Dar Jin is larger than any city in Khorvaire. It is composed of five spherical wards, each a metropolis in its own right. Four of the wards are almost identical. The streets are paved with smooth black cobblestones, interspersed with squares of clear crysteel. When darkness falls, the crysteel blocks glow with a soft light. Workhouses, dormitories, and storehouses are made of blocks of black and white stone; crysteel panels serve as skylights during the day and glowing lanterns at night. Most buildings are curved or whorled; hard angles are few and far between. The city is beautiful in its way, but is extremely repetitive—every dormitory looks exactly the same.
This port city is the only legal point of entry for foreigners who wish to enter the Empire of Riedra. All travelers remain confined in the foreign quarter. Merchants from across Khorvaire trade for exotic Riedran goods, while envoys from many nations negotiate with the emissaries of the Inspired. To enter Riedra proper, travelers must obtain a transit visa from the Iron Gate, the office of foreign relations. The office grants few such visas; visitors must make a compelling case for entry or find a secret way to evade the watchful eyes of the Iron Gate.
This massive metropolis extends for miles along the eastern coast of Riedra on the Barren Sea. The city contains six huge districts. These districts would be five perfect circles centered on the city’s inner fortress, but the outermost circle is broken in half where it meets the coast. Therein lies Dar Jin’s foreign quarter (the Jhodra), foreign harbor (Harbor of Tranquility), and a harbor for Riedran ships and business only (Harbor of Tureya).
Dar Jin is Riedra’s biggest and best-known port. Here, ships come from Riedran holdings in Xen’drik and from Khorvaire. Travelers who have business in Riedra come to Dar Jin first, and few need to go farther. Foreigners aren’t allowed to leave the foreign quarter without permission and proper papers, and most have no need to do so, since the dragon marked houses’ outposts provide all the comforts of Khorvairian civilization. A large contingent of Riedran soldiers maintains a highly visible presence in the city and keeps the peace. Criminal activity usually results in deportation or execution.
Dar Jin rises up from the waters of the Barren Sea, and stretches along the coast. The city's massive walls are smooth red stone with wide lines of blue crystal are embedded in the surface—these labyrinthine patterns glow with an inner light. The towers that rise up above are whorled and rounded, and seem to have been blown from colored glass.
Dar Jin is the greatest port of Riedra. It is the terminus of the Xen'drik trade route, and much of the industry of the city is devoted to processing the goods from that land. Trade goods are organized and stored in preparation for transport across the nation, and crystal foundries transform shards into crysteel and other useful forms.
The walls of the city extend for miles, and the slender towers stretch hundreds of feet into the air. The harbor is filled with ships, and the docks are thronged with people. But the people of Dar Jin go about their business silently, speaking only when it is absolutely necessary.
Throughout the history of Riedra, all trade has been conducted on foreign soil. In 1300 Unity (998 YK), that curtain was lifted. Today, merchants can petition Inspired ambassadors for the right to dock in the harbor of Dar Jin.
Leadership: Lady Tureya (LE female usvapna Inspired telepath 15) is the Eidolon of Dar Jin. Thousands of lesser Inspired and Chosen labor beneath her.
Demographics: 94% humans, 2% Chosen/Inspired, 1% ogres, 3% others (changelings, dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, half-orcs, halflings, ogre mages, shifters, skulks).
Economics: 25,000 gp purchase limit; no asset limit. Larger transactions could be arranged in time for the purpose of international trade, but expensive single items are rarely found here.