Belaya Gavan

**Belaya Gavan**, also known as **Green Harbour**, **City of Thieves**, **City of 1,000 Names**, et al, is the capital of Deserk, one of the seven Hill Cantons of Ilyria in the Mistless Lands of Aelium.

Located on the Bay of Wyrms, among the many small islands of the Titan's Teeth Archipelago, in the lagoon at the mouth of the River Ardu.

Belaya Gavan is the largest city anywhere in the Mistless Lands and one of the oldest human settlements anywhere. The Teeth are dominated by the mansions of the wealthy, some over a thousand years old. Ancient ruins tower over vast and sprawling slums, built on stilts driven into the floor of the lagoon. All traffic within the city is by foot or by boat, across or along the countless, labyrinthine canals The city sprawls across the Titan's Teeth Archipelago in the Great Lagoon and is thought to be the largest human settlement anywhere outside the Mists. Unlike most of the other Ilyrian cities, Belaya Gavan is not surrounded by walls, instead relying on the murky waters of the lagoon to keep its enemies at bay.

Ships from the Western Realms dock here, as do barges of forged steel from Hastiedoc. Still, the many deserted piers and dry docks serve as a reminder of a much richer past

Two thousand years ago, Green Harbour was a beacon of truth and justice across the Dragonlands. Her heroes fought titans and won. Then, much later, a couole of dragons fought over Green Harbour. Most of the ancient city was destroyed as these great wyrms battled for days, in the sky and on the ground. The victor had a great stepped pyramid built over the corpse of the vanquished, then left the city to rebuild in the shadow of a defeated dragon's tomb.

Today, the city is known for corruption and vice. Each district is ruled by violent street gangs and swordfights in the streets are not uncommon. These gangs are organized along familial ties and they place an almost comical weight on the concepts of blood and honour. These "families" are led by an Oligarch, a title that gives them the right to elect a Grand Oligarch when the sitting one dies.

Svatava II Zvonimiri is the current Grand Oligarch. She was elected after her three sons died mysteriously, shortly after her husband's untimely death.

### Landmarks

**The Titan's Teeth:** A series of rocky islands rising out of the murky bottom of the lagoon. They vary in size, from large to small. The core of the city is built around these islands.

**The Mastaba:** Referred to by locals simply as the Pile. This rough, squat, and rectangular step-pyramid rises 483 ft. above the lagoon. The steps and slopes on the south side are largely overgrown with brambles, shrubbery, and a corpse of trees. From the north, a growing quarry is slowly erasing the ancient silhouette. More than one island has been built with stones from the Pile.

Atop the Mastaba stands Lookout Tower, a tall and slender tower, 142 ft. tall. A lookout is always posted here, and in case of danger, the lookout will light a fire.

**The Panathinaik:** An ancient stadium, said to predate the Dragonreign. It sits on the largest of the Teeth and still in use for horse racing and blood sports, sometimes combined. For major games, the Panathinaik draws more than 25,000 cheering spectators, and there's room for at least that many more.

**Pelor's Foot:** The left foot of a long crumbled, impossibly enormous statue. It sits on a octagonal fundamend, seemingly cut from one great rock, south of the Grand Canal. The foot ends just above the ankle and is one of the highest points in the city. The Foot is known as a lawless quarter where lives are cheap. Connected to the Teeth by a sprawling carpet of houses on stilts.