Sunáthüma (Σωνάθῦμα)
Government
The city of Sunáthüma is a mix of oligarchy and representative democracy. Citizens are allowed to propose and vote on legislation. The decision to enact any passing legislation is left to the seven-member Dawn Council. The council itself is composed of noble representatives, one from each district in the city.
Law and order are for the most part relaxed in the town (partly owing to a reaction against the somewhat harsh rule of the Sea Princes), and only the more egregious crimes such as murder and theft are actively pursued. Prostitution and the sale of exotic and potentially dangerous creatures goes on more or less legally within the city limits (although the exact lassitude varies from district to district), for instance.
Defences
The entirety of the city is surrounded by a stone curtain wall set with watchtowers at regular intervals. Each district is also separated by another wall or by canals.
At the mouth of the harbour, just behind the ruins of Torleif's Arch, sits Torleifborg, a stone fortress nearly as old as the city itself. Though it currently sits near empty, it can be utilized for defense if the need were to arise.
Districts
Azure District
The Azure District is Sunáthüma’s true waterfront. Consisting of two sections, the east and the west, the Azure district also houes the majority of the city's lower-class citizens. The western section of the Azure District is primarily concerned with the city's waterways, while the eastern section is where the city's whaling industry is located
Champion's District
The Champion's district is a district of soldiers, gladiators and mercenaries who follow in the footsteps of the city's founders, the priest of Magni and one-time king, Torleif Hallison. The Champion's district has a not-so-friendly relationship with the Noble District, and the citizens see themselves as the rightful leaders of the city.
Cudgel District
The Cudgel District is primarily a residential district. Due to the vigilance of the local watch and the church of Assuran, it's also the safest district in the city. The citizens of the Cudgel district know this, yet they are not a soft people; they remain ever vigilant to the threat of attack.
Merchant's District
Sunáthüma’s heart, and perhaps even it's soul, is lodged firmly in it's Merchant District. The first district visitors reach, it's often the only district visitors need ever explore. Little can't be found in the Merchant District's shops and markets, and it's taverns host the finest range of food and drink within the city walls (publicly, in any event)
Noble District
Although rule of Sunáthüma has always been handled in Torleifborg, the city's Noble District has traditionally been thought of as the city's ruling district, despite Orren Torleifson's treachery and the resulting years spent under Sea Prince rule. The other districts view the Noble District as a place of decadence and eagerly await the district's fall under it's own excesses.
Shadowshore
Although relatively small, Shadowshore is perhaps the most notorious of Sunáthüma’s districts. This strip of land nestled in the shadow of the Champion's district has long been a haven for thieves and criminals of all kind. Generally, the only people who live here are the poor or those who can ably protect their property. The city watch has all but given up on Shadowshore, so long as a general state of peace remains
Sunrise District
Like Cudgel district, Sunrise is primarily residences, yet the citizens of Sunrise are generally a bit better off than their neighbors, in no small part due to the fact that many of them have stakes in the numerous plantations that dot the region surrounding Sunáthüma.
Assets
Sunáthümas Holdings
Outside its city walls, Sunáthüma directly controls and relies upon several assets in the surrounding region.
Ahedara Highway
Paralleling the Thunder River for much of its length, the Ahedara Highway connects Sunáthüma with Talagra, its sister city high in the caldera of a dormant volcano. Although trade and correspondence between the two cities is brisk, the road's length is such that it’s possible to go for long stretches without encountering other travelers. Much like the river, the Ahedara Highway is relatively safe and crowded with merchant and lumber traffic where it runs through the marshlands and plantations close to Sunáthüma, hut those who press on into the jungle find themselves increasingly at risk of being waylaid by Lizardfolk, jungle predators, and the occasional hunter from the heights of the Hellfurnaces.
