Cothon-Gadeed

Legally two cities, Cothon and Gadeed, the so-called Dual-Cities often function more like one coherent whole. They stand at the center of current interest in Ardha. Gadeed is the mother city; Cothon was once merely the harbor-village of the hinterland, but grew steadily in importance over the lifespan of the cities such that Cothon took on a major life of its own, and the two cities were joined by the Long Walls, a fortified roadway built to maintain Gadeed's access to the critical supplies of Cothon's harbor during certain wars of old.
Gadeed is further both the chief mother city of the Ten Cities' League, and heir to the remembered majesty of Tsurr al Qadeem, the old city whose ruin still stand to the south and east of Cothon-Gadeed. The two Souffets of the Dual-Cities, therefore, are the most powerful rulers in the Ten Cities, and they hold sway over the Souffets and Harmosts of the lesser cities. In the same way, the citizens of Gadeed are held in especial esteem throughout the League (or sometimes in especial opprobrium, for those who think they arrogate too much power to themselves). And Gadeed is indeed a city of citizens in a unique way--for a plurality of its inhabitants are citizens, as opposed slaves, denizens, metics, or other permanent residents.
Cothon, on the other hand, is a city of denizens and metics. It legally has no citizens of its own, for whoever is a citizen of Cothon is also (and more importantly) a citizen of Gadeed--yet there are few who dwell in Cothon who are citizens. The majority of residents are metics, transitory denizens, or slaves (or Xolda Klackons, who form a major class of their own). And yet, it is Cothon that allows Gadeed to project its power through the Sea of Dirac and to take the lead place amongst the Ten Cities. Cothon, named after its famous harbor, receives the commerce of the seas; and from the cothon, the war galleys of the League are able to sail to make war on any who oppose the will of the League.
Between the cities stand the famous Long Walls, a series of fortifications protecting the road between the cities from outside attack. They were constructed piecemeal during the long latter years of the Man-Kzin Wars, when Kzinti attacks against the cities were constant. Their construction allowed Gadeed to survive many a siege that would have starved her if she had been cut off from the harbors of Cothon and the foodstuffs supplied thereby. These Long Walls are maintained and garrisoned by the elite Knights Pylaea--the Knights of the Gates--who maintain the High Gates that connect the cities. Non-citizens are not allowed to pass through the gates without especial permission or invitation, which helps maintain Gadeed as a "paradisiacal" city for the citizen-families that live there.

