View source for Aurenhold

{{Settlement
 | name = Aurenhold
 | state = Lexharrow
 | population = 120000
 | landmarks = Auric Scriptorium; Codex Bastion; Whispering Steps; Heliograph Spires; Meridian Courts
 | coords = 
}}

= Aurenhold =

== Overview ==
Aurenhold is the capital of Lexharrow, a city where marble courts and script-towers dominate the skyline. From the marble courts of Aurenhold to the pollen-swept libraries of Thesca Dell, parchment and rhyme hold more power than any sword. Here, the Concordic Canon is argued, amended, and stitched into law, and the city’s heliograph spires flash rulings and census tallies across the savanna.

The city is equal parts court, archive, and academy. Advocates and scholars crowd lecture-steps, while scribes ferry codices between tower-libraries and tribunal halls. Every street seems to end in a plaza where someone is arguing a precedent.

== Geography & Layout ==
Aurenhold sits on a series of sandstone ridges overlooking the tall-grass savanna and the distant shimmer of the Meridian Bowl. Its districts are laid out along concentric terraces:

* '''Canon Heights''' – The highest terrace, containing the Concordic Hall, the Meridian Courts, and many of the central ministries.
* '''Scriptor Row''' – Dense streets of scriptoriums, print-houses, and contract offices.
* '''Helio Quarter''' – Home to the heliograph spires and signal-yards that relay law and news across Lexharrow.
* '''Rhyme Market''' – A central market square where entertainers, proof-wanderers, and petitioners perform for coin and citations.
* '''Codex Wards''' – Residential districts for scribes, clerks, and minor advocates, interwoven with small neighborhood archives.

Stone bridges and arcades connect terrace levels, with sunshades and scroll-awnings strung between buildings to blunt Solivar’s longbright.

== Society & Culture ==
Aurenhold’s people live and breathe law, scholarship, and public argument.

* Children learn basic calligraphy and case-law verse in village script-houses before ever handling coin.
* Young adults take part in '''Proof Wandering''', leaving Aurenhold to test their theses and arguments in the wider world before returning to stand for certification.
* Citizens commonly quote codex passages in market haggling; citing the right precedent can legitimately change a price or overturn a minor fine.
* Legal guilds, faiths of the Luminous Archive, and secular academies all sponsor public debates, often with real civic stakes.

Ancestries mix in functional roles:
* '''Humans''' – Most numerous among advocates, magistrates, and minor officials.
* '''Goblins''' – Operate many of the print-houses and message-services, thriving on rapid copy and distribution.
* '''Dwarves''' – Oversee vault construction and griefglass inlays in courtrooms and record chambers.
* '''Clanks''' – Serve as incorruptible judges or clerks, their memories trusted to retain precise rulings.
* '''Orcs''' – Often associated with Ink-Tithed martial orders, providing security and enforcing judgments.

== Government & Law ==
Aurenhold houses the principal instruments of Lexharrow’s legal power:

* '''The Concordic Hall''' – Central chamber where amendments to the Concordic Canon are proposed, debated, and, if accepted, stitched into the living codex with silver thread.
* '''The Meridian Courts''' – Tiered trial-arenas where cases are argued at dawn and verdicts are signaled by heliograph to outlying cantons.
* '''The Census Gallery''' – A colonnade of stone tablets and griefglass panes that track demographics, trade flows, and major rulings.

Elections and appointments are often decided not by raw vote, but by which commentary or thesis gains the most written endorsements from citizens. Once a commentary attains quorum, it can reshape an entire area of law.

== Notable Landmarks ==
* '''Auric Scriptorium''' – A mile-long pergola where golden quills transcribe oral histories. Halfling gondoliers and Goblin scribes collect these writings, while Elves curate them into living epics.
* '''Codex Bastion''' – Fortress-library garrisoned by Inkward Custodians. Among them are Clanks etched with forbidden leaves, said to whisper back when no one is listening.
* '''The Whispering Steps''' – An amphitheater of shifting marble imported from Gravenreach. Advocates test arguments here; every recited debate is annotated by archivists and preserved.
* '''Heliograph Spires''' – A forest of signal towers that flash judgments, weather reports, and emergencies across Lexharrow’s savanna.
* '''Meridian Courts Plaza''' – An open square where spectators gather to watch high-profile cases and read posted summaries of recent rulings.

== Trade & Economy ==
While much of Aurenhold’s “currency” is information, citation, and legal standing, it also serves as a major trade hub:

* '''Ink & Vellum''' – High-quality inks and papers suitable for long-term storage in arid conditions.
* '''Griefglass Tablets''' – Imported from Gravenreach and treated in local workshops, used in Memory Courts.
* '''Heliograph Components''' – Mirrors, lenses, and clockwork parts produced and maintained in the Helio Quarter.
* '''Educational Services''' – Boarding students and foreign scholars arrive in large numbers, bringing coin and influence.

Many external merchants hire local advocates simply to navigate the city’s contract etiquette.

== Hazards & Everyday Risks ==
* '''Proof-Debt''' – Overextending oneself by sponsoring too many theses or legal factions can bankrupt a scholar’s reputation and credit.
* '''Codex Fever''' – Archivists who read too many griefglass-inked texts without rest may begin to hear “footnotes” whispering corrections into their thoughts.
* '''Political Reprisals''' – Losing a major debate may mean losing not just face, but guild backing or institutional funding.
* '''Fracture Echoes''' – Rare but unnerving: fragments of Codex Fracture resonance occasionally distort testimony or recorded rulings inside the city, requiring emergency tribunals to re-verify the facts.

== Adventure Hooks ==
* A crucial ruling sent by heliograph from Aurenhold arrives garbled in a distant canton; the PCs are hired to verify and, if needed, escort the correct judgment.
* A clerk discovers that several pages of the Concordic Canon have silently reordered themselves, and quietly approaches the PCs to investigate the source.
* A visiting party must defend a friend in the Meridian Courts while learning Lexharrow’s legal customs fast enough to survive a public trial.