Setessa
This city saved me when I was an orphaned child, sold into chains. Now is my turn to save it. —Kallias, Ophis Tower commanderSetessa is the favored polis of Karametra, and its buildings blend so perfectly into the forest that it’s difficult to tell the difference between inside and outside. The populace lives in harmony with the thick forests, terraced farms, and trained animals of Setessa, and they celebrate the cycle of seasons with grand holidays. Setessa is also unique among the poleis of Theros in that few of its adult residents are men. Women comprise the bulk of the population, holding almost all of the leadership roles and carrying out most work. Men are few and far between, mostly performing roles at the polis’s edge. Children run freely around the polis. They’re so important, in fact, that Setessa’s people take in abandoned children from all over Theros.
Demographics
The populace of Setessa live in a beautiful paradise, and they’re prepared to fight to the death to protect it. The constant training in archery, falconry, riding, and close combat can seem out of place among the idyllic forests and beautiful gardens and orchards, but that is the way of life in Setessa.
Gender in Setessa
Setessans believe that women become heroes through martial exploits, while men do so by finding their own way in the world. As a result, the polis is populated mostly by women and children. When young men reach the age of fourteen, their rites of passage culminate in a journey called peregrination, where they wander the world until they find a new place to call home. The few men who reside permanently in Setessa live in the Amatrophon, training and caring for the animals there. Some of these men never peregrinated, but others left and then returned to Setessa. The women of the polis form a tight-knit community where property is held in common. There is no marriage, and ancestry is traced matrilineally. Despite the very different roles played by men and women, Setessans are flexible when it comes to any individual’s place in that structure. Some men set out on peregrination after spending a number of years identified as women, and some women return from peregrination (or never undertake it) after a period of realization. Some people move fluidly between roles, and a few choose a special role that Setessans view as standing outside the dichotomy of gender, living in Ophis Tower. The warriors of Ophis Tower are martially trained as women are but wander the world as men do. They gather information for the Ruling Council, search out routes for peregrination (including identifying sympathetic individuals and households who will mentor young men at the start of their journeys), and rescue lost and abandoned children from other communities, bringing them back to Setessa.Government
Industry & Trade
The Abora Market is a giant, open-air market just inside the main eastern gate of Setessa. Every day it is thronged with citizens buying and selling food, crafts, and curiosities. On the seven days surrounding the full moon, outsiders are even allowed into the market, though they are still prohibited from roaming the rest of the polis. Visitors who try to explore beyond the market are typically banned from the polis and must forfeit any goods they brought into the city.
The most impressive part of the market is the raptor hall, where falconers show off the trained raptors available for sale. Hunters all over Theros come to buy famous Setessan falcons.
Infrastructure
Setessa fuses nature and civilization into a single living organism. The polis extends from a huge tree at its center, like the rings of a still larger tree. A dense circle of vegetation forms the city’s outer wall, with the treetops magically woven together to create a barrier against intruders. Expertly trained archers stand guard on platforms nestled among the upper branches. Inside these natural walls, patches of thick forest alternate with open spaces where the Setessans build their homes and civic buildings amid the trees. Out of deference to Nylea, the residents of Setessa never construct a building that isn’t absolutely necessary, and their homes and buildings are seamlessly integrated into the environment, with magic coaxing vegetation to weave together into walls or roofs.
Assets
Scattered throughout the city are several groves that are sacred to Karametra and Nylea, made up of slender trees with almost humanlike forms. It is said that whoever enters one of these sacred groves in search of peace will find it—and take root, becoming part of the grove. The trees here are caryatids, capable of animating in defense of the groves or the city (as animated trees) but otherwise resting in silent stillness.
Guilds and Factions
Four holy sites, corresponding to the four seasons, stand in or near the polis and serve as temples—primarily for the rites of Karametra and Nylea, but also to the other gods to an extent. These nexus points between the mortal world and Nyx—a phenomenon called the Kelema Veil—are where omens manifest amid star fields that glitter in the shadows and where oracles seek messages from the divine. The four nexuses are each distinct in their own ways.
- Spring Nexus. Associated with Karametra, the Spring Nexus is located in a lavish garden just behind her temple in the city of Setessa. A large arch of vines and flowers leads into the nexus itself and stays fresh and green all year long. Spring is the most celebratory time for Setessans—a time for planting and hope. Worshipers leave gifts for both Karametra and Nylea here.
- Summer Nexus. Located in an olive grove west of the city proper, the Summer Nexus is covered by a leafy green canopy. As a shelter from summer’s heat, the nexus is a favorite resting spot for people and animals alike, and Nylea and Iroas are worshiped here.
- Autumn Nexus. Near the southern edge of Setessa, in an orchard filled with golden apples, a small cave behind a basalt arch holds a perpetually burning flame. Priests keep a strict rotation to ensure the fire never goes out, as it represents Purphoros’s fire that keeps the world warm through the colder seasons and allows the autumn harvest. In addition to Purphoros, Setessans come here to worship Iroas and Mogis, when necessary.
- Winter Nexus. At the eastern edge of Setessa hides a rocky cave that was once a lion’s den. The cave contains a burial ground and is rumored to lead all the way into the underworld. Setessan children occasionally dare each other to see who can make it the farthest into the cave, but the morbid atmosphere usually sends the children scurrying back before long. Setessans come here to worship Pharika and Erebos, paying respects to the dead or hoping to fend off death for a while yet.
Tourism
Setessa doesn’t welcome outsiders, as a rule, except the orphaned and abandoned children brought to live in the polis. But the polis can be more hospitable to nonhuman outsiders than to humans (especially male humans) from other poleis. A few centaurs of the Lagonna band, leonin, and satyrs have earned the right to live in Setessa. Dryads and naiads from the Nessian Wood rarely try to enter the polis, but they are often friendly with the Bassara soldiers who patrol the forest.
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
