The current theocracy worships the God of Water who brings rains and floods and whom they believe destroyed the Autean Civilization because of their prideful ways. As such, the Diaspran Temple employs thousands of Laborers of God to build dikes and canals to please the God and channel his Wrath away from the city and its crops. O'Casey speculates that the creation of this labor force was meant as a temporary social welfare measure (that become permanent) to provide employment to Mardukans put out of work by some technological innovation. Nashtor Hills - The location of iron mines located between Diaspra and K'Vaern's Cove. The ownership of the mines, prior to the Boman Invasion was contested by 3 different city states, a status that did not affect the miners there much. The mines had been cut off from supplies due to the Boman Invasion. K'Vaern's Cove - A city located along the shores of the ocean the marines need to pass and the region's greatest sea port and naval power. The city is run by a democratically elected council that requires its citizen to pay a fairly small tax in order to vote, with the seats on the Council divided among the various professional groups or guilds of the city. Prior to the Boman Invasion, K'Vaern's Cove was the wealthiest and most powerful of the region's city-states, being the industrial center for the processing of raw materials into goods and selling them to the other city-states. The Cove is also the secular center of the region and is the most socially and technologically developed city the marines encounter. The city is undergoing a suffrage movement during the marines' time in the city, with females gaining a greater standing in the Cove socially and politically. The local custom is to have women present at state dinners and social gatherings to offer an "air of grace" to the proceedings (a custom which the Vasin find decadent). Sindi - Located on the main crossing of the Tam River, Sindi was the largest city in the valleys of the Tam and Chasten rivers. Called the "Jewel of the Upper Tam" it was also a highly prosperous until the Boman hoards conquered it and used it as their central base in the region. It is the site of the decisive battle between the Boman and the allied forces of the southern city-states. D'Sley - Located across the bay from K'Vaern's Cove on a delta of the Tam River, the city was previously ruled by a council of nobles and a weak king.