The Seven Cities
On the western tip of Avlis sit the Seven Cities. Known for their racial diversity, the cities are home to orcs, humans, elves, halflings, gnomes and other races. The names of the cities are Redgate, Andarr, Dormiria, Stalwart, Crosstreams, Malekia and Bullwark. From these cities streams the second largest system of trade in all of Avlis. Information on some of the cities follows:
The City of Red Gate
Red Gate is the easternmost city of the confederation making up The Seven Cities. Its gigantic red northern gate, for which the city is named, is always open and facing the orcish capitol city of Brekon. At all hours of the day and night, there is traffic coming in and out of the gate, mainly in the form of caravans carrying goods to and from Brekon.
Because of its location, Red Gate serves as the lifeline for Brekon to the rest of the world. Goods made in that country are brought here so they can be distributed throughout the world, and outside goods are bought here so they can be carted back to the villages within Brekon.
The Divalok River runs through the middle of Red Gate. It enters from the east gate and leaves through the west gate where it goes on to flow through the cities of Crosstreams and Andarr, where it terminates in the ocean. This river acts as a natural water highway responsible for driving much of the economy of the Seven Cities and northern Avlis. Goods from Brekon and the other cities are taken down by barge and by ship to Andarr where they are put onto ocean faring vessels and transported to other parts of the world. Red Gate is located at one of the first staging points where the river becomes deep enough for ship travel, and is therefore one of the first places from which goods are shipped.
The eastern side of the city is a gigantic riverfront marketplace, where goods from all around the continent can be found at various points of their journey to wherever they are going. This marketplace is directly connected to the northern section of Red Gate which is set up as a caravan jump-point. This area is constantly packed with beasts of burden and caravans in various stages of assembly or disassembly. There is no clear demarcation between this section of town and the marketplace. One sort of flows into the other. Beasts of burden slowly give way to storefronts and barge-docks in a seemingly never-ending sprawl of economic activity.
The center of the city is walled off and reserved for the noble families that run Red Gate. It is usually referred to as the Palatial District, and currently, the noble families there consist mainly of humans, orcs, and elves, though there are a couple of influential halfling business families there.
The southern district of the city is generally reserved for families with money, usually consisting of successful merchant folk and minor nobles. This part of town is set up so those people can keep themselves occupied with drinking and partying as well as their day-to-day business dealings and living.
The general "rabble" of the city lives on the western side and northwestern edge. At the extreme western edge of the city is a small shipyard where ships can be repaired and barges can be fabricated.
Because of the nature of Red Gate, it has an extremely diverse population. There are a very large number of orcs living there peacefully, and where there are orcs, there are always goblins and giant-kin as well. Another large portion of the population is made up of gnomes, many of them businesspeople from Deglos who have settled there over the years. Additionally, there are many humans, halflings, elves, dwarves, and a small number of dracon. Fairy races are not common in Red Gate, except for the small pockets of urban sprites which exist in every city on Avlis.
This racial diversity gives way to religious diversity as well. Red Gate has a shrine to just about any deity you can think of. It has large temples to Valok, Gorethar, Hurine, Aarilax, Fegall, and Berryn. There are also some very small temples to Toran, and Dra'Nar. The temples are located throughout the city in various places.
Red Gate's atmosphere is that of a bustling trade center and caravan jump-point. It is an area where east meets west and north meets south, and they all come together to exchange their goods. The attitude of folks in Red Gate is that trade is everything, and anything that disrupts trade is generally not appreciated. They are aware of all the various racial and religious difficulties that abound, and the nobles of Red Gate often go to great lengths to stifle such things and cover them up as they happen.
The City of Andarr
Andarr is the westernmost city of the confederation making up The Seven Cities. This city serves as a major year-round port for virtually the entire western coast of Avlis. While other cities in the confederation, such as Stalwart and Melekia, have ports of their own, only Andarr's is large enough to accommodate the huge amounts of trade going in and out of the region, and only Andarr's port has all the necessary technology for building, repairing, and maintaining ships of all sizes. In the port of Andarr, you can find ships from all nations conducting trade. Goods from inland areas come down the Divalok River and land in Andarr where they are loaded onto their ships and taken away. Conversely, ships from elsewhere come into Andarr and unload their goods where they are carted up the river to the inland areas. A good portion of these goods are also known to go directly out the northern and southern gates of the city as well. As most citizens will tell you, "Everything stops and starts in Andarr."
Some of the major features of Andarr are that it is bisected by the Valokian River into a northern and southern half, and each of its districts is completely walled in and separate from all the others. The creators of the city felt that this would make it more easily defensible against invaders from the sea who might try to establish a beachhead there. Anyone coming in from the ocean would need to take each district separately as if it were its own tiny little city.
