Emon

Emon is the capital city of the Republic of Tal'Dorei, built on the Bladeshimmer Shoreline of the Ozmit Sea, and the largest city on the continent.

City Description
Emon is the cultural heart of human civilization on the continent. As the capital, Emon is a nexus of politics, justice, industry, and education. The city proper is surrounded by a thick, 60-foot-high wall that that stretches around the city from the eastern fields to the western shore, accessible only through its gates, port, and by skyship. Dense fields of farmland surround the city, which spills beyond the walls around the gates to the north and south.

Within the city, the districts are further divided by smaller walls. Winding their way across the city are a series of canals called the Ozmit Waterways that allow for faster travel and transportation of goods throughout the city.

Points of Interest

 * Greyskull Keep: Located outside the city's eastern gate, Greyskull Keep was the home the legendary adventurers Vox Machina. The keep now acts as an embassy to Whitestone.
 * Howarth's: A speakeasy-style bar operating in the back of a textile shop. Popular among Cloudtop nobility and merchants.

Abdar's Promenade
Abdar's Promenade is the large open-air market district that dominates the eastern side of Emon. The district is named for the Marquesian spicemonger who helped fund the city's original construction. With carts, stands, and shops stretching for miles along winding interconnected roads, nearly anything can be bought and sold here.
 * Gilmore's Glorious Goods: A magical shop run by the sorcerer Shaun Gilmore.
 * Laughing Lamia Inn: A large, four-story inn.
 * Anvilgate: An establishment dedicated to metalworking.

Central District
The Central District is the largest residential region in Emon. Most of Emon's merchant class lives within this district. Peppered throughout the tightly packed neighborhoods are guildhalls, grassy parks, and many taverns, inns, and restaurants.
 * Azalea Street Park: Within one of Emon's oldest neighborhoods is this peaceful park overlooking the Ozmit Waterways. A dual statue of Melora and Erathis dancing together stands within a fountain in the center of the park. Adventurers often come to the park to relax and swap stories.

Cloudtop District
Crowning the hill at the center of Emon is the Cloudtop District, home to the city's government and nobility. Surrounded by a 100-foot-high wall acting as a secondary line of defense. The district was heavily damaged in late 810 PD during the Chroma Conclave's attack, as Thordak made the district his roost.
 * Palace of the Sovereign: The palace where the Tal'Dorei's sovereign lived and held court. The building was destroyed during the Chroma Crisis and is still under reconstruction as of 812 PD.
 * Citrine Garrison: The hub of military planning within Emon. The Tal'Dorei Council meets here until the Palace is rebuilt.
 * Ivory Tower: A tall, white tower home to Arcanist Allura Vysoren.
 * Skyship Port: A tall tower built to receive skyships, buttressed against the walls of the district.
 * Thordak's Crater: Despite reconstruction efforts, the center of the district remains a smoldering ruin, even thirty years after Thordak's attack, in 842 PD.

Temple District
The Temple District is located on the northern side of Emon and acts as its religious center, with many temples dedicated to the. The largest cathedrals in the district were those of Erathis and Bahamut, though there were smaller temples to The Raven Queen, Pelor, Kord, and Melora, and places to worship Ioun, Avandra, Corellon, and Sarenrae.
 * Godsbrawl Ring: A fighting arena located with the Temple of the Stormlord. Every year on the Day of Challenging, a tournament is held here known as the Godsbrawl.

Erudite Quarter
The Erudite Quarter, located at the southeastern side of Emon, is the center for higher education not just in Emon, but all of Tal'Dorei. The district is home to many towers, centuries-old colleges and student housing.
 * Alabaster Lyceum: The largest and most accomplished institute of arcane study on the continent.
 * Traverse Junction: Connected to the Lyceum is a looming sapphire pyramid. The Traverse Junction is a nexus of travel, home to many teleportation circles that lead to cities across the continent, and even those across the world.

Military Distict
One of the city's smaller quarters, the Military District is located on the north side of Emon. The district contains many barracks and training grounds for both the city's guard, the Arms of Emon, and the Tal'Dorei military.
 * Walls of Tribute: The training facility for the Arms of Emon, known among recruits as the Quarry.
 * House of Discipline: The training facility for the Tal'Dorei military.
 * Black Bastille: The largest prison in the city, the Bastille was destroyed during the Chroma Crisis, setting loose some of Emon's most dangerous criminals. The prison was rebuilt, but many of its inmates are still free.

