City of Cavaros
World Connections Type LOCATION Sub-Type CITY Status UNEXPLORED Time Period --- Regions The Cartas Empire Campaign The War of the Enlightened World Period Dilatatio et Bellum
Size: Large
Region: Southwest Cartesia
Origin: Old‑Age City — Dwarven
Titles: The Capital of the Dwarves, The City of Fire, The Gate to Down‑Under
Cavaros is the beating, clanging heart of dwarven culture in Cartesia. Half‑hewn into the crimson slopes of Mount Karadûn and half‑spilling onto the sun‑baked plains below, the city’s basalt avenues and magma‑lit arcades reverberate with the ring of hammers and the hiss of forges. Here, tradition fuses seamlessly with industrial ambition, and every archway, sky‑bridge, and tunnel whispers of an age when the mountain itself bent to dwarven will.
Politics & Government
A parliamentary assembly directs civic affairs, sharing power with the venerable Dwarven Royal Family, whose matriarch Queen Sarthar presides over matters of heritage and diplomacy. Mayor Groth, the pragmatic voice of the lowland quarters, manages daily governance. Seats are split between Modicus (54 %) and Cambiare (46 %), creating lively debate that echoes through marble‑lined council halls. The Cartesian Royal Knights garrison the outer bastions, while the elite Iron Core guard subterranean passages and the royal vaults.
Society & Demographics
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Population: ~712 000
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Racial Makeup: Dwarves 64 %, Gnomes 17 %, Humans 14 %, Elves 5 %, Tielfings < 1 %
Anvil concerts, ember festivals, and ale‑soaked symposiums animate public squares. The city’s warren of interlinked structures forms natural boulevards of stone, where surface sunlight mingles with the inner glow of lava flumes carried by runic channels.
Commerce & Industry
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Primary Exports: Armaments, refined metals, precision industrial components, master‑forged crafts, rare ores
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Core Industries: Deep‑shaft mining, ore refinement, monumental forges, rune‑etched machinery
Caravans depart daily via the Mine Metro System—a lattice of steam‑cart lines that tunnel beneath mountain and city alike—delivering Cavaros steel to every corner of the empire.
History
Founded centuries before the Great Unification, Cavaros first rose as a clandestine dwarven hold, its smithies hidden from warring surface realms. After Unification, the city opened colossal adamantine gates, supplying weapons and infrastructure to rebuild the continent. Legendary eruptions in 214 A.U. forged the obsidian façade of The White Palace, cementing Cavaros as the Empire’s industrial capital.
Religion & Beliefs
Blue‑flamed forges dedicated to Gond blaze beside counting‑houses consecrated to Waukeen. Shrines to Shaundakul—patron of miners and wayfarers—guard each adit leading into the Mines of Miracles. Philosophers from ten other deities debate dogma beneath gilded domes on Cupont Circle’s Street of Shrines.
Key City Locations
The Mines of Miracles
A labyrinthine mine complex renowned for veins of living crystal that resonate when struck—raw ore coveted by artificers across Cartesia.
The Great Vaults of Cavaros
Runed vault doors older than the city itself. Dragon‑scored stone and fused claw‑marks testify to failed breaches. Nobles, guilds, and even rival capitals trust their most prized relics to these seismic‑proof chambers.
The White Palace
Seat of Queen Sarthar. Its alabaster ramparts rise above rivers of slow‑moving lava, shimmering like a hearth‑fire crown at dusk.
Alabaster Auction House
Where rune‑gilded contracts change hands for artifacts, airships, and sometimes kingdoms. Rumor links secret tunnels here to the Mine Metro.
Western Headquarters of the Tricksters Guild
A discreet basalt manor whose façade re‑carves itself nightly. Inspectors never find the same doorway twice.
Cupont Circle
Scholarly district of thinktanks and colleges. Marble colonnades ring an open forum where economists haggle over ore futures beside priests invoking divine insight.
Cavarama
A terraced enclave of marble townhouses for politicians and nobles, overhanging glow‑stone gardens that scent the night air with fiery jasmine.
Cavaros Hill
Middle‑upper residential quarter famed for panoramic balconies carved directly from the mountain’s face.
The Cavas Mall
Granite promenades inlaid with thin lava‑streams enchant‑cooled to a comfortable warmth year‑round. Links Capitol Hill, the White Palace, Gond’s Obelisk, and the Linkan Memorial.
Soggy Bottom
Industrial heart where dwarven laborers toil in forges and offices alike—its name an affectionate jab at sweat‑dampened breeches after a double‑shift.
Gnometown
Tinker’s paradise of cramped alleys lit by phosphor lanterns. Legal ingenuity shares walls with black‑market modification dens.
Mine Metro System
Steam‑powered mine‑carts whisk workers, ore, and the occasional clandestine guest beneath the city. Hidden spurs rumored to reach the Alabaster Auction House and royal crypts.
Shops & Curiosities
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Standard Armament Yards — found across Soggy Bottom
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Macaque Mittens — exotic beast‑hide gloves that grant unparalleled grip on heated metal
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Rick’s Remarkable Replicas — illusion‑backed copies of legendary weapons; some say the originals lurk in back rooms for the right price
Landmarks
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Gond’s Obelisk — a towering iron needle etched with the lineage of every master smith since Cavaros’ founding
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Linkan Memorial — obsidian arches commemorating miners lost in the Great Collapse of 297 A.U.
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The Smiths Museums — a triad of halls charting geology, metallurgy, and dwarven cultural heritage
- Museum of Geologic History — animated strata reliefs display the continent’s tectonic saga
Notable Factions & Defenses
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Cartesian Royal Knights — surface garrison and ceremonial honor guard
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The Iron Core — elite subterranean defenders wielding magma‑forged plate and seismic hammers
Prominent Figures
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Queen Sarthar — stoic monarch, rumored to wield the Ember‑Crowned Scepter forged from the heart of Mount Karadûn
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Mayor Groth — industrious administrator bridging the needs of miners and merchants