The City of Castlemir

Castlemir is the capital of the Sophra prefecture, located at the northeast of the Kingdom of Suilley. It sits in an important place, the direct center of the three regions of prefecture. Situated as a hub for the unique geography found in the regions it governs, Castlemir has become both a place for adventure as well as a profitable hub for those seeking to make a name and a fortune for themselves.

History

The city started like many, as a small, safe stop and break from the endless wilderness. What was once a mere trading post quickly developed into a town, as adventures and traders alike needed resources and respite from their journeys. It wasn't long before the Crown took notice and incorporated the region into the empire as an official one. For hundreds of years it has grown into the city it now is, gaining its own method of governance, its own religions, its own trade and its own culture. It even gained senatorial seats, and now sits as one of the most powerful cities in the kingdom.

Trade and Goods

Castlemir acts as a major trade city in the region, with a route leading north that forks to both the City State of Endhome, as well as to the north and Bards Gate, and to the west to the Crown of Suilley. While the route has only recently began to be widely used, it has proven to be a lucrative overland trade route, and many Suilleyns have capitalized on it. Despite the external connections, the cities primary focus still tends to be on internal trade and the movement of goods in the lucrative areas surrounding it. It also has a thriving tourism business, with many coming from miles around to see the floating islands, the volcano, and the lush forests. The roads going into the Indepi region bring in valuable ore, gems, as well as valuable rock such as marble, granite and quartz. It even has some unique elemental locations, leading some to harvest magical goods from the creatures and energy available in the area. The noble who strives to tame this region is Duke Algrim Slate. His family and many other dwarves settled here long ago from some of the shattered dwarven empires scattered throughout the region. His hardy nature and that of his kin, as well as no small amount of business acumen, has led him to be a major player in the region. To the north is the Campi region, a forested one that brings in all manner of goods. Some of the best game, lumber, medicinal supplies, alchemical ingredients and exotic creatures come from the region. But with it comes danger, and many who venture too far into the forest fall prey to the horrors that lie under its dark canopies. The Campi region is governed by the Duchess Courtney Beaumont, a prime example of nobility who thrives on exorbitant outfits and grand galas. There has been much contention with her and her constituents, as she has little love for the wild and wishes just to lead a life of luxury. Closer towards the capital is the last district, the Nordii region. This large area has many unique features but primarily provides agriculture. The Darius family calls this home, the head of which is Duke Bartleby Darius, who lives out of the Birdsong Estate. The family has long been one of wealth, and has had an unbroken chain of powerful casters dating back to the beginning of the Kingdom. [1]Government and Temples Each prefecture runs itself in a different manner, and Sopras method of governance is equally unique. The metropolis of Castlemir is home to the prefectures political elite, and is governed by a council of seven, though talks of adding more have been discussed. The council of seven promotes one of their members as Grand Duke, who automatically get a senatorial position. It is rare for this to not be one of the nobles, but occasionally another member is nominated. A powerful noble officially governs each of the three provinces, Nordii, Campi, and Indepi, and are given the title of Duke, or Duchess. These individuals are all senators and were awarded their titles and lands by the King. Should one of the nobles die, the council determines who is the successor after reviewing all available evidence. This can be a Last Will and Testament and is the most common form of choosing a successor. In other cases, it falls to the first-born of the noble automatically. If unavailable, then arguments and positions proposed by the council are heard, and a succesor is chosen. Another council position is held by each of the three major temples of the city. The first is the Temple of Lakua Mao, The Red Misery. This powerful religion is currently