Caruspan

**Caruspan**

Lawful Evil Large Town (North)

Corruption +1; Crime -1; Economy +1; Law +1; Lore +2; Society -1

Qualities Academic, Darkvision, Rumormongering Citizens

Danger 5

Government Autocracy

Population 2,400 (1,300 Drow, 700 Elf, 200 Dwarf, 100 Gnome, 100 other)

Notable NPCs

**Mediator Geswil Aoth** LN Female Drow Oracle 9

**Grand Matron Ilsanna Salduris** LE Female Drow Cleric of Nasquba 12

**High Mage Malthin Cadel** TN Male Elf Arcanist 13

**Apprentice Aislin Mella** TN Female Drow Sorcerer 7

**Archivist Verlin Dulant** NE Male Drow Occultist 10

**Captain of the Guard Nadriel Salduris** LG Female Elf Magus 8

Marketplace

Base Value 2000 gp; Purchase Limit 10000 gp; Spellcasting 6th

Minor Items 3d4; Medium Items 2d4; Major Items 1d4

Caruspan is something of an oddity, an enclave where drow and elf
have managed to co-exist in peace for generations. Its legacy hearkens
to the Cinderback invasion that shattered the northern lands and broke
kingdoms. The elven kingdom of Nurisca was one of the few with the might
 to resist, but it could not protect every enclave of elven civilization
 in the north and many - including Caruspan - were forced to fend for
themselves against an onslaught of fire and death.

It was in this seemingly hopeless battle that a strange alliance was
forged between elf and drow. Alone they would have surely been
destroyed, but together their arcane and divine magic was sufficient to
withstand their assailants. For seventeen years they fought a constant
battle against an overwhelming siege force, parts of the city being lost
 and reclaimed. When the siege finally broke Nurisca was in a steep
decline and Caruspan would need to ensure its own security in a land
gripped by anarchy. What began as a short-term alliance of necessity
became a long-term pact, and as centuries and generations of elvenkind
passed it became a permanent fixture of Caruspan.

The ancient pact of Caruspan is elaborately complex, as compromises
and accommodations were made to consistently maintain the precarious
balance in the early days of the alliance. Among other things it
requires such things as the Grand Matron of the Drow to adopt a
full-blooded elf into her house and for the Archmage of Caruspan to have
 at least one Drow apprentice. Most importantly is the appointment of
the Mediator, chosen through an obtuse electoral process. To be elected a
 candidate must win at least half the votes from both the Drow
population and the Elven population, essentially giving both groups veto
 power over any candidate they dislike. Although an election for the
office of Mediator is helf every seventeen years, most Mediators are
re-elected consistently for well over a century and there have only been
 nine in the nearly one-thousand year history of the pact.

The current Mediator is Geswin Aoth, currently on her ninth
consecutive term. She was disowned by her own noble house and left a
commoner in her youth, but politically this made her quite popular with
her house's enemies while giving her the opportunity to make inroads
with the non-drow elves. After years of showing herself to be a fair and
 impartial Mediator, her continued re-election has been a forgone
conclusion.

In the early days of Caruspan the majority population was a moderate
elven majority, but the passing of generations has seen the drow
population grow. At a glance the drow appear to outnumber the elves
two-to-one, but in truth the drow are divided in two: the "pure-bloods"
of full drow heritage, and the "mix-bloods" who are descended of a mixed
 union. Many of the pure-blood drow muse about taking full control of
the settlement and implementing traditional drow rule, but this would
leave the mixed-blood elves as second-class citizens at best and they
would never stand for it. As such, the pact of Caruspan remains
sacrosanct.

The drow houses constantly play power games against each other,
jockeying to appoint the next Matron. However, the pact of Caruspan
prevents the houses from assassinating or outright eliminating their
rivals and thus they must resort to more subtle methods. Despite this,
Grand Matrons change much more frequently than Mediators. Moreover, the
adoption rule put in place centuries ago has changed the rank and file
of the most powerful houses. While adopting a single elf was regarded as
 a token gesture, after nearly fifty different Matrons having been
appointed and the passing of generations this has created a severe
problem for those families obsessed with purity.

The current Grand Matron is Ilsanna Salduris, who is the Matron of House Salduris. They are the largest and most powerful of the Drow
houses. She came to power by revealing that her predecessor as in fact a
 mix-blood. While being 1/32nd elf isn't a complete disqualifier from
the office of Matron in Caruspan, it did cause key allies to defect.
Ilsanna herself cares about bloodline purity only insofar as it is
politically expedient to do so, which requires a careful balancing act
between the large number of talented mixed blood family members and
ensuring at least some branches of the family remain pure to maintain
diplomatic relations with the more purist-minded houses. Upon becoming
Grand Matron she had to adopt an elf into her family, and chose the
captain of the guard Nadriel. Again, this was a matter of political
expedience as rumors of Nadriel's romance with the son of another
prominent drow house were already circulating. Neither Ilsanna nor
Nadriel are particularly fond of each other but the arrangement gets
them both what they want. Nadriel was already in a relationship with the
 son of another drow house, but marriage with a political impossibility.
 By being adopted into House Salduris, their marriage would appear to
merely be a political deal brokered by Ilsanna as part of the adoption
tradition.

Caruspan has a long history of arcane study, and although the
original mages who fought in the Cinderback invasion are long dead their
 libraries remain. The town's economy consists almost entirely off of
the trade of magical services and items. Archeologists interested in
that period often visit as well, as many scars of the war are still born
 as marks of pride by Caruspan.

The Archmage of Caruspan is still a highly respected title, and
although the position is not strictly held by an elf but the pact of
Caruspan does require that the archmage not be a member of a drow house,
 requiring any noble drow wishing for the office of Archmage to first
denounce their noble title, a step few are willing to take. Currently
there is no debate, Malthin Cadel is beyond all doubt the most skilled
master of the arcane arts in Caruspan and thus no drow is considered a
candidate for the position. His chosen apprentice is Aislin Mella, daughter of the previous Grand Matron. Aislin's political future has
been crushed by the revelation of her mother's - and by extension, her
own - lineage, and she sees continued study in the arcane as the only
path she has left if she is to claim her birthright control over her own
 house from her cousins.