Setrent

Stability +2

Corruption +0

Crime +2

Law +5

Productivity +3

Lore +2

Society +4

Strategic Location

## Description

Settled at the mouth of an expansive river that spills out into the vast ocean, Setrent is the nation of Aetveris’ capital city, and it certainly looks the part. High walls stretch on for miles, beyond which lies several hilltop fortifications that make direct assault against the jewel in the Aetveran crown a treacherous adventure. Spiraling watchtowers extend beyond the port city to alert of passing ships, and lights eternally dance within the sheltered structure of the capital.

Nestled comfortably within these defenses lie streets of bustling commerce and industry. Farmers ply their wares from the numerous homesteads outside of the walls while tradesmen from nations far and near clamor for your attention; soldiers in resplendent train in quarters dedicated to the perfection of the martial and magical arts; and at night candlelit temptresses and hustlers try and entangle naïve foreigners in plots and schemes for quick coin.

In a way, Setrent represents the pleasant mundanity long since forgotten by Eterans, who for nearly a century have only known the turmoil of invasion and war. A normalcy well-defended, but one that shrouds a deeper ambition.

## Society

   At the heart of an expansionist and militaristic society, it is little wonder that the society of Setrent represents the very best one might come to expect from Aetveris; and perhaps some of its worse. Industry makes itself known here, with the forges always alight and the docks always in motion as revenue consistently flows in and out of the metropolis.

Merchant guilds and corporate entities have found plentiful plots for investment in Aetveris’ capital, such as the Urnov Corporation. Scientists and scholars are always abuzz within the multitude of libraries, especially inside the headquarters of the Institute for Eteran Technological Advancement; and the sounds of training and preparing can always be heard when one is near the Reylis District.

Still, this congregation of excellence often has a tendency to exclude those less exceptional, and in a number of sections in any gathering of mortals, crime is to be had. While large-scale criminal operations have yet to become a factor in Setrent’s continued existence (most likely contributable to the presence of Crimson Templars always patrolling the rooftops and alleys), petty corruption and bribery is far less simple to trace; and one always needs men ready and willing to do dirty jobs for silver and gold.

## Leadership

Setrent remains under the direct control of the Aetveran Crown, and as such the appointment of local officials to oversee the flow of tax revenue, to port authorities managing trade, to the mustering of soldiers and the city's defense, all fall under its direct authority.

## Districts

On account of its large size and ever-growing expansion, the capital city of Setrent has been divided into various districts to allow for the accommodation of various building plans as well as for ease of organization. Below are some of the more notable districts in the city.

### Lambert District

One of the more recently developed sections of the capital city, the Lambert District is almost completely dedicated to the support of the Urnov Corporation, having been purchased and developed by them many years ago when Setrent was first beginning to expand. While the local guards still continue to patrol this district much like the others, the affairs of commerce and real estate development have more independent control than other sections of the city.

### Reylis District

Named in honor of Arno Reylis, who was a notable member of the Crimson Templar order, the Reylis District is filled with the sound of drilling and the clanging of swords, as it is here where the training of the guard and numerous soldiers can be found.

The structure of buildings takes on a more pragmatic and strategic aesthetic, with each stone laid with purpose and with the possibility of space and potential for combat taken into every account. While an artist would hardly refer to the district as ‘pretty’ or ‘pleasing on the eyes’, a commander in the military would certainly claim that it was a thing of beauty.

### Moorcroft District

Named in honor of Heulwen Moorcroft, who was a contributor to the repair of Fort Ragathiel, the district is best known as the site for economic industry and the development of mercantile disciplines.

Eteran blacksmiths plying their trade, Vrozian peddlers of foreign keepsakes from their desolated homeland, Siaocrian investors in business and commerce, and even Setlaar soldiers on leave would be common sights to see in this booming and bustling marketplace.

## History

Setrent was once a prosperous mining town fallen on hard times. It found wealth and success supplying Naramoore Steelworks with various materials, and the economy thrived under the leadership of Guildmaster Heidi Saunders. This continued until the expansion of the town led to an incredibly dangerous vault being uncovered, which resulted in outsiders of great power being loosed on the city. Now it is recovering from the aftershocks of their influence, both in the psychological damage the rending of reality caused to the inhabitants, and in the damage to reality that still hasn't fully healed.

### The Vault

Under one of the newly built slums of Setrent there's the entrance of an ancient prison dimension, built by an unidentified civilisation. This demiplane contained three very old and dangerous outsiders, and when the wards and protections placed on it started deteriorating, the influence of the beings started leaking out. They managed to establish a cult after corrupting Darvon Farring, and led him to acquire several powerful wardbreaking devices, which he used to break the vault open and release the demons.