Cothon

CURRENT SOUFFET (Junior): Urodas al Arasquiy



Cothon-Under-Star
One of four major taverns in the city, the common room of Cothon-Under-Star is situated under the massive shell of an ancient sea-beast. The nacreous interior gives the ceiling of the tavern room a strange shining appearance, like the glittering of the stars at night as they sweep overhead. Cothon-Under-Star is the special haunt of the Guild of Alchemists, as well as of the recently formed adventurers' group the Survivors of the Tel. It is also known to cater in particular to Klackon guests as well, and the insectoid people can often be found within drinking mold-beer.
Kantor Kabljauhof
Another of the four major taverns, the Kantor is actually of foreign origin. It is the kantor-warehouse of the Hanse, a different trading league that holds sway over much of the northern coasts of Dirac's Sea (and elsewhere). The Hanse negotiated for this slice of the harbor to run according to their own laws, and so one is technically walking on foreign ground inside the Fischmarkt or the Gatehouse-tavern of the Kantor. The Gatehouse is famous in the city for the dancing girls who live and work there, all well-supplied with jewelry and make-up and often well-tipped by wealthy patrons. Of non-human races, one is most likely to encounter Sakkra within the Kantor, especially those of the Shen tribes, for some nations of Sakkra are also great seafarers and traders, just like the Hansemaenner.
Herm & Stone
The third of the four major taverns, the Herm & Stone is marked by a great stone pillar standing outside, with the carven head of a man and an erect male member at the "appropriate" height on the pillar. Its significance where it is has been lost to time, but it does make the tavern easy to mark out. Inside is the "stone", a strange pillar of quite a different nature that almost seems like a weird molten sculpture. The Herm & Stone is the favorite tavern for the Guild of Miners and Prospectors. It also caters to Kzinti, so that there is a section in the tavern furnished according to their taste, with great furs and cushions laid out on the ground, and a menu that includes a variety of raw and semi-raw meats.
Confraternity of 'Issa the Baptist
Last of the four major taverns, the Confraternity is a religious cloister in the southwest of the city. But though its religious live according to strict rules inside the cloister, they are also excellent brewers and more than happy to supply a boisterous tavern at the edge of their cloister with frothy ale. The gardens inside the cloister are legendary, and also where the Guild of Beastmasters train animals and renyu. 'Issites are a peculiar bunch--they are one of only a few sects to be vocally opposed to slavery, to gladiatorial displays, and a number of other norms common across Ardha, and they are always seen outside the Coreguyi Arena during the Games preaching against the evils of bloodsport. If one wished to seek out an Alkari in Cothon, the Confraternity would be the most likely place to find one, as the Alkari are known to maintain some continual business with the 'Issites.
Fahra's Hole-in-the-Wall
A lesser tavern in the harbor-district, frequented especially by sailors and seamen. It is not especially remarkable (being a "hole in the wall") and might not warrant comment other than as a typical public house and eatery one might find on nearly any street in Cothon; but it has recently tended to be the haunt of certain barbarian-adventurers who been making names for themselves in the last couple years (Najm ibn Marwan in particular). The beer and wine here are cheap; a kitchen and outdoor grill provide fish, crustaceans, molluscs and flatbreads at a reasonable price, especially if you bring your own; and "entertainment" often makes its own way in through the door in the lissome forms of dancing girls and boys and pipers, not as famous as the dancers at the Kantor perhaps, but entertaining enough.
Coreguyi Arena
A huge arena in the midst of Cothon, and the center of a kind of "liturgical" calendar of Games that recapitulate the history of the Cities over the course of the solar year. These are the most famous Games in the Ten Cities--other cities have their own Games, but none are so lavish as the Tripartite Games, nor held in such a grand arena. Perhaps only the Pamesani Games in the west rival those held in the Coreguyi Arena. The Tripartite Games are thus: starting with the Coreguyi Games in the first lunar year of the solar calendar, they continue into the Tsamri-Hane Games of the second lunar year, and end with the Xoldasoteri Games of the final year, the last corresponding with the election of new Souffets. Other lesser games are held throughout the year--anyone of enough means can rent out the arena and put on gladiatorial and athletic contests and feasts, and many who are wealthy do put on such public liturgies. The Arena is also sometimes called "the Court of the Sword" because aggrieved legal parties may elect to move a court-proceeding out of the law courts, and instead have their champion literally defend their case to the death--a recent case of some interest was that of the Barcidae v. the Survivors, in which case the Survivors' champion bested the Barcidae's, and so successfully ended the Barcidae's suit against the Survivors.
the Ringing Anvil
Unlike other locations listed here, the Ringing Anvil is a new construction, built within the last two years. Barbarian nobleman Durham purchased a rundown warehouse near the Kantor Kabljauhof (where he is a member), and used his architectural training to rebuild it into a smithy and workshop. He employs there a number of local blacksmiths and the hopeful master-smith-to-be Najm ibn Toaz to create both traditional pieces of arms and armor, as well as a number of more esoteric pieces of equipment. The Anvil has had a meteoric rise--expanded several times, it now boast a windmill that dominates the local skyline, as well as a partnership with Zaynab the Enchantress for the development of enchanted items. It stands as a testament to the cosmopolitanism of Cothon, and the ability of foreign barbarians to rise quickly in status and success, if only they apply themselves!
the High Gates
The portals from the Cities into the Processional Way between the Long Walls are called the High Gates, on both sides. These fortress gatehouses are garrisoned by the elite Knights Pylaea, who are the last line of defense for both cities. Only citizens or those who have legitimate business in the city are allowed through to Gadeed, and during tax time it is to the Knights Pylaea and their scribes that one declares what one owes. The gatehouses of the High Gates are might fortresses indeed, rivaling the size and ingenuity of the Migdol of the Dyers that stands outside Cothon. There is a legend about one of the Knights Pylaea of old, one Vrialta the Lost, that he vanished in to the Tel al Safina after successfully battling and slaying one of the Worms that have sometimes emerged from the crypts beneath the Tower Invincible in Old Tsurr.
the Cothon
The famous military harbor of Cothon, which grants it its name, it is (ironically?) off-limits to most of the denizens of the city. It is a great round harbor on the west side of the commercial harbor; its "banks" are made up of the sheds and slips for the galleys and triremes that make up the warfleet of Cothon-Gadeed. Contrary to certain popular depictions from other lands, the oarsmen that power these galleys are not slaves but highly trained and well-paid professionals. It is a great honor to be an oarsman for the navy of the Ten Cities. Here also is the headquarters of the Guild of Shipwrights, a public office at the limit between military and public harbors. Orders for the construction of new ships can be placed there by those in wealth.

Gadeed

CURRENT SOUFFET (Senior): Bayzadis al Othmani


the Palace of the Souffets
A huge palace-complex in the midst of Gadeed, this is where the Souffets hold court, receive reports, and generally do the business of guiding the Dual-Cities, and the Ten Cities in general, in their course for the time of their tenor. The Souffets of Cothon and Gadeed serve for terms of three lunar years (one solar year), which are named after them, e.g. at the time of this writing it is the beginning of lunar year Bazyadis-Urodas I. It is traditional for the Souffets to hold times of public petition, in which the senior Souffet receives citizen-petitioners in the palace in Gadeed, while the junior Souffet receives petitions from anyone in the High Gates of Cothon.
the Court of the Moon
A separate palace occupied by functionaries of the law, the Court of the Moon is where most civil cases are heard and argued, as well as the location for the Bem (the popular assembly) to assemble and discuss laws and civil actions. It is also the headquarters of the Thalatheen (the "Thirty"), who are officers charged with auditing other public or military officers accused of wrongdoing. There is a great amphitheater for the assembly of the Bem and for trials of public interest, as well as a number of smaller courts and chambers for lesser or more discrete affairs.

Type

City