Opulence

"I have travelled far and wide, lived to witness age after age as I strode this plentiful world across the eons. And yet with all I have seen, Everwealth's Capital, the city of Opulence, has been rivaled in fascinating sights and gripping intrigue by scant few." -Texts of Jygaxus, Opulence, Scholar's Guild, year 103 CA.

Opulence is the crowning jewel of Everwealth, a city where ambition reigns supreme and power is carved from gold, steel, and whispered deals. The Ivory Tower, a gleaming beacon of authority, stands at its heart, housing the king and his court, their influence shaping the kingdom’s fate with every decree. Yet governance is not so simple, nobles, merchant lords, and bureaucrats wrestle for control, their alliances as fleeting as the wealth that fuels them. Laws are written with one hand and rewritten with the other, ensuring that those with power keep it, while those without must fight for their place or be trampled beneath the city’s ever-turning gears. Within its three concentric rings, Opulence thrives. The Inner Circle glows with extravagant estates, grand libraries, and the seat of Everwealth’s financial might. The Merchant’s Quarter is a chaotic sprawl where deals are made in coin, contract, or blood, while the Outer Ring struggles beneath the weight of poverty, crime, and desperation. Beyond the walls, the Warrens fester, forgotten by the city, yet essential to its survival. Though wealth flows freely here, it comes at a cost. The Arcane Coalition keeps a firm grip on magick, granting Licenses to Practice sparingly, while the city’s guards, enforcers, and black-market brokers ensure that law and order are upheld, at least for those who can afford it. Opulence is not just a city; it is a crucible of ambition, a place where fortunes are won and lost in the space of a heartbeat. It does not reward the good, nor does it punish the wicked, it favors only those who know how to play the game.

Demographics

Opulence is a city of contrasts, where silks and gold shimmer in the Inner Circle while the Warrens are smothered in filth and soot. It is home to over a hundred-thousand souls, drawn from every corner of Everwealth and beyond. Humans make up the majority, though dwarfs, elves, and gnomes hold deep roots within its infrastructure, dominating fields of finance, metallurgy, and academia. Orcs and goblins, often seen as lesser 'greenbacks' by the common folk, carve out livelihoods in the underbelly of industry, working the docks, forges, and smuggling routes that keep the city running. The wealth divide is a canyon, the nobility and merchant princes of the Inner Circle live in opulent manors with personal guards, rare imported wines, and walls that keep the city’s ugliness at bay. The Merchant’s Quarter thrives in controlled chaos, where craftsmen, traders, and scholars barter knowledge and goods alike. Beyond the second wall, the Outer Ring labors under the weight of existence, where thieves, struggling artisans, and soldiers’ widows outnumber those who still have hope. And beyond the walls altogether lies the Warrens, a lawless sprawl of desperation, ruled by gangs, rogue priests, and warlords who answer to no one.

Government

Opulence is ruled by King Duncan Atreus Valmore, though his throne is little more than a gilded cage. Power in Opulence does not belong to a single man, it belongs to politics, an assembly of noble houses, merchant lords, and arcane regulators who dictate policy from behind closed doors. The king decrees, but politics decides, ensuring that wealth, influence, and stability remain in the hands of those who understand the game. The Prime Minister, Saxon Casodes, serves as the liaison between the throne and the city’s governing bodies, overseeing taxation, trade policies, and diplomatic negotiations. Governor Dixon Butts is the iron hand of the city, commanding the Ivory Guard, city watch, and contracted mercenary companies to maintain order. Corruption is not whispered of in dark corners, it is an open, accepted practice, with bribes, favors, and political alliances shaping law as much as any decree. For all its laws and grand institutions, Opulence is held together by force, wealth, and the illusion of order, and should any of these falter, the city’s gilded streets will run red.

Defences

Opulence is protected by three colossal walls, each an impenetrable barrier of stone, steel, and watchtowers. The Ivory Guard, an elite force of the Coalition’s finest, ensures that the Inner Circle remains untouched by the chaos beyond its gates. The city watch patrols the Merchant’s Quarter and Outer Ring, though their loyalty is often for sale. The naval fleet at the Golden Crescent serves as both a defense force and an enforcer of the Coalition’s will, ensuring that Opulence’s wealth flows uninterrupted. Despite its defenses, the greatest threats to the city do not come from without, but from within.

