Peloch
The City of Wonders remains what it has been for centuries: a bustling, crowded, busy mercantile crossroads where coin is king, tolerance for outlanders of other species and habits is high (as long as they trade fairly), and folk play hard and work even harder, their lives proceeding at the fastest pace possible. Gossip is the grease that helps the daily lives of most Pelochians along in their endless striving to make ever more money. Wealth brings respect, respect earns influence, and influence is power.
Peloch today is a bustling center of commerce filled with around-the-clock stinks and noises, rumbling wagons, and walled splendor. The city is often swept by fads and fashions and is dominated by wealth, trading, and constant chatter about the latest news of events everywhere in the world (as well as rumors planted to sway public opinion and investment).
Demographics
Humans: 45%
Near Humans: 19%
Dwarves: 10%
Hafllings: 12%
Half-Elves: 3%
Plane Touched: 6%
Wild Peoples: 3%
Other: 2%
Government
Peloch is ruled by a council of citizens known as the Great Council. To become a member, you must be elected to represent your district for a 6-year term. There is no limit on the number of terms a member can serve, and some elves and other long-lived species have served for a century or more.
The number of representatives each district sends to the Great Council is determined by how many people live there. To ensure a fair count, it is the city's rule to count all its citizens every five years.
The Great Council is overseen by the Rah-Al-Neem, who is elected every ten years. Takhat Masika III has held the position for the past 30 years and has seen the city through some of its greatest trials, including the invasion and occupation by the Crusaders from Arnareth. During the occupation, the Great Council's power was severely diminished, and many feel that the only reason it was able to survive was the leadership of Takhat Masika III. She is well-liked and has been seen as a calm and moderating force in this time of upheaval.
Advising the Rah-Al-Neem is the Lesser Council, though that name is somewhat ironic. This group comprises powerful and influential people, all of whom have served at least two terms in the Great Council. Guild Masters, High Priests, Merchant Princes, and the like are all commonly members of the Lesser Council and while they themselves do not vote, their ability to sway and shape the voting of the Great Council means, in many ways, these are the most powerful people in Peloch and perhaps all of the Wild Winds Desert.
Defences
Peloch maintains two separate armed forces, the guard and the watch. The city guard serves as Peloch's soldiery, and its members' staff garrisons, trade route patrols, watch posts and serve as bodyguards for the wealthy and influential. The guard predominantly operates out of Old City Fortress and Sailguard. They guard, formally known as the Civic Legion, is at its core a small standing army that answers ultimately to the Rah-Al-Neem and its High Commander. The current High Commander is Anbera Cearbak, a tough and grizzled dwarf who was formerly the head of the Blood Steel Guild. She is greatly respected by both the Civic Legion and the Watch.
The watch is the local police force, and in addition to capturing criminals, its members settle petty disputes, give directions, summon medical and priestly aid, and generally perform duties that promote the idea that Peloch is a city open to all who know how to behave themselves. The members of the guard are armored in chain shirts and carry short khopeshes and stone wood clubs. Some others, especially those on gate duty are armed with spears and shields, and many carry a bola or two to apprehend fleeing criminals nonlethally. They are normally found in patrols of 4. If out on road patrol, they will be mounted on camels or horses. Watch members carry horns with which to summon reinforcements.
Peloch has strong walls studded with watch towers and defensive positions and is patrolled by special heavily armed and well trained guard units. Peloch also benefits from a large native population of adventurers (including powerful mages, priests, and warriors) who are more than willing to deal with any and all miscreants who threaten their home city. In many ways, this is its best defense.
Pelochian justice is dispatched by the Justiciars, who direct the common courts of the city. These Black Robes, as they are often called, are empowered to pass sentences. They are always accompanied by six members of the guard. Any individuals found guilty may appeal to the High Court, ruled over by the Rah-Al-Neem and the Lesser Council, where serious cases are usually heard. Individuals bringing frivolous cases to the High Court usually face stiffer fines than if they accepted a Justiciar's ruling.
