City of Brass
The City of Brass is a shimmering jewel of tyranny, opulence, and elemental might—perhaps the most infamous and well-traveled metropolis on the Inner Planes. Rising from the molten shores of the Sea of Fire in the Elemental Plane of Fire, the city is a dazzling bastion of civilization amid a plane otherwise dominated by chaos, heat, and destruction. It serves as a nexus of trade, intrigue, and ambition, ruled by the proud and merciless efreeti.
The City of Brass is the heart of civilized fire—a place where raw elemental fury is forged into art, architecture, weaponry, and empire. It is as alluring as it is perilous, seductive in its splendor and merciless in its dealings. Visitors quickly learn that nothing here is free, and everything—even safety—must be earned, bartered, or stolen. In the flickering light of the city’s eternal flames, ambition burns brightest—and so do those who overreach.
Government
The City of Brass is ruled by the Grand Sultan of the Efreet, an ancient and near-godlike figure whose court is a labyrinth of power plays, tribute, and ritual. The sultan’s palace is a vast citadel of burning metal and crystal, said to contain treasures from every plane and prisons for beings who could unmake worlds.
Beneath the sultan, efreeti nobles and merchant princes control vast estates and enterprises, often built on the backs of enslaved mortals and lesser elementals. Slavery is not just accepted—it is institutionalized, and the city’s bazaars are infamous across the planes for the trade of souls, bodies, and magical services.
However, the city is also a place of opportunity. Merchants, planar travelers, spellcasters, and diplomats come seeking rare goods, forbidden knowledge, or alliances with powerful patrons. Those who can withstand the city's heat—and its politics—may leave with wealth and power beyond imagining.
Architecture
The City of Brass stands atop a colossal brass platform that floats—by ancient and unknown means—on the rolling waves of the Sea of Fire, a vast and stormy expanse of liquid flame. The heat is unimaginable for most mortal beings, but the city’s ancient magic and brass architecture insulate it just enough to allow non-natives to survive, if barely.
Towering brass walls encircle the city, gleaming with reflected firelight and etched with fiery glyphs of warding and command. Massive gates, shaped like roaring salamanders or burning suns, open only at the pleasure of the city's rulers. Within the walls, streets are paved with obsidian and veins of molten metal, radiating heat and wealth alike. Canals of liquid flame serve as thoroughfares for boats made of fire-resistant materials or elemental craft.
The architecture is an extravagant fusion of Arabesque grandeur and elemental brutality—domes and minarets of molten brass, palaces wreathed in ever-burning torches, and markets bustling with beings from across the multiverse. Spires belch flame into the sky, and floating platforms carry goods, emissaries, or slaves between districts. The ever-present glow of fire casts everything in shades of orange, red, and gold, while ash and heat shimmer in the air like a veil.
Music, bargaining, and the clash of weapons echo constantly. The scent of exotic incense competes with acrid smoke and scorched spices. It is a city alive with ambition and danger, where every interaction is a negotiation, and nothing is given freely.
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