Cast Lea

Guide to Cast Lea

Demographics

Cast has always been accepting of all who only have peaceful intentions, due to deeply rooted cultural beliefs in acceptance. Even so, the overwhelming majority of the residents within Cast are either half elf or tiefling, due to those races tending to breed true over the time the city was locked away within a magical bubble.

Government

Cast is led by a Council of Elders, made up of the guild masters within its walls. The leader of this council is traditionally known as the Headmaster, though they have adopted the title of ‘Lord’ in recent decades to help communication and foreign relations with other cities within the kingdom.
The Lord of the Council is elected by the collective of councilmen, who speak with the betterment of their factions in mind with the knowledge that none should vote for themselves. While this is not an official rule, it is seen as highly unsightly to do so and those who choose themselves for the seat are often not considered by anyone else. Once elected, direct oversight of their respective guild is passed on to their second, as they turn their focus to the direct diplomatic and state affairs of Cast Lea and it's vassal towns and villages.
The current Headmaster and Lord of the Council is a half-elf named Tilan Noblewind, and it is a widespread rumor that he only won the position because of his shared name with the king, despite how distant any family relation would be.
The Voting of a new headmaster occurs every fifty years.

Trade & Commerce

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General Services

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Guilds and Colleges

Arcane guild

Order of the Land: Mage guild that had power up until recent decades, when they lost the vote to the Noblewind House. Spent the time in the bubble providing food and water through arcane means, even some healing as their clerics and paladins struggled without Loki. With the mage guilds retreating into their tower, the representative only emerges on urgent summons [such as needing to restrain a newbie mage just discovering their powers], trials of criminals, and to participate in the Voting.

Councilman - Male half-elf Rit Trephon
Second - Female human Ariel Sand

Laborers guild

Arts of the Street Society: Group of low-skilled people who do odd jobs here and there for coin, and band together to be sure that none of the businesses shortchanged them.

Councilman - Male elf Telmar Cross
Second - Male human Thomas Smith

Mercantile guilds

Ivory Brotherhood of Traders: Merchant group that bases itself in Cast and travels trade routes from Starfall to Dream Haven.

Councilman - Female centaur Semares Ironhoof
Second - Female half-elf Adalina Noblewind

The Emerald Sails: A fleet of airships that comes through with fresh goods every couple months in huge quantities. Officially have no solid footing in Cast but their shops sell unique goods from across the Northern Gulf. Based in Ship’s Rest.

The Golden Hand: Posed as a tertiary merchant guild, competitor to the Ivory Brotherhood of Traders. Really just a front for the thieves guild branch within Cast. Sell expensive items at discount, leading some to believe they are laundering and selling off items acquired by less-than-honorable means.

Councilman - Male Half elf Armus Trail.
Second - N/A

Scholastic guild

Bardic College Complex: Residing in a sectioned off district of the city, each college has its own space for teaching. Uniforms are color coded to show what college a bard attends. Those who graduate can get regular employment in high tier councils all across the kingdom, perhaps even becoming advisors for lords and ladies.

Councilman - Male teifling Zerus Embervale
Second - Female human Sonya Smith

Tiers of Cast

Sky District

Originally a small expansion for a family of aaracokrans, the district grew rapidly while the city was trapped in a magic bubble that prevented outward expansion. A residential district for a long span of time, the Sky tier saw less people living upon it full time once the bubble fell and the land was reshaped, opening up more open area more favorable for agriculture. The Sky district has become more of a tourist area, with its scenic vistas and markets for rarer magical items. It is also the site of the local grand temple and airship docks.

Notable Locations

Temple of Tiamat

Noblewind Manor: Expansive estate with several buildings built into the cliffside, connected by breezeway and paths. Contains many bedrooms and storage. The original series of rooms that make up the heart of this network is kept empty but maintained, for whenever the crown family wishes to visit or stay for a while.

