Arcana
The capital of the Arcanaan Empire. Settled by Nasirian religious exiles in 1230 BA.
Demographics
As the empire's seat of government, Arcana is a melting pot of all Abian cultures and identities. Since the alliance years, before Anselm I united the old kingdoms of the continent, Arcana was and always has been a hub of diplomacy and trade. The city-state was neutral ground for the petty monarchs and powerful families of Abia to have their diplomats hash out amiable relations and deals. The exiled Nasirians believed in fostering peace among their neighbors, and, in time, their growing city was like a second home to Abians of every creed. It proved that humans of different backgrounds could co-exist and act as a united people.
By far, the largest population of humans are Lornarian, as Arcana is located within the modern day province of Lornaris. See more about this below, under History.
Government
The imperator maintains absolute control over the entire empire, but he or she entrusts the Argentorate with the authority to make decisions on matters of municipal governance in Arcana. The Argentorate is a legislative body of representatives from each of the city's districts. There are seven districts in total, and each relay the concerns of the citizens through two elected officials: one acting as the voice of the residents, and the other as the voice of the distict's traders and merchants. Together, the Argentorate debate over the city's allocation of resources and the passing and review of ordinances. A single speaker, elected from among themselves, reports any matters of concern to the imperator. This individual is known as the Oppida Primus (the First Citizen).
Infrastructure
Arcana is located along the west foot of the Blue Mountains, on the north bank of Lake Arcana. Until the original Nasirian exiles settled the city, it was largely a chimeric ruin. The location's original purpose was the use of running water from the Blue Mountains for energy conversion. Essentially, it was a hydro-electric dam, a testament to chimeric ingenuity and an echo of an advanced civilization. However, today, while water still flows through the dam, the ancient turbines no longer function. Human engineers aren't even sure how to repair them and access to any uncovered chimeric knowledge is highly restricted within the empire. Nonetheless, as water flows from the rivers of the mountains into the high-ground resevoir above the dam, excess pours over the top through overflow channels (dips in various locations at the top of the dam walls) and down into the main lake below. The many waterfalls make for a beautiful sight with rainbows cast over the city during daylight as mist rises into the air.
While the city began on the cliffs and shoreline around the lake, where the dam ruins served as a jumping-off point for the original settlement, Arcana largely expands over the water today, supported by enormous foundations and bridges of smoothly carved white limestone. The main levels are high enough above the surface to prevent flooding, but low enough for there to be multiple access points for boat travel to bypass busy streets.
Guilds and Factions
The Argentorate
The city-state's semi-autonomous body of government. They report only to the imperator, but largely act and pass legislation without much intervention from the throne.The Royal Family
The imperator's family tree is vast, but the blood runs thick among the relatives. While they may have their own fair share of infighting and rivalry, should the family ever be threatened, they stand together and are not afraid to leverage the might of their empire against any foe foolish enough to disrupt the balance of power. Most of the immediate family reside in the Magnus Casilinum (the grandest of the city's structures, at the heart of the capital). Extended relatives own properties throughout the city, but they themselves are largely dispersed throughout the empire during the winter, returning to enjoy the beauty of the city on its lake in the summer.The Ostia Aterni
While the Church as a whole would deny being a political faction itself, it is nonetheless split into various bodies fighting each other for control. The most ruthless among them is the Ostia Aterni, a religious inquisition office. Militant in their faith, the inquisitors of the Church hunt down heretics and bring them to trial at their headquarters in Arcana. It is often speculated that the Ostia Aterni's very existence is what motivated Anselm I to eject the Church from his court when he created the empire. Even though Arcana was founded on the idea of religious freedom, it has always been the position of the city's kings (and imperators) to prevent an ironic repeat of history. The Ostia Aterni's activities are, by and large, illegal. Agents of the Church, no matter what their faith may proclaim, are not authorized to arrest and interrogate imperial citizens. The issue of arresting slaves on the other hand is legally gray. The empire turns a blind eye to any abuses the inquisition makes against slaves (human or, especially, chimera). Taking advantage of this, the Ostia Aterni is known to push the envelope and arrest any citizens "conspiring" with slaves that are the subject of an investigation.The Ostia Biblia
