Government of Westcrown

The offices of the Lord Mayor and those of the patriarchs of the local noble houses form the legitimate government of Westcrown, though the city is thoroughly militarised and much power lies in the hands of various branches of the soldiery. Behind this facade though, money is the real power in mercantile Westcrown, and no coffer runs as deep as the legendary Council of Thieves.

The Dottari

What passes as law enforcement in the city of Westcrown is carried out officially by the city wardens known locally as the Westcrown Dottari. The dottari is split into four subdivisions:

• the common dottari of the streets and gates,
• the condottari of the canals and waterways,
• the rundottari of the ruins to the north of the city,
• and the regdottari of the palace.

All of the dottari wear the mark of the city of Westcrown: Aroden's Eye. This mark is stenciled in black over red, and commonly placed on either a shield or tabard. Officers in the dottari wear the Eye on their sleeves, and the higher the mark moves up the sleeve, the more senior the officer.

Regardless of posting, all dottari patrol the city in squads of seven: six soldiers and one lieutenant. Five squads report into one captain, and there are three captains to each warden major. Each captain reports to a warden-major, of which there are two per city district. The warden majors, or duxotars, each report to one of the four durotasi, or "rank wardens". The four durotasi report directly to the "high warden", at present the nephew of the the Mayor, Aberian Arvanxi, a drunken lout named Ilthus Mhartis of House Mhartis. The high warden has a decidedly "hands off" approach to management, and as a result his direct reports handle his shirked responsibilities.

The Mayor's office

The Lord Mayor controls both the dottari and the city's taxation system. The present mayor is Aberian Arvanxi, appointed to his role by Queen Abrogail in 4689 AR. (Unsubstantiated rumor has it that he played a part in the sudden and surprising demise of his predecessor, Dargentu Vheed.)

Arvanxi has a great love for Chelish opera, and has contributed heavily to local opera houses and entertainment halls, auspiciously for "the betterment of public diversions to raise the hearts and minds of all Wiscrani." On the whole Arvanxi is seen as spiteful and incompetent, but, because he isn't meddling, he has decent local support for his office.

The Mayor resides in a manor known as Aberian's Folly, a sprawling, lavish estate made famous by the rumor that an imprisoned devil is used to provide the energy needed to run the manor.

Nobility

The nobility play a significant role in local government.

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Hellknights

As in most of Cheliax, Hellknights are a significant local force. Citadel Rivad, a day's ride to the west of the city, houses the oldest of the Hellknight orders, the Order of the Rack, which was founded in 4576 AR. This order also patrols the Adivian Bridge over the Dhaenflow. The Order of the Scourge also has some presence.

Valignus, the "Burning Dell", is a small valley southeast of Citadel Rivad where Lictor Richemar Alamansor holds monthly book burnings known as "clarity pyres".