Foyyt
Population: 40,000
Primary Source of Income: Gambling, Brothels, Tourism

The city of Foyyt lies in the north of Prentil alongside the great Roaks River. Second only in size and influence to Vridhan, Foyyt is a powerful city and lays claim to all of the lands north of the Prentil Mountains from the east side of the Roaks all the way to the western boarders of Slogat.

Foyyt is considered by most outsiders as being lawless, chaotic and dangerous.  But as the people of Foyyt, or Foyyts, would say, “Danger is the price of freedom.” The city of Foyyt is not governed by a large central government or ruling class. Instead, the city is loosely divided into districts and each district is ruled by a local leader known as a Guardian. The scant tenants of Foyyt law state that the Guardians should be appointed through open election each year, but these elections are notoriously corrupt and the Guardianship often goes to the strongest man or woman in the territory. Even the districts themselves are unstable. Territorial disputes between districts are constant and bloody affairs, and it is not uncommon for a new Guardian to rise up and declare a section of the city as their own district causing even more confusion and strife.

But, for most Foyyts, their bloody and dangerous way of life is one they would not trade for any other. The people of Foyyt are proud of their black-eyed and bloody-knuckled city and will defend her to the end. No matter the extent of their own internal struggles, the Foyyts one and all will stand together if their city is threatened. The law and god abiding peoples of Vridhan and Slogat have taken it upon themselves to attempt to wipe this “den of evil” off the face of Prentil many times throughout history. And each and every time the people of Foyyt has come together and thrown the invaders back.

The people of Foyyt fight so hard for their city because they enjoy what they believe to be true personal freedom. The basic tenant of Foyyt is that each person has the freedom to do as they wish until those actions impinge upon the freedoms of another. All disputes between Foyyts are either settled by the individuals themselves, or by the local magistrates who report directly to the district’s Guardian. Foyyts have found that this style of free life works best when one can surround oneself with like-minded individuals, so moving from home to home in an attempt to find a neighborhood and district that fits one’s personality and believes is common in Foyyt.

Despite it’s rough and tumble reputation, Foyyt does attract a large number of tourists from all corners of Prentil as the city is known throughout the land for its gambling houses, its fighting pits, and its brothels.

Gambling is not illegal in Prentil and small gambling houses are common in almost all of the cities, but none can compete with the scale and variety of the gambling offered in Foyyt. People can cast their lot on everything from card and dice games to races and other physical contests to arena combat battles. The gambling houses themselves vary from grand palaces where the customers are treated like royalty to seedy back alley dives where winners best watch their backs.

Like gambling, prostitution is not illegal in Prentil. And like the gambling houses of Foyyt, the brothels of the city are unmatched by any other in the land. Again, the variety offered to the customer covers the gambit of all tastes and all means. Some of the grand brothels, known as the Pleasure Towers, boast courtesans that charge as much as an average man makes in a year for a single nights pleasure. These Pleasure Towers are so named for their tendency to be built as tall, thin structures with the quality and price of the services increasing as the floors rise towards the sky. The great Towers boast lavish and elaborate suits on their top floors that will only be seen by the truly wealthy and privileged. Prostitution is considered a respectful occupation for both men and women in Foyyt. Most reasonably attractive people can make a decent living as a private escort or an employee in one of the lesser houses. Those who are attractive and fortunate enough to secure a position with one of the Pleasure Towers are well trained in the carnal arts and generally live comfortable lives. The Grand Cartesians are treated like celebrities throughout the city.

Where gambling and prostitution may not be illegal throughout Prentil, lethal combat sports are in all the major territories except for Foyyt. In the free city, combat fans can find sport arenas of all kinds to sate their lust for blood and violence. Contests of animal vs animal, human vs human, monster vs monster, and any combination of the three can be found in the Foyyt arenas. Some of the finer gambling houses host non-lethal combats, but the real draw is to the fighting pits where blood flows and heroes are born and die. Those combatants who are successful in the fighting pits often become local heroes and are well paid for their battles. But even the greatest fighters can be felled in the pits, so it is a calling heeded by only the truly brave, or the truly crazed.

Less openly discussed than the gambling houses and brothels, but just as notorious are the Foyyt assassins guilds, known as the Saig’Daer. In a city chiefly funded by gambling, lethal combat and prostitution and governed by men who achieved their posts through fraud, deceit and force, assassination has become a lucrative business. Traditionally, the Saig’Daer schools produced highly trained and specialized soldiers that were sold throughout Prentil as private guards, military specialists, and elite mercenaries. But over time, the culture of the city infected the Saig’Daer schools, and martial artists became assassins. Saig’Daer training is intense and can be brutal. It is said that only one in a thousand who begin Saig’Daer training will ever finish. Any child under the age of fourteen may enter a Saig’Daer school. Most children that enter the training are orphans. Some are strongly encouraged or even sold by financially desperate parents.

Like its people and its temperament, Foyyt’s architecture is chaotic. The city is protected by strong walls sixty feet high and just as thick with large gates on the east and west sides. Within the walls is a disorganized jumble of buildings and streets broken by no discernible means into districts and neighborhoods. Here and there, the tall thin Pleasure Towers pierce the skyline, a striking contrast to the large squat Guardians’ fortresses. But for the most part, the city is a mish-mosh of three to four story wooden buildings, cobble streets, and dark alleys. Many of the buildings are broken up into apartments for multiple families, but just as many are single family homes. Shops, inns, pubs and gambling houses are common on any street and there seems to be no thought to organization or location of these establishments. All in all, Foyyt is a charming looking city. The winding cobble streets lined with homes, pubs and shops give the city a comfortable feeling, but beneath its warm surface Foyyt is as dangerous and deadly as a viper.