Sarantium

Description
Sarantium is the capital of the present-day Sarantine empire and one of the largest cities in the world. Its prime location stradding the entrace of the Stigiani sea to the north and the Great Sea to the south has made it a center for trade, while their massive walls and knowledge of how to harness the power of a dragon's breath has allowed it to remain unconquered for centuries. The great noble houses proudly trace their lineage back to both elven and human empires, and while they can seem arrogant to outsiders, they imagine themselves to be quite welcoming to any foreigner who can make themselves useful.

The truth of the matter is that the Sarantine Empire is not what it once was, and is holding on to what lands it has through an increasing reliance of foreign born adventurers and mercenaries. The city, while still large, is quite diminished, with around half of the area within the city as sparcely inhabited rubble, and a good number of the formerly impressive acqueduects and civil projects outside of the palace districts have been left to ruin.



Districts
There are six acknowledged districts, along with the slums, the garrison, and the fallow grounds. There is also the matter of the series of tunnels that lie beneath the city from ages past.

Sarin Palace
Sarin Palace is the home of the Emperor and Empress and their Court. The palace complex is the size of a small town and includes a separate palaces for the Empress' family and the Praetor, housing for all members of the court, a garrison, artisans, a bakery, a library, gardens, and a small livestock yard. Sarin Palace is surrounded by a second set of walls almost as thick as those that surround the city and unknown protective magics, but there have been rumors of ways one could possibly smuggle in.

Golden Reach
Those nobility not currently residing in court (but possibly have hopes to do so) can be found in Golden Reach, along with anyone who more money than pedigree. Anyone who would like to gain the attention of a wealthy noble - or maybe even the court - can be found here as well, making it a wonderful place for people watching, fashion, and all sorts of gossip.

The Path of Emanace's offices can be found here, along with Elisio Levan's tower, a few paid lending libraries, and high quality inns.

Godshome
Godshome is Sarantium's temple district, home to the worship of dozens of dieties from a number of different pantheons. Along with the Entertainment district, it is one of two districts where nobles may be seen walking the same street as foreigners and beggars. That being said, most of the stores and eating establishments that can be found in this district are more expensive than what would find in the merchant or foreign districts.

The four main gods of Sarantium are Sune, Waukeen, Torm, and Istishia. While those four have the grandest temples, there are many other gods that have their place here, including a shrine to Azuth and a temple to Oghma.

Additionally, the Aasimiar bar/cafe, The Angel's Cut, can be found in Godshome.

Entertainment District
The Entertainment District is where people can find all sorts of theater, music, sports - both gladitorial pit fighting and griffon riding are popular, arts, and other sorts of entertainments on display. Catering to all classes and tastes, this section of town is denounced by some of the more asceitc orders as a den of vice, but championed everyone else as a place where you can have a good time. Anything can be had for a price, but who knows who is watching.

The fighting pits can be found here, along with a selection of smaller theaters for oratory and music. There is also a cape store near the water just called The Cape, which has a number of lightly used theatrical capes.

Merchants District
The Merchants district prides itself in selling any sort of good in the world that's legal to sell - and legality is a matter of careful interpretation in Sarantium. While you can't quite find everything, there is a large selection, along with a number of large merchant's guilds, distributors, and merchant families.

The Murshid's merchant guild, the Mosiac Griffon, Ottillia's Nook, Burlington Cape Factory and Mapheseon the Proud's automata shop can all be found here. This is also the location of the inn where the party is currently staying.

Foreign District
The foreign district, near the docks, hosts a great number of newcomers, which these days are overwhelmingly foreign adventurers and mercenaries looking to make their fortune. Nothing in this district is made to last, with the expectation that anyone who is arriving is aiming to only be passing through. Cheap street food from all over the world can be found here, along with a number of adventurer's taverns and the offices of Eobard the Smiling.

The Garrison, The Slums, and Fallow Ground
The main garrison is across the canal from the rest of the city and houses the chief military force in Sarantium.

The slums are in the northern part of the city, far from Sarin Palace and in the process of being abandoned as the city contracts. You can find the Small God's temple here (notably absent in Godshome), along with a small library for Azuth that is still being maintained by Maris.

The fallow ground takes up around half of the space within the city walls. While there are some fields being maintained by enterprising farmers, the taxes on the land are too high for the land to come to any great use, and is mostly home to squatters. The city guard purposefully destroy any sign of untaxed improvement they see in the area, but that has only made those who live in this area more resourceful and better at hiding.

Underneath Sarantium
The city of Sarantium is old and it has had many incarnations before the one that you can see today. You can find remnants of the city's past lives by going down certain fissures and wells that exist within the city and exploring the ruins underneath. Certain unsavory sorts use them to navigate through the city undetected, but risk their lives doing so - nobody quite knows what lurks in the deepest parts.

Notable People
Eliso Levan: High powered warlock

Emilio: An elven mage, adventurer

Eobard the Smiling: Entrepenuer and mercenary captain.

Godric the Human: A human rogue, adventurer

Itsima: Fire Genasi looking for adventuring work in Sarantium

Karlheinz Flater: A dwarven fighter, adventurer

Liviana: Works at the fighting pits

Ferhat: Liviana's assistant, works at the fighting pits

Mapheson the Proud: Tinkerer, makes fine automata

Maris: Scholar, priest of Azuth

Ottilia Bengtsson: Bookstore owner, self help guru, self proclaimed champion of Ukka

Praetor Anthos: One of the ruling leaders of Sarantium

Xanthi Skerlos: Gifts officer for the Path of Emanance

Zoe: Priestess of Sune

Notable Organizations
Church of Azuth

The Divine Right

House Laskaris

House Skerlos

Path of Emanence

The small god