Westcrown

For 800 years, Westcrown was the capital of Cheliax, and the rumored birthplace and home of the god Aroden. Known as the "City of Nine Stars", it was a shining example of the greatness of the Chelish empire. Westcrown was a classic, enlightened metropolis, even a rival to Absalom as a destination of religious pilgrimage and tourism. But then tragedy struck: Aroden died in 4606 AR, a bloody civil war swept over the nation, and decades of turmoil and strife plunged the city into despair. The ascension of the House Thrune to the Chelish throne in 4640 AR cemented Westcrown's fate, as the capital was moved north to Egorian; no longer the City of Nine Stars, Westcrown now became the City of Twilight. The remains of the Chelish nobility huddle in Westcrown as a home-in-exile, as the city itself crumbles under the weight of mismanagement, crime, and a mysterious plague of creatures that hunt the streets at night.

As of 4716 AR, Westcrown finds itself the target of an uprising led by the Glorious Reclamation, an Iomedaean group of knights opposed to House Thrune.

Because of its excellent location on the Inner Sea coast, Westcrown is an extremely active shipping port. All sorts of goods and items traverse Westcrown's port, both to and from points throughout Cheliax via the powerful Adivian River, which flows into the city from the north under the Adivian Bridge.The city is speckled with numerous warehouses and docks, and in the mornings Westcrown has the spirit of a active, mercantile city.

The center of trading and commerce is located at the Trivardum, a large, slate-shingled building that houses all sorts of merchants, taverns, ambassadors, and government offices.

The western side of the city hosts the Parego Spera ("Hope's Altar"), a thriving, bustling commerce district filled with scribes, printers, money lenders, blacksmiths, tanneries, and the like.

The ruins in the northern part of the city are the home of the legendary Dusk Market, a wandering bazaar which boasts all manner of illegal and hard-to-find goods and services: drugs, slaves, poisons, strange creatures, and prostitutes. The market is the headquarters of many criminal organizations that control the market.

The offices of the Lord Mayor and those of the patriarchs of the local noble houses form the legitimate government of Westcrown, though the city is thoroughly militarised and much of the power lies in the hands of various branches of the soldiery, known as the dottari. Behind this façade, though, money is the real power in mercantile Westcrown, and no group's coffers run as deep as the legendary Council of Thieves.