Acovas
The walled coastal city of Acovas, commonly known as the City of Coin, is a bustling trade port in the south of Arenia. The worship of Waukeen, goddess of trade, is prevalent in the city, especially among the wealthy elite that dominate local politics. The city is a place of incredible, decadent wealth, but also of incredible disparity. The wealthiest merchant families occupy opulent estates that rival royal palaces, and the thriving merchant class beneath them lives with a degree of luxury rarely seen elsewhere in Arenia. All this wealth is built upon the labours of a relatively impoverished working class, concentrated especially around the docks.
Although nominally under the authority of the Kingdom of Kiria, Acovas long-enjoyed a state of near-autonomy in which the Kirian crown exerts little effective authority over the affairs of the city, and royal representives are relegated to ceremonial functions. The Kirian crown has begrugdingly accepted this status quo, taking a light touch for fear of losing control of the city entirely. Even the minimal taxation levied by the crown is a boon to the royal coffers that the crown will not risk losing to Sintria or to Acovasian independence, and the Acovasian merchants similarly value that the support of the Kirian army offers greater stability than would their palatial guards alone.
In practice, the only true rulership in Acovas is coin; coin, and those that have it, reign supreme over all else.
The secretive Shadow Thieves have also prospered in this incredibly lucrative environment, controlling the majority of illegal activity and smuggling within the city, and maintaining a delicate balance of power between themselves and the merchant princes. The Shadow Thieves, benefiting greatly from the city's independence, have played a critical role in maintaining that independence: any royal delegate that oversteps their bounds is swiftly reminded of their place. Or at least, their successor will be reminded of their predecessor's disappearance.
This traditional status quo has finally been disrupted in the year 1493 by the continued expansion of the Empire of Vudon. As the western portions of the kingdom began to fall, the capture of Acovas was inevitible, and there was no doubt as to whether the Empire would allow such a light touch in controlling the city. Some of the most powerful families fled the city in advance of the invasion, loading what wealth they could hoard in their personal fleets. The Shadow Thieves also evacuated, reestablishing themselves in the Sintrian city of Mercaster as their new base of operations.
The power vacuums left by these departures cast the city into chaos even before the Imperial army arrived.
Alternative Name(s)
The City of Coin
Type
Large city
Location under
Owning Organization
