Mykatten

Mykatten

**Mykatten** (pronounced *mih-KAH-ten*) was a city-state in western Yulia and along with Lithrock and Girad-Upon-High, was one of the founding members of the Sisters. It was located near the source of River Whyne which had been landscaped over the centuries to produce hundreds of canals that run throughout the city.

**Mykatten** also claimed suzerainty over the northern and southern coasts of the River Whyne for the entirety of its run. All of the small villages, vineyards, and estates in that region are de-facto vassals of Mykatten and, by extension, the Sisters.

Everything in **Mykatten**’s city center is designed to entice and inspire and ultimately to relieve visitors and residents of their gold. The Mykatteni claim that anyone can rise from poverty to a position of power here, it just takes gambling acumen and a large helping of luck. They point to their patron deity, Myka, as an exemplar of this principle. Six powerful Elven noble houses control the major casinos and surrounding compounds, and have influenced the shape and culture of **Mykatten** for centuries.

The legend revolving around Myka is that she lives amongst the citizens of **Mykatten** as a kith and goes through a full life from birth to death in an endless cycle. She does this to experience both to bestow fortune upon her followers and to experience the effects that fortune has on the kith of the city.

## History

According to official records kept in the Parliament House, the first Great Games took place in 7729 AR. This is the the date **Mykatten** claims to formally have been founded. The location had been settled for some time before this, during the Age of Antiquity, and had been considered the homeland of most Yulian Elves. The six Elven Houses that currently rule the city were founded during this time, as well as two others that are extinct during the time of the campaign.

**Mykatten**, like Lithrock and Girad-Upon-High, was one of the first city-states to appear in western Yulia. These three powers were in turn the founding members of the Sisters in 8200 AR.

## Geography

This region in western Yulia is mostly a chapparal climate, which is characterized by warm to hot, dry summers, and mild, fairly wet winters. Most of the lands surrounding the city proper as well as their sphere-of-influence on the northern and southern banks of the Whyne were cultivated into vineyards, olive groves, and citrus plantations.

The foothills of the Spine begin very close to the eastern edge of the city and incorporate some portions of the Happy Homes district.

Due to intense modification of the Whyne and the canal-building around the city, there are numerous underwater channels that run under **Mykatten**.

### Districts

#### Mootenton

This is home to the estates of the ruling Elven Houses as well as their more affluent hangers-on. Some favored servants maintain small dwellings here as well. The district as a whole is almost completely residential and each of the Houses' estates make up many multiples of buildings.

#### Happy Homes

This is primarily where the workers of the largest casinos live. These villages are not squalor, but they are not particularly nice either. There are small groceries and shops for essential goods throughout but as a whole this area is mostly residential. Two bell towers, one to the north and one to the south, ring the different times of day so as to mark the beginning and ending of the city’s shifts.

#### Parliament House

This elaborate palace is the official residence of the Gerent of **Mykatten**, as well as the building housing the offices and chambers of the Parliament of Sharps. It is located near the city center.

#### Playa District

This is the port where most tourists and noble visitors are brought. It is well maintained and brightly decorated year-round. Some lucky food vendors and trinket stalls make a killing on new arrivals. Small-time con-men prey on gullible visitors with dice games, cup games, and low stakes card stalls. There are some taverns catering towards new arrivals and fancier seafood restaurants as well. There is even a small beach side/boardwalk area in the north of the district where tourists and nobles alike can enjoy the riverfront.

This is also the location of the Grand Arcade of Mykatten, encompassing four blocks of various shops and stalls. Long ago the expanses between the blocks were covered with glass tiling, effectively making the Grand Arcade an all-weather shopping center.

#### Portside

This is the port frequented by the rank-and-file stevedores and cargo ships. It is well maintained but designed in a more utilitarian fashion than the Playa District. Lithrock, Ante, and Hewliss maintain small offices here to facilitate trade and Mykatten’s primary customs authority makes its home here in a large building near the south of the district, abutting Midtown. There are some shrines to Sobek, the Sealord, and Myka as well as even smaller ones for sailors from all over Chebeth.

The Alhembra operate a small antique shop run by a Wood Elf named Hido in this district (Hido's Hidden Treasures). It is a front for one of their back entrances/exits to their complexes below the city. Some other small shops and taverns dot the district as well, usually catering to sailors catching short shore leave or a richer Mykatenni with a desire to slum it.

#### Midtown

This is a mixed-use district and home to a small but rising middle class of the city. While this district is primarily commercial, some aspiring individuals have made enough money off the tourism and gambling trades that they have been able to achieve some level of wealth outside the shadows of the ruling Elven Houses.

The gem of this district is the Gerent’s Dish, a renowned restaurant specializing in various shellfish and other delicacies of the sea. The entire dining room has been outfitted with private soundproof booths and the staff were forbidden to speak, only responding by either nodding or shaking their heads. While the richest of Mykatten’s residents view Midtown as beneath their sensibilities, many still frequent the Gerent’s Dish and numerous Sharps and members of the reigning Houses can be found eating here.

