Basileia

Locks depicts a city of complex interconnecting intrigues and schemes.

Sobriquets

The Sovereign Lord of the City of Locks changes in a way few other eternals do. The current incumbent has chosen the title Basileia, or sometimes Basileia Brazen.

She is sometimes referred to as the Princess of Weirs, a further reference to the canals that criscross her domain, as well as the Carver of Cliques, alluding to her concern with small, exclusive groups. She enjoys being called the Crown of the Archway, referring to her status as an essential and load-bearing part of the City. She has also been called the Mistress of Falls; while on the surface this is another reference to her city's many canals, it is also a hint at the fate that awaits those who challenge her status.

She is sometimes known as the Patron of Spies and Traitors due to her role in keeping other people's secrets. Brazen is dubbed Princess of the Black Vaults, in recognition of the role that espionage and military defence play in her realm – and of the oubliettes to which those who fail or displease her are consigned.

While she sometimes appears in male or monstrous guises, Basileia is currently referred to with feminine pronouns. Basileia is confirmed to be her title as ruler of her city – her personal name is Brazen.

Several sources reference Basileus Kade, and Basileus Flynt, as former rulers of the City of Locks. The latter, allegedly an Imperial citizen before some kind of poorly understood "ascension", usurped the former as Sovereign Lord. They in turn were apparently deposed by the Lictors following their involvement in the destruction of the entity known as Mazen of the Masks. Given that Basileia is the third ruler of the City of Locks in the last decade it is likely that there are many more, their names lost to history. This unique pattern inspires a great deal of discussion among scholars of the eternal realms; what does it mean that the identity of the Sovereign Lord of the City of Locks seems to change while other eternals remain constant?

The inhabitants of the CIty of Locks are caught in an endless struggle for power and position that regularly spills over into the mortal world.

Appearance

Basileia has two distinct forms, and swaps between them as they wish. Most commonly she appears to be a woman dressed in the well-tailored clothes of a professional of some kind. She can also appear as the Beast of the Locks; a monstrous horned creature reserved for the darkest deeds. While she rarely carries a weapon in her other guises, as the Beast she may wield a brutal weapon or even two. When she is encountered in this form, all pretence of civilisation is abandoned, and she appears entirely consumed with the ruthless application of power to achieve one's goals. All the scholars agree - deal with the Beast of Locks extremely carefully. The Sovereign Lord of the City of Locks was once known to take the form of a lithe young man as well, but this guise has not been seen since the ascension of Basileia Brazen.

It is not common for an Autumn eternal to change shape so freely, and scholars of the eternals theorize that she does so via access to an item of power, possibly a mask or the Belt of Locks. Others suggest that it is a demonstration of the dual-faced nature of those who seek power. They may appear civilised and mannered when it suits them, but are capable of ruthless brutality when their ambition demands it.

Triptych believed to show servitors of the City of Locks, intended for use in ritual magic.

However else she appears, she is always wealthy, powerful and in control. Regardless of form, she wears discreet yet obviously valuable jewellery to reinforce her appearance as a person of high station. Regardless of her attire, she invariably wears a belt with a lock and set of chains worn over the buckle.

Like her predecessors, Basileia almost never appears alone. She may remain aloof, allowing her heralds to do the talking for her (especially when she is in the guise of the Beast of the Locks). Other times she plays the gracious host, entertaining guests with conversation and fine food - but a guest should never forget that this creature is a being of intrigue and power, and that very little she says or does should be taken at face value.

Carolinus, an inhabitant of the City of Locks. The citizens of the city are divided into dozens of competing factions, guilds, secret societies, and cabals.

Concerns

While previous eternal rulers of the City of Locks have kept only a thin veil over their obsession with power and control, Basileia Brazen has worked to present a more pleasing face to the outside world. The naive may believe that this indicates some fundamental change under her rule, but those who pry beneath the surface will find the same dog-eat-dog city with a ruler no less ruthless than her predecessors.

Ultimately, the concern of Basileia Brazen, and indeed everyone within the City of Locks, revolve around the ways that social and political structures can be used to dominate other people. Unlike some of her predecessors, the Crown of the Archway is quite open about the fact that her power exists as a result of the collective efforts of others. She claims that it comes from the fact that she has made herself as close to irreplaceable as possible – her underlings may resent that she has more power than they do, but they know they would be worse off without her - a state of affairs she works very hard to maintain.

While her primary concern is her own power, the Princess of Weirs is known to have a fondness for certain mortal nations and institutions that she believes embody her philosophies. She finds the conflict between the various Imperial houses of state to be endlessly fascinating, and apparently holds the position of the Throne in high regard, seeing it as something similar to her own position. She approves of the ruthless internal politics of the League, especially since the Apulian Orcs joined them. She has an interest in the pragmatism and religious philosophies of the Navarr, although some vates claim that she fundamentally misunderstands the nature of self-sacrifice for the greater good and should under no circumstances be allowed to offer advice to any guides. She also has a strange fascination with the Imperial Orcs that she refuses to explain, although whether she will disproportionately favour or disfavour any given Unshackled as a result is never a sure bet.

