Saldon is a charming but small terraced mountain island that lies in the middle of the Eavon Ocean. You probably know it best for its famous glassware and assassins — and its reputation as a playground for the wealthy and immoral. I did. But I suppose as a university student I'm obliged to provide some dull but useful information here, so bear with me.
Saldon was founded in BD 144 by refugees from the Candor-Grandoyne War, and it was accepted into the Dominions in DR 53. The name "of the Bells" is derived from the island-wide belltowers, which ring regularly throughout the day and give Saldon its time-keeping system. Which, I should add, is incredibly nonsensical! But don't get me started on it. The bells are bad enough, ringing every couple of hours, even at night....
Saldon was once a mining town where deposits of magic-resistant avertiis stone were found. The mines were tapped out by DR 230, and its cliffs are still riddled with unmapped tunnels and caverns where, I hear, smugglers and illicit religious groups like the Cult of Caren have been known to meet. Unpleasant — you certainly won't find me crawling into any caverns! Despite the loss of mining income, Saldon's economy remained strong, mostly because its beautiful location and convenient intercontinental port makes it an attractive place for merchants and aristocrats seeking a vacation area. Not to mention the law-free markets, but more on that later.
Saldon's terraces are, top to bottom: terCaraciel, Icanicas, Chela'an, d'Avenent, Lucerne, Haute and Base Hesiarchs, and Haute and Base Orphiel. The map above is my own sketch, so don't blame me if it's not very accurate; I have to confess that the houses are more symbolic than representative of real buildings. The streetnames are more or less accurate, though, as far as I've been able to fill them in.
Saldon's Carillon University is also well-known, and a large part of the population consists of students and professors, which is what makes it a fun place to visit for people like me. The island has a very literate population capable of supporting several printing houses, including the island's news rag, The Saldon Herald. I've visited its offices once already; I'm afraid that I'm its editor's worst nightmare. He's rather conservative, you see.
Saldon is also famed for its glass. Don't ask me how that industry got started — I'm sure there's a story there, but I haven't learned it yet. The sand is shipped in from Bahr al'Raml and mixed with deposits left in the mines. People say that Saldonian glassware will shatter if it touches poison. This is also why glass is used almost without exception in Saldon for drinking vessels; Saldon's assassin's guild is infamous throughout the Cognoterre. Hopefullly I'll never be in a situation where I need to find out if the glass is really sensitive to poison or not!
Saldon's complete lack of marketplace regulation has made it a center of trade for items that are illegal in various other realms. It's a long-established tradition on Saldon for the archon to avoid making any permanent laws; instead, he just issues temporary decrees when needed. The legal system on Saldon is incredibly labyrinthine and, as far as I can tell, boils down to "the swiftest sword wins." Although there is a city guard, called the Swords, they aren't as involved in day-to-day affairs as the guard in other cities; mostly they protect their own privileges.
Saldon mints its own currency, like many realms in the empire, but its merchants are willing to accept most other standard forms of currency at a fair exchange rate based on metal, weight, and purity. The currency consists of 10 copper aes to the asimi, ten silver asimi to the orichalk, two electrum orichalk to the chrisos, and five golden chrisos to the platinum radiant.
As I said, Saldon is built on seven terraces that rise up the mountain's height. Each terrace is connected to the others by one or more large stairways constructed of pale phraetes. The ones that go all the way up and down are called Great Stairways, and the others are just Stairs. Buildings in Saldon are somewhat low, whitewashed and peak-roofed, often tiled in bright ceramic, metal or glass. All of the streets are cobbled, and each building owner is responsible for the maintenance of the street in front of his or her establishment. Thus, each building owner also has the right to tile that part of the street as s/he likes. This means that the streets of Saldon are a brilliant cacophany of color and style, which I find rather charming. The "noble" terrace, Icanicas, is tiled completely in glass, a former archon's affectation that has been more of an annoyance than a pleasure to the terrace's residents, but that remains thus far too expensive and inconvenient to tear up and replace.
Two palaces exist on Saldon. The palace on the summit of the mountain, on terCaraciel — the "Manse" — is an abandoned ruin. Built entirely of the rare, light-drinking, magic-repelling black avertiis, it was a cold and nasty dwelling place that was happily left to the seagulls after Magus Lafcadio carved the second, and much more comfortable, palace inside the topmost cliff in DR 27. The second palace, or "New Palace," is mostly inside the top cliffs from terCaraciel to Icanicas, and extends into exterior buildings along Icanicas. I hear it's quite lovely, but I've only seen the public areas.
Summer here lasts from Summer's Eve to mid-Harvest with temperatures from 70 to 90 degrees. A "sorceror's summer" lasts until Wraithwalk. Fall lasts from Fall's Eve to mid-Sunwane, with temperatures from 50-70 degrees. Winter lasts from Winter's Eve to the end of Shadowing, with temperatures from 20-45 degrees — and it is cold and damp and thoroughly unpleasant, I assure you. Spring lasts from the Feast of Fools until mid-Stirth, with temperatures similar to those of fall, but rainer. Ugh. Breezes are strongest from Harvest to Sunwane. Morning and evening fogs are not uncommon. The storm season occurs from Stormbirth to Dawnstalk, with rain and hail, sometimes sleet but never snow.
ECONOMICS
Saldon's major exports are its brightly painted ceramics, its glassware, marine-based poisons (that assassin business again, as I noted earlier), and two drugs—a thick and creamy hallucinogen called stavin oil and a crystalline barbituate called lethe. Saldon needs to import most of its raw materials and food, which is inconvenient and, of course, expensive. The only reason it manages to support itself is because of its all-day and all-night, virtually law-free marketplace. No material good is illegal on Saldon, and pirates, smugglers, slavers and other underhanded dealers can trade openly here. Yes, yes, I know — and what about the imperial laws? I can only assume Archone Salane has good friends in the dominarch's court. Finally, because Saldon's beauty and lawlessness tends to attract wealthy ex-mercenaries, it is also a prime trading spot for objects of rare beauty and enchantment.
The Mercantile, an alliance of merchant houses, runs the marketplace and takes about 20% of all money made there from various forms of taxes, fees, and rents. Of this profit, the Saldonian government takes about half. The city and Mercantile are careful to keep the markets safe and free from swindlers and cheats. To set up a stall in the markets, one need only register with the Mercantile and pay a starting fee of 10 chrisos, which is good for two months to a year, depending on the goods to be sold.
The price of food, drink and lodging is high in Saldon. Outside of the heavily guarded markets, theft is common. Saldonian natives enjoy pitting their wits against those of foreigners, and may mercilessly swindle or cheat a naive foreigner out of all of his or her wealth.
FOOD
Saldonians bring to their food the same subtlety they bring to other aspects of their life. They particularly enjoy using wine and herbs in their cuisine. Seafood is the staple of the Saldonian diet, but rabbits and chickens are raised here, as well. Saldonians don't care much for the stronger flavors of beef, ham, or venison.
"Saldonian style" indicates the use of a delicate sauce made of light white wine and a variety of savoury herbs. Baked fish, squid, and mussels are often made in the Saldonian style. When lamb or chicken are cooked by Saldonians, it is usually marinated, grilled or braised, and served on skewers with sliced vegetables. Some Saldonians eat their fish raw, often with a thin, sweet sauce poured over it. Fishing is an important part of Saldon's culture, and there is a smaller dock where local fishers keep their boats.
There. That's most of the basic information you'd need before visiting this place. I could provide more information about things like the timekeeping system, but I'd advise you to bring your own pocketwatch, instead; it's much easier than doing all the maths you'd need to do to use time in a Saldonian sense!