Industry & Trade
Other than the food and agricultural goods grown in Grainbrooke, fish and other aquatic food from Lake Sahrandi Peloch exports very few raw goods. The Deep Stone Mountains are still full of rich materials, especially Arnkrufuth stone, but they are exceptionally deep, with all the easily accessed materials mined long ago. Most of what Peloch exports is finished goods. Works of Art, metal, wood, stone, glass goods, and so much more flow out of the city as fast as the raw materials to make them flow in. This constant exchange means that Peloch has only grown in influence and power with the creation of the rail circuit now connecting the major cities of the desert.
Thanks to the close proximity of Vyaparik on the other side of the Deep Stone Mountains, Peloch is also one of the main exporters of goods from outside the Wild Winds Desert. The Four Rivers have easy access to goods from beyond the desert, but for the cities of the deep desert, Peloch is the point of origin for most goods from beyond the Wild Winds Desert.
In a city as large as Peloch, almost anything is available for sale, and almost anything can be sold. Trade in Peloch runs the gamut from finished goods and edible treats to special services and illegal items. Most commerce in illicit goods and services (such as assassinations, drugs, poisons, slaves, or evil magic items) occurs in the Undercity.
Infrastructure
The Great Water Works
There are miles of tunnels, sewers, and cisterns beneath the city that keep clean, fresh water flowing from Lake Sahrandi into the city, and taking soiled water back into the lake. Thanks to the constant influx of freshwater flowing from the Plane of Water, there is never a lack of clean drinking and bathing water in the city. This great expanse of tunnels, many old enough to have disappeared from current maps, has many other names. The Thieves Highway, The Undercity, and The Lightless Path, to name a few. Peloch, like every large city, has no shortage of thieves and other outlaws within its walls. For those who travel through or live in the Undercity, there are few universal laws and rules, but one remains supreme: DO NOT interfere with the flow of water to and from the city. As long as the water flows, the Rah-Al-Neem's have left the Undercity to itself.The Ancient Walls and Roads of Peloch
The last and perhaps greatest work completed by Hal-Al-Farrim before he wandered into the Great Sand Sea was the raising of the great outer wall and the creation of the major thoroughfares that run throughout Peloch. Whether through divination or keen intuition, the roads seemed well placed for the city to grow and expand over the past few millennia. There is ancient and persistent magic built into the the walls and roads of the city, placed there by Farrim, that are still thriving these many centuries later. Both are resistant to the wear and tear of the ever-persistent winds of the desert. The walls also blunt the winds, making any that flows over them gentle and calm. The stones are not only self-repairing but also cooling, making the city one of the most comfortable places in the region. This magic has confounded sages and mages for centuries. No one has yet figured out how such a work was done or why it has persisted. Some doomsayers or naysayers are always claiming that the magic is failing or ebbing away. So far they have all be wrong, but perhaps one day they won't be.Districts
The Outer City
The outer city is home to some of the first structures made by the city's founders. While most of these have fallen or been retaken by the sands, the Old City Fortress and the Great Caravanserai still stand strong and are in use to this day. The sprawling nature of the outer city and the transient nature of many residents give the area a sense of danger and lawlessness. The City Watch does what it can, but everyone who lives in the outer city knows that the true power is held by the thief's guilds that hold sway over the crime of the outer district.Fisherman's Walk
Despite its surroundings, Fisherman's Walk looks like any dockside neighborhood. Taverns, fisheries, shipwrights, brothels, and traders are common in the neighborhood. Stories from outside the city often make their first stop in Fisherman's Walk, so those who thrive or rely on gossip and news are always represented in the taverns and brothels of the neighborhood.Outer Bazaar
The smallest of the three great marketplaces of Peloch, the Outer Bazaar has a reputation for being where you can get anything you need, regardless of legality. Many of the goods that make their way to Peloch but don't want to be checked by the Guards who work the gates stop in the Outer Bazaar. It is not only a marketplace for smuggled and illicit goods but for the freshest produce and fish in the city. This makes for an interesting mix of citizens, noble's servants, and Inn owners looking for the best products are found rubbing elbows with smugglers, thieves, and adventures looking for illicit or smuggled goods.Clanhold