Blisterwall
Angry-looking, red Hellfurnace rock and patches of hairy swamp mold gives Blisterwall fortress both its name and a perpetually sore, gangrenous look. Positioned to defend Sunáthüma's eastern plantations from jungle threats, the relatively secluded and perpetually moist location makes this post the least appealing assignment in the Sunáthüma military. The only serviceman who regularly refuses relocation is Erlyn Sveld (NG male half-elf ranger 5), a scout who has successfully captured and trained several Hellfurnace hippogriffs and who is considered the most experienced mountain traveler in the region.
Castle Rakin
The reinforced wooden palisades of Castle Rakin make a regular stopping-off point for lumberjacks and traders along the Thunder River. While the castle proper is merely an unimpressive, three-story stone fortification surrounded by two curtains of sturdy wooden walls, the entire fort is referred to as "the castle” Although it maintains a small garrison of troops, the fort functions more as a trading post, with noisy crowds of merchants, guides, jungle natives, and charlatans hocking their wares and services along the docks. Much of the business conducted at Castle Rakin would be frowned upon Within Sunáthüma itself, but considerable kickbacks to the fort's commanding officer, Major Aikaterini Mustakis (N. female human fighter 3/rogue 3) assures that business proceeds unimpeded.
Forseithborg
A thick-walled. coastal fortress erected by the Sea Princes who once held dominance in the region, Forseithborg now serves as harbor for Sunáthüma’s depleted naval powers. Few sea-worthy ships moor in the natural harbor beneath the fort's protective bombards, the majority patrolling the coast and open sea in hunt of pirates The fiery-tempered Commodore Brandlock (LC male human fighter 7/legendary captain 4) commands the forces at Forseithborg and holds the eradication of piracy in the region as his personal crusade. Unfortunately, his efforts are frustrated by limited men, resources, and ships, as well as misinformation—much of which he fears comes from Crimson Fleet operatives, within his own fort.
Plantations
Just outside Sunáthüma, nearly 25 miles of jungle and swamp along the Thunder River have been cleared for use as sprawling, privately-owned plantations. Providing food crops and exports for the city, the river's seasonal flooding makes the land particularly rich, although those who farm it constantly battle reencroaching jungle vegetation and beasts. Cassava, coffee, cotton, millet, rice, sugarcane, and tea—as well as more traditional farm crops— make up Sunáthüma’s plantations' most abundant products. Aside from their products, a few particular plantations bear noting.
- Boosalakis Plantation Run by the obese Boss Romanos Boosalakis, it's rumored that his fields of high growing sugarcane disguise a harvest of criminal crops and hide other nefarious dealings.
- Dansson Plantation The sharp-tongued yet genteel Jorund Ingjald Dansson commands the largest plantation (cotton and tea) in the area. his greatest prides are his handsome manor house and widely desired daughter, Kadlin. Josiah’s six strapping sons prove quick to defend both his and their sister's honor.
- Mitriadis Plantation A cursed place, this untended plantation and burnt-out manor house once belonged to one Alexios Mitriadis, a cruel man who murdered his wife by drowning her in a nearby quicksand bog. When her corpse returned to slay her treacherous husband, the plantation's fearful workers burned the manor house and forever fled.
History
Sunάthῦma began not as a city, but as a woman. Over 700 years ago, a cleric of Hecate named Suna woke one night after a particularly vivid dream of a hidden cove, protected from the sea by vast cliffs and from the land by steaming swamps and jungle. In this vision, she beheld a thriving city and a glittering spire of scarlet stone, and knew Hecate had visited her with a prophecy.
Suna called together her followers, including her lover Torleif – a soldier and worshiper of Magni – and the wizard Stigandr Seiðhǫggva, and set out to find this hidden cove. Diseases, accidents and monsters took their toll, and near the end, despair gnawed at Suna’s pilgrims. Finally, their numbers reduced to less than a quarter of their initial strength, these pilgrims emerged into a bounteous stretch of land with fertile soil and fields of exotic plants sheltered by twin shoreline cliffs.
