Tataeux
Nestled in south-east Cetoile, Tataeux borders Mosheth and Sammaire. The Obsidienne Range marks the eastern border of the duchy, delineating the national border of Cetoile and Fidira.
Obsidienne Range: The towering mountains that cradle Cetoile from the east. Much of the range remains unsettled due to a general sense of it being too much effort. Hermits make their home among the mountains sometimes, as do exiled or shamed Skadi. The eastern side of the mountains slope downward in to the dry, sandy dunes of Fidira's Wymwaste.
Mercerie is home to approximately 40% of the duchy's population. The town is a network of canals that intersect each other as they move toward the Blassaire River. It is possible to move about the city on foot or by carriage, but the most efficient manner is by by the long, thin canal barges whose designs have been borrowed from Ruma and enhanced by Tataeis ingenuity and madness. The city is divided into several regions, canals delineating most borders.
The largest and most venerated of these districts is the Artisan's Terraces in which a dizzying array of creators set up workshops and homes. Smiths, clothiers, chandlers, cartwrights, poets, painters, dancers and more can be found on the twenty broad terraces that work their way up the slopes that reach down toward the Blassaire. The western border of this area is one of less colour and life, the quality of houses decreasing and the roads narrowing, crowded by tenements and cheap taverns.
The shadows claim the cramped spaces of Blackbrush, the slums of the city. Blackbrush is named for the soot and ash blown over the district by the Obsidienne Winds. Most afternoons the billowing clouds fall like slow black rain. The inventive artists of Blackbrush are adept at charming coins from pockets and purses from belts. Few thieves in this district ever rise to greatness. Etoiline clerics sometimes wander the streets distributing alms. The city's law enforcement, known as the Whitecaps, creatively named for the white that tops their uniform helms, journey only shallowly into Blackbrush. It is a district that is dangerous to those who seek to impose law. Blackbrush's southern and western limits brush against the city's walls. The western parts of the slums are in a valley almost constantly cloaked in shadow.
Blackbrush's north and east becomes gentler as it moves toward The Tumble, a valley home to many comfortable merchants, playhouses and amphitheatres. The taverns here play host to travellers of the middle classes, or those of a comfortable means that are visiting the city. This district takes up the northern quarter of the city, roughly speaking, with the socioeconomic situation increasing in opulence in the district's east.
In the city's east is The Purse, named with wry humour for the pool of money there. It is here that the aristocracy of Tataeux keep their city manors. Largest among these is Chateau de Horlodules, home of the Tataeis ducal house and office to many of the city's bureaucrats. The Purse is home also to a number of fine inns, restaurants, galleries and museums. These features tend to be closer to the Terraces, separated by the comfortable homes of the nobility by large green parks.
The southern parts of the city are a chaotic mix of things, a catchall for urban necessities that fit uncomfortably within the confines of other districts. Bisected by the Blassaire, The Cauldron cooks a flavour-filled soup of prisons, hospitals, dockyards and businesses.
Auberlès: A thorp in the Obsidienne mountains.
Geography
Features of Note
Mercerwood: The Mercerwood is the sprawling forest to the east of Mercerie, Tataeux's capital. The forest's depths are dark, and travelers are warned to stay to the paths lest they become lost or fall prey to the dangers of the deep wood. The Ereb Adventurer's Guild sees the wood as a gold mine; the duchy is ever ready to hand over bounties to adventurers who bring back proof of killing the goblins that have long infested the wood. The goblins are lorded over by bugbears--or are they hobgoblins?--, who are in some parts of the wood like bandit tyrants. There are a number of ruins in the wood, some predating Cetoilais records, others more recent. Among them is a ruin under the control of a large goblin gang that calls itself the Cragmaw Crags (stylised as 'Kragmor Kragzzz' by the two goblins in the tribe that have learned to write).Obsidienne Range: The towering mountains that cradle Cetoile from the east. Much of the range remains unsettled due to a general sense of it being too much effort. Hermits make their home among the mountains sometimes, as do exiled or shamed Skadi. The eastern side of the mountains slope downward in to the dry, sandy dunes of Fidira's Wymwaste.
Demographics
Tataeis Society
Settlements
Mercerie: The capital of the duchy.
Mercerie is home to approximately 40% of the duchy's population. The town is a network of canals that intersect each other as they move toward the Blassaire River. It is possible to move about the city on foot or by carriage, but the most efficient manner is by by the long, thin canal barges whose designs have been borrowed from Ruma and enhanced by Tataeis ingenuity and madness. The city is divided into several regions, canals delineating most borders.
The largest and most venerated of these districts is the Artisan's Terraces in which a dizzying array of creators set up workshops and homes. Smiths, clothiers, chandlers, cartwrights, poets, painters, dancers and more can be found on the twenty broad terraces that work their way up the slopes that reach down toward the Blassaire. The western border of this area is one of less colour and life, the quality of houses decreasing and the roads narrowing, crowded by tenements and cheap taverns.
The shadows claim the cramped spaces of Blackbrush, the slums of the city. Blackbrush is named for the soot and ash blown over the district by the Obsidienne Winds. Most afternoons the billowing clouds fall like slow black rain. The inventive artists of Blackbrush are adept at charming coins from pockets and purses from belts. Few thieves in this district ever rise to greatness. Etoiline clerics sometimes wander the streets distributing alms. The city's law enforcement, known as the Whitecaps, creatively named for the white that tops their uniform helms, journey only shallowly into Blackbrush. It is a district that is dangerous to those who seek to impose law. Blackbrush's southern and western limits brush against the city's walls. The western parts of the slums are in a valley almost constantly cloaked in shadow.
Blackbrush's north and east becomes gentler as it moves toward The Tumble, a valley home to many comfortable merchants, playhouses and amphitheatres. The taverns here play host to travellers of the middle classes, or those of a comfortable means that are visiting the city. This district takes up the northern quarter of the city, roughly speaking, with the socioeconomic situation increasing in opulence in the district's east.
In the city's east is The Purse, named with wry humour for the pool of money there. It is here that the aristocracy of Tataeux keep their city manors. Largest among these is Chateau de Horlodules, home of the Tataeis ducal house and office to many of the city's bureaucrats. The Purse is home also to a number of fine inns, restaurants, galleries and museums. These features tend to be closer to the Terraces, separated by the comfortable homes of the nobility by large green parks.
The southern parts of the city are a chaotic mix of things, a catchall for urban necessities that fit uncomfortably within the confines of other districts. Bisected by the Blassaire, The Cauldron cooks a flavour-filled soup of prisons, hospitals, dockyards and businesses.
Auberlès: A thorp in the Obsidienne mountains.
Trendure: A village near Mercerwood that is now little more than ruins.
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