The ruins of the first grand palace, where Hal-Al-Farrim and Shenriah lived after founding the city, litter the area now known as Clanhold. Now, the area is set aside for the wandering tribed who come to trade at Peloch but don't want to use the Great Caravanserai. Permanent and semi-permanent structures make this area a maze for those who don't know how to navigate it. The often volatile mix of different clans and peoples gives this neighborhood an unpredictable mood. An ancient agreement keeps a delicate peace, with clans and families that violate the armistice being exiled either temporarily or permanently by the others that trade in Clanhold.Featherland Farms
One of the two breadbaskets that helps to feed the people of Peloch is Featherland Farms, and the families that work it is mostly dedicated to feeding the Watch, the Guard, and the wealthy people of High and Low Winds. Many of the families who work the lands are retired guards-people, and the city thinks of them as a secondary defense source and deterrent to the most violent peoples of Clanhold. A large section of the farmland is dedicated to feeding and training the cavalry arm of the Guard.Grainbrooke
This large swath of farmland, which extends for miles along the northern coast of Lake Sahrandi, helps keep the city well-fed and self-sufficient. On a good harvest year, many a farmer becomes wealthy on the exports of goods like Olive Oil, Date, Fig Wines, peppers, wheat, and so much more, which flow out from Grainbrooke into much of the rest of the Wild Winds Desert. Several shrines and temples to Haiku dot the region since so many of the goods produced there rely on windmills for production and refinement. Not all the land is farmland; as you move farther from Peloch along the lake, more and more land is dedicated to grazing for cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep.Sailor's Run
The Great Caravanserai of Sailor's Run is one of the busiest ports in Hyarbarrin, possibly all of Ermendia. Like any great port, businesses that support and tailor to those who traverse the Great Sand Sea have cropped up. Taverns, shipwrights, carpenters, money exchangers, and traders and sellers of all sorts make their trade, working with the goods coming in and out of Sailors Run. Much like the Outer Bazaar, many of the goods that stop in Sailor's Run do not want to be scrutinized by the Guard on their way to Trader's Landing. The looming proximity of Sailguard does keep the violence and skullduggery to a slightly more manageable level than the Outer Bazaar, but only just.The Inner City
Thanks to the magic of the walls and streets of the city, inside the walls of Peloch is one of the most comfortable places in all of the Wild Winds Desert if you have money, power, or influence. The city is dangerous and difficult for those without any of those three. Yet, people make their way to the city not only from all across the Wild Winds Desert but from all across Hyarbarrin to learn, live, and try to make something greater of themselves. Life inside the walls changes drastically from neighborhood to neighborhood, but what keeps drawing people to the city is that anyone, no matter how low their station, can rise to greatness within its walls.High Wind
The wealthiest neighborhood in the city, High Wind, is the home of the Rah-Al-Neem and their family, as well as the four most influential or wealthy families in the city. To be invited to live there is one of the highest honors a family can receive. The small collection of shops and amenities that operate in High Winds are the most expensive and exclusive in the city. Only those with a pass are allowed into High Winds, and those caught trespassing by the frequent and well-trained guard patrols can expect a beating if they're lucky and much worse if they are not.Low Wind
Nestled right outside the wall of High Wind, Low Wind is only marginally less opulent and wealthy than its walled cousin. The neighborhood houses some of the oldest family estates in the city and the oldest still open riadh and bathhouse in the city. The taverns and shops in Low Winds, while not as exclusive as the shops of High Winds, still cater to a wealthy and rarified clientele, and armed guards, often former or current members of adventurer guilds, are commonly employed as private security when between jobs.Maker's Mark
What started out as a mine and an iron works has grown over the years to one of the finest collections of craftspeople in all of Ermendia. The Guildhalls of seven of the most influential crafters guilds are all located in the area. Many of the goods made there are sold in the Grand Bazaar, but for the truly best goods the guildhalls are where they can be found. every four years, the guild masters gather to elect a spokesperson for the guilds. This Master Crafter is almost always elevated to a seat on the Lesser Council. Many of the city's most beautifully decorated and crafted homes are found in Maker's Mark as the various guilds strive to outdo each other.Jongleur's Row