Suna recognized the landscape at once, but Hecate had not warned her of the black dragon that had taken the cove as his territory. Mere hours after the pilgrims had thankfully fed on the abundant plants and had only just begun to hope they had found their new home, the dragon Zelkarune struck. Enraged at this final trial, Suna stood her ground against the dragon and defeated it – but at a terrible cost. For in delivering the final strike, Suna had been forced to step between Zelkarune’s claw and Torleif; the blow meant for him instead laid her low, just as she called down a bolt of fire from the sky to slay the dragon.
In the days to follow, the survivors turned to Torleif for leadership, who vowed to found a city in Suna’s name. It was the year 3342 SE, and over the nearly seven centuries to follow, Sunάthῦma would mature into one of the great wonders of the south. Stigandr Seiðhǫggva would travel south with Ceana Ní Leocháin to found Talagra, and other pioneers, known as the New Colonists, would found other settlements along the coast, but none grew to be as successful as Sunάthῦma.
For 154 years after its foundation, Sunάthῦma experienced phenomenal growth. In 3496 SE, Sunάthῦma had its first conflict with the notorious assassins and slavers of the Scarlet Brotherhood. Brotherhood spell casters managed to destroy the stone bridge known as Torleif’s Arch and burned much of the waterfront before the defenders managed to repulse the attack. Over the next four centuries, Sunάthῦma would be variously assaulted by the Scarlet Brotherhood, native civilizations, and local tribes of more primitive creatures once or twice a decade, so tempting were the vast plantations of coffee and spices that the city protected. Yet with each assault, the soldiers of Sunάthῦma grew more adept at defending their city. Torleif’s Arch was rebuilt and destroyed several more times. The final decision to abandon the bridge entirely and leave it in ruins marks the only remaining physical scar from years of warfare.
Over the years, a line of lord-mayors descended from Torleif ruled Sunάthῦma in conjunction with advice from the churches of Hecate and Magni. In the year 3946 SE, Orren Torleifson ruled the city. For the first time in centuries, the church of Hecate was stripped of its power when fabricated charges of devil-worship led to the arrest, imprisonment, and even execution of its faithful. Just as Orren’s rule became unbearable, a great fleet of ships arrived - Representatives of the Hold of the Sea Princes to the East. Promising an end to Orren’s cruel rule, the invaders were aided from within as the citizens rose up in rebellion. Orren Torleifson was overthrown and the Sea Princes claimed Sunάthῦma as their own.
Over the century to come, Sunάthῦma's resources were savaged. The Sea Princes kept Sunάthῦma a secret from the rest of the world, hoping to hide the valuable port from invaders by destroying any references they could find to it. Spies infiltrated cartographers guilds and libraries throughout the world, altering maps and sea charts with magic. Ship captains who knew the route to the city were bought off or murdered. Sunάthῦma suffered in the 100 years, but the underlying spirit of her citizens did not die.
Their prayers were answered in 4050 SE, when the Scarlet Brotherhood assassinated nearly all the Sea Princes. The resulting turmoil threw Sunάthῦma into chaos. Without the support of their homeland, the leaders of the city were overthrown in a fortnight. In the decade since their emancipation, the people of Sunάthῦma have rebuilt their city with astonishing alacrity, but they still work to restore their navy, to re-establish trade routes with lands to the north and east, and to heal the rift of hated between the churches of Hecate and Magni. Burgeoned by events in their sister city of Talagra (which recently survived a disaster of it's own), the city of Sunάthῦma seems to be perched on the edge of glory.
Points of interest
Local Ruins
Countless civilizations have risen and fallen within the depths of the Ahedara jungle, their ruins often being the only evidence they ever existed.