Another faction of the Creator Astralian Church, the Ostia Biblia safeguards the secrets of the past. Primarily, this means anything of astral and chimeric nature. No matter the knowledge, if it has something to do with the Era of Dreams, the Ostia Biblia will try to control it. They maintain and protect a vast library of scrolls, tablets, and codices below the Caius Basilica in Arcana, the headquarters of the Church and the religion's holiest site.The Gladiators Guild
Any free citizen of the empire can perform in Arcana's grand coliseum as a fighter and entertain the masses. Gladiators earn a living by overcoming trials by combat. Usually they are pitted against dangerous creatures, nightmares (article needed) being the most common fodder. On occasion, the guild will host tournaments and pit gladiator against gladiator. Usually, matches end upon first blood and the competitors are not expected to kill each other, but there is no rule barring killing, so... accidents tend to happen in the heat of the moment. But the crowds generally love such drama and tension, which means more profits from bets. Gladiator slaves do not enjoy any income from their trials. They are almost exclusively pitted against dangerous beasts that tear them to shreds between main performances, giving a sadistic audience a good laugh. When not fighting, slaves are a great source of cheap labor. They clean the weapons and armor of their human betters, tend to the captive beasts, and clean the barracks. Perhaps most cruelly, when the guild dispatches a capture team to resource more beasts for fights, slaves are used as bait to lure predatory creatures into traps. Mika was an enslaved chimera gladiator when he met Gaelan Petra at the beginning of Rebellion.History
When the old ruins were first settled, Lornaris was a sovereign kingdom. Its monarch was wary of the exiled Nasirians and gave them the ruins of the dam, expecting they would simply squat there and stay out of the way. As long as they didn't cause trouble, he was content with letting them have their own "king", Alexi. But what Lornaris didn't realize was that among the exiles were enough Nasirian engineers to see that the ruins would become a proper town in a short amount of time. When it was large enough to be called a city, Alexi's successor tried to negotiate independence from Lornaris, but he was denied.
Lornaris wasn't blind to the benefit of holding Arcana. It was becoming a trade hub, being situated near the border with the Highlands to the north, and more than a few passes through the Blue Mountains connected them with the Midlands and Castere in the east. Capitalizing on their new city, Lornaris taxed Arcana and snubbed its king by addressing him as a mere mayor.
But just more than 200 years after its founding, Antony Viscus ascended to the Arcanan throne. In dramatic departure from his predecessors, he had grand visions for Arcana. He despised how weak the city's kings before him were, and he held a deep resentment toward Nasir that bordered on obsession. But before he could see his plans put in motion, he first had to deal with Lornaris...
Antony had one card he could play to force the Lornarians back to the negotiating table over Arcanan sovereignty: his people were loyal to him, not Lornaris. Should he decree it, he could halt trading with Lornaris exclusively and use the influence that Arcana had earned with the other kingdoms to have them follow suit. And if Lornaris retaliated with force? Then certainly the other kingdoms wouldn't be too pleased to see Abia's sanctuary of diplomacy turned into a battleground.
Lornaris conceded to Antony's demands, relinguishing their claim to the city.
Read more about Arcana's formation of an empire here. (article needed)
Architecture
The exiles of Nasir that settled Arcana adapted their Nasirian architecture to incorporate a new love of the pitched roofs, cylindrical towers, sprawling asymetrical citadels, and white stone of their new Abian neighbors. In a word, Arcanan architecture is Baroque in its design. The city itself organically meshes with the chimeric architecture of the surrounding dams, even incorporating decorative monoliths in the plazas and along the major fairways, mimicing the towering spires above the dam walls. Bronze braces wrap over gray domes resting on pendentives atop towers and large structures, giving the city an analogously Mediterranean feel. Columns of near-Corinthian design support the many bridges that run through the city high above the lake, and guard the entrances of major buildings.
Arcana is a wonder to behold from any and every angle, whether approaching by boat from the lake, descending from the mountains above, or approaching by road from the north or south.
Founding Date
1230 BA
Type
Capital
Population
Approx. 1.2 million
Inhabitant Demonym
Arcanans
Owning Organization
