Saron
Once Alterna’s right hand, Saron was hit harder than the other countries in the wake of the Great Crystal’s loss. Much of the fighting in the capital also spread to Saron, as elements within the city-state fought against Saron’s own declaration of war. This internal struggle has never fully gone away, though only recently has it devolved into actual civil war.
In fact, Saron is in the midst of what is the most civil war in Ducorde’s history, with two ideologies warring for control of Saron’s future. Blood has yet to be shed in this battle, though some few thousand pots of ink have been spilled writing endless screeds and passionate editorials.
NOTABLE JOBS
- Oracles, Orators, and Seers all receive their training within Saron.
- Every Rail Conductor on the trains that connect the cities of Ducorde with each other receives their training in Saron. Curiously, every Rail Conductor on Ducorde is also a cactaur.
RUMORS & POINTS OF INTEREST
- Someone known only as The Network is claiming to have discovered the truth of The Unknowing.
- Every fortnight, a ghastly whistle sounds from the abandoned track heading to Alterna.
Government
For nearly a thousand years, Saron was ruled by a consul, appointed by Alterna to oversee the city’s work. While Alterna no longer appoints them, the city’s leaders are still termed Consul, with the outgoing consul appointing his successor every four years.
Eight years ago, Consul Levine Firkser passed away in office before appointing their successor. This sparked incredible debate when it was revealed that Consul Firkser had completed their Memoria without telling anyone, and therefore departed with full knowledge of their last day on Ducorde and still took no action. The position of Consul has been vacant ever since, as the fierce debate of Saron’s future has continued. The nature of Consul Firkser’s passage has come to be called The Unknowing, though the editorials that named it have not explained why.
The civil war that has destabilized Saron has two sides, with each having a different opinion on how to handle The Unknowing. The Hallowed wish to see Saron return to its previous state, with a new Consul appointed and the same provisions put in place that have guided Saron since Alterna’s loss. The Hallowed claim that the Unknowing has changed nothing, and it is Saron’s duty to continue just as it was. The Avengers claim that the Unknowing has changed everything, and now Saron must change to grapple with what the Unknowing as taught them.
Neither side will explain what the Unknowing is, only that Saron must make a decision about the Unknowing before it is too late.
History
Founded in 43 AY, Saron started as a market hub for the farmlands and fishing communities at the outskirts of Alterna’s territory. As Alterna grew, Saron became the Gateway to the East, supplying colonists and explorers as they ventured out into the untamed wilds. Saron also supplied something back to Alterna; an exhaustive list of every good and person entering or exiting the city, a task it continued for the length of the Empire’s rule as the home of the Imperial Census (and, some would say, an extensive spy network).
Official records have Saron’s declaration of independence leaving the city for Alterna before the other diplomats had even arrived. As the declarations were made at the same time in Alterna, to everyone’s surprise, what has caused this delay is a matter of much scholarly debate. Saron’s own records of the matter have been lost.
In the wake of the Great Crystal’s loss, Saron has clashed with the other city-states, as its usual record-keeping has caused them to look on Saron as a sort of surveillance state. Internal strife has not helped in this regard.
Architecture
Saron is built as a gateway, with massive roads designed to hold hundreds of travelers entering and exiting the city. Alterna’s destruction has rendered almost a third of the city uninhabited, as the roads and rails heading to the capital are no longer needed and have fallen into marked disrepair. Saron still maintains the rail network connecting every city save the Triad, with railcars heading out daily to repair any damaged tracks, observe any of the citizenry’s needs, though they no longer prepare reports for Alterna.
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