World of Arena
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Region · 8 o'clock on the Dial

the Free City of Tavellin

A city full of golden gears. Here, time is sold at interest.

the Exchange of Time

Geography
A city of canals and towers southwest of the Arena. The Tavellin Arm is one of the six rivers born from the Arena. The city sits on the lagoon where this river meets the sea. Every square has a giant clock. Rich districts slow time, so their days are long. In poor districts, time runs fast. The Rust Prisons stand at the harbor's edge. At the city's heart, the Great Pendulum rises inside its glass tower.
Climate
A mild sea climate. The city adjusts time. The same evening lasts longer in one district and shorter in the next.
Culture
Dem is time in solid form in Devran. In Tavellin, everything is priced in Dem. Citizens wear a seal-watch on the wrist. The watch shows a person's balance. People pledge their years and repay their debts in years. Courtesy is a kind of money too.
Governance
The great families form the Pendulum Council. The Clock Queen has no real power to rule. But she stands behind the city's entire debt. The city's debt is bound to the queen's remaining years.
Faith
The Ledger. The world's books must balance. The Arena is a divine ledger. Tavellin is its best student.
Economy
Dem banking, oath trading, clockmaking and debt prisons. The Dem Exchange is the city's bank. An oath is the pledge of loyalty a champion gives to a patron. The largest stalls of the Oath Market belong to Tavellin.

Champions from this land

Landmarks

  • the Great Pendulum

    The giant pendulum swinging in a glass tower. The stone in its weight is in no record.

  • the Rust Prisons

    Harbor towers. The city keeps debtors here in slowed time. Iron rusts fast there.

  • the Dem Exchange

    The gold-domed hall where years are bought and sold.

  • the Throne of Hours

    Queen Oriane's throne. Since 1236 AS, the queen has stood here, frozen in the middle of a sentence.

Factions

  • the Pendulum Council

    The great families. The House of Count is the neutral clerks who record the Arena's matches and oaths. The Pendulum Council wants to keep that count in their place.

  • the Crown

    The queen who stands behind the city's debt, and her small court.

    Thessaly

  • the Rust Wardens

    The prison's wardens. Most of them are debtors themselves.

    Torvan

  • the Collectors

    Polite but dangerous officers. They collect the years that fall due.

Relations with neighbors

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