Industry & Trade

The economy of Opulence flourishes in abundance, the country's primary hub of global trade, finances, magic and technology, the epicenter of arguably the most prosperous of the Three Lands. Opulence, even in the face of numerous cataclysms, has maintained a market of practically every service imaginable by both relation to the Throne and the sheer scale of the Capital's near-hundred mile stretch. Though, quantity, even as desperate for resources as many of the country's citizens are, may not seem like such a blessing over the quality of their goods. With such a large variety of businesses to suit your needs, the quality of some services may be... safer than others. Enforcement of safety regulations being difficult enough on such a widespread scale without the present time of war, many guards that once inspected wares as part of their patrol are now shipped in Platoons at a time to the front, leaving behind lackadaisical health standards and a proportionately increasing necessity to pay "protection money" to avoid losing their groceries on the journey home. If one is not careful, they could find themselves in the establishment of a murderous organ smuggler, or ingesting a lethal healing potion bought at a bargain from a street Alchemist who "forgot" his License.

Infrastructure

The sprawling heart of Everwealth, Opulence is built upon centuries of wealth and war, its foundations layered with the ruins of fallen empires. Polished stone roads stretch through the Inner Circle, where gold-trimmed lamplights and towering marble statues exude majesty. The aqueducts and reservoirs, remnants of an age long past, still supply clean water to the elite, while the outer districts rely on wells, rain collection, and water-sellers who charge more than most can afford. The Golden Crescent, Opulence’s lifeline to the world, is a marvel of engineering, where iron-clad cranes haul exotic goods, where warships lie in wait to deter smugglers and raiders alike. The city’s sewer system is vast but treacherous, its tunnels clogged with debris, vermin, and the secrets of those who wish to remain unseen. The farther one moves from the Inner Circle, the more crumbling facades, rotting beams, and neglected streets reveal the city's true cost of excess. Opulence does not lack resources, it simply chooses where to place them.

Districts

The city is divided into three concentric rings, each separated by monolithic walls, a clear hierarchy of wealth and influence.

• At the city’s core is the Inner Circle, where the Ivory Tower looms over noble estates, grand libraries, and the kingdom’s most prestigious institutions. Here, every stone is immaculate, every street lined with merchants selling rare luxuries, and every whisper could shape the fate of a kingdom.

• Surrounding it is the Merchant’s Quarter, a chaotic, sprawling web of trade, finance, and industry, where the Guilded Exchange sets the price of gold and alchemists sell miracles in a bottle, both real and fraudulent. Blacksmiths, jewelers, tailors, and scholars compete for business, and deals are signed in ink or in blood, depending on who you cross.

• Beyond the second great wall, the Outer Ring houses the working class, struggling artisans, and those who live and die by the city’s tides. The streets here are loud, unpolished, and desperate, where gangs, mercenaries, and overworked city watchmen ensure that the weak do not rise above their station.

• Beyond the final wall lies the Warrens, a district the city refuses to acknowledge. Here, the law is an illusion, and those who survive do so by wit, blade, or blind luck.

Assets

Opulence thrives on commerce, wealth, and exploitation, a city where fortune is forged through cunning, craftsmanship, and control. In the heart of the Inner Circle, the Golden Exchange orchestrates the financial tides of Everwealth, its gilded halls teeming with merchants, moneylenders, and aristocrats striking deals that could shift the fate of entire provinces. Here, ledgers hold as much power as swords, and a single misplaced coin could be the ruin of a dynasty. Beyond its wealth, knowledge is Opulence’s most jealously guarded treasure. The Scholar's Guild Archives house an unrivaled collection of tomes, maps, and restricted magickal texts, their halls patrolled by learned scribes and political archivists who ensure history is recorded, or rewritten, to suit the needs of the ruling class. Deep beneath the city, hidden from all but the highest authorities, lie the Arcane Vaults, where relics of immense power and unspeakable danger are locked away, guarded by The Arcane Coalition's most trusted wardens by decree of the king.

Yet Opulence is more than books and coin, its artisans have refined their crafts to near perfection. The Alchemical Foundries, sprawling across the Merchant’s Quarter, churn out potions, tinctures, and elixirs both miraculous and deadly, fueling the city's medical, military, and economic might; Though many from poverty or harsh legislation may never live to benefit from such resources. The master smiths of the Outer Ring produce weapons of unparalleled craftsmanship, some imbued with faint remnants of forgotten magicks. In the Grand Menagerie, scholars and collectors tend to beasts and flora brought from the furthest reaches of the known world, their research funded by nobles eager to claim rare creatures for their menageries, or for their hunting grounds. Though Opulence is far from The Laughing Sea, Lough Lord serves as a sturdy maritime stronghold, a vast crater-lake formed from the tremors of The Fall its depths pooled from centuries of rainfall and the now-forked Snaketongue River, which winds its way through Everwealth. While the northwestern fork of the river flows toward the Bog of Lies and its unwelcoming wetlands, the longer southeastern stretch serves as the city’s main lifeline to inland trade and expansion. Along its shore, the Golden Crescent Shipyards dominate the waters, where war galleys, merchant barges, and river-faring vessels are constructed. Though the lake itself is impenetrable to foreign fleets, Opulence’s navy patrols the southeastern riverways, ensuring trade, taxation, and military movement remain in the city’s hands. Beyond their reach, however, smuggler galleons and hidden piers along the lake’s banks ensure that forbidden goods still find passage where gold is persuasive enough to silence the law.