Chekitewan
Ancient and terrifying to behold, no vegetation encroaches on the midnight-black rock of this immense, steeped pyramid. Formed of six great tiers, hundreds of shallow, man-sized alcoves riddle the structure—a shriveled humanoid corpse propped within each. For the majority of the year, Chekitewan is merely a mysterious, shunned place, where no beast, jungle native, or explorer dares venture, On the nights of lunar eclipses, when the Aztlan god Tezcatlipoca turns his ever-watchful eye away from the world, these corpses stalk from their open-air tomb. Throughout these accursed nights, the undead search for victims to drag back to their black ruin, their corpselight torches sometimes set as far north as Sunáthüma's plantation holdings. While many whisper that those kidnapped become sacrifices to forgotten heathen gods, the descendants of the Aztlan —after making signs to ward off evil – claim that these walling dead are ancient heroes and the blood they spill temporarily sates the undying hunger of some eternal evil long imprisoned within the dreaded ziggurat.
Evermire
In the vast and trackless fens east of the Emerald River, a wooden village stands on stilts. Buildings in this tiny frontier town hang suspended over the water at varying heights, from docks just inches above the water to well-to-do houses several stories high, all linked by rope ladders and narrow boardwalks Completely empty except for small animal nests, these buildings remain weathered but serviceable, with no indication as to why their occupants abandoned them. Stranger still is the ancient tree at the town's center covered in Elven runes, all of which translate as gibberish except for the repetition of the name "Ever-mire”. Few Sunáthüma have ventured this far into the swamps and no record of an Elven colony in the area exists.
Magalarve
The contested City of Scales, tribes of both lizardfolk and boggards. claim this ravaged wooden city as their rightful home. While many surprisingly complex structures cover the ground, much of the city rests upon platforms amid the branches of ancient deklo trees, interconnected by an intricate network of bridges and moldering ropes. While neither of the reptilian tribes that contest the city live there now, warriors from both engage in a decades, old guerrilla war, each seeking to drive out the perceived interlopers.
Mashwan
Meaning "memory" in the ancient Aztlan dialect, Mashwan is a place of forgetfulness. Within this wide jungle clearing stand twelve stone obelisks surrounding an incredibly intricate sculpted stone disk lying upon the ground. While investigators hypothesize that the precise sections and runes upon the disk comprise some sort of clock or calendar, none know for sure, as all who near the circle black out and lose all. memory of the previous several hours.
Sprire of Long Shadows
The one-time seat of the demigod Kyuss' power. The ruined city of Kuluth-Mar surrounds this towering, crumbling stone ziggurat, impossibly shaped-like a stylized leafless tree or arcane glyph. Tales tell of foul halls beneath this monolith and, although the Wormgod has been defeated, evidence of his dark and terrible power doubtlessly still writhes beneath his ruined throne.
Nearby Dungeons
Numerous infamous sites lie scattered across the region their dangers tempting explorers to both riches and ruin.
Beroarak's Maw
Bursting from the earth beside the swampy banks of the Hungry Fish River juts a 30 foot-tall, vine-choked sculpture of a gigantic crocodile or dragon's head. With jaws wide open to snap at the air above, this highly stylized Aztlan remnant holds the entrance to a deep shaft which drop into the wet ground like a stone gullet. More than a hundred feet below, bones choke this passage—countless bodies that fill a space of unknown depth. While Beroarak's Maw is little more than a morbid landmark by day, it is said that a spectral Aztlan priest haunts the site, performing rites and guarding a crypt temple hidden deep below.
Carver's Pit
For a hundred years, Carver's Pit was the primary stone quarry for Sunáthüma. Year by year the quarry grew deeper, until one day a workman's pick broke through the stone floor and released a rush of chittering monstrosities. The horrors swept the quarry floor clean of all life, then, just as quickly as they came, swirled back into the opening and were gene.
Though panic spread as survivors and tales of the attack reached Sunáthüma, the deposition of Orren Torleifson and subsequent takeover by the Sea Princes only a few days later threw the city into such chaos that Carver's Pit was quickly forgotten.
