Suhder

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Suhder, Throne of the Gods

The city of Suhder was founded during the first or second era, depending on the source, as a bastion for Pelor's Radiant on Vayan. It grew to what is now called the City of the Gods, a place where all those who dedicated themselves to the Gods of Light and Life gathered. Now, in the Fourth Era, it still stands proudly as a symbol of faith in the Gods, and a bastion that binds together the people of the Astran League. Suhder today is the center for business, politics, justice, faith, and education within the realm. It is often called the nexus of the modern world.

The city sits on the Inris Estuary where it has access to the Lunarest Basin and Inris river while looking out over fertile plains that stretch south towards the Inmer sea. Protected by massive, stone walls it is neigh impossible to conquer for any hostile force while access to the inside is well guarded through a number of gates and portcullis. Once inside the city is kept in order by the Ptarian Order who patrol each of its wards, fanning out from its central Astran Barracks. The farms to the south, and fleet of fishers that go out in the Lunarest Bay provide the city with most of its food, while to the east and west of the cities walls one will find the Wall-less communities bustling with life.

Government

Suhder is the capital of the Astran League and political center of the nation. The League is ruled by Archon Hrak and Inmer Assembly. The Archon, who took power during the Caste Uprising of 674PCA, is credited almost exclusively with overseeing Suhder's transition from a theocratic city state, to an autocratic empire, and then a unity state. During his rise to power many laws were rewritten and it is these laws that have modelled the political system we see today.

As the Inmer Assembly's responsibilities and power grew it created several bodies to which it delegated powers, all of which report to the Assembly and the Archon:

• The Omphalos Ministries who draft and propose new laws and are responsibly for collecting taxes.
• The Astran Emissaries are the chosen representatives hailing from different provinces and function as their ambassadors
• The Platinum Court who oversee the different courts and dispense justice.
• The Ptarian Order who keep order in the League's cities and borders.

These four branches form the political backbone of the nation, while the Archon has been absent for most of the proceedings for a number of decades. In fact, while Archon Hrak still holds the power ascribed to him in the Astran Accords, it is said he has not used these powers in over a century. Many have suggested that the Archon is no longer fit to rule, on account of his old age, and some have even said that he has been long dead.

Suhder works closely with the four other major cities in the Astran League: Trepun and Bazit are large trading hubs on their own, Pinst is the industrial center of the League, and Rivemont has developed itself to be the center of Arcane and Technological development over the last decades.

Diplomatically the League finds itself in a trading alliance with the Brightreef Coalition to the south-west and the Mohnian Dominion to the North, while a strained and cold relation has been worsening for years with the Arcanists of the Spirelink Alliance to the South.

Society

Suhder's original inhabitants - the immortal followers of the gods - had always been outnumbered by the mortal ones. Now, in the Fourth Era, only the mortal races remain and Suhder has seen most of them. With its central role within and without the Astran League, nearly all races of Vayan pass through and take refuge within its walls. Humans, Elves, and Halflings are most broadly represented but they are by no means in the majority. Only the Dragonborn fulfil a special role within Suhderian society: Their ancestry is unmistakably bound to the Platinum Dragon, and most of them will end up serving one of the many order or sects dedicated to justice or protection.

The Castes

Suhder's system of social castes has been abolished for over two centuries as a result of the Caste Uprising, but its traces still linger and inform many traditions and design of parts of the city. The outer reaches of the Lesser Ward on the west side of the city originally grew as a place where those of the lowest caste the "casteless" could make a living and own a home, and many of those serving in politics and residing within the higher reaches of Suhderian society those who were of the highest castes, or their direct descendants.

The Divine & Arcane

The Divine and the Gods have always been at the heart of Suhder, both literally and metaphorically. With the city build as a Bastion for Pelor's Radiant where the Omphalos now resides and mortals having lived alongside the Divine before the Fourth era the city is intrinsically linked with the Gods they revere. The people of Suhder, and the League at large, have revered the Gods that created Vayan and have been better for it.