Beneath all of this lies the true wealth of Opulence, not just gold or power, but the mastery of control, the ability to shape its past, dictate its present, and carve its own future, no matter the cost.

Guilds and Factions

Power belongs not to the throne, but to those who control the city’s wealth and knowledge. The Scholar's Guild hoards the wisdom of ages, deciding which knowledge is shared and which is buried. The Merchant's Consortium governs trade, ensuring that gold flows only where it is meant to. The Arcane Coalition, both revered and feared, regulates magick, distributing Licenses to Practice Magick sparingly, lest another tragedy caused by it fuel the world’s fear of the arcane arts any further. Beneath them, the Gilded Hand thrives in the shadows, running the city’s black market, espionage rings, and criminal enterprises with ruthless efficiency.

History

Opulence’s origins stretch far beyond the established rule of Everwealth, its foundations laid upon the ambitions of those who sought fortune, power, and dominion over the untamed lands of old. Before it became a city, it was a dragon-hunter’s encampment, a fortified settlement built by those who once roamed the land in pursuit of great beasts, carving wealth from their bones, hoards, and hides. These early hunters, hardened by danger, erected the first crude fortifications where the Ivory Tower now stands, unknowingly sowing the seeds of what would become the beating heart of a kingdom. As time passed, the encampment evolved into a trading post, attracting merchants, artisans, and opportunists who saw profit in supplying the dragon-hunters. The wealth extracted from beastbone, dragon-hide, and rare alchemical components fueled the first markets, drawing the attention of powerful factions. Lords and warlords fought to claim the growing stronghold, spilling blood over the promise of control. The fort became a merchant capital, its walls expanding to accommodate the ever-growing sprawl of commerce and Elfese ambition.

During the Great Schism, Opulence became a warzone, a city torn between factions vying for dominion over the shattered remnants of the world before. Nobles, merchants, and scholars banded together to preserve what wealth and knowledge they could, striking bargains with warriors and magi alike to ensure their survival. By the war’s end, when the dust settled and power had been consolidated, Opulence emerged as the seat of the new kingdom, a throne forged in war and coin alike. For nearly two thousand years, the city has thrived, endured, and reinvented itself, surviving invasions, assassinations, plagues, and economic collapse. It has outlasted kings who sought to rule it, rebellions that sought to burn it, and countless enemies who sought to seize it. Today, Opulence remains a monument to ambition, a city where fortunes are made and lost in the span of a whisper, and where history is written not by the victors, but by those who know how to play the game.

Points of interest

Opulence is a city of monuments, wonders, and secrets, its streets filled with both splendor and shadow. In the heart of the Inner Circle, the Ivory Tower stands as the kingdom’s seat of power, a monolithic structure of marble and gilded steel, its halls echoing with the voices of nobles scheming for control. Across the great plaza, the Grand Theatre of Opulence serves as a cultural masterpiece, a stage where legendary performances, veiled political plays, and assassinations disguised as accidents unfold under the watchful eyes of the elite. Not far from its steps, the Moonlit Baths remain a retreat for dignitaries and spies alike, a place where alliances are formed in whispers and rivalries drowned in steaming waters. For those drawn to trade and finance, the Golden Exchange looms like a temple of wealth, its walls etched with the names of merchants who have risen to greatness, and those who have fallen to ruin. The Merchant’s Quarter itself is a maze of guild halls, auction houses, and labyrinthine markets, where artisans, alchemists, and jewelers showcase their finest wares, ever mindful that one misstep could cost them everything. Beneath the city, the Catacombs of Opulence sprawl in endless tunnels, a network of forgotten graves, abandoned vaults, and shadowed corridors where criminals hide, cultists gather, and the lost remnants of old Opulence wait to be unearthed. Somewhere within, the infamous House of Echoes stands untouched, a building where strange voices murmur through the walls and the doors always seem to lead somewhere they shouldn’t.

