Caratha: The most prominent, wealthiest and most powerful of the Eleven Kingdoms. Often called the City at the Center of the World (though mainly by Carathans themselves) because of its location at the precise geographic center of the world of Arden. Caratha is also a leading center for trade, the arts, religion, scholarly pursuits and most other human activities. And quite a few inhuman activities too.
CARATHA
Capital: Caratha
Government: Principality-Republic
Ruler: Prince-Consul Ronaldo
Motto: Freedom For All
Population: 3 million total, 1 million in Caratha proper.
Non-Human:
Resources: Trade, manufactures, shipbuilding, finance
Currency: Carat
Slavery: Yes (abolished 990 A.H.)
Fun Facts
Nicknames
Geography
Climate
Demographics
CITY
1,000,000
- 1,000 Princely Houses
- 10,000 Nobles/Patricians
- 15,000 New Nobility
- 50,000 Equestrian Class
- 150,000 Non-Eq Free Holders (landed freemen)
- 360,000 Free Non-Property Owners
- 4,000 Freedmen (Non-Citizen Manumitted slaves)
- 50,000 Resident Aliens
- 400,000 Slaves
FULL DOMAIN:
- 1,000 Princely Houses
- 10,000 Nobles/Patricians
- 15,000 New Nobility
- 50,000 Equestrian Class
- 150,000 Non-Eq Free Holders (landed freemen)
- 360,000 Free Non-Property Owners
- 4,000 Freedmen (Non-Citizen Manumitted slaves)
- 50,000 Resident Aliens
- 1.5 million
Economy
The main source of Caratha's wealth is trade and commerce. The Grand Bazaar is Arden's largest marketplace, where almost anything that can be bought and sold is to be found. Caratha is the nexus of major overland, riverine, and sea trade routes.
Caratha is also a major center of banking and finance, with Caratha Stock Exchange and the Bank of Caratha as the world's largest exchange and bank respectively.
Caratha also has significant manufacturing, mining and agricultural activity. Shipbuilding is a major industry.
Mineral extraction includes gold, silver, tin, copper, and salt. Caratha has extensive fisheries. Most fruit, grain and vegetable foodstuffs, as well as cattle, are raised for domestic consumption.
Until the abolition of slavery in 990 AH, an increasing proportion of Caratha's industries depended upon slave labor, especially forestry, mining, agriculture and most aspects of agriculture.
Military
History
Officially founded in the year 1 AH by the Mighty Champion as a refuge for victims of the then recently defeated Empire of Fear. For the first three centuries, Caratha was ruled by the Mighty Champion and his heirs, the Line of Champions. Following the Bloody Revolution of 329, the city was governed by consuls and the Senate. Initially two consuls were elected each year and served together. Over time, the number of consuls was reduced to one and the sole consul's one-year term was extended to two, then five, then ten years, then life. As the consular office took on more trappings of royalty its holder came to be known as the Prince-Consul.
In 990 AH, Prince Ronaldo ended slavery in Caratha by consular decree, following a plot by SLAVE*MART owner Jharl Thusk, city-wide riots, and an attempted coup by pro-slavery forces. The sudden devaluation of millions of carats in slave-backed securities led to a financial crisis. The legal codes were amended to codify the end of slavery and prevent its reintroduction into the city.
Transportation
Carathans are avid riders and utilize quite a number of vehicle types. Carts driven by oxen are used to transport goods. Horse-drawn carts can travel up to 25 to 30 miles per day. Wayfarers afoot, 12 to 16 miles.
Carathan vehicles can be divided into the car, the coach, and the cart. Cars transport one or two individuals, coaches transport parties, and carts transport cargo.
Of the cars, the most popular is the carrus standard chariot form with the top open, the front closed. It carries a driver and a passenger. A carrus of two horses is a biga; of three horses, a triga; and of four horses a quadriga. The tire are of iron. When not in use, its wheels are removed for easier storage.
A more luxurious version, the carpentum, transports women and officials. It has an arched overhead covering of cloth and is drawn by mules. A lighter version, the cisium, equivalent to a gig, is open above and in front and has a seat. Drawn by one or two mules or horses, it is used for cab work.
