Duchy of Goldengate

San Francisco

The Duchy of Goldengate is a Fief of the Kithain in the Kingdom of Pacifica.

Ruled by Duke Aeon of House Fiona, the Duchy of Goldengate is centered on the city of San Francisco.

The bay area is one of the most heavily-populated areas (in terms of Kithain and chimera) in Concordia. This is chiefly due to the tremendous number of small freeholds and glades which dot the landscape, providing shelter from the chill of Autumn. The cities’ characteristic permissiveness has meant that the average Banality is lower in most people than in other parts of Concordia… an average of 6 instead of 7. There are paradoxically quite a few Autumn People in San Francisco, especially now. Perhaps it is conscious resistance against wildness that causes this, or perhaps it is a specter of death, in the form of earthquake and fire which hangs over the city.

There are more nobles in the bay area than in most Concordian fiefs because of the presence of the royal thronehold of Pacifica (Queen Aeron’s own hold), and because of the curious noble history (particularly dealing with the Great Trod concealed within the city; it was the first such trod opened after the reunion of Earth and Arcadia in 1969). The commoners here are roughly average for the area, but thanks to the abundance of sidhe, they are much more bitter, activist, and separatist. In fact, radical elements of the original rebellion still lurk in the shadow of the Golden Gate, and some say the seeds of that fruit have taken root again.

Some Kithain sages have postulated that the proliferation of chimeric sites in the bay area also attracts a number of other folks, Prodigals and Gallain, who make the large metropolitan area their home. For this reason, Duke Aeon, who rules the Duchy of Goldengate, has become a stickler about enforcing the Escheat, especially the Right of Ignorance amongst the Prodigals.

Because of its wide variations in landscape, architecture, and community, San Francisco is a microcosm of the world, a city of opportunities and great adventure as well as dark secrets and bizarre mysteries.

Changelings & the Fog

Changelings benefit from the fog in many ways, the chief of which is that they are able to use it to conceal their Glamour. For example, using Wayfare to “vanish into the fog” is perfectly acceptable and doesn’t need to overcome Banality if no one can see you leave.

Changeling Holidays in the Bay Area

In addition to celebrating the traditional changeling holidays, Duke Aeon has declared special holidays for the fief of Goldengate alone. Among them are his birthday (March 31st) and the birthday of Queen Aeron (July 27th). The Ducal and Royal birthdays are gala occasions at Pelican House, where the duke (and the queen, if she is in attendance… which is not always the case) give out many chimeric trinkets which usually vanish with the morning’s light. Preparations for the birthdays go on for months in advance, devouring much Glamour and money but usually resulting in a beautiful reverie at the end of the day’s festivities.

There is also Starlight Night (May 13th), when the duke uses his own scepter to cause all the balefires of all the glades and freeholds in the city to alight with brilliant chimeric light that is visible from the rooftops. The traditional celebration is to view the beautiful display from the vantage point of Coit Tower and afterward the childlings run through the streets, chasing chimera who have been set alight with Glamour in a kind of action-packed “moving Piñata” experience. The current purpose of Starlight night is to appreciate the true beauty of the city at night. Its origin is apparently a paean to the love that the duke has for his Goldengate.

Duke Aeon himself participates in both the Gay Pride March and the Castro Fair, in solidarity with his Kinain brother and out of respect for the satyr Hector.

The Laws of Hospitality

The custom of the bay area fiefs is that Kithain must offer hospitality of house, hold, and hearth to those of their kith and Court, as a matter of courtesy. Whether or not individual Kithain know or respect this is another matter. Usually those Kithain with Etiquette 2 or more will know of the custom. Although different Kithain interpret these laws differently, it is generally held by force of custom that guests are accepted by the owner or liege of the freehold or house are given into a sacred trust. This state of grace means that they are given the best of the larder for food, the best bed for sleeping, and the best drink for drinking. It is considered extremely bad luck to cause that guest harm in any way, or through inaction cause that guest to come to harm. Even if you accept an enemy of yours as a guest for some reason, you must honor this law. Breaking it invites the worst of luck and fate. There is only one notable exception to the Laws of Hospitality: those who are considered oathbreakers and honorless cannot demand hospitality. They do not fall under the same rules, and cannot expect the same treatment.

Places of Interest

Market Street & O’Farrell

O’Farrell, the man responsible for the odd layout of San Francisco’s streets, was in fact Kinain. Related to a nockerfamily, he had an innate sense of where the lines of power in a place were. He put Market Street diagonally across the city in an effort to forcibly channel the ley energy he felt coming from Mt. Tamalpais to the north. His primitive geomancy only partly succeeded, although he was never to see his work in action. The only reason the Kithain know this lore is because it was read in his journal after he died, a journal which is still held by the O’Farrell nocker family. It is said that this journal also has maps of the underground rookeries and caverns that honeycomb the land below the streets.

