City-State of Castorhage
The City-State of Castorhage is a shadowy and storied land with a deep, dark history stretching back thousands of years. Predominantly made up of the city of Castorhage, the city-state includes colonies in Between as well as the more conventional city of Tarry that provides a port for Castorhage on the mainland. Any listener hearing the name thinks of the city as a nation, for the city alone is larger than most nations, and certainly more powerful than all but the greatest. Known to most simply as “the Blight,” Castorhage has many other names, including the Canker, the Rot, City of Secrets and Lies, City of Golems, and for many, simply the City.
History and People
The isle upon which Castorhage sits has a history longer and deeper than even modern scholars know, with settlements stretching back more than 12,000 years, a history too deep to enter into here. What is known to scholars at this point is that the city-state’s early formation began 5,000 years ago with the rise of the Hyperborean Empire, during which Strategos Oleus Castorhage was granted the right to establish and rule the island province of Insula Lymossus. As the military governor, Oleus established Citadel Castorhage, which overlooks the Great Lyme River.
The Castorhagi family ruled as faithful stewards of the Hyperborean Empire for more than 1,700 years, during which time they built a successful city on the banks of the estuary. This ended when a mysterious stranger known as the Eburnean Oracle found the ear of Demos Castorhage and eventually convinced him to declare independence from the Hyperborean Empire and title himself King Demos Castorhage I. Within a decade, skirmishes with Hyperborean forces grew into the Eleventy Years war. The war went poorly for Castorhage, until finally the Borxia, Tredici, Nightshade, and Castorhage families established the First Illuminati and called upon the archdevil Caasimolar to intercede on their behalf. With the archdevil’s help, an agreement was made whereby hostilities ceased and the city-state would retain its independence, but the Castorhage family had to pass the crown to the Borxia family.
The Borxia family ruled for 222 years before the Castorhage family regained the throne, which it has now held for 1,500 consecutive years, excepting a trio of short periods when non-Castorhagi queens were on the throne. Castorhagi rule has brought the city-state into the modern era through the collapse of the Hyperborean Empire as well as the growth of Foere and numerous challenges along the way. The greatest, and possibly most dangerous, was the discovery of the Between. This strange echo-land that can be reached through special mirror-portals provided a different way for Castorhage to expand and an entirely new set of resources to exploit. Most of the true colonies and expansion of Castorhage is now in the Between, which has had a variety of effects on the city-state.
Castorhage has made discoveries and breakthroughs in a variety of areas that some might find disturbing and even immoral, including the science of creating golems and planar binding. If other nations knew the scope of some of the experiments taking place within Castorhage, they might wish to put an end to it, but would also fear the consequences if they attempted to do so.
The citizens of Castorhage are a mix of races and creatures not seen elsewhere, including ratfolk, mongrelfolk, as well as creatures unique to Castorhage itself. The simple hustle and bustle of the city is full of people from distant lands who came here and stayed, sometimes even by choice. The City-State of Castorhage is a dynamic, changing nation, largely concentrated in its main city, yet spread out into the Between and in small colonies that represent its interests throughout the Lost Lands.
Trade and Commerce
Castorhage’s trade relationships are so vast that it is sometimes easier to list those nations it doesn’t trade with. Presently, Castorhage enjoys open and free trade relations with the Aizanes-Tulita Islands, the Free City of Brookmere, the city-states of the Buntesveldt, the free city of Endhome, the Elitan-i-Pan Confederation of The Haunted Steppes, the cities of the Domain of Hawkmoon, the Kingdom of Khemit, the Southern Libynosi Paramountcies, the City of Mulstabha, Port Shaw and other colonial settlements of the Razor Coast, the City of Trinidar, the Kingdom of the North Heath, the Kingdom of Vast, and the Xha’en Hegemony. Nations and cities with somewhat more cautious trade agreements include Bard’s Gate, the Kingdom of Foere, Gtsang Prefecture, the Huun Imperium, the Empire of Oceanus, the grey elves of Sarefein, the native Tulita of the Razor Sea, the Tycho Free States, the Kingdom of Helcynngae, and the Grand Duchy of Reme.