Cemetery Distict
A small district on Emon's west side, the Cemetery District is dedicated to interring he deceased of the city. Rows of gravestones set on hills are sectioned off by iron fences, and mausoleums dot grassy hillsides. Catacombs are dug beneath the district as surface space grew limited. Upkeep of the graves are overseen by a guild called the Gravewatchers.
 * Undervaults: A sprawling network of catacombs beneath the district.
 * Diamond Nest Tavern: A tavern that caters to the working class of the district, and a front for an entrance to the Clasp's tunnel network.
 * Tomb of the Last Sovereign: The final resting place of Uriel Tal'Dorei III, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Tal'Dorei. Built at the request of his wife Salda, the monumental tomb holds not just Uriel's ashes, but also tribute from those that loved him.

Port of Emon
The Port of Emon encompasses the massive inlet on the southwest shore of the city. The canals of the Ozmit Waterway begin here. Hundreds of ships fill the port at any given time, carrying goods to and from the other districts of the city, primarily the markets of Abdar's Promenade.

Upper Slums
The Upper Slums are built outside the walls to the north of the city. Originally a tent-city of those too poor to pay the taxes during the reign of the Kingdom of Drassig, the Upper Slums have become a microcosm of a city all to its own. Though the name was once an insult from the Cloudtop elite, the people of the Upper Slums have reclaimed the name as a symbol of pride and community. In recent years, wealthy Emonians have begun to gentrify the district, diluting its unique culture.

Lower Slums
The Lower Slums located outside the southern walls of the city are a fraction of the size of its northern counterpart. Originally an Othanzian refugee camp built during the reign of Trist Drassig, the Lower Slums is now home to one of the largest farming communities in the city. Despite the name, the Lower Slums are rather safe from crime and poverty.

Shoreline Farms
The Shoreline Farms are A stretch of farmland to the north of the city, connected to the Upper Slums. Farmers here specialize in produce that grow in the saltwater-rich soil, including quattet fruit and the hard-to-grow brineroot.
 * Catyruit Farm: A farm run by the Catyruit family that grown chellerum gourds for generations.

The Grotto
Winding along the sewers of Emon is The Grotto, a labyrinthine series of tunnels and chambers home to the Clasp.

Demographics
As the capital city of Tal'Dorei, Emon is also the most populous at 287,550 citizens as of 812 PD. The population is mostly human (68%) with a significant minority of dwarves (7%) and elves (6%). Other races make up the remainder (19%) so that nearly every race is represented in the city in some way.

Before the Stream
At some point, the party fell through an ancient cistern that led to an intricate cavern system. They traveled through trying to find a way out when they uncovered the ruins of an old civilization. There they encountered a hag who made a deal with the group; in exchange for showing them the way out and giving Tiberius the Mending Wheel, she would take a part of Tiberius's luck.

Later on, Vox Machina freed Sovereign Uriel and his family from demonic possession and halted an uprising of demons. For their deeds, they were given a hero's celebration, and over the course of six months Greyskull Keep was built in their honor.

Occupation of Emon
During the gathering Sovereign Uriel Tal'Dorei III held when he announced his abdication, four ancient dragons, calling themselves the Chroma Conclave, attacked the city of Emon.

After a brief search for Gilmore, Vox Machina fled to Greyskull Keep and sheltered the refugees outside their gates. Lady Allura found them there, alerted of trouble when her connection to the teleportation sigils in her tower and in the Lyceum was suddenly severed.

When Vox Machina emerged from their keep to search the city for survivors, they found buildings charred and smoldering, people who had been running for the city gates were frozen in their tracks, literally. Many who had survived were looting the city for tribute to Thordak.

They found a hidden door to the cellar of Gilmore's Glorious Goods, where they found Gilmore at death's door, several of his employees, and the Empress Salda Tal'Dorei and her children. Gilmore had heroically rescued the empress and her children but, when he went back to get Uriel, found him dead. Arbiter Brom Goldhand also did not make it, but Seeker Assum Emring and Guardian Tofor Brotoras were alive and helping the survivors.

Thordak's Lair
As Thordak sat in the center of Emon, it began to change due to his presence. Volcanic activity began occurring below the city, causing lava to seep out of the ground and the skies to fill with smoke.

Between Campaign One and Exandria Unlimited
A vast stretch of land, extending from the eastern outskirts of Emon through outer farmland and a small forest that was once called Shivergreen Grove, continued to suffer from Thordak's elemental corruption for decades after his fall: trees continued to burn endlessly, and elemental monsters spawned from the ash. This area was called the Scar of the Cinder King, and thousands of families were displaced from it. A contingent of the Fire Ashari, operating out of the makeshift Flamereach Outpost since shortly after Thordak's fall in 811 PD, had only been mostly successful at healing the land as of 842 PD.