The city of Kaaskhad is the largest in Sikarra, in terms of population, and may be the largest in the world. At last estimate, there were nearly a million people in and around the city, almost 750,000 of whom are permanent residents. There may have been as many as two million people in Kaaskhad before the Second Akarian War.
The heart of the city lays around conjunction of the three great rivers that traverse Freemarch: the Tarant, which runs from the Chained Sea to the Northern Tefnam Ocean, the Khadyr, which runs from the center of the continent east into the ocean, and the Soron, which runs north from Lake Akar. These rivers comprise the main routes for trade in eastern half of Sikarra, allowing goods to cross from the Chained Sea into the oceans, north from Akar or Amon-Rul-Feshon. Canals have been carved along most of the length of these rivers to upstream shipping as well, although these are necessarily smaller and more difficult to traverse.
The three rivers come together in the Kaaskhad falls, which pour into the harbor of the Northern Tefnam. Docks ring the port, which is guarded by a high sea wall and four weapon emplacements, where ballista and spellcasters alike stand ready for invasion. The wall extends around the city, although over the years it has been battered down or has simply collapsed in many places. The wall marks the city limits, although there are small villages extending for miles around the city. There are miles of docks and warehouses on the rivers before they reach Kaaskhad, where goods are removed from riverboats, carted to the piers, and shipped out again on ocean vessels.
Many warehouses and workhouses line the sides of the port. In the north, the old city has become a ramshackle maze of buildings. The people who live here are the working classes, poor and numerous. They have been so habitually pressed for space that they have added to the buildings, adding rooms along the walls and rooftops, and even stretching bridges above the streets. The district is so crisscrossed with ramschackle construction that the street level is almost always caught in a perpetual gloom, earning it the nickname of the Shades.
To the south of the port, the Great Market has its origins in the storefronts that were the first place where fresh goods could be purchased. The Market properly refers to the Shipping Guild's Pier and Market Center, the largest such in the city. Other warehouses and buildings have been converted to storefronts, and tents have been set up for so long that a few are taking on the semblance of permanent structures.
Up the hill from the bustling port to the north are most of the civic buildings and guild headquarters. The Four Guilds of Magic are built on the ruins of the Arcane Guild, which was brought down during Magefall.
Several of the most well-known guilds, such as the Shipping Guild buildings, the Guild of Alchemy, the Healer's Guild, and the Guild of Banking are all found in the blocks between the Four Guilds and the Civic Square. The Square houses the guilds most heavily involved in the governance of Freemarch as well as the home of the Sikarra League. Just to the south of the square is the palace which once belonged to the ruler of the city-state of Kaaskhad, and is now the headquarters of the Guild of Oversight for Freemarch.
West of the guilds is the District of Faith, where temples to most of Sikarra's gods may be found. Corimnos Everdark's temple has long since been destroyed, Essayl Teardrinker's temple is hidden from sight, Narrik Fleshwarper has never had a temple in the city, and Vamin Shadowlord's temple is said to be found somewhere in the Shades.
Between the Tarant and Khadyr rivers is the Gold Point, where the richest inhabitants of Kaaskhad live. There are no more than a dozen homes here, some of which are larger than temples and guilds combined. The point is parkland which runs up to the city walls. The Gold Point is patrolled by a mercenary security force. The levees which protect the city from floods are twice as high and better-maintenanced around the Gold Point than any other region.
To the south, the Khadyr and Soron rivers hold the Silver Point, which is home to successful artisans, merchants, and civic leaders. It is not as well-looked-after as the Gold Point, but has its own security force and its levees are second only to those of the Gold Point. A house was built by a legendary adventurer in the cove of the Silver Point, and is now believed to be inhabited by the Mayor of the Shades.
West of the markets, shops and factories of the southern port are the homes of the middle classes. Stranneth Park is the center of this district. A new attraction in the park is a memorial to the fallen heroes of the Second Akarian War. The Arav Cemetery is the only civic graveyard within the city; all others are smaller and maintained privately or by the temples.
In the southern port, several piers have been taken over by refugees, old sailors, and other unwanted masses. The residents of Floatytown lay claim to boats, tugs, rafts, or anything else that can float, and lash it into the whole to create a watery slum. Those who live in Floatytown are looked down on even by the denizens of the Shades, and they can usually only find work at sea or the dirtiest jobs of the city.
