Golden Path of the Setting Sun is located just west and south of Kogo Mountain and expeditions to Kogo Mountain begin here.  The city’s influence stretches for fifty miles in all directions, encompassing several floating fishing towns off the coast.  To the south, its territory borders that of Divine Peace, a situation that is beginning to sew tension between the two cities.

The city is the largest of the west coast city-states, and it guards the primary pass through the mountains connecting east and west.  This makes Golden Path of the Setting Sun an eclectic trading center.  It is also a spiritual center, especially for sun worship.  Many of the city’s artists create items for clerical rites and rituals, including robes, incense, censers, wands, and ritual knives.

The main street, Avenue of the Sun, is laid out east to west and marks the path of the sun on the summer solstice.  Fifteen megaliths positioned in a circle throughout the city create an observatory and celestial calendar, one that can only be observed from the Temple of the Setting Sun, high on the mountainside above the pass.  These megaliths also create focal points for the communities surrounding them, and are surrounded by parks, plazas, and village greens.  Priests from the Order of the Setting Sun conduct seasonal rites around the megaliths.  Weddings, naming ceremonies, and funeral rites are conducted here as well.

Many of the Setting Sun priests are blind, choosing to sacrifice their sight to observe the glory of their god in its fullest – once.  The followers of the Way of the Setting Sun embrace death as the end of the long journey of life.  Though death is to be avoided as long as possible, in order to live life to its fullest, death is not something to fear, nor circumvent.  The Way of the Setting Sun abhors undead.  Followers are charged with putting spirits and ghosts to rest, and destroying such abominations as skeletons and zombies.  They are also charged with finding and destroying those foul, cruel people who would create such monsters and deny the dead their rightful rest.

Golden Path of the Setting Sun is governed by a theocracy.  Though ruled by the high priest or priestess of the Way of the Setting Sun, all of the city’s high-ranking priests and clerics are invited to participate in the administration of the city.  Though there is the usual political jockeying, in general the priests have lead the city well, and the people are prosperous, healthy, and happy.

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This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.