The Cerulean City

The Cerulean City

Type	City
Government	Monarchy
Location	The Feywild
Inhabiting Race	Fey, Planar Travelers

The Cerulean City is a massive floating city located in the Feywild. It serves as a large planar port connecting many of the planes throughout Quelmar and served as neutral ground for outer-planar entities. These traits gave it the titles, "The City of a Thousand Portals." The City was ruled and overseen by the Archfey Lady Janus, Queen of Doors.

About

The Cerulean City is a floating city built out of cerulean stone that travels around the vast regions of the Feywild. It is one of the largest and most prominent planar ports in the realm due to the relative safety provided to all travelers and the order maintained by Lady Janus. While the laws of the city may be strict, trade between planar travelers has prospered. Throughout the city are hundreds of portals leading to many different planes, all maintained by the magic of Lady Janus. Portal travel throughout the city is heavily monitored and travelers require specific tokens or invitations to use specific portals. Those in violation in the cities Rules of Passage must stand trial before the Accord of Janus.

Districts

The Silver Steppes

• The central plaza where the majority of permanent portals and city denizens reside and is the largest district in the city. Many choose to make their home in this district and the district is populated by many inns and taverns looking to serve new travelers.
• The Scorned Horn is a sad and drab tavern near one of the portals to Duumal. It is run and owned by a Unicorn with a broken horn named Arion.
• The Traveling Trout is a tavern near a portal to The Plane of Water. Most of the tavern is underwater and is filled with fish-folk.

The Market of Whispers

• A bizarre bazaar where planar merchants sell impossible goods. Chronoshrooms from Mechanus, singing sand from Duumal, bottled dawnlight from Elysium. Barter in the market is preferred over trades in gold. To run a business in the market one must have a permit issued to them by Lady Janus. The Gateguard hold a heavy presence in the market due to fights and brawls breaking out frequently due to trades gone bad.
• The Groggy Gear is a small tavern in the Market of Whispers that tends to constructs.

The Janus Court

• An opalescent palace where Lady Janus rules. Every court session begins with her two faces debating opposing views before delivering a verdict. Within the court, is Janus' private domain, the Twinspire.

The Inkglass Gardens

• A district of living calligraphy that creates beautiful gardens of flowing glass-like ink.

Axiom’s Circle

• A metal garden surrounding a large keep serving as a headquarters for the Gateguard where the Axiom resides

Government

Ruler

• The city is ruled by the powerful archey queen, Lady Janus. With her magic she maintains the many portals throughout the city and oversees the Accord of Janus, a court that handles disputes in the city.

The Archivox

• The Archivox is a council of seven Treants rooted into the floating city. They keep and maintain all the cities records within their roots and record a living registry of all who enter and leave the city.

The Axiom

• The Axiom is an Inevitable in the service of Lady Janus. Their duty is to apprehend any who violate the rules of passage and punish any whom are deemed guilty in the Acord of Janus.

The Gateguard

• The gate guard are the primary policing force in the Cerulean City all in service to Lady Janus. They work to maintain order and oversee passage through the mortals. A special sect of the Gateguard known as the Mirrorbinders serve as special investigators within the guard.

The Rules of Passage

1. Passage Must Be Earned

• Travel between planes via Cerulean portals requires a token, sigil, writ, or the spoken blessing of Lady Janus or her proxies. These permissions are tracked in the Archivox, the city’s living registry. Unauthorized use of a portal is punishable under the Eye of the Axiom.

2. No Celestial, No Fiend, Shall Pass Without Balance

• Divine and fiendish entities may not travel through Cerulean portals without a counterforce accompanying them.
• Example: A celestial emissary from Mount Celestia must be counterbalanced by a lawful evil force of similar power. This prevents any single cosmic faction from using the city to gain a strategic edge.

3. The Soul Must Stay Whole

• Portals may not be used to transport souls, split entities, phylacteries, soul-jars, or spirit-bound artifacts.

4. Portals Do Not Heal Nor Harm

• You may not use portals to escape justice, carry plagues, spread fire, or deliver curses.

5. No Portal Shall Open That Is Not Known

• Creating unauthorized portals or summoning extraplanar gates within city limits is forbidden. Spellcasters are allowed teleportation spells within the city, but planar travel spells (like Plane Shift, Gate, or Teleportation Circle to/from other planes) are suppressed unless granted an exemption.

6. Portals Are Not Prisons

• No sentient creature may be forced through a portal against their will. Exceptions are made for extradimensional fugitives who have violated the Rules of Passage and been judged or are to be judged.

7. The Accord is Above All

• These laws are enforced not by mortals, but by the Accord of Janus and the Axiom.

Violating the Rules of Passage

The Accord of Janus

• Those who violate the Rules of Passage are to be put to trial in the great court before the Accord of Janus.
• Those who are determined to be guilty will then be subject to the Eye of the Axiom.

The Eye of the Axiom

• The Axiom determines punishment for those deemed guilt by the Accord of Janus
• The following are potential punishments that may be chosen by the Axiom
  • Banishment from the Cerulean City
  • Have their spirit magically sealed away
  • Bound servitude
  • Execution