The Golden City

Just north of the Garden Lands and south of Crossroads lies the young Golden City. During the celebration of the 30th year of Rebecca De Courci's reign the course of the Great River was moved and a great pillar of Black flame erupted (signifying some great sacrifice) at the site that was to become the Golden City. Best information to date suggests that this may have been the work of Christina de Velland. Little else is known save that the Golden City has no nobility and that the Rose Prince of the South has sanctified a duel between the White City and the Golden City (although exactly a duel between two cities works is anyone's best guess).

• A group of relatively unknown adventurers working for Sasha De Courci travel to the north to discover a dream of the future of the duel between the White City and the Golden City. They learn what might happen if the battle goes disastrously wrong: the White City will fall to legions of undead after infiltrators murder the Governess, the Lady Regent summons Faragmas in response and the Golden City responds by summoning a entity of flame… The world falls in a firery apocalypse.
• Attempted to expose an unfortunate secret about one of the High Guard Captains, thus causing havoc in the White city but were once again thwarted by adventurers.
• Briefly set up trade with the City of Silk for steelsilk supplies but the trade was disrupted by members of the Velasquez and de Verlay families.

A group of White City adventurers recently visited the Golden City and installed a number of Low Guard spies. The information they brought back reveals:

• The city appears to be still under construction, although the development of the city's fortifications seems to have occured at an inhumanly fast speed. There is also an ornate temple to the Light run by Bragdall Courtasair, the undead light sorcerer. The church has received the condemnation of the Exalted Church of the Light and the Temple of Ash.
• A cult to the Broken Gardener appears to have taken an interest in the city.
• 333 individuals sacrificed their old lives to prevent the Great River from returning to its original course.
• Amongst its defenses the city has a Champion named Melana the Black Dragon, a Black Flame sorceress of considerable power. There is a also a glass sorceress named Servillia and a small Bodach contingent in the city. There appears to be some tension between Bragdall Courtasair and the city's glass sorcerers.
• The Golden City seems keen to trade for Steelsilk with the city of silk. There is also a representative of the Fairweather company who has opened negotiations over building new roads for them.
• The Golden City seems to have some defense against those who enter without swearing an oath before the flame that all land within the city must belong to the protecteress.