## Demographics

While **Mykatten** is predominately populated by Elves of all stripes, it is also home to a diverse assortment of other races. Due to its robust tourism, viticulture and shipping industries, kith from all over Chebeth can often be found here.

## Government

**Mykatten** is ruled by a parliament of legislators who are called "Sharps." They introduce and pass legislation like any similar body. What makes this group unique is that these sharps are not directly elected by the populace of the city. Instead, each member of the parliament wins their seats in a series of games of chance known as the Great Games. These games take roughly a week to complete and the end of every session is marked by a ceremony where the terms are set for its next occurrence. A golden die thought to have been forged by Myka herself is rolled, and its result determines the number of years until the next Great Games. This can be one to ten years.

### The Great Games

It is with the Great Games that **Mykatten** reorganizes its government. The Games, as they are more commonly called, occur at uneven intervals. The winning Gerent at the end of each Games rolls a die and the result determines how many years the new government is to remain in power. The Games can happen every one to ten years.

The Games consist of a series of casino games that require a large buy-in. All incumbent Sharps are considered fair game and must buy-in again to retain their seat. The Gerent plays as well with their own position as a stake. The Games are notoriously nepotistic and the Elven Houses often engage in a lot of backroom dealing to determine who will throw what game so as to win seats for themselves. The Gerent has been from House Almodovar for the last ten years (three different Games) as a result.

## Defense

The city did not maintain a standing military. However, each Elven House boasted small private security forces that protected their casinos and other holdings. The Alhembra operated a kind of shadow security agency, protecting the assets of all those that could afford their prices. That organization was also known as a reliable third party that secured and operated all of the vaults owned by the six gambling houses.

## Commerce

### The Gambling Houses

The six major gambling houses are each run by a different Elven House and while many of the same games can be found as either, each one carries a slightly different aesthetic and theme. One of the biggest consistencies between casinos is that each has thick walls filled with physical and magical baffling to inhibit outside sound in their primary gaming areas. This eliminates the possibility that players might hear the bell towers outside. In addition to the baffling, every casino maintains magical warding to inhibit reading, detecting thoughts, barring some forms of sending and message spells, as well prohibiting familiars on the gaming floors.

Cheating in any of the casinos is a major crime. While avoiding punishment can sometimes be avoided with bribery, some unlucky cheaters are trotted out for public execution from time to time to act as a deterrent. That said, cheating is more common than one would think. Many of the Sharps are expert cheaters and have been able to retain their posts in the Parliament for years by being better and more undetectable than others.

#### Yonce Desire

The third largest of the gambling houses but one of the most popular. The Yonce Desire is run by House Almodovar.

#### Agate Prince

The second largest of the gambling houses and the richest of all. It is run by House Onell and favored by the highest of rollers.

#### Rose Palace

House Auberel runs the Rose Palace, the largest but the least fancy of the three central gambling houses.

#### Yewhewn Winery

Dominating the eastern edge of Midtown, House Yewhewn runs the Yewhewn Winery, which operates as a gambling house as well as a wine production facility.

#### Happyhearth

This is most meager of the gambling houses, namely catering to the poorest customers and offering the lowest stakes. It is run by House Webwood.

#### Golden Medallion

Run by House Stelor, the Golden Medallion is designed to be facsimile of the roadside tavern but made presentable to a far fussier audience.

### The Grand Arcade

Located in the Playa District, the Grand Arcade of Mykatten was originally four neighboring blocks containing a multitude of different kinds of shops. With glass-tiling installed above the streets and alleys, the Grand Arcade coalesced into the largest enclosed shopping center in western Yulia. While certain specialized items would need to be sourced elsewhere, the Grand Arcade was still an all-purpose shopping location for many.

## Organizations

Each casino is ruled by a different Elven House and maintains near complete authority within their compounds. House Almodovar runs the Yonce Desire, House Onell run the Agate Prince, House Auberel runs the Rose Palace, House Webwood runs the Happyhearth, House Yewhewn run the Yewhewn Winery, House Stelor runs the Golden Medallion. In addition to these ancient organizations, there is an underground mercantile organization known as the Alhembra. The Alhembra operate like a secret banking guild and maintain secure vaults that are used by each of the Elven Houses. Given the distrust each House has with each other, they prefer the current arrangement as the Alhembra operate outside the influence of any of them.

### The Alhembra

It is unknown exactly when the Alhembra was founded, but its connections to the reigning houses of **Mykatten** and their casino complexes is long and deep. Those that have dealt with their members often walk away with a feeling that they have dealt with professional albeit possibly violent, agents.

### The Elven Houses

The Drow, Wood, and High Elves of western Yulia were organized into Houses sometime during the Age of Antiquity, when Mykatten was known by another name. There were originally eight houses but over the centuries two were driven to extinction: House Mandorla and House Sumoux.

* House Almodovar
* House Auberel
* House Onell
* House Stelor
* House Webwood
* House Yewhewn

Former Houses:

* House Mandorla
* House Sumoux