helps Irrisen keep continuity as ruling castes come and go. While lesser Jadwiga are not usually as extravagant and capricious as Jadwiga Elvanna and are more likely to treat the monsters and merchants of Whitethrone with respect, they still see no kinship at all with the slaves, and treat them even more cruelly than the higher-class Jadwiga.Monstrous Allies
Merchants and Foreigners
Outsiders in Whitethrone, whether merchants, scholars, or adventurers, fall somewhat below monsters in terms of respect received from the elite. Mostly this means that merchants try to interact with the monsters as little as possible, which is not difficult within the Merchant’s Quarter but almost impossible anywhere else in the city. Adventurers may be attracted to Whitethrone because of the opportunities for quick but dangerous profit in the service of various Jadwiga, or because the surrounding areas of Irrisen are so wild. They do well to remember, however, that many of the monsters beyond the city wall are allies or relatives of monsters within and indiscriminate monster-slaying may be treated as murder. Visitors who interact with monsters, especially the proud winter wolves, must be careful to show respect, but the varying customs of different species can make that difficult: dealing with an ice troll with anything less than steely resolve is seen as an insulting level of weakness, while ogres like a bit of sniveling from their partners in conversation.Slaves
For the past 1,400 years, the descendents of the land’s previous inhabitants have had the unique culture of the Linnorm Kings wrung out of them, and must now subsist on the cultural leavings of the Jadwiga. Slaves are expected to obey the mores and cultural norms of their masters, and most slave housing carries at least rudimentary gingerbreading, a formal gate, and other trappings of Jadwiga culture. The Jadwiga expect slaves to be as unobtrusive as possible, and so slaves generally dress and talk in the same manner as their masters, albeit in a humbler fashion appropriate to their station. Irrisen slavery is a low-key, individualized affair, with no slave-pits or block auctions, but plenty of individual sales and loans.Industry & Trade
Just outside the city walls sits the Bone Mill, a grim industrial building where the bodies of slaves and those unable to afford a burial plot in Rimerest Cemetery are sent to be rendered for all of their resources: fat for soap and candles, bone meal for filler when flour is scarce, and other substances taken from bodies for maximum conservation of resources.
Districts
The Floes
Whitethrone's most elite neighbourhood, built on islands north of the Royal Palace, is home to many Jadwiga Elvanna and other functionaries who serve Irrisen's government. The Water Palace, home to air elementals that dance in heated chambers where hot springs bubble up, serves as a luxurious bathhouse for only the privileged. These same springs heat the Hidden Gardens, a greenhouse complex where about a third of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the city are grown. Ilyena Tetrovna oversees the gardens, making her one of the most powerful Jadwiga in the city.Frosthall
Many wealthy Jadwiga reside in Frosthall, along with those Jadwiga Elvanna who don't reside at the Royal Palace. The Frosthall Theatre is the artistic centre of Whitethrone. Here, Lady Ilya directs plays performed on ice. Frosthall is also the home of Porcenlain Street, the hub of Whitethrone's dollmaking industry.The Howlings
Winter wolves are the primary residents of this district, which provides easy access to the snowy wilderness outside the city walls. When Whitethrone was built, Baba Yaga gifted the winter wolves with the ability to walk about as humans in the Howlings. Lord Chegar Tuvash is the undisputed prince of Whitethrone's winter wolves.Ironside
This district is home to the Iron Barracks, the fortress of Irrisen's Iron Guard. This military order serves as the city guard in the provincial capitals across Irrisen. It is composed of soldiers fanatically loyal to Baba Yaga herself, rather than the reigning queen. Lord Commander Prvan Oryo is captain of the guard and has an ego to match his position. Whitethrone’s stilyagi, divided into various gangs such as the Taldan Lions, the Ruby Princes, and Hellknights, gather near Hammerdown Fountain in Ironside, under the ostensible leadership of their eccentric “Prince,” Paval Turosky.Merchant's Quarter
The Merchan'ts Quarter is slightly to the west of the centre of the city. It girds Whitethrone's Market Square, and is where most of the merchants, diplomats, and adventurers visiting the city confine themselves to.Ratnest
This small district at the east corner of Whitethrone is home to the city's snow goblins. It is a filthy labyrinth of underground tunnels and aboveground shanties.Troll Quarter
This district is inhabited almost exclusively by trolls. Its rulers manage to keep the trolls' violent aggressive tendencies mostly in check. The Eyefang Area helps manage the remaining aggression. The arean hosts nightly bouts in an ongoing fighting tournament where the trolls (and other races, if so inclined) can battle for status or to redress grudges.Twohill
The area surrounding Veskaya Hill and Observatory Hill in the northwest of the city is known as Twohill. Woodcrafters and scholars inhabit this district. Observatory Hill is home to the Observatory Arcanis, a font of Golarion's knowledge of the heavens. Astronomers, astrologers, and various other scholars visit the observatory year-round.Maps
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Whitethrone
Capital of Irrisen
Type
Large city
Population
24,900 (17,962 humans, 1873 winter wolves, 1237 ice trolls, 1098 gnomes, 996 snow goblins, 614 dwarves, 543 fey, 95 frost giants, 482 other)
Characters in Location
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