Basrakal

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Basrakal

(City)

Plane

Maelstrom

Size

Metropolis

Population

820,440

Demographics

713,400 assorted outsiders, 82,000 assorted humanoids, 25,040 others

Government

Anarchy

Alignment

Chaotic neutral

Leader

Severed Root, Shieldwarden Olhondias, Ursiyam

Images of Basrakal

Source: Distant Realms, pg(s). 4-14

Basrakal is a settlement that defies all logic, located on stable islands of reality within the ever-changing Maelstrom and home to outsiders who defy their inborn alignments.

Geography

Basrakal consists of spiral of hundreds of rocky islands floating in the chaos of the Maelstrom, thousands of feet above the Cerulean Void. The structure of the archipelago is highly inconstant, and the spiral itself periodically tightens into a dense cluster or extends until the islands are several miles from each other. The number and size of individual islands is also in flux, as these often collide and merge with each other, break apart into smaller islets, are consumed by the entropy of the Maelstrom, or are formed from the quintessence of deceased outsiders. The islands have been known to occasionally accrete into a single planetoid, which the Maelstrom's entropic forces eventually disassemble back into several islands. Despite this, five overall areas remain characteristic of the city's layout.

• Foundation is the central island of the city, located at the nexus of the archipelago's spiral. It serves as a metaphysical anchor for the rest of the city, and is the location of Fallback's End, the fortress where the former herald Shieldwarden Olhondias resides.
• The Center consists of the islands adjacent to Foundation and is the most densely inhabited area. The islands of the Center are covered almost entirely by dense urban growth, with buildings rising several stories and connected by elevated walkways.
• The Close is comprised of the islands stretching out from the central part of the spiral. These are less densely built over than the islands of the Center, and more closely resemble the metropolises of the Universe. The Close is mostly home to outsiders who have come to peace with their moral and ethical internal conflicts.
• Flings are the islands on Basrakal's edges, and are often home to unique settlements that can be highly divergent from the rest of the city and from each other.
• Anomalies are islands united by their unique natures and compositions. Anomalies include masses of free-floating water and islands of diamond or burning obsidian, and can be found throughout the city.

Government

Basrakal is a highly anarchic city and has little official governance and regulations. However, a code know as the Tripartite Oath is observed by all inhabitants of the city to ensure the continued existence of the haven it provides. The three stipulations of the Oath prohibit the entrance of gods and other beings capable of granting divine magic within the city (although the use of divine magic itself is tolerated), discourage magical and mundane inquiries into the past and alignments of the city's denizens, and require that Basrakal's inhabitants avoid open conflict with each other, even when they would otherwise be driven to aggression by ethical and moral differences.

In addition, three individuals serve as authority figures within Basrakal's society due to their role in ensuring the long-term stability and safety of the city. These are the jinushigami Severed Root, who is believed by Basrakal's citizens to have originally founded the city after losing their original ward in a cataclysmic event; the asurendra Ursiyam; and the former divine herald Shieldwarden Olhondias.

Inhabitants

Basrakal is home to a highly diverse population of outsiders, ranging from inevitables, archons, and psychopomps to proteans, demons, and sahkils. These disparate outsiders are united by their rejection, to a greater or lesser degree, of their former alignments. The fact that proteans see exquisite beauty in the transformation of any outsider's base alignment is thought to be a major reason why Basrakal is tolerated within the Maelstrom.

Basrakal is also home to numerous mortals, although they are a minority within the outsider-dominated city. Most of Basrakal's mortal inhabitants are temporary residents using the city as a stopover while journeying through the Maelstrom, but others live permanently within the city and in some cases have done so for several generations. Basrakal's long-term mortal inhabitants are known to develop unusual properties due to the influences of the city and the plane itself, such as gaining sorcerous bloodlines or becoming unique shifters.