The City-State of Excium

The Founding of Excium

Three hundred and seventy five years ago the capital of the Vizalian Empire and several of its satellite communities vanished without a trace. For months no Elanni could approach within 50 miles of the site. All who tried disappeared and were never seen again. Half a year later, fantastically advanced automatons arrived at the gates of every surviving city of the empire, claiming to be emissaries from the newly established city-state of Excium. The destruction of the capital city was blamed on a magical mishap which only the metal-bodied constructs survived. All were invited to travel to the city and witness the reconstructive work being done there.
Suspicions were high among the orphaned cities, still reeling from the loss of their central government and suffering a breakdown of order in society, yet only a few diplomats needed to accept the invitation before word spread like wildfire that a world wonder was rising above the plains of Gan! Of the Vizalian capital and its surroundings nothing remained; not foundations, not roads, not even graves. The land was as pristine as though it had never been settled at all. Yet where the capital once stood there was now a city of polished metal and glass under feverish construction. Each day it grew visibly larger as its tireless metal architects worked day and night. Even the lowliest visitor was treated like royalty, given an automaton that acted as personal servant and guide, and boarded in lavish apartments that contained amenities only available a few other places in the world, such as hot running water and temperature controlled rooms.
It wasn't long before all the former citizens of the Vizalian Empire knew of the incredible advancements available in Excium, yet it was the newborn city-state's military might that convinced skeptical leaders to accept Excium as their new capital. In the aftermath of Vizalia's disappearance, the empire's ability to police its interior suffered a catastrophic reduction and banditry rose to unmanageable levels. By the time Excium's first emissaries arrived just six months after the collapse, travel was unsafe except in the company of well-armed caravans. Yet the automatic patrols that marched from Excium's newly constructed gates proved terrifyingly effective at stamping out lawlessness. Immune to most conventional weaponry, the automaton soldiers could not be fought, and those bandits that proved adept at escaping were simply pursued until the men either fled the borders or dropped dead from exhaustion. With order restored and travel made safer than it had ever been before, Excium made overtures to the struggling cities, inviting them to join a new empire, a shining beacon of order and efficiency. Eventually, all accepted, and The City-State of Excium claimed the former borders of the Vizalian Empire as its city limits.

Excium, the Glorious City

The wonder of Excium begins hundreds of miles before the city walls are visible. As travelers from the north approach the sea, they behold the swooping arches of the Bridge of Excium spanning the waters. Two hundred and fifty miles of compacted stone-paved roadway soar up to two hundred feet above the surface of the waters to allow even the largest of ships passage underneath. The Bridge is not built over shallow water either; its pylons sink over ten thousand feet beneath the surface in some places. Crossing the bridge on foot is a week long journey at least, and is made possible by small inns built onto the bridge every 25 miles.
Once a traveler has crossed the Bridge, they find themselves on The Broad Way, an enormous, mathematically straight road that connects the Bridge to the Open Gate of Excium. True to its name, the Open Gate has never been known to close, though it is guarded by automaton soldiers who efficiently direct the flow of incoming travelers. Once inside the high walls, the strange splendor of the city unfolds before its visitors. Towers rise in hierarchical heights around a central spire, and all are interconnected by layers upon layers of concentric thoroughfares. Polished metal surfaces and angled glass constructions bring sunlight into the city from dawn to dusk so that no corner is left unlit, creating the radiant glow Excium is known for. Cleverly placed, these reflections and refractions always fall just out of line of sight, lighting without blinding. At night the lights of Excium are bright enough to illuminate clouds, if there be any above. The glow of it can be seen all the way from the Bridge.

Government

Technocracy

Infrastructure

Excium is in a constant state of expansion, its mechanical laborers needing neither food or rest. It is the most technologically advanced civilization in the world, possessing marvels such as indoor running water, sewer systems, temperature control, and astral power condensers to fuel the city's many magitech devices. Its architecture is almost entirely of mithral both inside and out, representing the largest concentration of the otherwise rare metal in the world. Some researchers believe that below even the Deep Vaults and their Somber Seas, molten mithral flows and influences the tides and tremors of the surface world. It is speculated that Excium's automatons may have bored their mineshafts to uncharted depths and now draw from that fantastic reservoir. With this seemingly limitless supply, the structures of Excium ignore the architectural limitations of lesser metals and soar in implausibly thin spires and vast, sweeping arcs and arches.

I thought that cities described as 'shining' was just an example of poetic license. I can say for certain now that is not so. As if the Bridge were not wonder enough, I saw the gleam of Excium's towers above the plains before the city itself came into view. What grandeur! What splendor! Mithral towers like beacons soared above the grasslands and lit the sky even at night! At its mighty gates men of metal greeted and directed travelers with reassuring efficiency. Neither the tireless industry of Graja'did nor the magics of Pania Rora have yet created such a sight!

Type

Metropolis

Inhabitant Demonym

Exciumite