Byrsa

Byrsa is home to over 30,000 residents, making it the largest and most diverse city in the Red Isles. The majority, about 38%, are Saltborn Athezians—colonial-born citizens who blend Athezian customs with local tradition. Sunborn Athezians, born in the desert heartland of Athezia, make up 17% and often hold positions of power, projecting a sense of privilege rooted in their solar faith. Around 14% are Freebooters, descendants of the independent mariners and settlers who predate formal colonial rule, known for their self-reliance and deep ties to the sea. The Kalisandrians are split between Highborn nobles and merchants (9%), many of whom fled after the Abandonment, and Lowborn commoners and laborers (7%) seeking new lives or serving under old banners. Skeggish seafarers from the far northern isles comprise 6%—a hardy, stoic people drawn by mercenary work and warmer shores. The remaining 9% includes immigrants from distant lands such as Gaelndor, Soramyre, Marcastria, and the Broodmother’s Hoard, each contributing their own customs to Byrsa’s cultural fabric. Together, these communities form a city that is neither wholly Athezian nor truly native, but something alive, layered, and always in flux.

Byrsa serves as the political and administrative capital of the Athezian colonies in the Red Isles. The city is governed by the Satrap, a high-ranking official appointed by the Emirs of Athezia, who holds ultimate authority within the colony, overseeing both the civilian administration and military affairs. While the Emirs technically remain the head of state, their direct influence is limited, with the Satrap acting as their primary representative in the Red Isles. The Satrap's authority is vast, controlling the local governance, security, and economic regulations of the city, particularly in regard to maritime trade through the harbor and the customs system that controls the flow of goods between the Red Isles and the Athezian homeland.   The Satrap is aided by a complex bureaucracy that administers the various sectors of Byrsa's governance, including trade, taxes, military, and infrastructure. The Athezian Colonial Administration (ACA), headquartered in the Athezian Colonial Administration Complex, handles most of the colonial oversight and enforces the Emirs’ decrees. This includes maintaining order, collecting taxes, and ensuring the smooth operation of the city’s harbor, which is vital to Athezia’s wealth and trade. Within the ACA, the Customs Bureau oversees the flow of goods and people, ensuring that all trade complies with Athezian laws, while military and naval operations are coordinated through the Colonial Forces Red Isles Headquarters. City security and law enfrocement is provided by the Satralios, an elite military force directly under the Satrap’s command.   Although Byrsa's governance is largely shaped by Athezian interests, local influence and diverse ethnicities often create a tense dynamic, with some factions—particularly those from the Free Fleet or the Freebooters—questioning Athezian control and pushing for more autonomy. Despite these undercurrents of dissent, the Satrap's power remains largely unchallenged, as their control over trade, security, and daily life in the city is absolute.

Byrsa is divided by the Sapphire River into two distinct halves: the more refined, institutional Northbank, and the denser, more commercial Southbank  

Northbank

The administrative and academic heart of Byrsa—elevated both geographically and socially. Wide boulevards, blue-tiled roofs, and manicured courtyards mark this side of the river, where ink and policy hold sway.  

• The Academic Quarter – Anchored by the Cadmeian Collegium, this scholarly district hums with debate and study. Home to parchment shops, student dormitories, antiquities dealers, and temples to knowledge. Bureaucrats and lecturers alike live here.
  1. Cademeian Collegium of Byrsa - The city's premier center of learning, especially for studies related to the Builders and ancient arcana
  2. The Margin's Edge - The Margin’s Edge is a cramped, arcane bookstore run by Quillis Marr, who only sells rare, obscure, or dangerous books to those he deems “ready to understand them.”
  3. Temple of Itharys - Dedicated to the Athezian god of ancestral memory and hidden truths. Unlike Cadmus, Itharys draws seekers of dreams, visions, and obscure lore—often seen as crackpots.
  4. Vellic's Scriptorium - A scented, scroll-lined boutique where paper isn’t just for writing—it's enchanted, living, or even forbidden. The shop trades in secrets, spell scrolls, and whispering parchment.
  5. The Scupper & Squill - A raucous, ink-stained tavern favored by Collegium students. Known for cheap grog, debate brawls, and walls etched with drunken theorems and banned sigils.

• The Athezian Colonial Administration Complex – A walled, orderly compound of white-stone offices and government halls that radiate quiet authority. The Satrap’s seat of power, where colonial decrees are written, stamped, and enforced.
  1. Satrap's Palace - The grandest structure in Byrsa, the Satrap’s Palace crowns the ACA Complex—its tiered spires and gilded domes a towering symbol of colonial rule. A high balcony overlooks the plaza below, from which the Satrap occasionally delivers public addresses—rare events that are observed with varying degrees of interest across the city’s diverse populace.
• The Viridian Ward – A serene, upper-class neighborhood wrapped around the lush Viridian Steps park. Ivy-draped homes and balconied villas look out over the river. Poets, scholars, and retired officials stroll its winding paths.
  1. The Viridian Steps - A tree-covered natural rock tower with a winding meditation path; pilgrims and students alike climb it to reach the sun shrine at its summit.
• The New Market – Narrow alleys and sun-dappled cafés spread along Byrsa’s original colonial harbor (now mostly pedestrian). This old mercantile district is quieter than the markets below, full of family-run bookshops, artisan guilds, and quiet courtyards.

 

Southbank

The denser, older, and more vibrant half of the city—where voices are loud, walls are close, and the pulse of trade and labor beats strongest.

• The Cothon – Byrsa’s mighty artificial harbor. Fortified piers, arcane gantries, and customs towers. Buzzing with commerce, naval activity, and constant scrutiny by the Satralios.
• The Low Market – Colorful stalls and shouts of hawkers fill this chaotic bazaar outside the harbor gates. Spices, cured fish, contraband, and cheap street food form its lifeblood.
• The Charioteer’s Grounds – Streets radiate from the great racing stadium, crowded with betting parlors, alehouses, and vendors selling bright banners and fried sweets. A center of rowdy cheer and folk traditions.
• The Redshore – The wave-worn southern coastline of the city where Byrsa’s original settlement took root. Weathered tenements and taverns line the seawall. Home to rough sailors, smugglers, and many old freebooter families who still fly faded pennants from their balconies.
• The Commonfields – Flat, fertile lands just beyond the city walls. Patchwork fields of grain and legumes supply Byrsa’s breadbasket. Villages of tenant farmers dot the landscape in the shadow of the city’s sprawl.