Yane

City Lore of Yane

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Districts of Yane

Yane is laid out according to sublime astrological precepts, with a pattern of 25 avenues, one for each of the Constellations, all radiating out from the Wizarat - the Varangian primary center of government - in its center. These avenues intersect five major concentric circular boulevards, one for each of the Seasons. The city itself is laid out in five quarters, or Wards, one for each of the Maidens, with each Ward incorporating the five Constellation-avenues associated with that Maiden.

The Wizarat

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The Ward of Journeys (Foreign Ward)

Since the Wizarat elected to invite the Realm into Varangia themselves, this quarters has earned the name "the Dragonsward." Abutting about a third of the city's docks, which now swarm with foreigners (many of them from the Blessed Isle), the Foreign Quarter also attracts quite a few merchants, looking to relieve those foreigners of their coin. This area is also, of course, the district where the Guild is required to operate out of, by Varangian law. As such, it has a great many warehouses, inns and the various establishments of need to the Guild for its operations. The Guild are accustomed to being the important individuals in this district, however, and the newly arrived Imperial presence has caused more than a few clashes between Guildsmen and Realm citizens, neither of whom are really accustomed to dealing with one another here.

Brilliant Damask Hall

A massive caravansary maintained by the Guild, Brilliant Damask Hall has steadily grown over the years, absorbing other buildings near it until it is more of a compound than anything else. It is gated off, and incoming merchant caravans are charged entry at those gates. Within are rental facilities ranging from entire buildings of warehouses, stables, common rooms and kitchens, sleeping barracks and lavish personal quarters for an entire large caravan, including slaves to tend to every need, to the more typical facilities used by caravaneers: space to park their wagons (guarded by their own men, of course), inn-quarters for the members of the caravan, stockades for slaves, stables for animals and the like.

• One of the facilities on-site, the Veiled Lady, is an elaborate pleasure-house, full of beautiful performers of both genders who are available for companionship afterwards, some of the finest musicians, alcohol and drugs available in the South and a luxurious decor. The Veiled Lady has become a favorite night-life destination of those who wish to mingle with rich and important Guildsmen of at least merchant prince status, and those who have deals to make.

The Iron Portal

On the opposite side of the Quarter from Brilliant Damask Hall, nearest to the docks, is a totally walled-in courtyard with a well-defended, attached barracks-style "slave's warehouse" attached. The Iron Portal - named for the three iron gates that lead into it - is the slave market of Yane. Here, myriad slavers come to sell their wares to foreigners often bound for other places by boat. Of course, the only slaves that Varangians are permitted to own are djala, so about two-thirds of the slaves sold here are of the small spotted folk, but the Guild sells enough other slaves to those bound for other shores to still make it a lucrative business selling human slaves as well. The Iron Portal is also owned by the Guild, and serves as one of their slave citadels.

The Bronze Keep

An Imperial Garrison for 34th Legion, the Bronze Keep was a gift from the Wizarat to the Realm, an indicator that the peace-keeping forces of the Scarlet Empire were welcome in the Varang City-States. It is an impressive compound, with ample room for the whole of the Thirty-Fourth Legion. As is the nature of such things, a handful of taverns and brothels have sprung up in a two-block radius around the Bronze Keep.

Temple of the Star-Dragons

The Temple of the Star-Dragons is an old Varangian construction, given over to the Immaculate Order and turned into a temple. It was not razed or changed too much because the place is an Air-aspected Manse (Rating •••), a gift to the Immaculate Order from the Wizarat as part of the tacit understanding about the place of the Order in Varangia. Though Abbot Ledaal Urakashi bears the hearthstone, all the Imperial and Legion Dragon-Blooded have been permitted to attune themselves to the Manse.

The Scarlet Hall

A tall and impressive structure made up of three fluted towers designed to maximize the intake of the sea-winds above Yane to keep cool, the Scarlet Hall is the Imperial Embassy in Yane, and the headquarters of the Imperial Satrapy. One of the towers, the Satrap's Tower, is set aside for the sole use of the Satrap and her household, including luxuriously appointed suites. The Embassy Tower, the second tower, is similarly appointed (albeit with smaller chambers), acting as a guesting-house for Imperial visitors to the Embassy and other guests of the Satrap, while the third tower - the Advisors' Tower is home to the bureaucratic workings of the Embassy, including the offices of the Four Advisors as well as other offices, vaults of paperwork and council chambers.

