The Heights
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Since the time when Free City of Haven expanded to its present boundaries, the city’s aristocracy have made their homes atop this rambling, fertile greensward overlooking the north banks of the Dorian. Many of the stately residences were adorned with elaborately landscaped gardens, pools, and private stables, or set off from public view by high stone walls or hedges. In these surroundings, the nobility entertained themselves lavishly; feasts, and hunts in the nearby countryside, and bacchanalian revels that were the stuff of legend in the commoner parts of town.
In more recent times, as the nobility lost their control over the city’s political affairs, several of the great families exhausted their traditional wealth, and their urban estates fell into disrepair, or passed into the hands of the newly rich guild families. The transition of ownership has transformed the Heights into a battleground, where the guilds and the “gilded” live side-by-side as unwilling neighbours.
The noble families who remain in the Heights have attempted to maintain as many of the trappings of their past glory as possible. They continue to dominate traditional outdoor pursuits - tournament jousting, the hunt, falconry, and chariot and horse racing. Those who retain the financial resources to do so (like Duke Fernando) still own both urban estates and large parcels of farmland in the countryside under Free City of Haven’s jurisdiction; these farms are used to provide for their basic needs, and for some of the luxuries of noble status. The nobles conduct their entertainments on a grand scale, festive and not uncommonly bawdy (though such events are now held much less frequently than in days of yore). And most importantly, they maintain the ceremonies and social conventions (graces) associated with their titles, recognizing that these symbols still arouse feelings of awe, respect, and loyalty in the hearts of many of the city’s inhabitants.
In the last few years, a number of the younger nobles have grown increasingly discontent with the unprivileged lives they lead under the hegemony of the Guildmasters, and now aggressively seek to re-awaken the city’s fealty to the former leaders, the aristocracy. This group, who call themselves the “Young Stallions” (referring to the nobility’s inarguable precedence in, and near-monopoly of, horsemanship skills), is openly contemptuous of the competence of Guild rule. They roam the streets and byways of Free City of Haven, keeping a high public profile, sowing seeds of discontent, and fanning the flames of rebellion whenever they do erupt. The Stallions prefer to physically intimidate their opponents when possible. ‘They frequently will corner a fellow noble, whom rumour identifies as a seller of family lands or an associate of “tradesmen”, and threaten him with various dire punishments unless he desists; on occasion in the recent past, incidents of vandalism against the newly purchased and recently occupied estates of Guildsmen on the Heights itself have been traced to them as well. The Guild leaders use the officers and men of the City Guard to keep the activities of the Stallions somewhat in check, but, at the present time, they consider it too risky of the public calm, and altogether too divisive of the fragile rapprochement between the majority of the “gilded” and the Guilds, to crack down forcibly on this group.
In many ways, the successful guildsmen have attempted to imitate the social mores of the nobility. They have adopted similar modes of dress, and attempted to adorn their persons and homes with the most sumptuous and luxurious trappings available - jewels, perfumes, furs, tapestries, and great masterpieces of stone, metal, and artwork. Their decision to move into the Heights bespeaks their desire to be recognized also as an elite group, chosen by virtue of their business acumen rather than their bloodlines. Yet, in other respects, the guilders are very different from their predecessors. Because of their general inability to compete with the aristocrats in outdoor activities, they compensate by financially supporting, and elevating the importance of, the fine arts (music, painting, sculpture, philosophy). Where those nobles with religious ties tended to support sects with strong mystical connotations (not here, but in the next world they shall have their reward), the guildsmen have actively supported the development of a church based on a premise somewhat akin to modern social Darwinism, suggesting that the rise of powerful merchant “princes” is part of the inevitable evolution of the younger races. Most importantly, the Great Guilders have been able to rise above the petty divisiveness that often characterized relations between the noble families. As they maintain a consensus about the course the city should follow, unity has given them the strength to produce a sound overall record of accomplishment, which is the cement holding together their political power.
[anchor|street_encounters]
Random Street Encounters
While a party is wandering through the area roll d1000 to determine what random encounter they may have. Note that some encounters may happen in multiple locations in the city so feel free to ignore the results if the event is a one-off and already happened.
| [roll:d1000] | Link |
|---|---|
| 001-083 | CentaurCab |
| 084-125 | Warning |
| 126-208 | Relative? |
| 209-250 | Assassin |
| 251-333 | Chase |
| 334-499 | ”Stallions” |
| 500-603 | Carlo |
| 604-645 | Kidnapping |
| 646-769 | Ransoming |
| 770-831 | Crotofiran |
| 832-914 | JingleBells |
| 915-000 | OldMan |
People and Locations in The Heights
| People | Places |
|---|---|
| [tagged:the-heights-person | list |
Demographics
Government
Defenses
Industry & Trade
Infrastructure
Districts
Assets
Guilds & Factions
History
Points of Interest
Tourism
Architecture
Geography
Climate
Natural Resources
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Image:
Persons of Interest
- The Savonna Family
- The de Kammeron Family
- The de la Riis Family
- The Tainley Family
- The Hochritter Family
- Falstaff of Borrinstorr
- Sir Rodney of Shaftesbury
- The Geronde Family
- The Ohlfaardt Family
- The Maggia Family
- The Blackbourne Family
- The Varrasch Family
Type: Quarter
Other Name(s):
Located In: Free City of Haven
Population:
Demonym:
Founded:
Runied:
Ruler:
Rank:
Ruling Organization:
Other Rulers:
Founders:
World Anvil Metadata
Id: 1f0571c0-b8de-4b50-b010-5529cab6603b
Entity Type: Article / settlement
Category: Districts of Haven
Tags: fcoh,quarter
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