Dungeon of Rust and Fire
High in a stony alpine valley stands the massive Dungeon of Rust and Fire, a windowless pillar of jagged, rusting, metal. No paths lead to or from this monument, but those tracing the Emerald River to its subterranean headwaters occasionally catch a glimpse of the tower outlined against the sky. At night, the top of the silent tower erupts in periodic bursts of flame, and close to dawn spindly, insect-like forms can sometimes be seen moving ponderously around its base. It’s at these times that the streams feeding the Emerald run black and red, with fish floating belly-up or bearing strange mutations. Scholars who have studied the tower from afar believe it to be somehow related to the ruined gnome enclave of Jzadirune below Cauldron, but something has obvi¬ously gone horribly wrong.
Fiddler's Cave
Chrisanthos Fotides was the greatest musician in Sunáthüma's history, and also one of the most mysterious. The more popular Chrisanthos’s music became, the stranger he acted, withdrawing into himself and spending vast amounts of time in the wilderness. By the time be was 25, he was a complete hermit, speaking to no one and performing only once per year to an enraptured crowd at the Sunáthüma Opera House before melting back into the marshes and jungles. Folks Whispered that the beauty of his own music had driven him insane, or that he'd sold his soul to a demon in exchange for his remarkable skill. Finally, after last year's 'Requiem for a Sky Afire" left the whole of Noble District in tears, one of Chrisanthos's more daring fans tracked him back to a cave deep in the mountains, only to discover that the cave ended in a wall of shimmering green light, with Chrisanthos nowhere to be seen. Frightened, the fan fled back to the city, where word of his discovery spread quickly through taverns and dancehalls. Now, with the year drawing to a close and the next concert only a few weeks away, curiosity about the Fiddler's Cave is once again rising to a fever pitch.Hookrace's Lair
Deep within the Hellfurnaces lies the home of the notorious red dragon Hookface (a mature adult). His lair is a gapping pit, several hundred feet deep, that cuts to the molten heart of a volcanic mountain. Amid The lava pools of a single great chamber Hookface spends much of his time sleeping surrounded by his massive hoard, rousing only to hunt, char intruders, or investigate upheaval within the mountainous area he considers his domain.
Geography
Sunáthüma Environs
While well situated to reap the bounty of the sea, Sunáthüma faces numerous challenges in regard to its surrounding lands. For those who dare to venture beyond the safety of stone walls, the following presents an overview of the most noteworthy locales and geographic features within Sunáthüma's area of influence.
Frequent rains, humid heatwaves, powerful rivers, and seasonal monsoons nurture tangled jungles and sprawling swamps in the region surrounding Sunáthüma. Those who brave the wilds are sure to encounter the rich and often dangerous flora and fauna that flourish within these fecund reaches, explorers venturing into these wilds should prepare themselves.
Ahedara Jungle:
This lush tropical jungle dominates the region, Ancient, widely spaced trees form a dense canopy, which in turn cloaks the jungle floor in an endless green night. Broadleaf plants, creeping vines, pervasive streams, and tracks of bogs characterize the jungle flair. All manner of insects and animals (some of monstrous size), predatory plants, oozes, and even occasional will-o'-wisps, hags, hydras, or black dragons lair in these verdant depths. Far from civilization, clans of lizardfolk, boggards, and strangely colored goblins make their homes, along. with tribes of short humans, known as the Aztlan and lithe elves called the Grugach.
Blood Bay
There are many stories behind the color of Blood Bay. Some old salts hold that the waves run scarlet with the blood of Gulrotha, a kraken too wounded by sailors to return to the open ocean. Others think it a pirate plot, the entire bay dyed red in an effort to scare the curious away from their underhanded dealings. Sages scoff at both ideas, claiming the bay's unique coloring is merely the result of iron deposits swept down from the mountains by the Hungry Fish River.