The Arcane, while never outlawed as such, has always been seen as a practice of the occult and perverted - despite the knowledge and abilities being gifted to mortals by the Knowing Matron Oghma and Giving Mistress Mystra. The veil between the Prime Material and other Planes has been badly understood by most folk, and has seemingly been steadily growing thinner ever since the Crepuscular Annihilation and the Exodus. It is no wonder then, that many folks have blamed the somewhat frequent incursions of extra planner beings on Arcanists that dabble with these arcane rituals and magics. Decades conspiracies about Spirelink agents infiltrating into Astran society, actors of the arcane causing droughts or floods, or supposed arcane rituals causing incursions of anything from demons and devils to Fey have not helped matters. The opening of the Silver Spire academy in Suhder was even met with a small riot outside the Lyceum gates.

The Astran League

The Astran League is unitary state under the rule of Archon Hrak and the Inmer Assembly founded with the signing of the Astran Accord of 722PCA. Though the Suhderian Empire had conquered much of the lands belonging to the Pinst Coalition and Quon Dynasty the accord stipulated the formation of a single union lead by members of all former states. Initially met by protest from the Suhderian elite, Archon Hrak expressed his intentions of ruling the new League for the benefit of all its citizens, new and old, in hopes of establishing a powerful block that could withstand challenges from both within and without, including a body of governance that could stand up to a potential future tyrant.

The creation of the Inmer Assembly saw the formation of a council of advisors from different walks of life; generals, priests, members of nobility, merchants, and other figures of social importance. These Assembly members would go on to advise Archon Hrak in the early decades of the League, while gradually expanding their responsibilities as the Archon grew more absent from political business.

The League is the largest state on both the continent of Vashora and on the western hemisphere, and holds great influence in political, economical, and military matters.

The Districts

The Omphalos is where one finds the Archon's Spire, several ministries, and the homes of Suhder's elite. As the social and political center of Suhder, and the larger Astran League, access to the ward is tightly regulated, which has only furthered its exclusive and opulent status amongst the citizens of the city. This is also where the Platinum Court, the highest court in the League, is located.

• • The Suhder Port is built on and around the estuary where the Inris river connects to the Lunarest Basin. Dozens, if not hundreds, of ships make dock here at any given time. The port is regulated by Dock Wardens, who allocate space for the different merchants, shipping companies, and fleets of fishers that call this port their home. From here smaller vessels ferry goods all around Suhder through the complex system of canalways that sprawl in an ever growing network through the city.

The Temple Ward houses all of the major temples of deities worshipped in Suhder and the wider Astran League. From the cathedrals for the Dawnfather and Nightmother, to the smaller temples or shrines to the Shepard of Seasons, Giving Mistress, Knowing Matron, and Mothtender. The shrine to Arwyn, the Cleansing, is always buzzing with activity as the worshippers of the Cosmic Light "cleanse" themselves through combat - something that has become a tradition as once a year many fighters flock here to prove themselves against members of the Steel Vanguard.

The Astran Barracks contains many of the barracks and instructional facilities for both the standing military of the Astran League, and Ptarian Order. Prospective new soldiers are trained at ..., commonly referred to as the Grinder, while recruits for the Ptarian Order are put through rigorous training at the Bastion. The Steel Vanguard is also stationed here in between their expeditions and often call their barracks the Cosmic Retreat. While every district has their own, smaller jails, Suhder's largest prison - The Hoard - is found here.

The Lyceum is the foremost place for education one can find within all the League. With several highly praised colleges and universities housed in magnificent halls of study and wisdom, knowledge is never far away - for those who can afford it. Artistic or intellectual enrichment isreadily available in the Lyceum, and even the Arcane can now be studied in the recently established, though highly controversial, Silver Spire Academy.

The Lunaria Promenade is one big marketplace. Right in the middle of Suhder with broad access to all its water ways this district finds all its stalls, tents, and shops easily supplied with both wares and customers from the city and beyond. If something is for sale, one can find it here; from food and drink, to magically enchanted objects, and any service one may think of.

The Hub is the largest residential ward within Suhder's walls, a living place for most of the city's middle class - including merchants, traveling traders, ship captains, and guild apprentices. The Ward is a patchwork of thousands of personal homes, tenements, and guildhalls of all shapes and sizes, mixed with a smattering of different inns and taverns in every nook and cranny. Several neighbourhoods are clustered together and bound by tightly set streets, occasionally broken up by park greens or the Inris Canelways that connect the ward with the Lunaria Promenade and Suhder Port.

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Lesser Ward

The Outer West

The Southern Farms

Landmarks

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