Editing Bastelle (Archons of the Northern Waves) (section)

==Venture & Headquarters==
===Sapphopolis===
[https://www.waset.org/i/c/venice2w.jpg Somewhat representative picture.]

Sapphopolis lies on a small bay on a small island. It is a tranquil city, within its rings of defenses. Sapphopolians prefer technology to be as unobtrusive as possible, giving the appearance of a pre-technological lifestyle, while maintaining most of the benefits of technology. The city is criss-crossed with canals, and gondolas or walking are the primary forms of personal transportation. This pre-tech aesthetic is one of the city's more notable features, and there is a small market in other cosmopoli among people that appreciate the aesthetic, or find themselves in need of a piece of tech that hides its true nature.

Few buildings are over four stories tall, except for the Palace of Everflame, named after the first Archon of the city, and home to the current Archon; the Great Hall of the Council, and the Cathedral of Saint Sappho. The Palace, the Great Hall, and the Cathedral all face on large plazas, ringed by stores, restaurants, and multi-family homes. Smaller plazas are scattered throughout the city. Most of the homes within the city are multi-family, but some single-family homes can be found in the surrounding hills.

Shops, homes, offices, small gardens, parks, and other services are jumbled together throughout the city without much rhyme or reason. Heavy industry, and large facilities like hospitals, are located out of sight beneath the city, or under the surrounding hills. The main shipping and air port is outside the city, on the other side of the hills, so as to not disturb the tranquility of the city.

While technically Sapphopolis is under the absolute rule of the Archon, this is a prerogative that Archons of Sapphopolis have not traditionally exercised, except in times of emergency or crisis. In practice, there is the Council of Advisors, made up of a mix of elected and appointed members, selected from the Many. The Council drafts laws, develops policies, and recommends judges for the Archon's approval, which, most of the time, is automatically granted. The Archon and the Archon's household implement the policies and serve as the bureaucracy of city. Under Bastelle, the Archon's household is lead by her first wife, who she appointed Governor of Sapphopolis in her name. Other wives head up the security and other services. Not every person with a position of authority within Bastelle's household is her wife, but the majority are.

Cats, even before Bastelle, are highly regarded within the city, as the sacred animal of Saint Sappho, and cat iconography can be found on most buildings in the city. Cats themselves can be found everywhere in the city.

The city was started as place of worship of Saint Sappho, the saint of lesbian love, and to this day most of inhabitants are women, though not necessarily lesbians. Who Sappho was is a bit of a mystery, but she was venerated by Everflame, who founded the church. The most popular current theory is that she was Everflame's ancestor. A smaller faction within the church thinks that Sappho was a more distant figure from Earth That Was, possibly an ancient one of the Few. Disagreements are generally polite, since they both agree with Sappho's teachings, regardless of who she was. Some scholars from outside the church speculate that Everflame invented Sappho when she founded the Church, in order to give Everflame's philosophy more weight. Bastelle doesn't really care one way or the other, since her opinion is that Sappho's teachings are meant to be lived, not debated.

Men are not formally excluded, and some have chosen to live in Sapphopolis, been born in the city, or married in to the city, but they are a minority. Some of the men of Sapphopolis adopt more feminine styles, so as to not stand out as much, while others emphasize their masculinity. Though of course the women of the city are hardly universally feminine either, and many of them also choose to emphasize their masculinity. For some reason, perhaps some forgotten sacritech, nearly 75% of the children born in Sapphopolis are female.

===Palace of Everflame===
[http://www.artble.com/imgs/4/d/2/721642/doge_s_palace.jpg Somewhat representative picture.] [https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/asset-viewer/doge-s-palace/4QFjjBYv3YHJUA?hl=en-GB&projectId=art-project Somewhat representative virtual tour.]

The Palace of Everflame is situated at the very edge of the city, on the bay. While it looks very decorative, in the manner of Sapphopolian aesthetics, it is in fact a formidable fortress, and the first line of defense against attacks from the sea, should the outer defensive rings be breached. As such it also serves as a very visible reminder of the Archon's duty to protect her people.

Inside, it has all the comforts of home, some preserved in memory of past Archons, others at the request of the current occupant. Portions of the Palace are open to the public (with proper, unobtrusive, security screening). When Bastelle is present she welcomes visitors to come by her residence to chat, eat, and otherwise mingle without regard for status or position.