Nymara
Demographics
The majority of the city contained ethnically Umbralti citizens. However, due to Nymara's centralized location in Arkanis, it saw much trade and thus had many travelers from other countries passing through at any given time.
In the old times, Nymara was seen as the fastest-growing city - and Umbralta, the fastest growing country - on the continent. Because of this, many traders, craftspeople, politicians, scientists, and philsophers would pilgrimage to Nymara.
Government
"Unity in Balance; Peace in Unity."
Nymara was the seat of power for the country of Umbralta, ruled by a Queen with a council of priestesses, scientists, and political representatives elected from the various politicking bodies of the people. Seen as the first Republic, the Umbraltan government promoted free speech and democratic elections amongst its people, with an emphasis on maintaining balance between rising industry and the natural world. The Council of Balance acted as a mediating force for conflict between any and all of the other queendoms, stepping in to act as a "supreme court" and "neutral" party to determine compromise and fairness in legal dealings. The government valued candor, justice, and balance above all else.Industry & Trade
A hub of international trade, Nymara served as the nexus point for all the queendoms' imports and exports by land. While the city itself was "landlocked", their innovative shadow-powered transportation systems allowed for fast transport of goods from one queendom to another without the need for boats.
Nymara was also known as the "city of scholars" renowned for its vast libraries, scientific halls, and universities. It stood as a bastion of educational information surrounding mathematics, physics, and alchemy, as well as a house for philosophy to thrive. Intense research was done on the nexus crystal the vode crista and its sister crystals to study their ability to grant people elemental power, which to this day remains unknown. Students from all over Arkanis would flock to Nymara to hone their magical skills and pursue advanced scholarship.
Infrastructure
- Clocktowers
- Cobblestone roads
- Crude beginnings of advanced machines (sewing machines, water and wind mills, forges)
- Shadow-powered machines (automobiles, war machines)
- Cathedral
- Castle
- University
- Library
Assets
- Vode Crista = the nexus crystal for Shadow power; located in the Castle
- Magic-operated machinery = pioneer scientists inventing new machines that could be powered by Chosen magic of any type to assist in construction, education, transportation, and defense
Points of interest
Nymara Castle
The castle of the Queen and her Royal Court. It stood at the center of the city, elevated on all sides on a plateau. Its walls of solid stone were welded by Ignisine fire and Terrine construction, making them nearly impenetrable. Watchtowers are located on all four corners of the castle, with a final tall spire elevated at the center that served as a library, observatory, and the Queen's personal quarters. Beautiful carvings line the stone walls, murals depicting the Gift of Treyen mythos and the innovation of the Umbralti people throughout the centuries. The carvings primarily focus on the development of science, philosophers, and technological innovation, but some say the arcane symbols dancing across the stone in random places are a cipher that may lead to the secret underground rooms of the castle where the Priestesses of Shadow practiced their private rituals.Koos Library
At the western edge of the city on the university campus, Koos Library was a fortress for scholarship. It was said to contain all scholarship on the physics and and magical properties of the nexus crystals and their children, as well as the academic works of mathematicians, philosophers, and financiers as they developed Nymara.Elevas Cathedral
One of the largest buildings in Nymara, unadorned save for the few statues of worshipping priestesses at the doorways. It contains a massive bell tower that was said to send peals of music across Nymara that could be heard all the way in Lucidia. Inside, the cathedral boasts hundreds of pews encircling a stage at the center, with acoustics meant to serve choral music and the tunes that accompany the use of shadow magic. Performances of "shadow dancing" and religious rites were practiced in public here.Geography
The city is landlocked, located in a vast plains ringed by deciduous forest. Rolling hills and plains elevate and depress certain parts of the city, adjusted by Terrine and Mystine wielders when the city was first formed. A massive plateau of earth and rock was erected at the center of the city for the castle to sit on.
The weather is temperate, seeing cold winters and dry summers. Thunderstorms are common, but most of the land alteration has made twisters and dust devils less common than they were before settlement.
Natural Resources
Nymara's primary export is it's knowledge. Most of its natural resources are imported from other areas, especially during the decline of the city and the country itself. This causes the city to choke during siege.
The most abundant and well-protected natural resource of the region is the vast network of crystals in the caves and underground of the city. Before the nexus crystals were harvested by the traitorous leaders of the other queendoms, Nymara held the largest concentration of crystals that spanned across the entirety of the continent, making it the perfect place for Chosen to be born and for the academic study of Chosen power.
Founders
Alternative Name(s)
City of Scholars, City of Shadows, the Flatlands, Nexus
Type
Capital
Inhabitant Demonym
Nymarian
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
Comments