Sanctuary | Culture & Society
Overview
Sanctuary is home to over one hundred thousand residents and continues to grow with every new shipload of people seeking refuge, opportunity, and a chance at a new life and a fresh start. As a result of this constant influx of new settlers and refugees, the city and the surrounding region have become a huge melting pot of culture, language, and race. At its best, this produces tremendous innovation and advances in technology, magic, and the arts. At its worst, old tensions and grievances carried from faroff places spill over on its shores and lead to spilt blood in its streets. Some settle in neighborhoods mostly populated with their own kinsfolk and heritage, but others take the opportunity to break free from traditional communities to establish new ties and relationships across national, cultural, linguistic, and racial lines.
For all its problems, Sanctuary prides itself on its reputation as a safe haven and welcoming place where anyone with ambition and courage can seize the opportunities that abound, and make a great life for themselves. There is a general tolerance for differences.
The lingua franca of the city is Common, but most residents speak a number of tongues somewhat fluently. The streets and marketplaces are filled with chatter in a multitude of languages creating a very rich and complicated tableau of sound.
Notable Figures
Among the city’s vast numbers, a handful of individuals have achieved particular prominence.
King Danne II of the Martell royal family rules over Sanctuary with the aid of the Council of Seven, his court officials drawn from the seven First Wave founding families: his cousin, Duke Oswald Martell, accompanied by Lady Garnet Greystone, Duke Shalborn Hurlington, Lady Iradil Silverleaf, Lord Alistar Faredor, Lord Yurik Rakmar, and Lady Vivian Wyld. The City Guard and the elite guard, the Silverblades (led by Captain Darevan) enforce the rule of the king and oversee law and order within the walls.
Religion
It is said that Sanctuary is not only the haven of mortals, but also gods. Standing at the foot of The High Road district in Sanctuary, a traveler can look uphill and see thousands of shrines, chapels, and temples, each containing an altar or idol dedicated to the worship of a god. Refugees, travelers, and settlers all bring their own pantheons, their devotion and faith a tangible thread of hope connecting them to the gods and gods of the realms they left behind. In some cases, these are the same gods with new names. In other cases, enough believers reside here to establish a connection with a god from another plane or realm of existence. (Feel free to worship any god or goddess from the pantheons from an official setting, create your own deity, or choose from one of the local deities)