headed by Confessor Krerrmoloth Rhogar, and owes much of its following to fear of the volcano that looms nearby. It is unclear how the internal structure of the temple decides who is their Confessor, but none have dared to question it. Krerrmoloth has no small amount of ambition, his fiery attitude and unending determination leading him to push the religion to new heights. He seeks out resources to secure safe passage to the summit of the volcano and to build large signal fires on top. Many question the meaning of this, but the belief is that by lighting the type of the volcano themselves, it would appease the Dragon Goddess and she would not light it herself with an eruption. The clergy of Lakua Mao have other activities within Castlemir besides just a focus on the volcano. They see the light of fire as a holy symbol in its own right, and hold many fire festivals around the city. Music and jubilation are always found at these events, leading many to love the worship of Lakua Mao despite the worry of others. The second position is one of the Temple of Rhiaan, Goddess Of The Air & Birds, and has a focus on the Nordii region. The floating islands have given much to her worship, and the temple thrives. They worship her and see the islands as their domain, and wish to one day build their own temple to their goddess in the sky. The temple is ran by Prelate Valentine Flint, an ambitious man who wishes to see the Temple of Rhiaan flourish more than it has in other regions. Their focus on flight, freedom and healing has made them popular with the city dwellers. Their spells have aided in construction of tall buildings in the city, and their claim and study of the floating islands have garnered large amounts of support from outsiders. Because of their affinity for birds, the temple is actually a large aviary, with Great Eagles using it as a nest. The creatures are thankful for their homes, and have an arrangement with the clerics to occasionally give tourists rides. Because the temple has never once tried to capture a bird, believing that all avian should be free to fly, they have always treated the worshippers of Rhiaan with respect. The last position held by a temple is that of the Temple of Silvanath. The proximity to the Horticulture forest and the wild and untamed wilderness found in the Campi region have given much to the religions strength in the area. The temple itself is headed by Watcher Kiniko, a goblin druid that is much revered by her followers. Her charm and wit are unmatched, and often convince outsiders that she has a purely benevolent nature. But under her cute exterior is a ruthless warrior for the wild, using her magic and other members of her order to unleash fury on those who would deal undue damage to the wilds. Rangers, druids, hunters and woodsmen of all sorts seek her blessing. There have been rumors, however true, that the temple has housed lycanthropes. This is a serious offense in the city, but Kiniko has denied this and claims that her temple is only one of peace and would never harbor mindless killing machines. Much of the temples income comes from the services provided by their members in traversing the wilds. They refuse to work with the temple of Lakua Mao, seeing it as destructive force and enemy of theirs. The last council member belongs to the head of the Sphere of Knowledge, a large domed structure and home to the magical arts in not only the region, but the entirety of Suilley. The capital of Manas had a longstanding superstition and prejudice of magical casters that took many generations to shake, with the first major breakthroughs being that of the Artificer and Bardic nature. This left Suilley without a central institution of arcane knowledge, something that the regional capital of Castlemir happened to pick up the mantle on. The college is currently ran by Professor Scoria, an opinionated and fiery genasi woman who has little patience. Her and her predecessors have recognized the necessity for money for the colleges growth. Despite this being an unfortunate fact, the reality was that they needed funds to begin and thrive, and without the centralized funding of the Crown have had to find other mean of funding. They have had a unique recruitment method, first taking loans from powerful regional nobles to begin the original college, then offering free tuition to its students. In return, they were required to freelance for hire to pay for it. This proved a quite successful system, bringing in arcane talent from the region and providing a stable source of income to the college.