While the Masrah Mageal, the great arena, dominates the neighborhood, there is much more to be found in Jongluer's Row. Theatres, music pavilions, and inns and taverns specializing in various kinds of performances are spread throughout the neighborhood. It is said that this neighborhood never sleeps and that entertainment can be found here at all hours of the day. The most recent theatre, The Parasol, suffered a loss when its founder and patron died unexpectedly. Still, thanks to the patronage of a number of powerful and wealthy people, it has continued to grow. It has developed a reputation for putting on plays and performances, particularly dances from all across Ermendia.Steel Village
Outside of High Wind, Steel Village may be the safest neighborhood in all of Peloch. This is not because of an overwhelming watch presence; in fact, the watch is nearly nonexistent in the area. Instead, the Blood Steel Guild, the House of Focus, and the Guildhall for the White Stone Guild mean that the uncommonly high number of people who are armed and extremely competent in the ways of violence keep crime low. In the past five years, the riad in the neighborhood changed ownership; since then, crime in Steel Village has dropped to nearly nonexistent. Perhaps unconnected, but soon after the riad was purchased, several murderers were found violently killed and spread across Steel Village.High Garden
The city's geographic center and the region's political center, High Garden, is a sprawling, beautiful public park that houses the Grand Forum, where the Great Council meets to debate and vote on the city's business. These meetings are open to the public, and when particularly divisive or important topics are being debated, the park fills with people eager to be the first to know the new fate of the city. The fountain at the center of High Garden is the largest in Peloch; hundreds of people get their bathing, cleaning, and drinking water daily. This makes it one of the most prolific places to get the city's gossip or have clandestine meetings. Due to this constant stream of people, the botanical gardens are always full of foot peddlers selling tea, food, and whatnot to the people coming to the great fountain.Knife's Edge
An accurate name for how the people of this neighborhood live, Knife's Edge, often just called "The Knife," is the city's poorest and most dangerous neighborhood. They say you don't move there; instead, if you fall down far enough, you land there, and the people there are all looking for whatever they need to do to get out. Neither the Guard nor the Watch patrol the area; for the last several decades, law and order, or what passes for it there, was maintained by the local 'Enforcers' guild, The Lodge of the Tawdry Blade. Little more than a protection racket and thieves' guild, this violent organization has squeezed the people of Knife's Edge for all their worth for years. Lately, something has changed, and a new power, still unknown, seems to be challenging the 'Tawders,' as they are known, for control of the neighborhood.Beggar's Walk
Safer than Knife's Edge, Beggar's Walk is the home to many of the people who keep Peloch alive. Craftspeople, servants, servers, cooks, minor merchants, and dozens of other kinds of laborers live in Beggar's Walk. It is the most densely populated region of the city, and while the Watch does patrol, unlike Knife's Edge, it is still not a place to casually be outside after the sun has set.Book and Scroll
If knowledge is truly power, then Book and Scroll would be the most powerful neighborhood in Peloch. Housing both the Academy of the 8 Paths and the Bayt Alhikma, this region supplies the students and teachers of both the Arcanist Academy and the University with everything they may need or want to spend their money on. Bookbinders, herbalists, and crafters of the finest magical items in the city can all be found here. With relatively few homes, it is always a bustling area, day or night, and has some of the finest entertainment outside Jongluers Row.The Grand Bazaar
More coin flows through the Grand Bazaar in a month than some countries see in a year. If it can be bought, bartered, traded, or stolen, it can be found somewhere in the Grand Bazaar. Competition for spots to set up a tent or blanket is steep, and the most common cause of violence is territorial disputes between vendors. For those lucky enough to own a permanent shop, money flows in and out relatively easily, though the competition to be the best is fierce. Any merchant who rests on their laurels will likely find themselves ousted and replaced by someone more ambitious. While the Watch is a constant presence, everyone knows the true power in the market is the Long Eye Guild, the oldest and most powerful thieves guild in Peloch.Silk Quarter
The closest thing that the city has to a middle class lives in the Silk Quarter. Business owners, wealthy merchants, minor church officials, and prosperous traders all live in the area. It is well-lit, well-patrolled, and, compared to many of the other residential areas of the city, relatively safe.Scrivener's Way
There are more pages of writing than there are people in Scrivener's Way. The University, Bayt Alhabr, and its three connecting libraries are among the greatest collections of knowledge in all of Hyarbarrin. Between the university and the scribe's guild, Scrivener's Way has an insatiable appetite for paper and nearly single-handedly keeps the papermills of Grainbrooke in business. Outside of the Ebony Oasis, the finest ink in the region is made or imported into Scrivener's Way. Small shrines to Joramy and Lexicon can be found spread throughout the neighborhood.Trader's Landing