The very tops of the towers are, by tradition, for the Satrap's use: the top of the Satrap's Tower is the solarium of her suites; the top of the Embassy Tower is her office, and the top of the Advisors' Tower is a council room with five seats for herself and the Four Advisors. Footbridges run between the tops of these towers, providing access to messengers, servants and other approved individuals moving between these areas.

Similar bridges span the lowers distances between the other towers, as well. These three towers surround a beautifully decorated garden courtyard, with an extravagant fountain in its center as proof of the Empire's wealth. The gate that faces the streets feature an impressive sculpture of the Scarlet Empress, reclining in state in a twisted tangle of five dragons.

The Satrap's Gate

Out the Satrap's Gate, perhaps a ten minute ride away, is the Satrap's estate, Sugati Bahudeya Estate. The Gate does not permit non-Imperial citizenry through its arches, granting Dragon-Blooded and other important figures an easy way of entering the city without having to deal with the nonsense and bureaucracy of the main city gates. It is constantly guarded by Legionnaires of the Thirty-Fourth, rather than the Yane city guard. It is also the only gate open after nightfall, permitting Imperial citizenry an access to the city that is unprecedented to strangers and citizens of Yane alike.

Ward of Serenity

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Ward of Battles

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Ward of Secrets

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Ward of Endings

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Government of Yane

Some foreigners assume that because Yane is the capital, Yane rules the other city-states. Actually, the opposite is true. The seven other cities govern Yane. Every four years, Yane falls under the rule of one other city-state in a regular cycle. Regardless of who is in charge, Yane stays a neutral city where all the Varang may visit or live.

The seven other city-states each send five representatives to the Wizarat. These Wazirs vote on matters that concern all of Varangia. (The first item on any agenda is usually, “Does this affect all of Varangia?”) Each city-state can engage in its own foreign policy, as long as these efforts do not go against directives from the Wizarat—such as no foreigners entering any Varang city-state except Kriss and Talt. Also, each city runs its domestic affairs as the local pandits see fit. The most important exceptions to this autonomy are the laws about religion and caste. The Varang believe that these aspects of their culture bear a divine mandate and no mortal authority can change them.

Wazirs do not serve for life. Each time a city-state’s pandits choose a Wazir, they cast a horoscope not only for who should serve in this office, but for how long. At the end of that time, the other Wazirs jointly cast a horoscope to see if their fellow should continue representing her city and, if so, for how long. If delegates from four different city-states insist upon it, the Wizarat can cast a special horoscope to see if the Loom of Fate has decided that one of their members should leave office early. The stars are remarkably insightful about removing Wazirs who can’t get along with their fellow delegates—they never contradict the majority view.

Wazirs of Kriss

• Pandit Kriss Gusan: One of the wazirs of the city of Kriss, Gusan is a skilled astrologer and leader. He is young for his position, some thirty years old at most, and prefers to sit quietly and observe those around him. Gusan is known as a shrewd judge of character.

Wazirs of Talt

• Pandit Talt Sohan: A large, bald man, Sohan is boisterous and jovial, who seems to love little so much as festivals and parties of all stripes. Planning Talt's ubiquitous street-holidays and assorted festivals were once laid at his feet, responsibility-wise, although now that he serves on the Wizarat, he has brought his joyful sensibilities to Yane.

Other Wizarat Functionaries

• Daivaja Yane Narenda (High Astrologer to the Wizarat): A wizened man deeply devoted to the worship of the Maidens, Narenda provides decades of expert experience to the questions that the Wizarat must answer. He is very clear, however - what he provides is merely advice. The rulers must still make decisions for themselves, and they alone bear the responsibility for those decisions. He is very hesitant about the arrival of the Dragon-Blooded - after all, the Exalted are notoriously difficult to gauge by the stars.
• Pandit Yane Kanistha (Wizarat Ambassador to the Satrapy): Kanistha represents the Wizarat to the Satrap. She is technically part of the Satrap's cabinet in Varangia, as part of the deal that brought the Realm to power in the Varang City-States. She is strong-willed and clearly respects the power of the Satrap quite a great deal.

Organizations & Factions of Yane

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