Sog City
Sog City (metropolis): Called Sogolotha Mambrola in the old tongue, this ancient city controls the area called Akem around the mouth of the Janube River. This huge, decadent city is a haven for wanderers and transitory folk. It was founded by the ancient Waertagi as a dry-dock site for their immense city ships. The green-skinned native population is descended from those ancient Waertagi. The vast ruins of the old dry-dock, large enough to hold a city-ship, dominates the northern city view.
The innermost city (called the City of Brass) is an islet surrounded by a red-hot brass wall and connected to the rest of Sog City by a stone bridge. It is widely believed by mortal scholars that a powerful Fire god is imprisoned with the City of Brass by Brithini sorcery; however, only pure Brithini by blood are permitted therein, so no one knows anything about its residents. On the other hand, these Brithini are often unusually generous for immortals. They teach exotic magic incantations and spells at their ancient university, where one of the near-complete copies of The Blue Book of Zzabur is housed in the vast fireproof Library of the Ivory Tower.
Sog has seen better days. Many of its streets are abandoned and have fallen into disrepair. During the Ban (which ended in 1582), Sog dwindled into an abandoned ruin populated only by Brithini and the green-skinned Waertagi. But the recent expansion of sea trade has brought a great influx of people who are occupying the ruins and rebuilding. Despite being sacked in 1615 by raiders led by Harrek the Berserk, the mood is optimistic, sometimes bordering on fanaticism. The Cult of the Ship and the City is growing, as even newly arrived foreigners get caught up in the excitement generated by the recurrent dreams of its residents about Waertagi city ships in disrepair. Of special interest is the haunting of the University President by the vision, and his personal investment in the reconstruction of the dry-dock.
