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| Katheer |
Here are descriptions I was talking about last monday in regard to the major parts of Katheer. The Venician college is where the Mysterium resides, and then you might want to visit the Planar Institute sometime to find out about import/export with the Dreamlands.
1. Garden of Gifts: A towering, jeweled brass palace, the Garden of Gifts is filled with beautiful young serving men and women, games of chance, high-end shopping, and other delights. Run by genies, the Garden also offers visitors the chance to do a favor for a genie in return for a wish. Visitors would take care to bring a lawyer with them to formalize terms, however, as the genies usually get the better end of the deal when negotiating.
2. Visitors’ Center: A gold-and-white building in ornate Keleshite style, the Visitors’ Center should be the first stop in Katheer for those without imperial citizenship. Foreigners who register here receive benefits and protections, while those who neglect to register may quickly find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
3. Port of Katheer: A long stretch of riverbank that has been painstakingly carved into a semicircular harbor, the always-bustling Port of Katheer is constantly crowded with every type of water-going vessel imaginable. The captain of any non-Qadiran vessel must invite a port inspector aboard and present a cargo manifest, as well as a gift of salt—often accompanied by a monetary contribution. No cargo is prohibited in Katheer, but the size of the bribe determines to which dock the ship is guided (central docks have better access to porters and the impromptu markets that spring up along the water), as well as how long the captain must wait before unloading goods.
4. The Great Market: Nestled against the northern edge of the port is Katheer’s Great Market, where ancient buildings and makeshift stalls stand side by side, and anything can be obtained. Rapid-fire haggling that would be considered insulting in the more sedate Old Souk rings through the spice-laden air, but the greatest commodity sold here is secrets.
5. Venicaan College of Medicaments and Chirurgery: This sprawling complex stands at the center of the university district and boasts faculty trained in the latest medical science coming out of central Kelesh. The college was attacked three times over the course of the war with Taldor, but the common citizens of Katheer came to its defense each time.
6. House of the Morning Star: Named in honor of Empress Ashtirat II, the House of the Morning Star is home to an order of well-trained monks that keep the peace in Katheer’s streets.
7. Azure Canal: This wide, shallow canal is flanked by marble-and-gold promenades. The clarity of its 3-foot-deep waters is magically maintained, allowing viewers to enjoy the mosaics that line the canal’s walls. While the canal’s official purpose is to ferry goods from the Pashman to the palace, the cool, clean waters make it irresistible to Katheer’s children—and many adults. The promenades, shaded by fragrant cedars, palms, flowering trees, and ornate marble arches, are a popular place for meals, lectures, and festivals. For a mere 2 gp, one can rent a brightly painted raft and relax upon the water while enjoying chilled fruit and beverages.
8. Qahir Palace: The seat of imperial power in Qadira, the palace houses the satrap, the imperial vizier, and Katheer’s imperial court. Commoners and foreigners are not allowed inside unless accompanied by a noble patron. A smaller administrative building bordering the palace’s public courtyard is open to everyone and provides Keleshite citizens with liaisons to the empire.
9. Lioness’s Den: This glass palace is the home of Safiya, a shahiyan of the Haxaemenid branch of the imperial family, and a distant cousin of Queen Shubat. Exiled to Katheer after a disagreement with the emperor, she is attempting to sway Katheer’s nobility into supporting the emperor’s son Kalan in the succession.
10. Old Souk: The oldest market in Katheer is also the most prestigious, though its status comes with considerable government oversight, and the resulting taxes drive up the prices. Nevertheless, for a first-time visitor to Katheer, the Old Souk provides a safe, clean venue where one can obtain a dazzling array of goods, foods, and services.
11. Temple of Dawn’s Grace: Katheer’s largest cathedral is the center of Sarenite worship in Qadira, though its blunt rejection of the militant Cult of the Dawnflower has brought it under fire from the cult’s sympathizers in Katheer’s government. Nevertheless, the graceful, open-air building still welcomes thousands of loyal worshipers each morning as the faithful assemble to greet the sun.
12. Planar Institute: The imperial court maintains trade relations with multiple extraplanar powers and it sponsored this grand school to better train merchants in the intricacies of extraplanar etiquette and business.
13. Sunset Crown: The western terminus of the Golden Path is a massive, raised round plaza on the waterfront. Slender white pillars support a roof shaped like a giant replica of the imperial crown. While the Golden Path is, in reality, a network of routes rather than a single path, its name becomes stunningly literal in Katheer, where a wide, gold-paved avenue blazes through the city to the Crown. The plaza hosts a different assortment of merchants each day, though most of the goods sold there are too expensive for the average person to even dream of buying. Patrols guard the Golden Path itself incessantly, yet in the end their presence isn’t necessary as the ancient genie-fueled magic that helped pave the path protects it as well—any amount of gold scraped or pried from the Golden Path fades to nothing and automatically replenishes on the path itself, making theft of the gold essentially impossible. Whispers of a curse that targets these reviled “pathscrapers” (a term some folks have taken to use derogatorily against the Pathfinders and their often overly aggressive agents) help to prevent attempts as well, although whether or not this malediction exists at all is unknown.
14. Zenith of the Dawnflower: A simple, windowless spire of white marble, the Zenith rises nearly 200 feet, its interior a great, spiraling stairway from ground level to the top landing. Sarenrae favors those who visit the Zenith in supplication—a spellcasting worshiper of Sarenrae who travels to the Zenith and watches the sun rise gains one additional spell slot of her highest available spell level the next time she prepares spells. A particular spellcaster can only gain this benefit once per year.
