Anset

What’s the difference between a mountain man and a clansman?

There is no difference in Anset.

History: One of the oldest cities in all of Goran (the exceptions being Moaan and Hashodi), Anset is perhaps less well-remarked in the grand scheme of the world than it should be. Historians believe that Anset even predates the days of the first Wal, Anders. Evidence of its near-millenia can be found in the ancient stone structures near the city’s central courtyard, namely the White Obelisk. The discovery of carven tunnels in the sandstone hills around Anset—decorated with painted figures and old-world engravings—further confirmed that humanity has been settling in the area for well over a thousand years. Despite the city’s obvious history, Anset was passed over by Wal Anders in favour of a more accessible, coastal setting for the east’s capital. A direct path from the capital build site on Beson Inlet to the Old Mountain Road’s pass through the mountains was also needed, and so the lengthy Running Road came to be. Thus was Derbesh established and simultaneously Anset, now a day’s travel north of the main eastern thoroughfare, was doomed to become a city “frozen in time”.

Built along a rogue spur of The Teeth on their eastern side and boasting one of the few true lakes south of the marshes, Anset’s locale is truly a unique one. Sunsets come swiftly behind the jagged points of The Teeth to the west, and thus the city is known for the cool summer evenings it enjoys. Even though Anset is situated firmly on the eastern side of the mountains, it has long been referred to as “the border between west and east” in Goran due to its intermingled populace. However, it could reasonably be argued that Anset is one of the earliest cradles of humanity in eastern Goran for both mountainfolk and clansfolk alike. Architecture:

Anset has been accused of being a plain, artless city, especially when contrasted with the Golden Mirror or the Weeping Keep of Derbesh. Function outweighs flair in such an arid setting, but the presence of the lake—properly known in the old eastern tongue as “The Sky’s Looking Glass”—and the environmental security it offers has allowed for some embellishment.

The city rooftops are regularly crowned by bright rock domes, worn smooth by the sandstorms of the ages and repainted each winter in shades of blue, red, and yellow. Public gardens are tended within the walls of Anset, small and scrubby though they may be, which give the city’s residents access to the rare sight of green spaces in the east. Merchant caravans have made Anset something of a hub for their business in the east, and so the thick southernmost gates are kept flung open wide at all times. There is an old saying regarding this practice:

“No matter how troubled the times may seem, all is well with the world while the gates of Anset stand open.”

—Eimir Kushman R’Tor

People: As distinct as the mountainfolk of Trosk and the clansfolk of eastern Goran are, within the walls of Anset they become one and the same. The mixing of blood is such that it is not uncommon to see stone-blue eyes peering out from under the head wraps of a griffin rider, or thick black hair tumbling down a young girl’s shoulders in the unrestrained wildness of one born to the mountains. Every once or twice in a generation, a second-born son or daughter from Trosk may relocate themselves all the way down into Anset, or vice versa. In this way the bloodlines of the plains and of the Teeth remain in a state of near constant proximity. However, although mountainfolk are always welcome in Anset, the village of Trosk has become more and more isolated and wary of outsiders with every passing generation since the 8th century.

Folk are swarthy as a rule in Anset, the better to withstand the sun’s seemingly endless attention. They enjoy the tall stature of their mountain kin, and so as a consequence have not taken to griffin riding quite as well as “true” clansfolk. Their eyes are keen and minds keener, with local schools priding themselves on grooming future generations of traders and merchants through a rigorous focus on mathematics and economics. Trying to cheat a trader from Anset of their duly-earned profits is said to be next to impossible. Clothing in Anset, like the city itself, is far more function than fashion. Fabrics are somewhat coarse, with cotton yarn and rudimentary linen being the most common for everyday wear. Silks from the north do occasionally make their way to Anset by way of the Running Road from the docks at Derbesh, though, and these fetch a commanding price from the wives of wealthy merchants.

While the snubbing of the first Wal and the distance to the Running Road might have seen other cities dwindle away into dust, Anset has endured for too long to succumb to any such fate. Not just surviving, but thriving, amidst the rocks and sands, there is a sense of timelessness in Anset that defies the shifting fortunes of the wider world. Here the story of the east began, and here it will continue, long after taller, prouder cities have crumbled into dust.