Basileus Flint is gone, and now Basileia Brazen sits on the throne of the City of Locks and all is right with the world, all is right with the world, and all manner of things are now right.

Outside the Empire, the Carver of Cliques is said to favour both the populist authoritarianism of the Commonwealth and the dynamic oligarchy of the Principalities of Jarm, seeing things to admire in both. How much of a hand she is taking in either nation is unknown, but the fact that they hate one another does not seem to concern her in the slightest.

Boons

The Sovereign Lady of the City of Locks gathers secrets; not mystical secrets like the eternals of Night, but the secrets gathered by spies and agents who watch and record what the people around them are doing. She spreads her power by making herself useful to people who seek power themselves – anyone could become a node in her web of influence and control. She helps those who seek to exploit systems, to become the indispensable linchpins of their own personal networks, granting them the power to abuse their station without the fear of reprisal. Of course, anyone who receives help from the Princess of Weirs should be aware that they themselves are playing into her hands. Altruism is alien to the City of Locks, and if you aren't buying something, you're being sold.

Flint, before his alleged ascension.

Dealing with the Basileia herself may be profitable, but it is far more likely that an enterprising citizen may find themselves making common cause with one of the Five Pillars. Each of the Sovereign Lady's advisors is constantly working to build up their network of contacts in order to outshine their peers, and advancing their City's interests in the mortal realm is the surest way to do that. Those looking for hidden information, the chance to move prohibited goods, or to make illicit connections may well benefit from making friends in the City of Locks. However, these connections are not likely to provide any easy answers in the long term. The Five Pillars cannot afford to take unnecessary risks with their position, and are far more likely to furnish their allies with chances to take those risks on their behalf. Assassins from the City of Locks are unlikely to kill the Empire's enemies, but they may point out opportunities for Imperial citizens to wield the knife themselves.

Those dealing with Brazen should take care to remember that trade is not her primary goal; it is a means to increasing her power and control over the world. While some Autumn eternals engage in trade for the love of the deal and its subtleties, ultimately Brazen is concerned only with power over others. Playing the game with the Sovereign Lady of Locks is not for the fainthearted. Although the potential rewards are great, the risks are possibly even worse. The Archway's Crown has no love for those who beat her at her own game.

The Five Pillars

Previous iterations of the City of Locks channelled the quintessential struggle of its inhabitants through the Charter Houses, associations built around control of certain districts. This system fell apart after the removal of Basileus Flint, and Basileia Brazen has made no effort to re-establish it. Instead she has created a council of advisors known within the City of Locks as the Five Pillars. While Brazen calls the shots, she has allowed these figures an unprecedented level of influence in the exercise of her City's power. The current Five Pillars are:

The Five Pillars serve as advisors to Basileia, each convinced they have her special favour.

• Overseer Hook of the Surveyors' Cartel, to whom the City's many spies and informants ultimately report.
• Boss Callarook of the Union of Lock-Keepers and Stevedores, who controls smuggling and other lucrative illicit operations within the City.
• Mistress Alabaster of the Guild of Accountants, who directs the City's assassins.
• President Orlando of the City Of Locks Benevolent Association, who arranges bribery and hushes up corruption.
• Facilitator Kaige of the Matchmaker's Forum, who organises the many conspiracies and conspiratorial groups that take root within the City.

Each of these figures seems to represent one of Basileia Brazen's primary interests and may be encountered alone or with their own underlings in pursuit of those aims. Those who have interacted with more than one of them describe the Five Pillars as a group riven with rapidly shifting splits and temporary alliances, constantly jostling and feuding with one another. Each believes themselves to have their Basileia’s special favour, unlike the others who are mere tools. A disgruntled City of Locks resident who preferred the old regime once called them "the most toxic workplace romance in all the Realms" while drunk at a party. The herald passed out shortly after their next drink, and suffered a deadly seizure within the hour.

The Truth About Basileia
Most recent historical records refer to Basileus Kade as the ruler of the the City of Locks. During the Autumn Equinox 379YE, following a significant period of turmoil in the City of Locks, Kade was supplanted by a citizen of the League city of Tassato. The details of precisely how Flint was able to claim this position and become Basileus Flint are known only to those directly involved. What the political, religious (and legal) implications of this ascension, assuming it is even real, are extremely unclear. Now Basileus Flint is also gone, apparently "replaced" by on the throne of the City of Locks by Basileia Brazen. Her ascension apparently begain in Summer 385YE with the disappearance of the eternal Mazen, and an Imperial Orc named Ashborn Trosk was apparently involved in the removal of Flynt by the Lictors. In Autumn 386YE, in response to a plenipotentiary message from the Archmage of Autumn, Basileia formally declared her dominion of the City of locks to the Empire and announced significant changes to the way her domain would be operating in future.