Edyn, the Free City

***"Freedom is a fleeting thing in this world. That is why we built a monument to it; that way, we will always remember what we are protecting."***

## Edyn

### Founding Date

12th of Desnus, Year 10 DR (Dwarven Rule)

### Inhabitants

40% Human15% Tiefling

15% Aasimar

15% Elven

10% Halfling

5% Other

## History

Seated within the center of Aera exists the free city of Edyn, a place where creatures of all walks of life come together. Built in opposition of the Viggron Empire's oppressive regime, Edyn is a self-governing entity lead by a city council made up of representatives from each of the cities' five guilds and four representatives from the public. As the city has only stood for two years, much of the city's infrastructure is still in the works. The city has very lax laws regarding most things, allowing people of all creeds and all affiliations to operate there without fear of reprisal.

The city is home to five guilds, who each hold an equally significant stake in the function of the city. Due to the opposing natures of many of these guilds, however, they are often slow to make changes; some liberty minded folk see this as a more of a blessing than a curse.

## Structure

The city harbors six guilds that make up a significant portion of the city's day to day operations. Each of these guilds elects a representative to sit the city's governing council. Another four 'guildless' representatives are voted on; two by the city's lower and middle class, and another two by the city's upper and merchant class.

This system was designed to represent every facet of Edyn's populace and promote equal representation and equality. However, it is not without its faults and weak points. The guilds often bicker between each other and amongst themselves; factions within each guild vying for power and trying to discredit rivals both in their own guild and theirs through sabotage, political messaging and propaganda, and even, although rarely, violence.

Despite the often chaotic nature of Edyn politics, laws are lacks and change slowly due to the ever present multitude of arguing voices that make up the city council. As such, the people of Edyn enjoy a rather free and open society wtih very few restrictions or limitations on their personal lives or finances. The city militia is rather laxly ordered, allowing all sorts of fighters, warriors and mages to join in on the defense of their home.

## The Six Official Guilds

The city's six guilds hold a great deal of respect amongst its people as the groups who helped found and protect the city. They touch upon many aspects of city life and culture and include:

* Edyn's Free Warriors: Manages the training of the city's militia and guards, and harbors masters of many types of martial art.
* The Adventurer's Society: Handles odd jobs, scouting and activities that require more skilled citizens to accomplish.
* The Crafter's Guild: A guild made up of many sub guilds; each covering a different aspect of Edyn's economy. Manages the creation of diferent mundane and magical items and sets the pricing for such items.
* The Sanctum: Manages magical education, the creation of new spells, and the control of magic and its uses.
* The Church: A guild made of three subguilds; the Church of Light (representing an amalgamation of good deities), the Church of Darkness (representing an amalgamation of evil deities), and the Grey Church (representing an amalgamation of neutral deities).
* The Mystic's Circle: A guild made up of primarily monks, scholars and other occultists who follow spiritual practices that don't necessarily belong to a particular religion or god.

Additional, there is one shadow guild known as the Thieves' Guild that is well known for attempting to pay 'guildless' representatives off to serve their interests. Knowing this, the other guilds work tirelessly to vet, spy on, and monitor the guildless reps to avoid infiltration, often causing political turmoil which the Thieves' Guild, and to a lesser extent the Church of Darkness, subsequently feeds off of.

## Culture

Being a city created in opposition to dwarven oppression, the people here enjoy a wide range of freedoms that are not seen just about anywhere else. While there are a plurality of humans who live in Edyn, there is no majority race in the city and the general diversity of species present is quite wide. As such, most people are familiar with people of different walks of life and are willing to live and let live.

This openness and racial equity often stops when it comes to dwarves and, to a lesser extent, gnomes. There is a great hatred for dwarves among the people who live in Edyn, as a result of many people coming to the city as refugees from Viggron's raids. Dwarven denizens are often berated or attacked in streets and not served in some establishments, being forced to ghettos or to refugee camps where they are effectively segregated. Some folk are in stark opposition to this treatment, reasoning that the dwarves in the city have little to do with Viggron's oppression and may in fact be victims themselves. Such pleas often fall on deaf ears, however, as some promote this treatment.

With the city's general live and let live philosophy comes the promotion of meritocracy. Many people view the city's liberties as a chance to make something of themselves and rise to the highest ranks of a guild or to wealth and fame through sheer hard work and dedication. However, even though it is possible, it is a steep barrier to climb that most are not able to. Some decry the system as rigged and only in favor of people with money, while others are true believers that the system is the best on Aera in terms of social mobility and equality.