Military/Guard

The city does not have its own standing military, as a regional capital of Suilley it would expect to receive aid from the Crown in the event. Despite this, the region still has need of soldiers and combatants. The temples often patrol their own wilderness regions in search of threats to the crown and the city, and many mercenary companies and adventurers come here to make names for themselves. The town, like any developed capital, has a central city guard. Known unoriginally as The Watch, they are led by Constable Archibald Darius. The cousin of the duke of Indepi, the constable has often been accused of achieving his position because of nepotism. Despite the accusations, the constable has done a remarkable job of keeping the peace in a city as diverse as this one. He is sometimes affectionately referred to as The Peacekeeper, both because of his "piece" (a gun, a relatively new invention from the suzerainty of Bards Gate), but also because of his infamous ability to negotiate. With many diametrically opposed religions and ideologies, he has none-the-less kept the city from devolving into anarchy and has done his best to keep the city safe.

Locations

1. The Aviary, Temple of Rhiaan, Goddess of the Air and Birds

A rather large open-air aviary, this was specially constructed over with tons of beams that extend up to the castle cliff. It is home to the clergy of Rhiaan, and is one of the most accepting temples for those seeking healing and aid. The leader is Prelate Valentine Flint, who attends to his flock and seeks to further the goddesses influence in the city.

2. Fire Festival Square, Temple of Lakua Mao, The Red Death

A large open square, the temple relies partly on tourism and festivals to bring those to their doorstep, and partly on fear of the gigantic volcano looming in the distance. Ran by Confessor Krerrmoloth Rhogar, the firebrand Dragonborn reminds the townsfolk that without proper sacrifice and reverence, Lakua Mao could punish the town with a catastrophic eruption. Despite the warnings, the festivals and other clerical duties remain a source of jovial joy and celebration among the townsfolk, and many would endear a bit of doomsaying to enjoy the warmth the temple offers.

3. Lakuas Fire, City Crematorium

Sitting on the outskirts of the city due to its horrendous smell, the crematorium is the cities solution so they do not have to deal with the possible threat of undeath from necromancers. It is staffed by the Temple of Lakua Mao, and while a somewhat grim place, remains a useful location in the vast city.

4. Grandfather Oak, Temple to Silvanath the Oak Father, God of the Wilds

Build around the largest (and one of the few remaining) ancient oak trees in the city, this temple is a web of large roots, branches and interspersed trees centered around the tree. Led by Watcher Kiniko, the mysterious druid rose to prominence in the order in a surprising manner

5. The Order Occularium

This large structure is one of the most unique in the entire Kingdom, and is called by many names. To some it is a college, others a library. Some think of it as a sort of mercenary guild for mages and casters. But most simply call it "The Order". The headmaster, lead professor and founder is Scoria, a Fire Genasi woman and sage of Ioun. History
Scoria inherited a signficant amount of money from her adventurer parents, who died tragically when she was coming of age. Likely due to her impressive parents, Scoria had arcane talent beyond her peers, but not the kind that was commonely fostered in Suilley. She had a choice, leave her home and go develop her skills in one of the neighboring kingdoms, or attempt to be the one that brought a structured arcane learning center to the Kingdom. She knew what she wanted, and had the funds to possibly do it. Unfortunately an arcane college is a difficult business to begin, especially when you are not the most powerful caster in the kingdom. During her visit to the capital she realized how difficult it would be to compete with the engineering and bardic schools in Manas, that had established clientele and would likely steal much of the talent she hoped to garner. Realizing it was doomed from the start, she decided on another route. Her home city of Castlemir was situated near many arcane anomalies as well as being a significant source of adventurers traveling through the area. She decided this would be the place, and began to finance the building of The Order Occularium with a few investors. She could have bought land in the city and turned it into a college, but this would require a significant investment as well as foster theft. Instead she chose a different route. After greasing afew palms she got permission to build on the side of a cliff to the rear of the city. Utilizing magic she could create the interior quicker than a construction crew could, create a natural barrier to help prevent theft, and also provide a rather unique geographical structure. The Building
After nearly a year the Order was ready to open. The structure is made directly into the cliff side, with many shapes extending out using Stone Shape, and many tunnels and rooms carved deep into the mountainside. It has slowly evolved with additional plants and stone carvings being added to the outside, as well as many security features to keep unwanted guests out. The entrance is a large set of stone steps that ascend to a marble door, that is warded against many forms of magical entry. The College
Knowing it would be a tough sell to begin a college from scratch, she chose a different route and hoped to evolve the purpose of the Order. First they began by buying simple and common magic items, as well as potions and other adventurering gear that travelers might want. They began hiring those to stock the shelves, sell them to adventurers, teach the use of the gear, and provide tips and tricks to those mages and sorcerors who often accompanied adventurering parties. Slowly it grew, talent was scouted from the local area and classes began. It currently is funding by the dwindling initial investment of Scoria but is maintaining its stability through the entrepreneurial efforts she has put in place. She has an arrangement with both staff and students of the fledgling college to provide freelance work, whether adventurers for hire, spell casters or some other magical use. IN return the college takes a portion, and has thus far maintained the order from bankrupting itself. Unfortunately growth has slowed, running a magical Order is expensive and a single wave of theft (before additional precautions were put in place) cost the Order a lot of money. Currently they seek out additional funding from the capital, or that some magical discovery from the nearby area will lead to a wave of intellectualism and interest in the order and eventually a place among the greats in the world of wizardry in The Lost Lands.

