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FREEBOOTERS, MERCENARIES AND PIRATES
The hard-eyed populace is governed by law, duty and
discipline; harsh laws and harsher justice enforced by the rulers of
the city and family heads, disobedience reprimanded harshly with
public service or even death. Yet at the same time it is a city of
scoundrels, from the rowdy mercenary companies of foreign and domestic
lineage to the privateers and pirates employed by the the city.
As in the rest of the Border Kingdoms, the citizens are commonly of olive-skin and dark hair, bearing some resemblance to the
barbarians of more northern lands and to those peoples of the ancient
empires lost in the dust of the east.
There is the occasional Shield dwarf, smithing at the
temples
or fighting in the companies, and a
group of outcast Gold dwarves base themselves here, hiring themselves out to the highest
bidder. A few centaurs can also be found here singly, along with the odd elven outcast (including the mercenary band known
as 'the Forgotten').
While strength and discipline respected, life and
freedom are cheap and much of the city's economy functions solely by
slave labor. Even the least wealthy families own at least one dark-skinned slave
taken from the jungles of Chult, though a
few noblemen keep elven slaves taken from among the
Shaar-wanderers, their wild, alien hearts having been broken by cunning
slavers.
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THE TEMPLE
SQUARE
Rising impressively from a stone-paved
courtyard surrounded by
the barracks of the City Guard, the heart of Yallasch's
military priesthood is a sturdy, square, many-leveled fortress in the
heart of the city. This severe structure serves as grand temple,
miliatary headquarters and government chambers.
One must ascend a great flight of wide stone
steps to reach the temple entrance: a narrow, arched double-door set
in the thick, gray stone of the sheer outer walls. Within,
under the watchful eyes of the priests of Tempus, servants of the
city's divine patron, the wealthy rulers of the
city-state meet to make law and decide justice. These are 'the
Barons', a group of wealthy military and merchant men who have risen
to power by taking it.
Serving
as the center of the political and spiritual life of the citizens of
the city-state, the Temple Square also houses the gaol, and is used for
public executions. Military drills and trials are often performed here and it is
a common sight to see at least one group of the maroon-liveried men of Yallasch marching and
drilling across its wide expanse.
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THE GODS
Though Tempus is the divine patron of the city, priests of Waukeen, Talos and
Umberlee are equally respected, and household shrines to any of these
deities, and many other minor ones, are common.
Traditionally,
the gods were viewed as men with either the heads of beasts or
beast-masks, and sometimes the specific animal varies for a single
deity:
Tempus was often depicted as a warrior with the head and
claws of a bear or the head of a horse, either black or white; Waukeen
as a slight, richly dressed woman with the long neck and head of a
crane; and Talos as either a great, black, flying serpent or a man
with the head of a dragon (more often a mask in this case).
While these traditional forms can still be observed, Yallasch's
cosmopolitan nature and greater influence from the south and west has changed society's view of the
gods, the deities are now commonly depicted and viewed as men or women of great
stature, though certain animals continue to remain associated with
each, such as the two horses of Tempus, one which indicates his
blessing, the other his disfavor.
In typical fashion for the people, the masks, icons
and statues of the
priests are simple, stylized representations, not elaborate or
insultingly or glaringly decorated.
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CULTURAL NOTES
Fish drawn
from the Shining Sea are a staple of the people's diet,
along with olives, grapes, hard grains and bread. Stews made with rabbit, wild
boar or sun bear meats (all hunted in the
nearby Border Wood) are common fare as well.
More exotic dishes include various organs or
seasoning powders made from the parts of certain animals, especially those of
the bear, whose spirit the people believe can be consumed, bringing
the eater closer to Tempus or granting them the bear's strength.
Typical
dress for those of the city-state are loose, light tunics and trousers
of plain gray, white
or brown (when they wear more than just a loincloth or loose shoulder
wrap).
It is illegal to wear the maroon color of the city-state unless one is
employed by the army or the guard, and it is illegal to bear the
symbol of the flaming sword (Tempus' own mark) unless one is a priest
or member
of the guard.
Many
noblemen wear curled beards and dreadlocks in their hair, like the men
of Themasulter, though most citizens choose straight, short, closely-cut
styles more typical to their own culture. Women tend to wear their hair
up, a practical measure that keeps it out of the way.
In similar homage to practicality, all playwrights
from the street theaters to the entertainers of the wealthy use simple masks of obvious, plain
character and
simple clothing to
depict changes of emotion or character.
There are no brightly-clad jugglers, fire-eaters or similar
ostentatious acts which might be found in
the southern cities. Instead among the upper classes entertainment is considered fine,
stately music and rousing tales of adventure and war, strength and
courage, or moody tales of harsh battles and doomed heroes; while
among the common people more physical pastimes are preferred:
wrestling,
boxing, footraces, duels and similar sports and entertainments.
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YALLASCH