Cthoulotl

"You could offer me all the kingdom's treasures, the princess's hand in marriage, and the throne. It still wouldn't be enough to convince to go to that gods-forsaken city." -an anonymous adventurer upon being asked to rescue an abducted noble from Cthoulotl

Demographics

There are only two types of inhabitants in Cthoulotl: mind flayers, and individuals enslaved by the mind flayers.

Government

Unlike most flayer settlements, Cthoulotl's affairs are governed by not one but three Elder Brains. This triuumvirate is spread out across the city to expand the range of the city's psychic network.

Defences

The city is surrounded by a massive wall of enchanted stone. The gates can only be opened by psionic power, keeping prisoners in and intruders out. The city also dissuades invasion due to how deep into the inhospitable Pale Wastes it is. Any force wanting to storm Cthoulotl would have to pass through hundreds of miles of the Pale Wastes' twisted, blasphemous landscape and contend with the abominations that prowl the expanse.

Industry & Trade

Cthoulotl seemingly has no trade or industry beyond constructing the pyramid at the city's heart. In the morning, the slaves imprisoned by the mind flayers mine the mountains for stones. In the afternoon, they cut the stones into bricks. In the evening, they haul the bricks across the wastes and build up the pyramid. The only part the flayers play in the pyramid's construction is carving strange symbols into the pyramid's walls.

History

The city of Cthoulotl is as old as the Pale Wastes- or perhaps, as some speculate, Cthoulotl created the Pale Wastes. The flayers of Cthoulotl build the city up for several centuries, but only in the past 200 years have they begun actively gathering slaves to built their vast pyramid.

Architecture

The architecture of Cthoulotl is totally alien- the buildings built of granite bricks are designed in strange geometric patterns. Buildings will have free-standing extruded segments, coil into themselves, or seem to even defy the laws of physics.

Alternative Name(s)

City of Mind Flayers, the Angled City

Type

City

Population

1.5 million (2 million counting slaves)