Free City of Kas
"Well, you don't have to pay the passage tax. Perhaps you could walk to Barkos. I'm sure nobody will steal your unattended vessel off the beach over the next few weeks."The Free City of Kas is the official name of the political entity of the city-state of Kas. It is a very large city of over 300,000 citizens, making it easily one of the largest cities in the world. As a city built across two continents, dividing the Calinan Sea into the Sapphire Sea, the Free City is one of the most influential and powerful states in the Calinan and Sapphire Seas. Its position allows it to control all passage between the two seas, and the taxes collected for that passage have filled Kas' coffers close to bursting. Combining this an insular defence and territorial policy has allowed the city to easily become one of the richest in the world, with its decisions able to drastically influence the approaches of even the most powerful Avadian captains and Sapphran states.
-an official of the Maritime Offices of Kas to an outraged trader
Structure
The Free City is a plutocratic oligarchy. There have been no monarchs in Kas since its founding, and power is generally concentrated in the wealthiest merchants, who are able to command enormous workforces, control supply lines and access to the Strait, and build enough of a reliance upon them from other facets of the city that they are vital to its operation. Whilst officially there are no classes or castes, the deck is simply stacked too high against a common peasant or small trader to rise above their station.
Legislation in the Free City falls under the purview of the Golden Council, a council of twenty of the wealthiest and most influential citizens in the city. The majority of the seats on this council are held by the most powerful Merchant Princes within the city, but other important figures such as the Chief Philosopher of the University of Kas, and the First Commander of the city garrison sit on the council. Legislation may be proposed by any member of the council, and requires a simple majority to pass. In the event of a deadlocked vote, the Chief Magistrate of the City Court assesses whether the vote would be in the best interests of the city and either passes or vetoes the legislation.
Laws are interpreted by the City Court of Kas, a group of magistrates, aided by scholars and bureaucrats, who study the law meticulously and apply it in court hearings. All civil and criminal cases are taken before the assigned magistrate. In the event of an unsatisfactory outcome, a defendant or litigant may appeal once to the Chief Magistrate, whose decision is final and legally binding.
Law and order are maintained by the Janissaries of Kas, a combination of city garrison and guard force. Kas does not have much in the way of offensive ambitions, and has poured its military resources into defence, making the Janissaries a well equipped, well funded and highly trained force able to repel invaders, maintain order and apprehend criminals with near unparalleled effectiveness.
A typical Janissary of Kas
Culture
Kas has a unique culture that draws from both their Sapphran citizens and neighbours from the west and their Sembarine citizens and neighbours from the east. This manifests in a blended architecture; the sunblasted brick buildings and tiered structures of Sapphrans often intermixed with the minarets, marble pillars and domes of the Western Sembarine culture. Similarly, a mixture of religious faiths and cultural beliefs can be found here. Similarly, social norms and cultural rules are influenced by both cultures- usually resulting in accusations of being Sapphranised or Sembarised from the relevant peoples.
Kas also has a heavily mercantile culture, rivaling that of the Avadian Sovereignty or the Kingdom of Kjoqvist. The city's lifeblood is built on trade across two continents and two seas, and the city is practically saturated with merchants trading all kinds of goods. This affluence is prized, and the most renowned and revered people in Kas are the Merchant Princes - traders, or more commonly the descendants of traders of such acumen, skill and luck that their wealth is virtually unmeasurable, allowing them to wield a tremendous amount of power in both the political and mercantile spheres.
Tavas Naktin, a Merchant Prince
Demography and Population
The population of Kas is diverse due to its position straddling Arikanda and Sembar. The majority of the population are western Sembarines, but only barely, with a large chunk of the population of Sapphran ethnicity, and a nearly-as-large chunk apparently of mixed or indiscernable ethnicity.
Religion
Kas has no official religion, and welcomes all faiths providing they do not challenge the established order. The Eranic faith, a monotheistic religion allegedly popular further into the continents of Sembar and Calina, is the majority faith, however Elementalism and the Avadian pantheon both find many worshippers in Kas. The Solar Faith is tolerated, but has a fairly small presence due to Kas being isolated from Kalriv territory.
Foreign Relations
Kas is welcoming to all visitors, but does not send diplomats out into the world or send out their own trade fleets - their position on the Straits ensures that everybody seeking to trade between the Calinan Sea and Sapphire Sea must come to them.
While Kas does not have any official dispute with the Avadian Sovereignty, there is known friction between some of the major merchant families of the Sovereignty and the Merchant Princes of Kas - and more than a few indignant Kasite merchants have placed bounties on accused Avadian raiders. With that said, Avadian merchants are vital to the city's riches and economy, and are generally welcomed.
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Capital
Alternative Names
Crossroads of the World
Gateway of the Two Seas
Gateway of the Two Seas
Demonym
Kasite
Ruling Organization
Government System
Plutocracy
Power Structure
Autonomous area
Economic System
Mixed economy
Gazetteer
Kas
Strait of Kas
Strait of Kas
Currency
Silver talents
Legislative Body
Golden Council
Judicial Body
City Court of Kas
Executive Body
Janissaries of Kas
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
Comments