![[Eilanthar.png]] > [!success] Eilanthar > #### *The Nexus City* > ![[Flag-Eilanthar.png]] > ## General Information > > [!question] Type > > City-state > > > [!question] Shard(s) > > [[Thalnor]] • [[Old Thalnor]] > > ## Government > > [!question] Type > > Oligarchy > > > [!question] Great Houses > > [[House Blackmoor]] > > [[House Sadira]] > > [[House Levandi]] > > [[House Goldrock]] > > ## Demographics > > [!question] Population > 80,000 > > > [!question] Languages > [[Languages|Thalnoran]] ° [[Languages|Kellish]] # Description Eilanthar, also known as the Nexus City, is the largest city-state in the Shattered Realms. Located in the sky above what was previously King's Bay, it serves as a major hub for trade, politics, and magical studies. # Government Eilanthar is governed by an oligarchy of powerful families, with five Great Houses and several Lesser Houses all vying for influence. ## Houses of Eilanthar ### Eilanthar Great Houses - [[House Blackmoor]] - [[House Goldrock]] - [[House Sadira]] - [[House Levandi]] ### Eilanthar Lesser Houses - [[House Bladespire]] - House Husken - House Frost - House Roddan ### Economy The city is a major center for trade in magical items, gadgets, and scholarly works. Its economy also relies heavily on the import of raw materials like coal, herbs, and textiles. The Prismatic Sea trade routes have made Eilanthar one of the wealthiest cities in the known Shards. # Locations ## Aetherways Eilanthar is uniquely home to the three largest [[Aetherways|Aetherways]] in the known Shards, [[Frostgate]], [[Unity Crossing]], and [[Grand Passage|The Grand Passage]]. It is the only city containing an Aetherway and the location of the only known two-way Aetherways. It's speculated that the location and nature of these ethereal gates can be attributed to [[The Shattering]]'s origins within the city itself, though the cause of the large Aetherways' manifestation is a topic of debate. ## The Grand Archives Among the most extraordinary features of [[Eilanthar]] are The Grand Archives. This massive library, operated by [[House Sadira]], is home to thousands of original texts and manuscripts, some of which may be older than the First Eil. The oldest known text in the library is thought to be an ancient Dwarven recipe book. Rumors within the city talk of an entire wing of the archives that is devoid of any actual books or texts. No firsthand account of this wing's existence has been proven, but those who speak of it mention the information within is more valuable than one could ever hope to see on any page. ## Hawker's Highway > Eilanthar's towers had been on the horizon two full days before the bridge. Pale fingers of whitestone, they seemed to vanish in morning mist, reappearing ghostlike as the sun climbed higher. But it was the great bridge itself that stole my breath when at last it lay before us. A full mile it stretched and ran so wide that six caravans could pass side by side. The builders had hewn it from the same whitestone that earned Eilanthar its nickname, The Ivory City. Embedded within the bridge ran two gilded runners, set apart from each edge by precisely a wagon's width. They traced the full length of the bridge like twin rivers to guide us forward. > > I’d heard tale of a market that ran the length of the bridge, but I was taken aback to see it instead more akin to a motley civilization born along its edges. Tents of fabrics leaned against more permanent wooden stalls. Long-marooned wagons with missing or cracked wheels had been given new life in the form of homes and shops. The air laid heavy with the scents of spice-laden foods, unwashed bodies, and the subtle tang of alchemical mixtures that promised a spectrum of benefits from restful sleep to eternal youth. Voices rose and fell in a dozen languages as merchants praised their wares spread on colorful rugs. I saw delicate glassware from the sands of Vastuum, leathers worked so fine as to feel like silk against the skin, and small mechanical curiosities that whirred and clicked with mysterious purpose. > > The practiced eyes of cutpurses were not unnoticed. They peered at us from the occasional shadowed corner. A child with eyes too old for her years approached me offering a charm of woven grass "for good luck.” Another used this opportunity to nimbly finger for my purse. I had known better to tuck it away from prying hands. > > Near the end of the bridge, the setting sun bathed the towers in amber and gold, their surfaces glowing as if lit from within. The crowds thinned here and gave way to more orderly arrangements of stalls whose proprietors wore finer clothing and offered goods less afforded. The air was light and touched with the salt of the bay and the subtle scents of night-blooming flowers that dotted the entry gardens. > > — Sedric, *Existence* ## The Warrens Low, single-story rows of of old timber buildings, subdivided into small rented rooms. Good place to find pickpockets and various opportunistic types. Smaller rooms for the children with cooking utensils and the adult's mattresses. ## The Strand Running along the southern banks of King's Bay, The Strand gives the realm's travelers the most spectacular view of the the [[Prismatic Sea]]. It is also where the most prestigious of the Eilanthar houses are seated. Most impressive, however, is the **Vyraely's Valali**, home to the Blackmoor family. Originally constructed by Falinor Blackmoor before it was passed on to his son Fullion, under which it became the most impressive noble house anywhere in the kingdom. ## More Locations ### Lively Lion - Upscale pub featuring a brass lion on the door ### The Odd Jackal - **Rune**, barkeep. Roughshod man of few words. ### The Angel - Inn which first opens into a courtyard of stone, a fountain in the center featuring a winged statue who greets those that enter. - Wings of accommodations on either side, two story shingled buildings with doors on the upper floors, reached by stairs on the outside.