Welcome to A Land Far Away (ALFA), a Persistent World project set in the Forgotten Realms.
http://www.alandfaraway.org

The Lands of Intrigue welcome you!

The Amn server is centered around the city of Keczulla, which lies inland to the east of the capital, Athkatla. Keczulla, also know as the "Gem City", has long been a center for the Amnian luxury trade. The city's claim to wealth, in fact it's reason of being in the first place, are the rich gem deposits in the area. Keczulla has seen rapid militarization during the recent Sythisillian war, when the Gem City found itself at the front lines. This development was furthered after the end of the war, when the city of Eshpurta to the east faced Athkatla in open insurrection. As a result, a sizeable garrison is housed in the city, spilling over to a longstanding camp outside the city's walls.

Keczulla is administrated by the Gem Mayor's office, but the power brokers are the merchant houses of Tanislove and Bladesmile. Tanislove are a smaller house local to Keczulla, and to this day have managed to hold on to the richest of Keczulla's gem mines. The Bladesmile, the biggest mercenary operator in Amn, have gained a lot of power lately, and are generally considered to have overtaken the Tanislove as the single most powerful faction within the city.

To the south of Keczulla lie the ruins of Esmeltaran, once an opulent holiday city for Amnian merchants. Ruthlessly savaged in the Syth war, the area around Esmeltaran, extending to the rougher terrain to the west, is a badlands where remnants of the goblinoid hordes roam, together with whatever monsters have sprouted to fill a vacuum left behind by human civilization ravaged to ruin.

Further south the southern banks of Lake Esmeraltan house a sizeable Amnian garrison. The army is there to project a presence towards the rebellious city of Riatavin, which rebelled to join Tethyr at the start of the Sythisillian war. As a result, Amn and Tethyr both are laying claim to Riatavin and the lands surrounding it, and the tension is palpable, though not extending to open hostilities - yet. The current server map ends at about the de facto line of control between Amnian and Tethyrian/Riatavin forces. The road running south of the Esmel river, and the river itself, is the main supply route of the garrison, running between the hostile territories of the wasteland west of Esmeltaran and the Small Teeth mountains.

To the east of Keczulla lies Eshpurta, the "Shield City". An outlier in Amn as a military minded city, Eshpurta was crucial in ending the Sythisillian war. For a number of political and cultural reasons, the Shield City rebelled to demand independence from Athkatla shortly after the war. This "cold civil war" ended in Eshpurta formally capitulating, but the city and its ruling body, the Shield Council, is known to have much independence from Athkatla. Eshpurta has always been the least strict in terms of Amnian culture, and after the insurrection ended, life and culture has come to diverge from that of Athkatla even more - even if formally the laws are the same.

Western edge of the server is formed by Venthorn, a small trading post lying to the east of the city of Crimmor. Between Venthorn and Keculla is the town of Amnwater. Before the war a vibrant, growing caravan town, Amnwater has been ravaged by Syth invasion, and is being re-built. Currently the town serves mostly as a Bladesmile-run depot and warehouse. The agricultural base is slowly recovering, but the vibrant local economy of the area is being replaced by quickly-built large scale operations owned by the major Merchant Houses.

Amn, an old and rich civilization (by human standards) known as the "Merchant's Domain", has a strong culture of it's own. Status is important, and that is showed by spending coin freely, miser (or "kobold") is one of the worst things you could call an Amnian. Connections are the way to get forward in the mafia-esque world of merchant houses, armies, administrators and churches, all of which are tied together in a institutionalized web of "patronage". As a result, the only thing worth more to an Amnian than pure coin is his word of honor, and "favors" are the most potent currency. Amnians are generally self-righteous and close-minded to the world at large, seeing their great wealth as proof that their ways are right. As a result they tend to be xenophobic towards non-humans, fearing losing face in front of their peers for associating with such lower beings. Amn is draconian towards arcane magic, with the view that arcane powers inevitably corrupt its wielder, as proven by so many mages gone mad and destructive. Casting magic is strictly restricted in Amnian cities, enforced by the Cowled Wizards, rogue casting carrying a swift death sentence.

Read more on Amnian history, culture and ways, as well as the specific cities and powerplayers therein, on the forums of the server.