Orthay
Looking out over the ocean from the shores of Northern Valoria stands Orthay, the regal jewel of the Valo-Nymerian Empire. Founded in 523 AS as a simple port town, the city has grown over the last thousand years into a bustling metropolis—a true imperial capital and a crossroads of culture and commerce.
Locals and travelers alike affectionately refer to Orthay as the City of Radiance, a name earned both from its breathtaking beauty and from its unwavering devotion to its primary deity, Pelor.
People & Culture
Over 225,000 residents dwell within Orthay’s whitestone walls. The city’s character is unmistakably Valorian, though its population is less characteristicly diverse. A significant influx of dwarves, abandoning the decaying empire of Khaz Varrak, has brought new craft traditions and political tensions. Elves and halflings are a common sight, and a growing community of gnomes and other fey races from Miritar Forest has added playful colour and chaos to city life.
Despite this cosmopolitan shift, tieflings remain almost entirely absent from the streets of Orthay. While the public perception of tieflings has softened over recent decades, social stigma remains potent, especially among the city's more devout individuals. Conservative institutions continue to view tieflings with lingering mistrust—echoes of old teachings that label their race anathema.
Districts
Orthay is arranged in a wide arc along the coast, climbing upward into terraces of stone and light. Each district contributes its own character to the city’s distinctive rhythm.
Greydove Quay
The bustling maritime heart of Orthay. Fishmongers, shipwrights and sailors fill the salt-sprayed docks with noise and life. Foreign vessels from Umbrea, Eberland and more exotic locations on the northern continent crowd its piers. The district’s tangle of warehouses and taverns is both lively and notorious; smugglers often operate under cover of darkness.
Kingsmarket
A high, sunlit plateau overlooking the harbour, home to vendors of every kind. Fruits from distant jungles, enchanted tools, artisanal crafts and exotic spices can all be found in its marketplace. Towering above it all is the Grand Cathedral of Pelor, a monumental structure of blue-white marble said to have been summoned from the Plane of Life itself.
The Arts District
Vibrant, extravagant, and theatrical—the Arts District thrums with creativity. Painters, playwrights, sculptors, musicians and illusionists fill its workshops and cafés. At night, magical lanterns transform the avenues into rivers of shifting light. Iliathor Arena, an amphitheater renowned for gladiatorial displays and other spectacles, dominates the skyline.
The Old Quarter
Many of Orthay’s oldest buildings survive in this district, forming a maze of narrow streets and medieval architecture. Generations of warriors, artisans and scribes have lived here, and every alleyway carries a wealth of history. At the heart of the Old Quarter stands the imposing Holven Castle, current home of the City Watch's headquarters and several modest gardens dedicated to saints of the Empire.
Dewberry Hills
Dewberry Hills is Orthay's noble district, draped across soft rolling hills in the southern part of the city. Terraced gardens and estates belonging to nobility and high-ranking clergy gleam like jewels in sunlight. Despite their beauty, the imperial palace Angelreach dwarfs its opulent neighbours. The district is strictly patrolled by the city watch, and outsiders are not permitted entry without invitation.
Feldspar Commons
Spilling beyond the city walls is Feldspar Commons, a sprawling residential and commercial area for the lower classes. Bakers, blacksmiths, farmers and families of every stripe make a living in the Commons. Its buildings stand in an exhausted quarry but the district is ever-growing, largely to accommodate the influx of migrants from Khaz Varrak. Regular street festivals add much-needed vibrance, with many dedicated to Pelor’s aspects of warmth, renewal and life itself.
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