Later, in 1969, with the Resurgence, O’Farrell’s ley-channel held firm and caused a proliferation of small freeholds throughout the city.

Fishermen's Wharf

In many ways, Fishermen's Wharf is similar to the Embarcadero. Many of the seal-kind cluster here to play among the protected sea lions along the wharf proper.

As much Glamour can be found inside as outside here, and Ripley's Believe it or Not is a favorite spot for visiting Kithain. Reveling in the bizarre and the outré, the museum sports even more fantastic sights and sounds to the eye enhanced by enchantment... believe it or not. For Kithain, the interior of the building is a gleeful maze, conforming to no floor plan and no laws of physics. New sights and sounds abound, ever popping out of the most unlikely angles to surprise, delight, and alarm fae of all ages. The museum staff learned long ago not to worry about people wandering through the exhibits randomly, as a sizable percentage of the staffers are Kithain themselves.

"Snob Hill"

As the streets and rents rise on Nob Hill, so too do the faerie towers. As the narrow houses march up the narrower streets, their facades become more and more fantastic to the faerie eye. Parapets, towers, onion-shaped domes, and chimeric gargoyles (not to be confused with he real ones who occasionally crouch here) become more and more frequent, and a rainbow of shades can be seen in the windows. The entire area is somewhat steeped in Glamour, and even the blandest personalities living here seem somehow perked up by their surroundings. Most of the condensations of dream that adorn these lovely houses seem to be made of colored crystal or glass themselves, and when the traffic is just right, they vibrate so that a mighty chord is created. This is the Voice of the Hill, and its wordless song attracts Kithain from Seattle to Guadalajara. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the duke's palace can be found here amidst the few remaining ruined manors. To Kithain eyes it appears as a magnificent mansion. It is here that Duke Aeon holds court.

The Rock

Overview The island prison of Alcatraz is a favorite tourist spot, drawing nearly a million visitors a year. A barren rock swept by old winds coming through the Golden Gate, it was believed by the local Miwok tribes to be the haven of evil spirits. First made a military prison in 1859, after extensive improvements over the decades it was transferred to the U.S. Prison Bureau in 1933. The government, deciding it needed a “super prison” for its most dangerous charges, increased security on the island then moved in such well-known criminals as Machine Gun Kelly, Alvin “Kreepy” Karpis, Robert Stroud (the “Birdman of Alcatraz”), and Al Capone. In 1946, the prison endured a riot that lasted several days and left three inmates dead. In 1963, a year after a successful escape by three inmates (it has never been learned if the escapees made it safely to the mainland), the prison was officially closed and the island abandoned.

In November, 1969, 90 Native Americans sailed from Sausalito in the pre-dawn hours to take possession of the Rock. National attention focused on them and the issue of Native American rights while government efforts to remove them from the island continually failed. Life on the cold, bleak island was hard, though, and despite donations from many concerned groups and individuals, the number of occupants dwindled. In June of 1970 a fire sprang up, destroying two historic buildings and a lighthouse dating from 1854. A year later, federal marshals moved in and escorted the few remaining protestors off the island. The island is now administered by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and can be visited by ferry during daylight hours.

Alcatraz is one of the few spots that even the Kithain of the Bay Area leave alone. While there have been a great many nightmares about the place, there have been few dreams, and Glamour is scarce there. In addition, the site is potent Haunt, attended by scores of Hierarchy wraiths who are themselves besieged by the Renegades and Heretics of San Francisco. The intangible combat between these two forces pours enough violent emotion into the waking world for the Kithain to suddenly drop into Bedlam here, just from the psychic spillover from the warring ghosts.

Ducal Game Preserve

Just below the east face of Telegraph Hill, the Hunting Grounds are where nobles of Duke Aeon’s court go to slay dragons. Well, perhaps not dragons, but all other kinds of chimeric beasts lurk in the tumbled stone beneath the teetering homes of the wealthy. Monsters from Under the Bed, gone feral since the beds they lurked under vanished, skulk behind weeds and under piles of broken rock, extending their long arms to catch unwary changelings. Imaginary Friends, seduced and abandoned by their long-gone Kithain companions, form gangs of vengeful chimera who seek to take their vengeance out on any intruders. Other, less identifiable beasts lurk here as well. Here is where the abandoned chimera of San Francisco come to seek solace, and here is where the nobles come to hunt them. Sir Cumulus is the current Warden of the Ducal Game Preserve, and his duties as such consist primarily of making certain that none of the hunters become themselves the hunted. There have been numerous fatalities in chimeric combat, and to be counted among those fallen here has become almost a token of perverse pride. Lately, commoners have taken to sneaking into the Ducal Preserve, bagging a few chimera, and then strolling out. This drives Sir Cumulus positively apoplectic, and as much at the thought of the Preserve being emptied while his responsibility as out of concern for the daring poachers who intrude upon his tiny fief.

