Three times each year, the Twin Cities observe the Bay Trials—a ritualized boat race held in honor of Kelemvor and the eternal judgment of souls. Crews race ceremonial war‑galleys across the bay from Qasr al‑Nefret to Baraket‑Sahra, beginning in full public view.
Once the ships pass beyond the sight of the docks, the trials frequently descend into bloodshed. Ramming, boarding, sabotage, and murder are all unofficially expected. Deaths are denied publicly, sanctified privately, and quietly recorded in the Mortarchate’s ledgers as acceptable losses.
The winning city earns a year of symbolic precedence: favorable trade tariffs, ceremonial honors, and the right to host the next cycle’s funerary festivals.
Together, Qasr al‑Nefret and Baraket‑Sahra secure Ashur‑Rem’s western coastline, projecting naval power, enforcing funerary law, and serving as a constant reminder that even rivalry can be sanctified—so long as it ends in judgment.
Qasr al‑Nefret is the larger and more influential of the Twin Cities, dominating the northern curve of the Ashen Bay. Built from pale sandstone darkened by incense smoke and sea air, the city rises in layered terraces toward its colossal domed keep, the Sepulcher of Quiet Judgment. Minarets, mausoleums, and administrative halls crowd its skyline, giving the city an appearance equal parts holy capital and imperial port.
As the senior city, Qasr al‑Nefret hosts most of the Mortarchate’s coastal bureaucracy, including customs courts, funerary registries, and naval tithe offices. Its citizens consider themselves the rightful stewards of Ashur‑Rem’s western coast, a belief that fuels its long‑standing rivalry with its southern counterpart.
Qasr al‑Nefret prides itself on order, propriety, and ritual correctness. Officials are stern, deeply bureaucratic, and keenly aware of status. The city views the rivalry as a matter of tradition and superiority rather than passion.
Baraket‑Sahra sits directly across the Ashen Bay, smaller but fiercer in spirit. Where Qasr al‑Nefret is orderly and solemn, Baraket‑Sahra is vibrant, volatile, and proud. Its streets are louder, its markets more chaotic, and its people more openly competitive.
Though it lacks the administrative weight of its sister city, Baraket‑Sahra commands a disproportionate share of sailors, corsairs, and shipwrights. Many of Ashur‑Rem’s most daring captains hail from its docks, and the city’s leaders openly relish their reputation as the sharper blade of the Mortarchate’s coast.
Baraket‑Sahra embraces competitive honor and fatalistic faith. Death at sea is considered a worthy offering to Kelemvor, and its citizens view the rivalry not as ceremony, but as proof of worth. Baraket-Sahra has a deserved reputation for being the home of Corsairs, pirates and bandits.