Culture Clash
Far’soro is the city where the Bat’yan and Beylik and Causeway all combine. With the Attamek river flowing underneath into the harbor below, culture and travel flow in from four directions. A quilt of farmland watered by the Attamek surrounds the city and pushes out to the horizon to feed its people.
The people of Far’soro are the true realization of the Arnerian cultural experiment. Their demeanor is a blend of the different hard-working, big personalities of east and west. Far’soro has a flexible urban rhythm to flow with the needs of its foreign visitors. However, the bey’s influence over the city gives it a strictness and traditionalism that capitals like Louvain let go of to sprint toward the future.
Passing Through
Far’soro draws influence from the caravanserai cities that lie beyond it. Converging trade routes crowd the city with temporary visitors, foreign travelers on their way elsewhere. If people are the blood of a metropolis, then Far’soro has a hammering heartbeat.
The city’s ever-changing faces reflect changing times. Inns and infrastructure have adapted to delvers and the Dungeon, easily accommodating large caravans. Delvers are common in the city, rolling into Far’soro to connect with scouts from both sides of the road. Rare medicines are available here, blended from herbs grown only in the most specific Bat’yan conditions. Affordable jewelry and magic-infused finery rides in from the desert, offered at every street corner and open courtyard.
Protection of the State
Bey Vartan rules his domain from the Sapphire Palace in Far’soro, so the Beylik infantry is a common sight. Pairs of soldiers patrol the street, carrying kilij swords and dressed in the uniform of the Arnerian military. Vartan’s forces keep the streets orderly and the bey safe from anyone wishing him harm.
Beylik soldiers are ill-humored, but most won’t harass a foreigner for no reason. Visitors should be prepared to answer questions and cooperate with their requests, but run-ins with the throne’s army are less common than with Vinyotian Sellswords or Alley Crown Guard.
continued on page 163...