The Outer Bazaar is the best place for the freshest food; the Grand Bazaar is the place to go for goods made by the amazing craftspeople of Peloch, but for goods coming from outside the city, nowhere beats Trader's Landing. Any goods coming in by sand ship that doesn't stop in Sailor's Run ends up in Trader's Landing. As with everywhere, wealth and commerce breed crime and graft, and the Five Finger Guild is a new player on the scene. This young and up-and-coming guild is trying to carve out a place for themselves in the city. Rare ingredients from all across the Great Sand Sea can be found in Trader's Landing, though that is starting to shift as more and more goods arrive across the lake from the rail depot on its western shore. These goods are ending up in the Grand Bazaar, and this shift threatens the hold on imports that Trader's Landing has held for centuries.God's Walk
All of the major gods of the region are represented in the God's Walk. The recent destruction of 8 lesser temples to erect the Holy Temple of the Sacred Quarant by the Arnarethian Crusaders, who held the city for five years, was a major point of anger for the residents of Peloch. Since the seeming loss of their gods five years ago, there have been many attempts to dismantle the cathedral, but all were rebuffed either by rulings from the Great Council or armed devotees to the Holy Quarant. The Great Temple of Taiia is the oldest temple in the city and was one of the first buildings erected inside the great walls. God's Walk is a relatively peaceful place, with few willing to risk the various clergy members' wrath by committing overt crimes. However, the occasional disagreement between rival faiths spills out into the streets and has been known to end in blood spilled in the streets.Guilds and Factions
Economic activity in Peloch has been dominated by the city's guilds for centuries. Their management and skilled control of commerce have allowed Peloch to rise to prominence as one of the great powers of Hyarbarrin. Whether citizens resent, revere, or regard the guilds with suspicion, no one denies their importance to the city's stability and influence. There are currently 18 recognized guilds and four universities or academies in the city, and they all want to be the most powerful and influential. Each is further detailed in the neighborhood where they reside, with the oldest and most influential housed in Maker's Mark
Points of interest
The Great Caravanserai
Built outside the city's northwestern district, the Great Caravanserai is one of the busiest docks in Ermendia. A constant stream of Great Sand Galleons, Dwarven Sand Crawlers, and smaller vessels come and go, seemingly all day and night. Diminished only slightly during Galetooth, the only time the ships truly stop is during the great moons when the rains turn the land to mud and make travel by ship impossible. The Great Caravanserai serves many purposes. A large shipwright operation makes its home here, with dozens of people working to build and repair the ships that come and go. While most goods and people that come through the Caravanserai make their way into the city and settle either in Trader's Landing or The Grand Bazaar, enough stay in the area that a small but vibrant market exists around the Great Caravanserai.Sleepers Hill
This great cemetery is one of the city's oldest parts, and many of the most beloved and reviled figures from the city's long history are interred here. There is little room left in the cemetery at this point, with only the oldest established and wealthiest people in the city still being buried there. Many ancient and powerful spells and wards have been working into the ground and walls of Sleepers Hill, some to keep the curious or mischievous out, more still to make sure those buried there stay dead and buried. The House of Whispers, the temple that shares its eastern wall with the wall around Sleepers Hill, is an ancient site. It was once the seat of worship and practice for a now-lost god and has become a multi-deity temple to many gods of death. Most recently, the Red Lay, Wee Jas, has been added to those worshipped here. She has a small but devout and growing faith in the city.The 7 Great Libraries
Each of the great libraries specializes in something different, from the mundane contracts of the city in the Hall of Records, to the deeply mystical in the Black Library. Peloch has one of the greatest collections of information in all of Hyarbarrin, if not all of Ermendai and scholars from across the sphere come to the great city to find information that can not be found anywhere else.Flag and Emblem for Peloch:
Alternative Name(s)
The City of Wonders, The Jewel of the Great Sand Sea, The City of Coins and Secrets
Population
189,000 people in the city proper and 45,000 in the surrounding area and regularly visiting via caravan.
Inhabitant Demonym
Pelochians
Location under
Owner/Ruler
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