Crab River
Cut off—to a degree—from the larger predators of the Ahedara Jungle, the swamps around the Crab River are largely considered safer than those to the east. As such, smugglers, outcasts, and followers of a gruesome aggregate religion make the riverbanks their home. Despite the river's name, aside from small populations of crayfish and hermit crabs, no sizable species of crusta-ceans scuttle below these meandering waters. Local legends tell of a chuul-like creature of incredible size that lairs deep within the swamp, and whenever someone goes mysteriously missing on the river, local swampers are quick to claim that "Ol'Rek Claw gottem!"
Emerald River
The Emerald River rakes its name from a unique form of algae that grows atop its slow-moving water. Sapping minerals from the river shore and runoff from the Hellfurnaces, this green vegetation forms a quartzlike layer that, from a distance, looks like sheets of floating emerald. While quite beautiful, the shiny algae make perfect camouflage for the slick scales of the crocodiles, snakes, frogs and the gigantic varieties of each that lurk within.
Hellfurnaces
Volcanic instability, violently changing features, frigid winds, and searing lava flows all characterize this angry range of mountains. Extremely difficult to travel and inhospitable to the majority of life, only the most rugged and determined creatures—often those that relish scorching heat and flame—hunt these treacherous heights.
Hungry Fish River
Coursing through some of the densest stretches of jungle before meeting up with the Tiger River and feeding into Blood Bay, Hungry Fish River is avoided by locals as much for the dangerous animals—arid worse—that stalk its banks as for the malicious pira¬nha swarms that are its namesake. Rumor has it that the tiny fish have even learned to capsize canoes and skiffs by rushing them en masse from the side.
Jeklea Bay
Largely isolated from the rest of the Azure Sea by the Hell-furnaces on one side and the Hook Peninsula on the other, Jeklea Bay spent many years as a holding of the Sea Princes before public unrest and assassinations arranged by the Scarlet Brotherhood 'saw it fall into anarchy:. Though the now-autonomous city of Sunáthüma has begun to emerge as the main power in the region, Brother¬hood ships still frequently ply the waters along this coast to maintain their holdings in the rich and fertile southern jungles. Due to the bay's shape, a steady current swirls the waters counterclockwise along the shore, speeding the passage of frequent merchant, smuggler, and slaver ships as they spur on the sudden resurgence of colonization in the Ahedara.
Kraken's Cove
Rumored to be guarded by the legendary Kraken Gulrotha, this cove is shrouded in mystery. Barely visible as a dark patch among rocky cliffs, any safe port here is walled off from the rest of the bay by wide swath of reefs, rocks, and the occasional scuttled ship, lead-tipped masts just inches below the waves.
Skyfroth River
Thundering down from the Hellfurnaces, crashing falls and deadly rapids exemplify this frothing whitewater river. The two largest falls, the Crushwater (5 miles from the Thunder River) and Jairador’s Leap (1o miles from the thunder River), bar the waterway from any substantial use in commerce or travel. Seemingly just for that reason, a semi-permanent encampment of Monks, the Speakers of the Roaring Way, resides in an area of numerous smaller cascades and cliffside grotto between the two greater falls.
Thunder River
Thunder River is the lifeblood of Sunáthüma's thriving lumber industry. Lumberjacks upriver in the dense. jungles south of Castle Rakin fell huge numbers of exotic hardwood trees, limbing and floating the logs downstream to Sunáthüma. for milling and shipping. Along the way, the logs are tended by the brave and foolhardy log-riders, who make the thirty-plus-mile journey balanced on crudely lashed log bundles and wielding long pikes, both to prevent log jams and to guard shipments from competing logging concerns. Pay for both the lumberjacks and the log-riders is high, as In addition to the standard hazards of their job they must keep a sharp eye out for lizardfolk, river monsters, and the deadly rapids and waterfalls that give the river it’s name.
Tiger River
While tigers and other large predators do inhabit the eastern reaches of the Ahedara Jungle, the Tiger River takes its name from the ferocity of its aquatic inhabitants. The river is best known for its small population of a rare freshwater species of seacat. The bright scales and pelts of these tropical magical beasts fetch high prices, making hunting the aquatic felines as lucrative as it is deadly.
Comments