Golden Gate Park

Several important Kithain areas exist in Golden Gate Park itself.

The Tea Garden

The Japanese Tea Garden is one of the strongest freeholds within Golden Gate Park proper. The tremendous effort and devotion out into sculpting the plants and landscape of this particular area has produced dividends on both the aesthetic and the spiritual level. To the enchanted eye, the Tea Garden looks almost precisely identical to its appearance in the mundane world. Most Kithain old enough to understand realize what a great compliment this is to the gardeners.

The Windmills

The windmills are pure childling territory. A chimeric pile of broken armor sits at the bottom of each one, and often Kithain children merely stand by those piles of armor and blow as hard as they can. The windmills invariably oblige the childlings and speed up, causing untold squeals of glee. One of the windmills is frequented by an eshu wilder named Ainsel, who is fond of going for rides on the spinning vanes themselves. Usually Ainsel can convince two or three other Kithain to go riding with her, and around and around they go, gaily colored imaginary banners streaming in the wind behind them.

The Jousting Field

The Panhandle of the park is more often used for martial pursuits, mock combats, and feats of arms being the rule here. The ground is littered with chimeric bones of titan beasts long dead, and it is considered a sign of honor to slay a chimeric beast here that none have slain before. The actual jousting green is long, flat, and smooth, and under the influence of Glamour it shines a greenish-gold. Lined by trees that are far too large for their relatively young age, the grass of the jousting field is odd in that it takes no prints. Even the stallions of the Kithain, when they bother to ride flesh-and-blood beasts, leave no mark of their passage

The Irish Garden

The Irish Garden is a Glade in the Duchy of Goldengate in the Kingdom of Pacifica.

The most potent glade Golden Gate Park, the Irish Garden is in the relatively low-key exhibit of flowers transplanted from Ireland. The nunnehi have avoided the site for time out of mind, even though there is a tremendous surge of Glamour here. None have yet been able to understand why a very nice, but hardly spectacular arrangement of flowers, has such a charge of enchantment hovering around it. Theories as to why the exceptionally large roses and other flowers have such an otherworldly potence to them include everything from the power inherent in a handful of Irish soil (hogwash) to the idea that the park is actually a werewolf caern. The latter argument is somewhat undermined by the fact that no Garou will actually come near the place. And so the debates rage, but no one really cares as long as the Glamour is plentiful and the skies are blue.

Holy Temple of Light and Sound

The Holy Temple of Light and Sound is a Faerie Freehold in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco.

Also called the Athanaeum, the Holy Temple was a conciliatory gesture by a lady knight of House Fiona and has become a haunt of the commoners who prefer flash and dash with their worship. Located in the heart of the Haight, it masquerades as a simple rehearsal space. Only under Glamour does its true splendor come out. Every song ever sung or played here lurks chimerically behind the pillars of the room and these musical beasts can be coaxed into song with a minimum of effort. The congregation is skewed towards a nocker/satyr/eshu demographic and few sidhe come here any more. By unspoken agreement, there are no harsh words or blows inside the Temple's walls, though the street outside has certainly seen its share of scuffles.

Hector Gallegos, the satyr who runs the nightclub Chainges, often leads commoner rituals here.

Places of Glamour

• The Grande Ballroom
• The Ferry Building
• The Bannock Club
• Iggy's Head Shop
• Chainges
• The Toybox Coffee Shop
• The Fillmore Auditorium
• Rocky Shore

Counties

• County of Selkrest
• County of Oakhold

Baronies

Royal Barony of Muirwood Societies

• Trolls of the Bridges
• Rainbow Order
• Oakland People's Front

Kithain of Note

The Nobility

• Queen Aeron
• Hamal
• Lady Hannah
• Baron Harold DiMarcos
• Duke Aeon
• Princess Aliera
• Lady Alyssa
• Sir Cumulus
• Count Elias
• Lady Lomasi
• Sir Troy
• Countess Evaine
• Baron Neville
• Lady Aine
• Leigh
• Morgan

Commoners Layla Ragger Goldengate05.png Henry Blade Hector Larana Vala LittleJohn Ralph Sorry Martin Maire Toad Duff Mordecai Sam the Clam Tor Rasputin Valmont Edmund