Highport

The City of Highport, often called the Bastion of the Vaeros, is a powerful city-state located along the western coast of the Vaeros Sea. The word "Highport" is often used in reference to those lands controlled by the city-state, though the proper term for the entire realm is the Domain of Highport. Although not a formal kingdom as it lies within the realm of Greywind, its previous rulers, the Apexus family, styled themselves as lords, given their high level of autonomy from the theocratic controls of Greywind.

Early history
Highport, named for the tall walls of the city that stretch hundreds of feet above the Vaeros Sea, was originally a trading outpost of the ancient Elarian elves that once populated the current lands of mankind. Specializing in trading the wool and flax weaving common to this region of the world, the trading post prospered until being weakened by Sahuagin raids, and ultimately the conquests of the human warlord, Oleg Apexus in 904.

Rise to prominence, decline and recovery
In the year 1075 Osric Apexus IV, heir of Oleg's conquests, recognized that his death would create a power struggle between his three sons, and thus partitioned his vast realm into smaller kingdoms and city-states. Highport was one of many cities passed down to his oldest son Osric Apexus V, who later split his own holdings in 1098 to his sons. The City of Highport came under Adolphus Apexus, at which point its decline became clear.

Lacking the martial abilities of his older brothers, Adolphus found the territory surrounding Highport gradually taken away by growing external powers. With a floundering military and no backbone to reinvigorate it, the countryside became a breeding ground for tribes of gnolls and hobgoblins who would ultimately attack the city and claim it as their own in 1163.

Overlordship of Hyrn Armbreaker
After the collapse of the human administration of the City of Highport, power struggles began within the gnoll encampments, with most the tribes favoring the looting and massacring of the human inhabitants. One of the surviving daughters of the Apexus Family, Penelope, was a prisoner of a minor gnoll chieftain named Hyrn Armbreaker. Many of Highport credit Penelope Apexus as the driving force behind Hyrn's mostly peaceful successes in calming the hordes of monstrous races that had collected in the Highport area. Common folk had come to believe that she had saint like qualities in learning to calm Hyrn's temperment and utilize his innate intelligence to build clever alliances that would ultimately position him as head chieftan and Overlord of Highport.

Through time and Hyrn's leadership, the gnoll raiders came to realize that keeping the city under their thumb would be more beneficial than torching and massacring its inhabitants. Penelope and Hyrn bartered a co-existence been humans and gnolls within the city that ultimately spread into the hinterland, ushering an age of peace that had not been known for generations. Hyrn, through the wisdom of Penelope had the foresight to realize that other local human lords, especially those in Greywind or Nazca, would never tolerate a gnoll led city. To cement his place within Highport, he converted to Penelope's favored Temple of Ioun, and the two announced their wedding would create a new dynasty of Apexus rulers.

Although representatives of both Greywind and Nazca attended the wedding ceremony to show their support of this new union, Hyrn and Penelope were unable to sire a child or enjoy their life together when she was tragically murdered by rebels loyal to the former Apexus rulers. The City of Highport has remained successful and prosperous since, however, with Hyrn continuing the teachings impressed upon him by the human he fell in love with.

Geography
The City of Highport is located centrally along the western Vaeros Coast, which is the predominate region of mankind's existence. Most of the surrounding terrain is a mixture of pasture to the south and highlands to the north as Greywind's domain approaches. Highport is fully surrounded by the theocratic Kingdom of Greywind, and the Imperial Empire of Nazca lies some distance south.

Cityscape
The City of Highport is divided into six areas: Trader's District, Slaver's Alley, Wharves, Yorn's Rest, the High Tower, and the Garden Quarter which has been taken over by the gnoll encampment.

With the burning of the High Tower in 1166, Hyrn and other administrators of Highport now reside and operate in the affluent residential district of Yorn's Rest.

Population
As of 1166, the city itself boasted a population of 69,500, including 11,000 gnolls or hobgoblins, making it one of the largest cities along either sides of the Vaeros Coast.

Religion
Originally dominated by the Temple of Pelor during the reign of Adolphus Apexus, Penelope and Hyrn's influence have made the Temple of Ioun the principle site for religious activity in the area. With the recent enshrinement of Penelope as a saint by the high priestess of Ioun in the Empire of Nazca, Highport has become a growing pilgrimage destination for Ioun's faithful and those curious to see the peaceful co-existence of man and savage. A temple of Pelor remains within the city, but is mostly deserted following Penelope's death.

Yeenoghu, the principle deity of gnolls holds many adherents within the gnoll encampment, especially among those that reject the pacifist opinions of Hyrn Armbreaker. Worship of this evil deity is openly allowed, although sacrifices are forbidden to be performed on freemen.

The worship of evil deities and fiends is besides Yeenoghu or the sahuagin god Sekolah are strictly forbidden, and such cults, though they may have followers, do not have a public presence. Evil religions that have established a base in the city in recent memory include those of Orcus, Iuz, Nerull, and Vecna.

Languages
The most widely spoken language in Highport is Common, although gnollish and goblin are quite common.

Resources
The City of Highport controls most of the flax and wool trade on the Vaeros Sea, which has been a point of contention with merchants in Greywind for centuries. This profitable trade, especially to dwarven lands on Ibuth Steinum have provided residents with immense wealth and access to much iron, gems, and silver.

Currency
Within the city of Highport, standard Nazcadian coinage is accepted, which consists of the platinum plate (pp), gold Imperialum (gp), silver fingers (sp), and copper common (cp). All of the coins are round, except for the silver finger, which is shaped like a 3 in. stick. The current coinage system replaced the previous system, which included coinage worth less than the copper common known as bronze zees, brass bits, and iron drabs.