One of the Nine Free Cities
The Free City of Hasanith
Everything has a price. Hasanith keeps the ledger.
At a Glance
| Founding House | House Hasanith, which lost the city about a century ago |
|---|---|
| Ruling House (present age) | House Kassander, a usurper house that took the seat by financial manipulation and well-placed assassination |
| Karthaav (present age) | Seraphina Kassander, the fourth of her line to hold the seat |
| Trade | Banking and finance; the counting houses, exchanges, and lending societies of the Free Cities |
| Sigil | The silver scale |
| Landmarks | The Merchant Exchange beneath its gold-leafed dome; the Temple of Commerce; the Registry of debts |
Overview
Hasanith is the counting house of the Free Cities. It was a trading port once; a century of financial dominance has made it the financial throat of the southern sea, the place where every significant loan originates and through which every major transaction passes. Its terraces of white stone and red-tiled roofs rise behind harbor walls, and at their heart stands the district that runs the rest: the Merchant Exchange beneath its gold-leafed dome, two centuries old; the Temple of Commerce, whose bells ring Solon's blessing over the day's dealings; and the Registry, where every debt contract in the city is recorded by name, by amount, and by the soul pledged against it. Hasanith trades in money, and in the debt that makes every other trade possible.
Hasanith bears the silver scale, and it rarely dirties its hands. It does not deal in flesh directly; it finances those who do, and it is richer for it than they are. The founding house of Hasanith lost the city about a century ago to House Kassander, which took the seat by financial manipulation and well-placed assassination and has held it ever since. In the present age its karthaav is Seraphina Kassander, the fourth of her line, whose grey eyes miss nothing and whose weaknesses, if she has any, no one has yet found.