### The Outsiders

* **Darkness Shifting Into the Shapes of Death, Hungry and Cruel** - A monster of shadow all but invulnerable to normal weapons, Darkness Shifting was the first of the three beings to make its presence known, as it devoured most of the population of the neighborhood it was released in. After that, it took control of Captain Alok Caswell. It was also the first of the three to be encountered and defeated by the adventurers.
* **Beast of Resplendent Ivory, Polished to a Mirror Shine that Reflects all it Beholds** - The second of the three to be defeated, the Beast of Resplendent Ivory took the shape of the governor's cat, entirely overtaking the man's will through repeated exposure and exerting some influence on the rest of the important figures of the city. It was defeated more easily than it would've been, had the adventurers not quickly discovered that the less damage they dealt to it, the more it took.
* **Bearer of the Wheel, Four Direction Compass Sharpened to a Blade's Point** - The last of the three to be vanquished, the Bearer of the Wheel was the one exerting most of the influence onto the city. It forced its own broken laws onto the rest of the city, and almost caused a localised planar breach before adventurers defeated it in a twisted pocket reality it had created in the skyline of the city. Some of its influence is still lingering in the unnaturally straight paths of the city, and in angles that don't quite work like they should. The sky still has not recovered.

## Dramatis Personae

* **Guildmaster Heidi Saunders** - The old head of the mining guild, now retired due to the incident that afflicted the city, Heidi Saunders was a competent military woman who rose to a position of financial providence after leaving the army. She ended up leading the mining guild of the city, and thanks to Dominic Pravost's lack of leadership all but ruling the city itself. When the massacre in the slums happened, she was the one to call in adventurers at the first opportunity.
* **Governor Dominic Pravost** - Mostly a figurehead leader, when governor Pravost was not spending his time with his cat, he was trying to placate the various rival factions of the city. Following the establishment of the Nation of Aetveris, Pravost has mostly retired into obscurity, his directions as a Governor not really needed in this new order.
* **Darvon Farring** - A prominent member of the mining guilds, Darvon Farring was the one handling most of the construction inherent to an expanding city. He had a habit of inspecting the areas he was going to be building on himself, which led to him discovering the vault when he began building the slums on it. This began the tragic chain of events that led to the release of the three beings inside, as he was wholly corrupted by the key to the vault, and began the cult that would open the prison. He has since been executed.
* **Vanya Oriran** - Darvon Farring's primary catspaw, Vanya Oriran was an ambitious noble intending to place herself into the position of the center of culture and entertainment in the city. Darvon promised her an opportunity if she pulled away some guards from the slums at the right time, and she took the opportunity without hesitation. She was, however, unknowing of the greater schemes in place, and so her punishment is pending. She has since been exiled.
* **Captain Alok Caswell** - The captain of the guard, Captain Alok Caswell was the first responder to the massacre in the slums, and became posessed, in a manner of speaking, by one of the outsiders, Darkness Shifting Into the Forms of Death, Hungry and Cruel.
* **Richard Rouland Rouger Ross** - A new arrival in the city, Richard Rouland Rouger Ross is a rich man fallen on hard times. He is widely regarded as wholly incompetent and a deeply frustrating man besides, and consequently has made very few friends. His deep distrust of any sort of gainful employment has not helped him. He's been getting by selling his extravagantly expensive antiques for much less than he bought them for.

## Adventurer Quotes

Cormick Thale: Following an extended voting process in Alzhak Reger, General Cormick Thale was dispatched with a force to Setrent in order to establish martial law in the absence of leadership and law. The army that arrived at the gates of the broken city however did not look like a Dwarven militia, but were knights clad in red and adorned in the holy symbology of the General of Vengeance. A Knight-Captain above all, Thale was quick to establish his authority over the land and sent individuals cloaked in crimson to different sections of the city to keep vigil for outsider interference while the bulk of the army went about taking over the duties normally reserved to the city watch.

## Aftermath

While benevolent in intention, the forces under Thale's command would be nevertheless iron-fisted in ensuring that order was kept. Mandatory curfews, consistent checks and home searches became apart of the regular routine, with many citizens finding their freedoms limited in this takeover in the name of keeping them safe. The courts became substituted for military tribunals, which while tempered with a flair of Paladin virtue, were built and designed for soldiers, not civilians. As such, punishment was possibly harsher than what many would have received under Setrent's former leadership.

With the subject of the leadership, cases were presented before Cormick himself, and he oversaw many of the punishments that were dealt out. For Lord Farring, his case was rather swift, the overwhelming amount of evidence for his crimes making execution a given sentence. The only debate at the time was over how it should be carried out. In a world where souls are going to gods know where to have gods know what done to them, it is now under discussion whether or not his soul should not be held following his death. Following the defeat of the Fifth Horseman, and after an extended period of incarceration, Farring met his end in a public execution done by Thale himself, a blade upon the neck ending his life in one stroke.

On account of the lacking evidence in association with Heidi Saunders, and compelling advocacy from Naramoore Steelworks, the Guildmaster of the mining guild has decidedly been allowed to remain where she is, and suspicion has shifted to other matters for the time. As for whether Saunders will remain the Guildmaster after the horrific events she has witnessed, will be entirely at her discretion.

For Vanya Oriran however, evidence pointed to her involvement in Farring's plot, even if she herself was unaware of the larger scheme at play. As such, a decision has been handed down not for execution like Farring, but exile. For her failure to protect the people that she supposedly loved, and indeed abandoning them to a darker power, she will be stripped of all lands and titles, all keeps and holdings, and will be forbidden from ever returning to Setrent on penalty of death till the end of time.