Factions of Asylum

Beneath Asylum runs an interconnected series of canals first built to carry the city's waste out to sea. Those tunnels became the hiding place and hidden kingdom of Vox Noctis, the city's thieves' guild. The Voices, as they are sometimes called, run protection rackets, smuggling, petty theft, and quiet influence throughout the city. To some they are nuisances, to others neighborhood protectors, and to others the scourge of Asylum. Their public face is Jasmine, a charming and acid-tongued elf who serves as the door between the guild and those who need to speak with it.

The elven confederation once known as the Northern States: magic, patience, diplomacy, and the long game. Its embassy in the Governance Quarter remains a living grove, and its influence on Asylum runs through old alliances, careful theology, the Wylander family, and Ambassador Jiran Wintersbloom, called Celulinde the Springseeker.

The dwarven federation once known as the Southern Federation: contracts, engineering, coin, and the binding force of things built to last. Its interests on the island move through the old Verkel manor, now a temple to Nequitia, and through the sociable Ambassador Merris Goldweaver, who hosts as shrewdly as she negotiates.

Insofar as Asylum has a government, this is it: a loose council of the island's wealthiest and most powerful, meeting on the first Dia Incipium of each cycle to pass laws, hear cases, and hand down judgment from the House of Justice. Ambassadors, guild-masters, the Treasury, and the Docks all find voices here.

Asylum's city-sanctioned watch serves as policing force, jailwarden, and judge for petty crimes. The Blue Cloaks keep most street crime controlled, while serious or public offenses earn a stay at the Hall of Mercy. Their leader, First Sword Boravik Sturn, takes his responsibilities seriously but knows the limits of his reach. He has made a tacit arrangement with Vox Noctis: the Blue Cloaks keep out of the Docks, and the Voices keep the worst larceny contained.

The mercenary Gold Hands began as Duke Wylander's private guard force, protecting Highside and the interests of the Wylander house wherever those interests happened to intersect with Asylum's good. Today they act as personal bodyguards for the city's rich and powerful, more often managing drunk nobles than defending servants from mistreatment. Their elven leader, Shivah Nightshade, accepts Wylander gold but also sees herself as a protector of Elenethil's interests. Her position near the Wylander home gives her rare insight into the city's political machinery.

Neutral ground where a sailor of any flag may drink without bloodshed. The peace is kept by Head Bosun Clayton Greer, a rare captain who has flown the colors of both Elenethil and Zhangrym in his years at sea, and now works for interests of his own.

The guild of factors, shippers, chandlers, market houses, and warehouse masters whose ledgers keep Asylum moving. When coin crosses the island by cart, ship, bond, or handshake, the Merchant Guild is rarely far from the bargain.

The association of mine owners, assayers, haulers, engineers, and crews whose fortunes were built from Asylum's black iron and the industries around it. The old Cold Iron rush has passed into history, but claims, tunnels, tools, labor, and Irontown itself still give the Mining Guild weight.

Before the Obelisk, before Tenebris, and before even the pirates who settled Asylum's shores, the island belonged to the Wata Wa Nusu. These feral halfling tribes once roamed across the island, but as settlers crowded the coast they withdrew into the surrounding hills. They are fierce, insular, and protective of their lands, with dark rumors of ritual cannibalism following them through the city. Few people travel into their hills unarmed.