For those seeking refuge from the city’s unrelenting chaos, the Silver Lantern Inn in the Merchant’s Quarter serves as a meeting ground for traders, mercenaries, and wanderers alike, a place where deals are struck over aged wine and old scores settled in darkened corners. Less reputable dealings take place within the Smuggler’s Vein, a series of tunnels beneath the shipyards, where the Gilded Hand ensures that anything illegal in Opulence can be bought, for a price. Along the banks of Lough Lord, the Golden Crescent Shipyards stand as a monument to Opulence’s control over the inland waters, their docks lined with war galleys, armored patrol boats, and merchant barges. Patrols along the Snaketongue River’s southeastern fork secure vital trade and military access, ensuring no vessel moves along Everwealth’s main waterways without the city’s approval. However, in the shadowed inlets beyond their reach, hidden piers and smugglers’ hideaways keep illicit trade flowing, fueling an underground economy that thrives beneath the city's watchful eye. Meanwhile, in the Outer Ring, the Broken Crown remains one of the last true havens for those who have been cast aside, a tavern where mercenaries, bounty hunters, and criminals gather, where loyalties shift with the weight of a coin purse and names are spoken only in hushed tones. Opulence is a city of grandeur, but beneath its polished veneer lies a world of unseen forces and forgotten truths. To the untrained eye, it is simply the crown jewel of Everwealth, but to those who understand its depths, it is a living beast, always watching, always waiting, always hungry.

Tourism

Nobles and scholars flock to the Ivory Tower, the Golden Exchange, and the Grand Theatres, where art, politics, and scandal intertwine. The Moonlit Baths, an elite retreat, is whispered to be a place where alliances are forged in secret and rivalries are settled in the steam-laden air.

Architecture

Much like the name the capital bares, the buildings which fill the ringed walls of Opulence are lavishly decorated, elegance and striking presence prioritized over simple functionality typical of Everwealth's cities. The architecture here consists of elaborately designed buildings of imposing scale and complex, asymmetrical designs, each brightly colored estate more akin to an artistic expression of the builder than a home or business. Grand spires, textured walls, and steep, multi-faceted roofs adorned with decorative finials are a common sight amid the decorative iron fences surrounding it's finely sculpted structures looming overhead sometimes over a dozen stories tall. But as the Aaracokra saying goes, "shimmer does not silver make", for said focus on extravagant ornamentation often leads to confusing housing layouts atop expensive repairs of their unique, ornate furnishings and unfortunately cramped spaces.

Geography

A consequence of the continent essentially folding in on-itself like a half-open book when the impact of the meteor-like great dragon shattered Gaiatia during The Fall; Opulence sits atop an endless ocean of hills, crags, massive jutting cliffs and rocks protruding from the ground like spears in the hand of a valiant warrior.

Climate

A warm-to-mild climate with semi-frequent rainfall and very frequent fog drifting from Lough Lord's expanse.

Natural Resources

Opulence is a city built upon wealth and acquisition, yet its true riches lie in the resources it controls rather than those found within its walls. While the city itself is not abundant in raw materials, its dominion over trade routes, industry, and the Snaketongue River allows it to dictate the flow of resources throughout Everwealth. The waters of Lough Lord serve as more than just a strategic trade hub—they provide freshwater fisheries that supply the city's markets with game fish, mollusks, and rare aquatic delicacies that cannot be found elsewhere. The lakebed contains deposits of silt rich in minerals, a boon to farmers in the surrounding countryside who rely on it to revitalize their soil, though Opulence's stringent tariffs ensure that no resource is distributed without profit. The Snaketongue River's southeastern fork grants access to timber, stone, and agricultural goods from the fertile inland plains, where vast wheat fields, livestock farms, and lumber camps operate under noble sponsorship. The river is also a primary channel for iron, copper, and coal shipments from the northern mines, ensuring that the city's forges and foundries never run cold. Alchemical reagents, both rare and mundane, are funneled into the city through these same waterways, providing the materials necessary for its famed potion industry. While Opulence itself is not heavily forested, the nearby Ashwood supplies highly sought-after fire-resistant timber and petrified wood, though logging is dangerous due to the tainted wildlife and lingering magicks that infest the region. To the west, the swamps surrounding the Bog of Lies provide exotic herbs, fungi, and venomous creatures, materials highly prized by alchemists, physicians, and poisoners alike. Beneath the city, deep stone quarries and forgotten mines hold reserves of limestone, slate, and trace amounts of silver, though excavation in the lower depths is often abandoned due to structural collapses, rumors of buried vaults, and the occasional reports of creatures best left undisturbed. Most precious of all, however, is Opulence’s control over magick-infused materials. Though magick itself is feared and tightly regulated, the city is home to some of the only legal sources of processed arcanite, enchanted alloys, and rare alchemical essences, all strictly monitored by the Arcane Coalition, ensuring that only the most trusted or wealthiest buyers may obtain them. Opulence does not rely on its own soil to sustain itself; Instead, it commands the flow of resources from every corner of Everwealth, ensuring that nothing moves without a price, and nothing reaches those who do not pay it.

Founding Date

Between -204 and -60 OA.

Alternative Name(s)

'The Great Muse', 'The Sleepless City'.

Type

Capital

Population

+100,000 folk, predominantly Human, Dwarfish, and Elfese though Orcs, Gnomes and Goblins are also common.

Inhabitant Demonym

Opulent

Owner/Ruler

King Duncan Valmore

Owning Organization

The Monarchy