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According to Kandar legend, Filgeth was founded by the very first kandar on Kalyr. Whether or not it's true, Filgeth is the oldest city in the world. During the golden empire it was the capital of Kalyr. The city has had many ups and downs, including being burned and sacked by the zughru, and ultimately being leveled by fire from the sky in the Doomwar. Each time it's been rebuilt.
Nowadays it's rather a backwater. With the cities of the west long since ruined and abandoned, it's now the westernmost kandar city in Kalyr. The first empire city covered a much wider area, and ruins litter what's now farmland surrounding the much smaller present-day city.
Go here for a complete list of characters (PCs and NPCs) active in the city.
The east side is where the kandar live. No humans may own property on the eastern bank of the river Fil, and the only humans resident are household servants and slaves of the wealthier kandar.
The west side is where the bulk of the city's human population lives. The population is almost overwhelmingly human, and the few kandar families live in enclaves that resemble fortresses. Although it's reasonably safe for kandar to visit during times of daylight, the streets tend to empty of kandar as soon as it gets dark.
Middle Island is the crossroads of Filgeth, the place through which almost all traffic must pass, via the long wooden bridge that links the two side of the city.
The massive fortifications of Citadel Island rise up out of the river, and are said to date from the times of the second empire. It's the one place where humans are not permitted under any circumstances, unless accompanies by a kandar and on official business.
The Dancing Fish is a medium-quality inn, popular with visiting merchants. It's well known for the fish dishes served there.
A popular tavern on the east side of Filgeth. It's a few levels below establishments like the Eynthra, but several levels above dives like Galik's. A popular watering-hole for knights, treated by them as a ""Neutral Ground"", free from the usual rivalries between different chapters. Brawls are unknown.
Located on the central island in neutral territory, Droad House is an inn and brothel frequented by humans and kandar alike, famous for its guarantees of privacy, its selection of attractive consorts of all races and sexes, and its lively saloon. The kitchen had a moderately decent reputation, and from time to time musicians of acceptable quality entertained. Wilmer Droad, the innkeeper, was an ex-gladiator who served as his own bouncer; his wife Drusilla, who some said could best Wilmer two of three falls, served as procuress, having recently retired from the more active end of the business.
Galik's is a cheap and busy tavern located in the heart of the human quarter of the city. It's a favourite hangout for many human underworld types
Located close the the bridge on the West Side, Black Newsom's is essentially a gambling den, frequented both by humans and bolder kandar
Again located close to the bridge on the West Side, the Hazard is a busy tavern serving good beer and cheap but filling food. It's a popular meeting place.
Located on a prime location on the West Side near to the bridge to Middle Island, The Eynthra is without doubt the best and most expensive inn in town.
In comparison to a city such as Calbeyn, the knights still form a significant part of the city's fighting forces. Rivalry between knights and legionnaires is as intense as you would expect, although the leaders of the two groups have a good working relationship. Many of the legionnaires and knights are fighting at on the front-lines against the zughru, leaving many of the less well-trained auxiliaries to carry out duties such as patrolling the roads.
The secular knights of Filgeth consider themselves to be the elite fighting force of the city, a fact naturally disputed by anyone connected with the 5th legion. The knights are quartered within Citadel Island.
About half the legion of based in or around Filgeth, the other half being allocated to Calbeyn. Like those of Calbeyn, the legion is mix of kandar and human, although there are very few humans legionnaires in Filgeth, and even fewer officers. Their barracks, a complex of two-story brick buildings surrounded by a defensive wall, stands near the docks.
The Filgeth city guard is not the best-behaved or the best-respected force. A mix of kandar and human, they're poorly trained, ill-discliplined, ill-paid, and frequently corrupt. They number about 150, and patrol the streets and (in theory at least) fight crime. In general, the kandar guardsmen patrol the kandar-occupied East Side, while their human counterparts patrol the West. They maintain five guard stations, two on each side of the river, and a fifth, their headquarters, on Central Island.
The Karazthan Dome is one of the oldest buildings in Filgeth, it's massive self-supporting dome is believed to date from the First Empire. Within the dome and it's surrounding buildings some fifty Karazthani live and work. Their work includes maintenance of the power-waggons and power-barges of the merchants, supplying weaponry to both the Legion and the knights, and maintenance of the electric lighting in the Citadel and other places. Another of their duties is assisting the City Guard in fire-fighting, using their pumping machinery.
The Academy of Life does not have a significant complex in the city itself, but does maintain a small office. Their main centre lies half a day's journey down-river, their princible business being the breeding of glethnu
The Academy of the Mind occupy a complex of buildings taking up a significant part of the city's largest island. It's said by many that the academy's politics is a microcosm of the that of the city as a whole. Both Kaasranth Sar and the Progessors have a strong presence, with some wizards openly declaring alliegance, while others keep their cards close to their chest.
The Merchants Guild occupy a substantial stone building, part offices and part warehouse, standing on the east dockside. The warehouse provides storage for those merchant companies that don't own their own warehouse space in the city.
The Guardian of Knowledge has what was once a grand and impressive temple, although the four-storey building is a little faded and unkempt nowadays. However, the Flame of Eternal Knowledge does not burn dim; with thousands of years of history the archives are extensive, and if you can't find a book here, you won't find it anywhere. The schoolrooms educate the children wealthy kandar in history, literature and other important knowledge.
The temple of Valarna the Healer is the city's hospital as well as a place of worship. The worship chamber proper is just one of several similar-sized buildings within the walled compound, the others being infirmary wards. Most of the buildings are new, a result of the tragic fire ten years ago that levelled the entire complex, as well as several neighbouring buildings.
The temple of Ulseth, Guardian of Justice is a modest place, which leads some people to suspect Filgeth is not a very just place. The two-story brick building is fairly recent.
Much like any other temple of Kardak, this one resembles a fortress. The Knights of Kandar are the same violent, intolerant bigots as you'll find in any temple dedicated to that guardian anywhere in Kalyr. Although it's currently located near the docks on the East Side, some of the younger knights are agitating for a relocation to the heart of the human-occupied West Side. The fact that the building is crumbling and will soon need some substantial building work before it collapses completely may be evidence that this faction is gaining strength.
The Temple of Esala the Artist is not the grandest temple in Filgeth, much as the resident priests and priestesses would like it to be otherwise. It might well be, as they never tire of telling everyone, the most elegant, with elaborate sculptures on the outside and intricate abstract murals on the inside walls. A contrast indeed to the austere temples of some of the other guardians. On other words, like most temples of Esala throughout Kalyr, it's more like an art gallery than a place of worship.
The temple dedicated to the Mother of the Kandar lies entirely within the massive walls of the Citadel, on Citadel Island. The ancient amd massive worship chamber holds three thousand people, and is the place for the coranations of generations of Sarkans, and is said to incorporate part of the structure of the first temple in kalyr from the first empire. Although the High Guardianspeakers of Karlandra has long since been based in Vohrleyn far to the south, the high priestess of Karlandra in Filgeth remains an important religious figure worldwide. The temple is a place of pilgrimage for pious kandar from the south, and many hundreds make the journey each year.
Alone of the cities of the north-west, Filgeth boasts a gladiatorial arena. Once every ten days, crowds gather to watch human warriors fight to the death. The crumbling arena is a shadow of it's former glory, but it can still attract large crowds on a good day. Nowadays it's largely controlled by organised crime and many if not all the fights are fixed. The only time you'll see blood spilled is when a condemned criminal is thrown into the arena. Recently there have been experiments with non-lethal combats that have seen kandar in the arena, such as demonstration sparring by knights, and magical duels involving wizards.