Azgeran, City of Splendors

At the southern tip of the Iron Mountains rests a thriving and busy city built into the side of the mountain. Azgeran is a city of iron and gold, resembling more of a fortress-palace than a city. Its walls are tall and mighty and its streets lined with precious metals. The city is relatively small, when compared to Irritum or Ryth; however, its vast network of mines extend deep into the mountains, offering access to rare gems and metals from deep within the earth. Azgeran is the ancestral home of the Gorunn mountain-dwarfs, masters of appraisal and forgery detection. Their fortress, known as the Black Vault, is said to contain the greatest collection of wealth in the Evenfall. However, none but their clan elders have ever laid eyes upon the vast splendors.

Overview
Sovereign: Sultan Thromar Gorunn

Defense: Ironbreakers

Heraldry: Rage Drake

Climate: Temperate with strong, cold winds from the west.

Population: 23k

Races: Dwarf (42%), Human (32%), Dragonborn (13%), Halfling (8%), Tiefling (3%), Other (2%)

Temples: Moradin (major), Avandra (minor)

Motto: "Dig deeper"

Culture & Style
From the deep mines of Azgeran flow an endless supply of gems and precious metals. As such, the average citizen has access to far more wealth than anywhere in the Evenfall.

While Ryth may be the capital of fashion and refined culture, Azgeran has a reputation for lavishly and excess. The aristocracy spends exorbitant sums of money on decoration in a endless pea-cocking of wealth. Patrons of architecture, fashion, and art care very little about actual the artist's style or vision, they simply wish to have the best and most expensive collections (which often leads to some dreadfully mismatching displays).

Jewelry and body art are large enterprises within Azgeran. All Azgerians have multiple piercings and trinkets to display their prized gemstones. Many go as far as to implant these gems into their bodies. A recent fashion trend uses enchanted threads of mithral silver to create rune-like tattoos which radiate vibrant colors.

Yet for all its vanity, Azgerians are the hardest workers in the Evenfall. Leisure is neither a blessing nor a pursuit for Azgerians, for the perfection of one's work is its own reward. Consequently, Azgerians tend to be gruffer, narrowly focused and live shorter lives; however, they are comforted by the knowledge that their skills will live on forever in the legacy of their disciples.

Regardless of wealth or status, citizens take deep pride in their work, mastering the intricacies of their craft or trade and passing the lessons on to the next generation. In fact, it is common practice for young Azgerians to leave home at an early age to apprentice with master craftsmen. Those without the skills to become master artisans work in the mines, liberating the vast treasures that lie below the mountains.

Although they may not work with their hands, Azgerian nobles are no exemption from the city's hardworking reputation. The dwarf oligarchs are known as Princes, although they may share no heritage with the Sultan. Unlike the feudal lords of the Golden Coast or the real estate tycoons of Irritum, Princes are risk-taking entrepreneurs who love nothing more than to boast about the payoff of their latest investments.

Economy & Trade
Although the city may be incredibly wealthy, its natural resources are extremely limited. Azgeran relies heavily on food, lumber, leather, fabrics, and crafting materials to support both its population and production, and its trading partners exploit this fact for great profit. Moreover, the pirate confederacy known as the Scarlet Corsairs has become a significant threat to maritime trade.

Azgerians are dealmakers and sticklers for detail; therefore, contracts are commonplace in even the most mundane transactions (and native Azgerians will read every line). Everything is negotiable, and Azgerian merchants are masters of selling overpriced or knockoff goods to foreigners too gullible to read the fine print. Moreover, the city does not take kindly to those who do not pay their debts, forcing them into backbreaking labor until the debt is repaid.

Plots & Factions
Princes are born from long, noble bloodlines, traced back to the city's founding fathers. The Princes of Azgeran are some of the best schemers in the Evenfall.

Cult of Tiamat
Where wealth exists, greed festers in the shadows, so it is no wonder that the Cult of Tiamat has a strong influence within Azgeran. Many seeking to increase their status call upon the Lady Avaricious for power and fortune beyond their means.

Ironbreaker Dwarfs
The warrior dwarfs known as the Ironbreakers are feared and respected the realm wide for their patience, fortitude, and skill. It is said that a guard can stand motionless for days at a time without need for food, water or rest. During the War of Three Dragons, a faction of Ironbreakers succumbed to the thall of Typherus, the Firelord, and committed several atrocities in his name that are unlikely to be forgiven by the rest of the realm anytime soon.

Foreign Relations
Because of the Ironbreaker association with Typherus, the Firelord, in the War of Three Dragons, most of the Evenfall views Azgerians as heartless slaves to power and wealth (and they may not be completely incorrect). As such, Azgerians have developed a hardened view of the outside world as intolerant and uneducated to cope with the lingering stigma. Being that the city is isolated by way of land, few citizens have opinions of life in Ryth or Geldn (although they would certainly regard Ryths as lazy daydreamers). On the other hand, cargo ships from port cities such as Irritum and Erock are a common sight in the Azgerian harbor. Sailors, traders, and laborers from other lands (seeking work in the mines) frequent the city's pubs and brothels.