Andiva
The city of Andiva often confounds outsiders. On the one hand, it is a holy place, home to the Cathedral Dame des Roses, one of the grandest cathedrals in the world and seat of the Ordinal of Roses. On the other hand, it is a city rife with crime, corruption, and all manner of hedonistic delights. This juxtaposition is only exacerbated by Andiva's legitimate claim as far and away the largest port city south of Kraekirk. Even today, pilgrims, merchants, and outlaws alike flock to Andiva for myriad reasons, and in many ways life for the average Andivan is as it ever was—a facade of culture and civility painted over a somewhat desperate scramble for existence. Between the machinations of the clergy and nobility and the increasingly bold depredations of gangs and mercenary troupes, life can be a dizzying affair of shifting alliances and ill-timed betrayals, and that is to say nothing of the cults skulking in the city's backrooms or the horrors the Harrowing set loose in Andiva's extensive sewers, canals and catacombs. Andivans are widely known for their keen (though severe) fashion sense, almost exclusively wearing black and white. A small number of individuals add bright red accents to their garb as a sign of support for, or allegiance to, Ordinal Maréchalac, or royal blue if they wish to display their patriotic fervor for the Prince.
Points of Interest:
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Roses: Dame des Roses is a towering edifice, an architectural marvel that dwarfs the city buildings around it. Dedicated to the Healer, the cathedral is a center for religious learning in addition to serving the direct spiritual needs of the nobility and, on holy days, the general public, with high services presided over and led by Ordinal Maréchalac himself. The greatest masons and glassworkers of the age were employed in its construction more than three and a half centuries ago, and it is said that the cathedral's foundations extend deep below the catacombs.
The Court of Miracles: Even before the Harrowing, the Court of Miracles was known throughout the Eilstern Domains as one of the most desperately impoverished areas in the world. Synonymous with beggars, thieves, and charlatans, the Court has a hard-earned reputation as a thriving center of criminal activity and general unrest. Agitators, activists, spies, and assassins all rub elbows at the countless seedy taverns and itinerant markets that seem to grow like mushrooms in any spare room or dingy alley. Guards have attempted to clear the area on multiple occasions, but thus far none have been successful.
Ravens' Square: The grandest plaza in all of Andiva, the Royal Square stands in the shadow of the Prince's palace. The square has been the site of pivotal battles and historic proclamations alike. Similarly, criminals of note are often executed in the plaza, with the worst being condemned to the gibbets that hang from the great scaffold that stands there. Between the oppressive silhouette of the palace and the crows that perpetually circle the place due to the corpses, the nickname of ‘Ravens' Square' has persisted for generations. The eerie and pestilential fogs that envelop the area only serve to bolster the square's sinister reputation.