Old Vashton

This is the capital city of The Divided Regions of Bestaria from where the Visible Council operates and rules the country. Since even before the separation of the DRB from Duthgar, six major Houses, known as the Houses of Old Vashton, have ruled over the city and continue to hold all of the real power within the city. Most of those on the Visible Council are prominent members of one of the Houses, so for most inhabitants of the city, there has hardly been a noticeable change since the DRB gained independence, except that those who rule the city now rule the country as well. A rule was implemented that the six heads of the Houses were not allowed to also become members of the Visible Council, since this would give a single person too much power, but everyone simply ignores the fact that Greigur d'Deneith refuses to obey this rule and acts as both the head of House Deneith and as the Military Councilor.

Below the city there is a vast array of interconnected, twisting and turning tunnels known as the Catacombs. Within, there are a number of precious artefacts from before The Emergence as well as magical items lost by other adventures who have dared to explore them.

### Maps

This map of Old Vashton indicates the names and locations of all the districts.

This map contains the points of interest within the city.

### Demographics

Around three quarters of the city's population is human but there are also a large number of other species - from the Dwarves who live mainly in Forgelight District, Gnomes who have taken up residence in and around The Cross District, or the Half-Orcs who are drawn to put their natural fighting skills to use as adventurers in the Catacombs.

### Law

While dueling and fighting is legal within the city, it must be attended by a trained healer and the victor must stop the second their opponent goes unconscious. Duels can only legally begin when the healer declares that both combatants are in their right mind and not under the influence of magic, drugs, or alcohol. Any property damage or wounds inflicted on people outside of the duel is legally a criminal act of both duelers and both have to pay full recompense as if they alone did the damage.

In the Temple District, there is a street known as Holy Street where there are temples to The Unseen gods which are allowed to carry out acts of worship to their gods within the temple walls which would be illegal anywhere else in the country. For instance, within The Pranuneron, the practice of necromancy is allowed, upon The Field of Destruction there are fights to the death, and, worst of all, within The Midnight Maze there is literal murder. Warning signs are posted up outside these temples and temple guards from the Seen gods temples across the street tend to try and warn people not to enter. While it would still be illegal to simply drag someone over the threshold of the temple and stab them, if someone enters of their own free will, then they may well be in danger, depending on which temple they're in.

There is a tradition within the city that if someone is convicted of a crime, but the judge considers them valuable enough to the city, he may decide that they can be pardoned from the punishment if they're able to obtain Letters of Pardon from Houses of Old Vashton, which requires that they carry out tasks for at least five of the six Houses in exchange for letters of pardon from high ranking members of the House.

### Defences

The areas of this city which still have standing walls from before The Emergence are considered pretty much unbreachable, though they are still patrolled, but more lightly than the walls around the rest of the city. The other sections of the wall which have been built to replace the missing parts are more heavily defended, mainly by House Deneith, though House Orien and House Phiarlan also help. There are a number of tall towers set along the walls, known as the Roost Towers, which support aerial defense with the Egale Knights, while the well-trained House Deneith guards practice regiment and skirmish fighting in case of war or a siege.

### Industry

There is a massive industry here for many things, from enchanted weapons and constructs, both arcane and clockwork, right down to leather works, alcohols, and mundane metal and wood work. Much of the mundane craft is carried out by House Kundarkak, while much of the arcane production is done by House Orien, all of which is sold throughout Old Vashton and in other cities by House Ghallanda.

### History

The city was built into the ruins of a very badly damaged Akariean city, one of the largest that has ever been found - only the Silent City comes anywhere close in size. Many of the Pre-Emergence artefacts were taken away or sold as the city was founded, but those that were hidden beneath the city remain, due to the danger involved in gathering them. However, many of this difficult-to-acquire artefacts have been recovered on behalf of the city and kept there for the city's benefit and use.

### Architecture

There are walls between each district within the city as well as large, thick walls around the outside where the Akariean walls no longer stand.

This city was built into the ruins of a heavily damaged Akariean city, though a reasonable number of structures survive, mainly concentrated in the southwest region of the current city. There are a number of damaged and undamaged structures throughout this region which are utilised in different ways, ranging from incredibly expensive houses to an ammo and weapons cache for House Deneith. Many of the other houses, especially in the richer areas of town, are painted as bright a white as possible to emulate the appearance of the coveted Akariean Silk, but rarely can they stay gleaming white for that long, especially in or around the Forgelight District. The Silver Guards are even employed to keep the soot and dirt from Forgelight from passing over the wall into Silverwall District for the simple purpose of assisting with the cleanliness of the district.

### Districts

There are nine different districts of Old Vashton:

The Respite District

The Cross District

The Market District

Southwatch District

Old Town District

Temple District

Open Gate District

Silverwall District

Forgelight District

### Locations the party has visited / heard of

The Ladies Blessing (a Dress maker in eastern Market district, run by Sulha Oxborn)

The Freshly Caked (A small mid-level bakery in The Cross District, run by Jornak Anderton)

Spellbound Ink's and Paper (A stationary store that has closed but used to specialise in Arcane quality paper and ink, run by Rurik Jarevor)

Brimsend Cobblers (A shoe and boot shop run by Brogan and his brother Bobbit)