6. Castle Yard

A relatively old castle that was renovated, due to its age it is not much larger than many of the government buildings found in the city. It is named this after the city itself, and boasts as the oldest building in the city. These assertions are likely true, as little is known about the ancient structure other than nearly a millennia go a small tone castle once stood in this area. The Guard call this their home, and is ran by Constable Archibald Darius. As former castle, if a small one, it was perfect for their purposes. The many rooms were either used for storage, bunks, weapons or offices for the city watch. The jail cells were given new and hardened bars, and casters from the Sphere of Knowledge provided them with anti-magic shackles and deadened magic-zones for the cells. With solid stone walls, an extremely simple layout, and other features even unknown to the current inhabitants, it is one of the most hardened structures in the entire city.

7. Government Hall

The seat of power in the city, this location is filled with bureaucrats filling out forms, signing documents, reviewing requests, and generally preforming the drudgery of government necessity. It also is the location of the meeting spot for the council of seven. The lead scribe is Scribbles, a mysterious kobold who arrived one day and refused to leave. None were quite sure why, but he took to writing and became one of the happiest workers ever to be found in a government office.

8. Feisty Critters Pet Emporium and BBQ

Ran by the indomitable and strange Crocidius, he buys and sells exotic animals from all over the prefecture. Anything that can fly, swim or run, and for legal reasons that isn't intelligent, is sold here. As prominently displayed in the store window, "If you don't want me to eat em, buy em!". Animals Sold: Badger, Bat, Rat, Cat, Eagle, Frog/Toad, Giant Fire Beetle, Goat, Hawk, Jackal, Lizard, Octopus, Owl, Raven, Scorpion, Spider, Weasel, Deer, Vulture, Hyena, Parrot, Iguana, Chicken, Duck, Rabbit

8. Odds and Inns Adventurer Outfitters

This combination inn and adventuring gear shop is owned by Shakar One Eye, a retired adventurer who is famous for her group taking down a drow incursion during the great eclipse of 3517. While hunkering down in a town a few dozen miles from Castlemir waiting for the eclipse to end, the town was beset by a hunting party of Drow. Led by a heartless drow mage, Shakar led her party in the defense of the town, and her adventuring party cut off the Drow slavers retreat before they could return to the underdark. She lost two of her companions that day, but was able to deliver the final blow and slay the Drow Mage once and for all. The underdark connection was never found, and drow incursions have not been seen since the eclipse ended. Currently she runs the Inn and enjoys the easy life. She likes to hear stories of passing travelers, and makes little effort to turn a serious profit. She does not tolerate fighting, and is quick to thumb a few skulls should things get rowdy.

9. The Seedy Inn

This inn is ran by an intrepid bugbear who finally broke free of the wilderness and adventuring and settled in Suilley. While he recognizes not many bugbear are found in cities, he has never-the-less made his home here. With the help of others, he has turned the run-down location into a slightly less run-down location that remains an inn for some of the cities seedier elements. It is called the Seedy inn because the walls and most of the structure is carved from the roots of a (now gone) gigantic tree that must have stood near here. The proprietor is a lawful and decent man who struggles with the criminal elements that inhabit his bar. He would remove them, were he to realize they were there. The reality is he is not observant, and this fact has not eluded those who wish to have a drink without the prying eyes of the law.

10. Warehouse Way

Warehouse way is a large collection of warehouses found in a single district. While there is not a law stating this is zoning of the area, it happened this way because it helped the traders and merchants who use it keep it guarded. Though not a perfect system, the fact they were all near each other has made it easier for them to come together and hire less guards to watch more buildings. Many prominent traders, and even some rich nobles, have warehouses here to store their goods. Some are small, no bigger than a house, while others are multiple stories and quite large.