Rock of Bral
The Rock of Bral, otherwise known as Bral or the Rock, is a floating metrockolis and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in all of the Known Spheres. Though originally a meteor from Realmspace, the Rock of Bral is known for traveling across the Flow and traveling to where trade is safest and opportunity is greatest.
Demographics
Bral is populated with a diverse mix of peoples and cultures from across the Known Spheres. Traders, rogues, mercenaries, pirates, nobles, adventurers, criminals, all of these different people call Bral home.
Government
Bral is owned and control by the Bralian monarch, currently Prince Andru, who is served by a court of advisors. The government is funded through a collection of trade tariffs and light taxation on the Bralian population, but is otherwise remarkably hands off in day to day business.
Bral has no police force and most people and businesses are expected to protect themselves or hold others accountable. Serious crimes, like murder and arson can be reported to one of the three magistrate offices in the Low, Middle, or High City. If the magistrate determines that action is necessary, members of the Magistrate's Watch are dispatched to deal with the issue. However, reporting crimes is voluntary and rarely done, as the legal proceedings surrounding magistrate investigations are time consuming.
Districts
The settlement of Bral is made up of three districts on the rock's topside.
High City
The High City rises over the rest of Bral. A green, spacious expanse, at its highest point it contains Starhaven, the massive palace of the Bralian prince. It also contains Lake Bral, the source of water for all Bralians that fills a chasm on the rock. Due to extending past the gravity plane contains two surfaces: one in the High City and another underground. Due to the demands of Bralians, Lake Bral needs to be refilled every few years in a large undertaking by the Bralian Navy, which searches for ice meteors to top off the lake. Other points of interest in the High City include the Library of the Spheres, a massive collection on non-magical books and scrolls, the Man-O-War, the finest restaurant in Bral, the Royal Theater Company, and the Temple District.Middle City
The Middle City is the financial and mercantile center of Bral, containing the bulk of the city's middle class. Some locations of interest within the Middle City include:- The Donjon, a walled fortress and prison on the bank of Lake Bral
- The Great Market, a chaotic expanse of vendors, street peformers, orators, merchants, and customers
- The Mages Guildhall, a loose confederation of magic users in the city
- The branch office of Sindiath Line
- Valkan's Legion, the largest private group of soldiers on Bral that often work as mercenaries or guards
Low City
The Low City of Bral is a warren of streets buzzing with activity at all hours of the day. A refuge for the city's underclass, travellers, and dockworkers, the Low City contains a little something for everyone. Locations of interest include:- The Docks, which primarily consist of wooden docks extending into space but have expanded into caverns near by for use as storage areas
- The Drydock, where local and visiting ships are built and repaired
- The Happy Beholder, a locally famous tavern run by the cheerful beholder Large Luigi
- The Lesser Market, a smaller and shabbier market than the Middle City's Grand Market, but nonetheless popular for those looking for a good deal or something more sinister
- The Mercane Agency, where mercane occasionally arrive to sell spelljamming helms
- Xenotermination, Ltd., a group of highly capable adventurers that specialize in killing formidable astral and wildspace creatures
Underside
Because of the shape of the Rock of Bral and the location of its air envelope, the "underside" of the rock is also inhabited. However, the underside is under the complete purview of the prince of Bral, and subsequently private citizens are not allowed. Locations of note on the Underside include:- The Bralian naval base
- Prisoner barracks, where the majority of convicts are held
- The fields, which are tended to by Bralian prisoners and feed the city
- The vanes, which help direct Bral's movement through wildspace and the Flow
- The Citadel, the command center for Bral's army.
Guilds and Factions
In addition to the usual mercantile and trade guilds, the Rock of Bral also contains four underbarons, each the equivilent of a thieves' guild all in competition with one another. Despite their status as criminal lords, their presence is tolerated as each keeps the others in check. They are so named, because each is based out of the caverns carved into the center of Bral.
Because of the underbarons reach and power, nearly every business in the city must pay "service fees" to one of the four underbarons. This isn't entirely a protection racket, as it is common for underbarons to reimburse their clients who are harmed by rival underbarons' actions. The four current underbarons are:
- Ozamata, a human woman who controls most of the Lower City
- Meredin Sandyfoot, a halfling woman who holds sway over most craftspeople
- The Juggler, the mysterious leader of Bral's swindlers and minstrels
- The Unknowable One, the mysterious leader of Bral's smuggling
History
Around 1320 CR, the eponymous Captain Bral settled on one of the meteors of the Tears of Selune, the asteroid belt that surrounds Toril in Realmspace. The asteroid soon become a haven for pirates and cutthroats, but a few merchants and entrepenuers saw opportunity and began to set up shop and sell their wares. Over time, more and more moved to the asteroid, forming a genuine, if still lawless, community. When Bral died a few decades after its founding, the city he founded and asteroid he settled was given his name.
Though there was no clear leader of Bral in the decades following its founder's death, as the merchants and tavernkeepers began to outnumber the pirates, the winds begin to change. Seeing a change, a human pirate captain, Cozar, made a series of strategic alliances and shrewd deals to crown himself Prince Cozar, the first overlord of Bral. Under Cozar's rule, Bral truly transformed from a remote outpost into a growing and lively city.
Following Cozar's death, the title of prince fell to his son Frun, a hedonist who spent more time overseeing his palace's construction than ruling Bral. Sensing Frun's weakness, the merchants and thieves of Bral seized more and more power from Frun until he was little more than a figurehead by the end of his reign.
Frun was succeded in 1476 by his firstborn son Calar, who mirrored his father's demeanor and tastes. However, Calar's rule lasted only days until he died under mysterious circumstances, his frozen corpse found floating in the wildspace around Bral. Succeeding Calar was Andru, his younger brother, a shrewd political leader that many compared favorable to his grandfather, Prince Cozar. Unlike Cozar, though, Andru's reign was beset immediately by those that would rather see Bral ruled by an ineffectual leader or a council. Despite these obstacles, Andru is well liked and respected his is serious and intelligent demeanor.
In 1481, during the Second Unhuman War, the Rock of Bral unwittingly stumbled upon the Scro Tarantula Fleet after it had destroyed an elven colony. The rock fled from the fleet, but Imperial Elven Navy aligned groups of Bral, such as Sindiath Line, reported the fleet, which for years had escaped notice, to the IEN Council of Admirals. Fearing retribution from the Scro, Prince Andru pushed the Rock of Bral to leave the core of the Known Spheres, and Bral eventually made its way to the Rapide Frontier in 1483. Ironically, the Tarantula Fleet would soon also arrive in the Frontier, pursued by the IEN, where it and the elven fleet would destroy each other in the Battle of Gardenspace.
Since the end of the Second Unhuman War in 1485, the Rock of Bral has remained in the Rapide Frontier, bringing unexpected wealth and trade to the once remote region, but Bral's future is uncertain. Many Bralians have pushed Prince Andru to return to the core of the Known Spheres while others fear the dangerous, post-war galaxy and the possible dangers the potentially multi-year trip could bring.
by copyright Wizards of the Coast
by Marco Bernardini, copyright Wizards of the Coast
by Marco Bernardini, copyright Wizards of the Coast
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