Shining Heart Inn

Magical Market

Airship Docks

Hills District

The oldest district, dating back to the city's founding, and therefore has specialized in the goverment and political matters that accompany keeping peace within a city. The edges of this tier still hold the scars of the bubble that encased the city for millenia. Prominant and wealthy families have residences on the Hill District, as well as the site of the largest libraries and the closed mage's tower.

Notable Locations

Council Tower

Mage’s Guild Tower

Sands Estate

The Land Scar

(Undertier) Phantom Eye Library

Plains District

Youngest and largest of the districts, the plains district is the result of explosive expansion once the continent was reshaped to make the open feilds avaliable. Common markets, shops and residential homes are plentiful within the city walls, and the crop feilds beyond seemingly never end. The undertier of the plains district also contains the Artisan Corner, home to many highly specialized crafting shops as well as homes for races with a preferance for the dark.

Notable Locations

Bard College Complex

Triple Marketplace

Precious Pendants

Cake Corner

Ivory Book Tavern

(Undertier) Burnished Beauty: A tannery and leather working shop owned and operated by a dwarf woman named Arlynn. She specializes in working with the hides of monsters and is always willing to give a discount to those who can bring her a specimen she has not yet crafted with.

(Undertier) Brothers’ Forge: A pair of smith shops that sit side by side and are, on paper, two separate businesses however the populace tend to see them as the same, as they tend to get into competitions and rivalry, trying to outdo one another in crafts. They are owned by two drow brothers and financially managed by their sister.

Architecture

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Geography

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History

Cast Lea is one of the ancient strongholds within Murgia, originating back before the small continent was joined to the Lands of Tiamat through the greed of the red god, Akrenae.
Before the merging, Cast was the center of worship for the trickster god, Loki, and was locked in a slow burning conflict with the followers of Thor. When the dragon arrived, the headmaster was willing to give him tribute in return for not having to fight a battle on two fronts. However, Akrenae was not banished by these tributes, not fully. He took interest in the conflict boiling under the surface and set his cultists to ignite it into a full rage war.
This meddling came to a head when Akrenae devoured both Loki and Thor, leaving their people unknowingly godless and primed for manipulation by his fire elemental creations, in the guise of aarakocran women. These elementals kept the conflict going for decades, and became so infamous that the true aarakocrans became unwelcome by any settlement that wanted to remain neutral.
The aarakocran race disappeared from the lands of the old gods, and it was unknown where they went. No trace of them was left behind, except a solitary egg that was discovered by the headmaster of Cast Lea and put in the care of an elf-human couple who had difficulty conceiving to raise. This egg eventually hatched Arnet Noblewind.
Nearly two decades later, the war finally reached Cast proper, and all Hells broke loose. During this raid, however, a sudden force swept through the city, burning all invaders to cinders and ash. This force gathered just outside the city boundaries and became a wall, red and impassable, locking all harm out but also all residents in.
This shield remained for the better part of two millenia. Even the collapse of the continent during the Dragonblight did not touch the city or its farmlands, reducing the once open countryside to an island with sheer cut cliffs into raging waters.
At the end of the Fallen Era, the shield collapsed without warning and Cast found itself under siege once more by a foreign power; this time a succubus Queen and her fleets of slaver battle ships. Fortunately Cast had natural defense from the sheer unnatural cliffs that made up its shores, making it treacherous to sail to close, buying the people time to develop other defenses that had been neglected due to the shield.
Cast became a small but powerful stronghold against Queen Zaehyla for the final months of her reign.
Once Zaehyla fell, and the land was reshaped by the goddess Tiamat, Cast was among the first to join Arnet Noblewind’s kingdom, accepting him as one of their own and admiring the strength it takes to not only defeat a powerful devil but also gain the respect of a goddess.

Natural Resources

Stone, Grain, Clay, Livestock

Ruling House: Noblewind
Current Lord: Tilan Noblewind
Founding Date: Unknown Year of the Fallen Era
Population: ~19.000
Inhabitant Demonym: Castian
Province of: Kingdom of Nobletrie
Notable Inhabitants:

Lord Tilan Noblewind

Matthias Sand

Ryl Nsor

Type

Large city

Characters in Location

• Michael Dhehen