Castorhage has also settled colonies around the world, including on the Bream Islands near the Xha’en Hegemony and on Libynos. Many of those colonies’ neighbors view Castorhage with distrust and trepidation. The Empire of Alcaldar and the Pirate Confederacy of the eastern Razor Sea are examples of two nations that not only don’t have good trade relations with Castorhage but are openly hostile to its interests.
Loyalties and Diplomacy
The City-State of Castorhage enjoys a close and friendly relationship with the Kingdom of the North Heath and the Kingdom of Vast, with somewhat more tenuous relationships with the Grand Duchy of Reme, the Kingdom of Foere and the Tycho Free States. While North Heath and Vast feel a particular loyalty to Castorhage for its part in negotiating the end of the wars for their independence from Foere, keeping those nations free and independent was a tactical move on the part of Castorhage. The independence of those nations allows Castorhage to focus on its own problem with fewer concerns about Foere or Reme.
The simple truth of Castorhage is that it is not known for getting along well with others; it has always been more concerned about itself and its own problems than with anyone else.
Government
Officially, Her Royal Highness Queen Alice is the ruler of the City-State of Castorhage with nine-year-old Princess Alicia “The Little Queen” her chosen heir. The simple truth is that Queen Alice is merely a puppet for the crown justices who are the true rulers of Castorhage. The three crown justices, known as the Illuminati Triad by those who serve them, covertly control all matters of the city-state. The queen is kept under control by the alchemy used to keep her upright.
The simple, and somewhat disturbing, fact is that almost every element of the government is actively plotting to move higher through the sabotage, destruction, and even outright murder of those above them. Thirteen justices oversee specific aspects of city law or municipal governance while the under-justices beneath them actively plot against others as well as the justice they serve. Each under-justice is the chief jurist of a city district with absolute power in their district and can only be overruled by a member of the royal family. Judicares are minor judges who handle court and criminal cases beneath the notice of an under-justice. Streetclerks provide legal aid and other services for the under-justice and sometimes fill in for them when they don’t feel like hearing a case. Underclerks assist streetclerks. Each of these wants to move upward through the ranks, and how they accomplish that feat is of little concern.
The maze of constant betrayal, spying, and deceit that makes up the government of Castorhage is perhaps a saving grace for the rest of the world. If not for these constant distractions and the continuing exploration of the Between, the city-state might turn its eyes outward toward the rest of the world.
Military
Although the City-State of Castorhage is unwalled and maintains a standing army within the city numbering only 17,000, Castorhage has seemingly grown too big to fall to external invasion. The stinking Lych Fen surrounding the city is only one deterrent; it is the sheer press of humanity calling the city home that gives pause to any thought of a military invasion. A greater danger would be a blockade that let the city starve, but its powerful naval fleet makes such an endeavor simply an exercise of thought.
The Royal Army is estimated to have more than 100,000 colonial auxiliaries stationed throughout its possessions worldwide. Such troops are trained in their native land but then moved to other possessions to prevent any chance of an armed uprising in their homeland. Officially, the Royal Navy is part of the army and makes up approximately a quarter of its troops. The navy possesses a fleet of 57 ships of war, some of which are of the most modern design and abilities of any in the world.
The Watch (known as Officers of the Watch or the Queen’s Men) numbers just over 2,100 and is somehow expected to patrol and prevent crime in a city of millions. In essence, the Watch worries only about major threats to the city or to its most important personages, and ignores most other crime as minor enough to be handled by others. Poorly paid and monitored, bribery of members of the Watch is considered more a standard than a surprise.
Major Threats
Much could be said of the threats the city faces simply because of the Between, but the City-State of Castorhage’s greatest threat is itself. The infighting and competition between various elements of the city royalty, government, and secret organizations is the most consistent threat to Castorhage. A nation this powerful, with this many resources, magic, and technology at its disposal can only be brought down by itself.
Wilderness and Adventure
The City-State of Castorhage is full of adventure opportunities, whether it is exploring the Between, getting caught up in the intrigues of the cults or city leaders, battling against (or for) the Illuminati, working with the guilds, or getting involved in the politics of the city. Danger lies just a few steps forward in the streets and alleyways of the Blight, but the stalwart adventurer should be warned that this is no ordinary place and those steps forward could change them forever.
Region
City-State of Castorhage
Controlled Territories
Comments