Of the coaches, the mainstay is the raeda or reda, which has four wheels. The high sides form a sort of box in which seats are placed, with a notch on each side for entry. It carries several people with baggage up to the legal limit of 1000 pounds. It is drawn by teams of oxen, horses or mules. A cloth top can be put on for weather, in which case it resembles a covered wagon. The raeda is the main vehicle for travel on the roads.
Of the carts, the main one is the plaustrum or plostrum. This is simply a platform of boards attached to wheels and a cross-tree. The wheels, or tympana, are solid and several inches thick. The sides can be built up with boards or rails. A large wicker basket is sometimes placed on it. A two-wheel version exists along with the normal four-wheel type.
The military use a standard wagon. The Military Wagon Service transports the baggage of a military column.
Government
Caratha is ruled by Prince-Consul Ronaldo and the Carathan Senate. It is actually much more complicated than that.
Laws
The basis of Carathan law are those laws set forth in the Tablets of Law given by the Mighty Champion. These basic laws have been added too, interpreted, and often amended or ignored, but the fundamental principles remain.
See: Laws of Caratha
Courts
Caratha has many courts empowered to decide matters great and small. There are ecclesiastical, military, civil, commercial, maritime, and even private courts. The Fashion Court tries sartorial offenses. Horse Court decides all cases involving horses. The Court of Public Opinion is empowered to issue non-binding, uninformed, but nonetheless influential advisory opinions on virtually any subject.
Police and Law Enforcement
The enforcement of the Laws of Caratha is a complicated matter, with many overlapping responsibilities and jurisdictions.
- City Guards are responsible for keeping general order, responding to public disturbances, patrolling the main streets, and manning Caratha's walls, gates, bridges, and main streets. The Guard's duties are preventative and reactive, but not investigative.
- City Watch patrols the streets and responds to criminal complaints during the nighttime hours only, having no jurisdiction in the daytime, but overlapping with that of the City Guards at night.
- Park Patrol keeps order in Pantheon Park and in the city's other parks.
- Temple Guards protect and patrol the Holy Precinct and Consolidated Temple of All The Gods.
- Consular Guard protects the person and family of the Prince-Consul.
- Palace Guard protects the grounds of the Alcazara Palace.
- Secretive Service also protects the palace grounds, the Prince-Consul and his family, and other officials and dignitaries, as well as enforcing laws against counterfeiting.
- MESS Squad enforces environmental edicts.
- Senate Guards protect the members of the Senate and the Hall of Wisdom.
- The hated Property Enforcement and Recovery Patrol (PERP) enforced the Slave Codes and apprehended fugitive slaves. PERP was disbanded following the abolition of slavery in 990 AH.
Principal Settlements
Cities:
Towns:
Villages
Principal rivers
Bridges
Geography
Caratha is located at the mouth of the River Crownbolt, where the river meets the Great Harbor before flowing into the Indigo Sea. On the landward side, the city is surrounded by the Vast Salt Marsh.
Much of Caratha is built on land reclaimed from the Vast Salt Marsh. In such districts, the soil can shift at the whim of The Gods, who are especially whimsical after heavy rains. At such times, the ground may collapse into a sudden depression called a sinkhole. Unless the hole happens to emit foul odors and vapors, in which case it is locally known as a stinkhole. On occasion, a vagrant philosopher will take up residence at the bottom of a sinkhole, waving a lantern and muttering about the dearth of honest men. Then it’s called a thinkhole.
Neighborhoods
Caratha has many sub-sections, known variously as a zone, quarter, bourough or neighborhood. They include:
Arcade
Boorboro
Brewberry Hill
Crooklyn
East Parkside
Estates
Filth
Fringe
Gryphon Court
Highside
Low Bridge
Lowtide
Monkeytown
Moontown
Pantheon Park
Sinkhole Park
Soare Point
Squalor
West Bazaar
West Parkside
The Wrong Part of Town
Points of Interest
Alcazara
Consolidated Temple of The Gods
Great Harbor
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