Ante

Ante

The arms of Ante

**Ante** (pronounced *ahhnt*) is a city on the southwestern coast of Yulia and faces the Wide Ocean. It is one of the youngest cities in Yulia and before expanding into cities of the Broken Fingers, was the most junior member of the Sisters.

Ante claims suzerainty over the entirety of its home peninsula, as well as hundreds of square miles of open sea in the Wide Ocean. In addition to this, Ante also maintains a remote naval resupply "base" on an island in the Ochoan Archipelago that essentially functions as a satellite city, known as Point Perchance.

## History

The myth of Argosi holds particularly strong sway in **Ante**. So much so, that the city believes itself to be a child and possible successor of that legendary locale. The story Ante tells itself is thus:

> *One day, the floating city of Argosi captured a slaving ship bound for the far east of Yulia. The slavers were drowned and the slaves freed, allowed to become citizens of the city. One such former slave, a beautiful woman known as Ante, fell in love with one of the ruling captains of Argosi. They married and became a powerful couple in the politics of that city.*
> *Ante, however, always longed for a home on solid land and over time, she was able to convince her lover of the same. Together, they managed to convince some of the other kith of Argosi to break away and found their own settlement, tethered to the western coast of Yulia at the site of small fishing village that Ante claimed had been her birthplace. Argosi sailed away on their continuing quest for the ocean’s favor and the city of Ante was born. Over the next hundred years, Ante accumulated more privateers and soon grew much larger in population. The 1,000 Flags of Ante had been born.*
>
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While that legend may or not be true, the fact remains that the Anteans believe it to be so. After years as a thriving mercantile and privateer hub, the city petitioned for membership in the Sisters and was accepted in 9340 AR.

Since that time, the city expanded their holdings beyond their multiple harbors and founded a small outpost known as Point Perchance in 9356 AR to allow their captains' ships greater range. At the time of the start of the campaign, Point Perchance was boasting a population nearly half that of Ante.

## Geography

The city of Ante was originally founded as a fishing village built around the locations that one day be known as Argosi Bay and Buckler's Wharf. The entirety of the city sits at the end of a long rocky peninsula on the southern reaches of Yulia. Climate here is often quite cold and dry in the winters and only moderately warm and dry in the summers. The lands surrounding the city are rocky and don't support much agriculture.

Among the various districts of the city, some small subsistence agriculture persists in the form of floating gardens, boxed gardens, and other methods. Rainwater is regularly collected from waxed canvas slips in most residential parts of the city. Freshwater springs provide wells in the parts of Ante that are on the summit of the cliffs, namely in the Dunwall district.

Districts fall into two categories: Scarpway and Sandway. Those under the auspices of the Scarpway are under jurisdiction of Salt Law while those in the Sandway are ruled by Sand

## Government

### Salt Law & Sand Law

One of the most unique things about Ante is their adherence to dual systems of law: Salt Law and Sand Law. The Salt Law is considered one of the last vestiges of Argosi’s heritage and is thought to be the basis of government on that legendary city.

Ships loyal to Ante are considered a member of the Thousand Flags of Ante, and each individual captain agrees to a general system of practices that are considered prudent for the entirety of the fleet. For example: battles between two Antean ships is forbidden unless under very specific circumstances, no trading in slaves, no press-ganging of ships’ crews (either Tretchi or Yulian), and no outright killing of innocents during privateering. Every captain is the king of their own ship and if a member of their crew breaks any piece of agreed-upon Salt Law, it is up to that captain to mete out punishment. If a particular captain is thought to be too lenient with a violently unruly crew, that captain can be declared “Rogue” by a plurality of the other captains and hunted down with impunity. In addition, if the opposite is true, where the captain is excessively harsh towards their crew, it is accepted practice for that captain to be ousted by vote or by force. Every captain serves at the mercy of his crew and every ship serves at the mercy of the fleet.

## Defense

A Yeoman's Corps exists as a form of "City Guard" and their jurisdiction is confined to the city-limits of Ante, ruled by the Sandstone King/Queen and their administration. In times of great strife, the Thousand Flags often coordinate with the Sandstone monarch and work together to protect their mutual interests and sometimes to aid their mutual Sisters. There is no organized naval military. Each ship of the Thousand Flags is expected to support Ante militarily if they are capable in such situations.

Two notable defenses that exist in the city are two large sea-chains. One is located at the entrance of Argosi Bay, the other is located between the districts of Cristiensands and Votfall Tides. These chains are stored underwater and can be raised by large winches thus closing access to most of the internal bay areas of Ante.

## Commerce

Simple and manufactured goods of many kinds can be procured in Ante. The city boasts a robust trade with the other Sisters as well as many of the cities along the coasts of eastern Tretch. Their friendly relationship with the Free Cities of the Broken Fingers region also nets a small but lucrative trade in rare and unique items from the Feywild.