City of Setessa

Setessa 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.

Industry & Trade

Setessa trades with the other poleis as well, but less extensively. Its Abora Market, just inside the city gates, is open to outsiders only on certain days, and Setessan merchants prefer to barter goods rather than accept currency. Despite these restrictions, Setessan food, woodwork, and trained falcons are highly valued in the other poleis.
Aside from the other human poleis, Setessa trades with the centaurs of the Lagonna band. The centaurs don’t work metal, so they trade woodwork, the produce of the plains, and woven blankets to the human poleis in exchange for weapons and armor.

Infrastructure

The Tritaxis

In the very center of the city is the temple to Karametra, patron of Setessa. Three ancient trees grow from an earthen rise and spiral around the heart of the city. The temple, built of glittering limestone, nestles amid the massive trunks. Strong magical wards protect the temple, since Karametra herself sits here when she visits her beloved polis. All manner of civic functions are based in the temple, and most of them are carried out by Karametra’s attendants. These attendants serve as healers, advisors, teachers, chroniclers, and oracles.

Caryatid Groves

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 but otherwise resting in silent stillness.

Nexuses of the Seasons

Abora Market

Guilds and Factions

Architecture

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.

Geography

Beyond the city’s encircling trees, the territory of Setessa extends to cover about a third of the Nessian Wood and a wide swath of the open chaparral. In contrast to Meletis and Akros, no villages or military outposts mark Setessan territory, but a few key features in the Nessian Wood define the area under Setessan control.

Type

Capital

Inhabitant Demonym

Setssans

Location under

Nessian Wood

Included Locations

• Abora Market
• Amatrophon
• Nexuses of the Seasons

Owner/Ruler

Karametra

Owning Organization

The Pentaregency