Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #337

Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #337 

December 4th, 2023 

• Number: 337 

• Name:  Deep Dive of Subjects of Interest: Of the Guild Masters and Master Crafters of the City-State of Carasta – Part 1 

• Location: In the Guildhalls and Workshops of the City-State of Carasta 

• Population (approx.): Varies 

• Brief: Individual guild members have become royalty or rulers via their own devices. Whether it be a heroic mercenary or skilled crafter becoming a landed Knight, a harper or adventurer marrying a Prince or Princess, a rich banker or merchant purchasing land to become a minor Lord, or a wizard taking a throne by magical might for themselves. But rarely has an entire guild or guild collective become the ruling class of a region. Over five centuries ago, as the Ta’arnan Empire began its descent, the Guildmasters of the Narrows could sense the Corruption in the heart of Ta’arna to the far south. In an extraordinary and secretive series of clandestine meetings, the most powerful Guilds agreed it was time for regime change. Those still loyal to the Empire were distracted, displaced or simply disposed of and one evening, the combined forces of the Arcane, Thieves and Mercenary Guilds overwhelmed the remaining Legionnaires and their sparse Clerical support. The survivors fled to the south and east where some remain to this day. The Guild Collegium announced itself, the City-State of Carasta was founded and a new local calendar counted the 1st day of the 1st year FC (Free Carasta).  

• In the present day, Carasta is ruled by the Guild Collegium, their Guild members and associated Mercenary Companies maintaining order and fostering trade along both coasts, in the oceans west and east and in the skies. Guild mining concerns started mines and associated settlements throughout the mountains to the west and north. The recovered ore and gems were traded to the resource-poor south and elsewhere. Carasta maintains relations with the great City-State of Amthor to the north and the smaller States to east and south. The City-State of Carasta also became commonly known as the Guild Coast and exerts a measure of control from Port Lostfort in the east all the way to the border of Amthor in the far north, with the bulk of their population concentrated in the Narrows. 

• Geography: The City-State of Carasta claims an arc of land from the border of the CIty-State of Noldrune, west and north across the Narrows and up the coast, covering about 17,500 square miles of territory. Total population estimates are over a half million people. 

• Next Article: Over the course of this week, we’ll present some of the notable peoples, locations, happenings and plot threads about Guildmasters and Master Crafters of the City-State of Carasta.
  

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