The docks district is one of the larger sections of Andarr. This area is located on the western shore of the city and serves both as a trade depot and a military rally point for all manner of naval activity. The docks district is so big that it stretches from the northernmost tip of Andarr to the southernmost tip. In effect, the entire western piece of the city is made up of docks and dock-related buildings.
Near the center of the city, and immediately east of the docks, is the Smithing District. The other major commodity which Andarr is known for is metal goods. The government of Andarr is a major importer of iron ore, which is fashioned into all manner of metal implements by the smiths in the smithing district. Many know that the dwarves are the best smiths in the land, but the people in Andarr would argue that that's only true if the dwarf is Andarrian. A large portion of the smiths in Andarr are orcish, and there are even some human and elven ones. Truthfully, the smiths of Andarr are of all races, and no matter which race they are, it is generally accepted that their goods are superior to all but the finest from Galdos and Deglos.
To the north and south of the Smithing District are residential areas where the large population of Andarr makes its go at living. The two residential districts, with the Smithing District in between them, are all adjacent to the docks. East of these districts is the largest district of Andarr, the Business District. The bulk of Andarr's economic and governmental activity takes place here. Goods that are brought down by boat are sold in a small market if desired. However, the majority of the space in this district is used by trading companies who conduct imports and exports. The sprawling mass of buildings in this district goes for the entire length of the city from north to south.
East of the business district are two more walled-in sections, one to the north of the river and one to the south. Both are residential in nature, however the one to the south tends to include houses of wealthier families. In the northeastern residential district, there are many taverns and other establishments for fun and pleasure, and the residents of Andarr often refer to this place as the Tavern District, though officially it is still known as the Northeastern Residential District.
As in all seven cities, the population of Andarr is diverse. However, because of Andarr's strategic location, there is a lot of outside influence from other governments. The lords of Andarr are closely tied to various Kurathene nobles, such as the goodly Lord Arvanos, and the much defamed Lord Crullath. It is not uncommon to see ships from the various Kurathene nobles docked at this port. For many, Andarr is the stopping point along the journey to the Kurathene from points south, and it has gained a reputation as a decent place to make business transactions and dealings between multiple parties. For everyone wishing to make their presence known in The Seven Cities, Andarr is one of the best places to start their work. Its central location lends itself to this.
The City of Crosstreams
As it flows from east to west, the Divalok river splits. One portion continues off towards the city of Andarr and the ocean beyond. The other portion flows southwest towards another city called Malekia. Crosstreams sits right on top of that split.
While the cities of Andarr and Redgate act as hubs coming in and out of the region of the Seven Cities, the city of Crosstreams acts as the hub within the region. By far, Crosstreams is the largest known city on the continent, and with that distinction comes many other properties. Culture is at its highest here. The most cosmopolitan and openminded ideas begin here among the many centers of learning, music, and art within the city walls.
Some say that entering Crosstreams is like entering another reality, for the pace of life has a whole other purpose unakin to the outside world. Traders abound here, but more for the purpose of pleasure rather than business. They can be seen attending the theatres and pubs that are plentiful. Both freelancing bards and the followers of The Harpinger, who has his largest temple here, are freely encouraged to make their living entertaining people. In Crosstreams, there's a festival almost every week, depicting some event that happened in the past, or commemorating one of the gods. Though the population is made up of all the major races, and most of the minor ones, tolerance is dominant as a social attitude, and religious expression is appreciated.
For times when religions just can't help but conflict, Crosstreams possesses one of the most skillful city guard units in the world. They are able to enforce the peace and diversity of the place without causing too much unrest, and for some reason, they seem to even have crime well under control. People question everything here, but for the most part they are happy with the government and nobles of the city, so they don't dig too deep on this particular issue so much.
Pretty much any god's worshippers can be found in this city. The Harpginger's temple is among the largest, but there are also temples to The'ton, O'Ma, Mikon, Hurine, and a few others. Shrines of other gods abound in the Religious district as well. Crosstreams is laid out in three major sections connected by bridges. The city is shaped like a "V" laid on its side with the point of the "V" pointing east. The splitting river creates the "V".
The northern side of the "V" is mostly a residential area, though there are quite a few good taverns there. The southern side of the "V" contains mostly merchant housing, and a small district known as the Instrument Quarter, where the finest crafters of musical instruments base their trade. In the middle section, between the two rivers, there is the Capitol District right at the pinnacle of the "V". Beyond that lies the Theatre District, which is fairly small. To the west of the Theatre District lies the Religious District. At the far western end, the city is capped off by an area of Parks, and then another residential district.