Locale Preview: Athanaes

The city of Athanaes is broken into small communities united in a common faith.  Followers of a single totem, a single deity or a single aspect of worship congregate in an area and live together.  These communities generally hold between a score and several hundred and often contain marketplaces, shrines, homes, and shops for the convenience of the worshipers.  Many faiths have a large number of these communities.  Each of these communities elects its own leaders, has its own laws and rules concerning interaction.  While the laws of Athanaes are enforced within the entire city and a community’s laws may not conflict with them, anyone within a community is responsible for obeying the laws in force there. 

The Triumph of Athanaes, a ruling body of three individuals, oversees the city and administers to its needs. The first member of the Triumph is Behlial, a Severed elven priest of Spirit.  He became a member of the Triumph over a hundred years ago shortly before the Geas was enacted.  He regularly strolls through across the Plateau and ensures that conflicts do not occur in that holy place.  One of the most respected elves in the Accordlands, he no longer has any interest in the politics or expansionist goals of his race. The second member of the Triumph is Yanalis, a priestess of Neus from Andover.  She joined the Triumph ten years ago at the age of forty. Bg’Sut is the newest member of the Triumph, having joined only a year ago.  He is a nothrog shaman of Ss’Tar, the rattlesnake totem.  He came to the city a decade earlier in search of the wisdom to be found in direct communication with Ss’Tar and remained in the city to ensure that the nothrogs are allowed free access to the city.

Economy

Athanaes was founded solely for worship’s sake.  A few industries have arisen over the centuries, but everything still revolves around worship.  Production of blessed items is the most common pastime, though dream interpretation, prophecy and prayers are also extremely common.  Hand crafted items are also popular, though shady merchants frequently make fraudulent claims concerning their origin.  Fineltour’s followers are particularly well known for selling bogus items such as baskets woven from the hair of virgin priestesses of Kavara, thought to be an aphrodisiac.

One of the most important sources of income for the city are the visitors which flock to Athanaes each year.  Some come in search of instruction in the holy mysteries of the various faiths and to study in the libraries.  The city’s libraries are known to contain more volumes than anywhere else within the Accordlands. Others seek the blessed items or seers to be found within the city’s walls.  Others are merely pilgrims seeking to deepen their faith by visiting this holy site.  Regardless of the reason for their journey, they bring the money and goods which the city needs to survive economically.  High tariffs are required of any non-ordained person to enter the city. 

Laws

The city of Athanaes is broken in separate communities for each faith and each group has its own laws applicable to its members.  However, there are only a handful of laws which apply to all members of the city.  The first and most important is that the city is open to all regardless of faith or beliefs.  Any act of discrimination or intolerance of other faiths is punishable by exile or death depending upon the severity of the act.  Churches and indoor shrines are outlawed because they detract from the holy place in the plateau above the city, however outside shrines and statues are permissible.  Destruction of holy symbols or imagery is completely banned as are non-Severed undead.

Secondary laws outlaw murder, theft, assault and public endangerment.  Within public areas, these laws are rigidly enforced.  However, individual communities may define the secondary laws to fit their cultural beliefs.  For example, the nothrogs of the Square of Boar define murder as killing an unarmed or unconscious being.  Deadly duels and brawls are common in this area.  Likewise, the followers of Neus the Peaceful have declared that public endangerment includes any weapons not contained within peace knots and anyone running within their streets.  These laws are binding within those areas of the city and will be enforced by the city's Deputies, though many of the Deputies will not enforce rules in areas with which they are unfamiliar, for example a nothrog Deputy will rarely enforce all of the rules in the community of Neus the Peaceful simply because he doesn’t know them all.  Despite this, Deputies of any faith are arbiters of disputes and enforcers of the law and are to be respected.  Failure to obey any of these laws can result in fines or banishment from an individual community or from the holy city.  Deputies enforce these laws under the guidance of the Triumph and their Voices.

Population: 100,000 (40,000 humans; 10,000 Deverenians; 35,000 elves and 15,000 nothrogs)

Government: Each faith in the city elects elders and deacons by their own methods. They also select three individuals from amongst their members to serve as Deputies.  The Deputies enforce whatever regulations the faith deems fit and sits in judgment of their brethren in disputes or criminal matters. The Deputies also select the members of the Triumph.

Imports: Food, finished goods and pilgrims

Exports: Blessed items

Important NPC’s: The Triumph of Athanaes (Behlial, Yalanis and Bg’Sut) and their Voices (Kevral, Sir Hotaku and T’kan)