Cherak
Cherak is a major kingdom of the north, home to just over a million citizens. It is named for its capital which serves as one of the largest port cities in the North, a thronging metropolis through which much trade between the Realm and the North flows. Cherak is aligned with the Realm and currently overseen by House Ferem, a cadet House of the Scarlet Dynasty once aligned with House Tepet, whose rule is subtly challenged by mercantile concerns, some of which can be traced back to House V'Neef. Cherak's fleet is commanded by Admiral Ferem Helkar, a Fire-Aspected Dragon-Blood. Several major houses of the Realm have holdings in the city, but the largest obvious presence is from House Ragara. The port of Cherak proved vital to the 4th Legion of the Realm when it was redeployed to the Blessed Isle, as their usual port in Ceben had been destroyed by flooding.
Cherak is a walled city with a good harbor, but it has been a victim of its own success. Growth has meant the city has sprawled beyond its old walls twice so far and a large population lives beyond even the current walls. The town itself is divided into sections separated by the inner walls, with movement between the different sections somewhat restricted. With the growing threat of the Bull of the North, House Ferem has begun a major new fortification project to build yet another set of defensive walls around the new city boundaries, using both free and slave labor. It is difficult to say which group is treated worse: free laborers work alongside slaves from as far away as Harborhead, suffering the same dangerous, back-breaking conditions. Though the slaves are locked back in their pens at night while the free laborers can stagger home, their life expectancy is about the same.
Cherak is also home to a number of mortal power groups. Smuggling operations work to bypass the tariffs imposed on trade with the Blessed Isle, and a number of societies are based there. Due to the proximity of the Pinnacle of the Eye of the Hunt, the temple-fortress heaquarters of the Wyld Hunt in the North, any groups with a heretical slant keep themselves well hidden.
Drugs and Slavery
The stresses of urban life in Cherak are relieved by a thriving drug trade. The Guild finds Cherak a profitable location, and acts both openly (bringing in slaves) and in secret, supplementing locally grown crops of qat with small amounts of opium and other hard drugs.
The situation in Cherak is complex with regard to drugs. The agricultural land is highly productive, and the Dragon-Blooded and other wealthy landowners operate huge estates which house thousands of serfs and slaves. The landowners often issue daily rations of qat and reward especially bright or innovative serfs with small supplies of opium as a special reward. They know well that productivity would rise if the practice of distributing qat was discontinued, but there have been several uprisings in the past, and they reason that a docile population eagerly awaiting its next dose of qat is better than a restive one. Opium is restricted to rewards for "special" serfs, as it is more debilitating than qat and to remain productive, the majority of the serfs need to stay functional... an illegal trade in the stuff is prevalent, however. Local drug lords have become very powerful in Cherak.
Gangs and the Poor Quarter
Cherak is home to some powerful practitioners of First Pulse Style martial arts, who favor it's brutality in the gang wars that rage through the poorer quarters of the town. Gang related killings are almost a daily event in some quarters, and some areas are dangerous even for exalts to enter. A would be crime lord named "Red-Fist" Hayoo is currently growing in power, facing off against Cynis Yorake, a minor member of the Dynastic house who built a power base in town on the back of his knowledge of the local drugs trade. Both sides have a number of Dragon-blooded fighters and sorcerers at their disposal, along with many more mortals. All identify their allegiance with elaborate tattoos and deal brutal beatings and crippling injuries to members of the other gang that they manage to corner. Much of the fighting currently takes place in the District of Glittering Smoke, a poor area of town where the population is largely crowded into cheap, run down housing. Within this district is a large, old building called the Silken Rose. This horrific dive is an opium den sometimes frequented by members of the upper classes, as it also offers some other unique entertainments. Surprisingly, both gangs seem to be on their best behavior in the area around the Silken Rose and customers of the establishment seem to gain safe passage in and out. There are any number of smaller gangs in the city, but most are keeping their heads down while the other two fight it out.
Cherak's city guard attempt to keep the violence contained by watching out for heavily tattooed individuals at various choke points between the sections of the city. Even they don't patrol the District of Glittering Smoke after dark, and only enter it during the day in patrol strength, heavily armed.
Cherak is home to a dangerous assassin named Steel Hand. Steel Hand is suspected to be an Exalt, as he has had a career spanning several mortal lifetimes. Rumor has it that he is gigantic, and is unstoppable once he has been contracted for a mission; he is widely feared in the city. It is said he never leaves Cherak, so a target may always flee, but returning to the city at a later date always results in a quick death. The mark of a closed fist struck on both sides of a steel disk is always found at the site of his killings or by those who he has marked for death.
