The Free City of Rapture

Citadel Hill, a wide and low-rising mound covered year-round in wildflowers, overlooks the fast-moving Windsinger River as it flows to the northern basin. In the midst of these picturesque surroundings is a beautiful city, the pristine and artful exterior of which can only start to disguise the pains and tensions of the intricate social dance its people unceasingly perform. This is the Oristhanian free city of Rapture.
Once a simple fishing and shipping town, Rapture gained its status as a vacation hotspot in the early 300s, as the families made wealthy through arcolith mining in nearby Eschen more firmly established themselves as a true upper class distinct from the Lischin majority around them. The picturesque Rapture was naturally a desirable place for a second home, a light and airy opposite of the underground city from whence they came. Soon, the wealthy folk of Khara caught onto the trend and began to take part themselves. Suddenly, the quiet riverside town of Rapture found itself at the center of the inevitable intrigue that erupted from the collision of the high society Lischin Faithful of Khara and the wealthy Rozhov Dichotomists of Eschen.
In the late 440s, the town faced a crisis of leadership as the family line of its historic ruling family, the Alsathars, ended heirless. In their wake, a charming, well-liked local businessman thought of as something of a demagogue rose to power, supported by nearly all of his fellow Rapturans. Declaring himself the Lord of Rapture, the man—Tasya Elaringath—created the iteration of Rapturan government that remains today, the title of Lord passed down via local election. Under his leadership, Rapture flourished by embracing its status as a destination, and with it, embracing libertine laws, an ethos of decadence, and the chaos of its two societies of ultra-rich vacationers.
Contemporarily, Rapture remains popular as an elite travel destination, but not just for its natural beauty. The town's industry is expensive vices: rare intoxicants, high-stakes gambling, and full-service sex work. And it has maintained its popularity among both Kharaians and Escheners, despite the antagonism between their two cultures, largely by allowing for, and even encouraging, anonymity among its visitors. Many vacationers at Rapture wear veils or masks covering all or part of their faces, and many purchase illusory disguises upon arrival, in order to disguise their identity both for their own privacy and to ease navigation of the social milieu. From this practice, the free city of Rapture picked up the nickname the city of masks.

Alternative Name(s)

The City of Masks

Type

City

Population

40,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Rapturans

Owning Organization

Oristhane