Titanis

Titanis was the great sky empire of the Titans, in the time before the Colossus War, when the harmony of the World was absolute. The civic order of Titans, the Orden, was the embodiment of this harmony in society, as the nine cities of Titans were its concrete representation.
Each city was a vast complex of interlocking palaces and mansions, held up by ancient and incomprehensible sorceries and foundations of bouyant cloudstone. At the centre of the city was the core, surrounded by a number of hub districts, each one in turn the anchor and gateway to a number of sprawl districts. Within the very heart of each core was its keystone. Each city was linked to one of the Orden Runes, the symbolic representations of the ur-Titanic words for the principles of the world. The rune of a city, etched into its keystone, anchored that concept in the world. Each city had its own, internal government. Representatives of the nine cities, as well as the leaders of various powerful organisatons, met in a ruling council called the Ayet.
The nine cities, with their Keystone runes, were as follows:

Titania was first and foremost of the cities, capital of the empire and seat of both the Hilding, the lawgiver of Titanis, and of the Ayet, the Imperial Council. The city rose in nine tiers from its broad base to the gleaning summit of the Imperial Palace, like a vast, floating mountain. The Keystone of Titania was Meya, the rune of authority, virtue and proper order. As the capital, Titania was home to a great range of Titans.

Eurosia was the city of flight. It was the oldest of the cities, in which the other eight were constructed. Broad and solid, the architecture of Eurosia was noted for its strength, for more than its beauty. After the other cities were complete, it remained a centre of Industry, and especially the home port of the Titanic Air Fleet. Founded on the Keystone Skai, the rune of air and language and deception, Eurosia was also the seat of Titanic diplomacy, as well as the first home of the Titans of the Air.

Astraea was called the the city of chimes. Seemingly delicate towers projecting both above and below the cloudstone foundations housed the residences, lecture halls and laboratories of the faculty and students of the High Academies of Titans. The hollow cores of each tower resonated with the winds, creating a haunting song that provided a constant backdrop to the work of the sages. The keystone of Astraea was Stern, the rune of memory, permanence and art.

Caldaea was a gentle city, the great hospital of the Titans and, after the advent of time, a hospice for those who could not be saved. It flew higher than any other city, closer to the realm of the Gods and the source of divine energy. Its architecture featured airy domes and sweeping buttresses to create a city of peace, light and beauty. It keystone was Hav, the rime of change, healing and water. As such, it was home to many of the Titans of Water.

Thosis was the city of rest. Great monuments to the achievements of Titanis sat alongside the halls of Titans who wished to retire from active life. When mortality was introduced to the world, rest become repose, and Thosis became the necropolis: the city of the dead. The Titans of Storm who lived there grew fascinated by death, until that fascination bred the curse of undeath. Built on the keystone of Var, sure of power, prophecy and the arcane, the power of Thosis was unparalled, and even in death its residents successfully defended against all comers.

Aenion was built to perfect the skills of Titanis' artisans. Teeming with the workshops of smiths, leather workers, masons and tinkers, its architecture was intricate and beautiful. It was called the city of lights, partly for the sweeping, airy lines of its soaring butresses and vaults, but also for the lights which burned always in the windows of the city, where at least one Titan seemed ever on the verge of a world-changing discovery. Aenion was home mostly to the Titans of Fire. It rested on the keystone of the rune Flam, symbolising creation and destruction.

Xandias was the city of domes, dedicated to astronomy and the observation of the heavens. It is said that the Titans of the Firmament were able to take their city beyond even the sky, where they beheld the coming threat of the Colossi and were cast into self-destructive despair. Even the keystone of Xandias, Stjoern, rune of clarity and questioning, was split asunder. The star-rune ceased to exist when the Keystone broke, the first crack in the World's harmony, replaced in the very alphabet of creation by Asef, the rime of chaos, evil and wrongness.

Atrea was the largest city state of Titanis, the least remarked, and the most important. With no terrestrial estates, the broad fields of Astrea's mansions and suspended platforms were the main source of food for the empire. The Earth Titans who worked the holds were looked down on as mere labourers, their worth only recognised by the enemies who made them target of choice in the War. The Keystone of Atrea was Tor, rune of belonging and sustenance.

Mecheri was the city of Artifice, the last to be built and the masterpiece of Eurosian craft. The entire city was a great mechanism, whose movement provided power for workshops and factories. It was here that the first Forgeborn were given their partial life, although the great foundries of Eurosia soon took up the project, with their own great work completed. The keystone of the city was Eis, rune of endurance and grandeur.
Since the Colossus War, the surviving cities have been held by the Giants. The Orden survives as the rigid codes of giant society, but the deep secrets of Titanic science and philosophy were lost, and the centuries have worn down much of Titanis' glory.

Type

Geopolitical, Empire