Verus

Eight hundred years ago, the land on which now stands for the formidable metropolis of Verus was nothing but sand, cypress trees and marshland. How a thriving city grew from such simple beginnings, and in such a short period of time, is a mystery. Travellers from the time spoke of a strange obelisk appearing in the bay one day, made of grey stone and emblazoned with glowing runes. Local fauna shied away from it, and anyone who came too close was overcome by an overwhelming feeling of nausea. A few brave souls fought through this to venture close enough to touch it, only for robed figures to descend on them and tear them apart with their bare hands.
After that encounter, the local people avoided the area out of fear for many years. Thus it was, unbeknownst to anyone, fifty years after this first encounter, envoy set out to the surrounding area preaching about a new god, the Elder One, warning all who would listen to come to their city and bear witness to His glory or else face his wrath. Most refused to go, but those that did returned months later with a new found religious zeal and a determination to spread their conversion by force. So it was the first conquest of the Midaevian Empire began.
Locations of Importance
Although it still retains its original purpose as the religious centre for the Church of the Four Gates, the demands of Empire also forced Verus to develop into a colossal commercial and administrative centre. Its growth has matched the growth of the Empire; with every new land or territory conquered, the city experienced an influx of new peoples, races and cultures, all of them drawn by the promise of work, wealth or faith. The population of Verus currently stands at around 1.2 million, making it by far the largest city in the known world.
Verus hosts some of the Empire's most important religious and political sites, including:

• The Imperial City
• The Royal Arsenal
• The Rotunda Senatorum
• The Headquarters of the Iron Knights
• The Royal Menagerie
• The Court of Supreme Benevolence
• The Grand Imperial Cathedral

It is also the headquarters of the Empire's various Ministries and Hierarchal palaces. All business of the Empire, from the collection of grain taxes to the supervision of military campaigns, is done behind the gleaming sandstone pillars of its countless imposing structure. Among the Imperial organisations based in Verus are:

• The Ministry of Enlightenment
• The Ministry of Contention
• The Ministry of Dominion
• The Ministry of Expedience
• The Ministry of Commerce
• The Ministry of Impartiality 

Defences of Verus
Given the enormous religious, economic and political importance of Verus, it is no surprise that the city is one of the most heavily defended sites in the Empire. Besides hosting a permanent garrison of thirty thousands soldiers of the Imperial Banner, due to the fact that both the Headquarters of the Iron Knights and the Ministry of Enlightenment are situated within its walls, it can call upon both a host of dragon-riding warriors and a complement of fearsomely powerful sorcerers. The structural defences are equally formidable. A series of defensive walls, widely considered one of the most complex and elaborate fortification systems in existence, surround the Outer City, the Inner City, and the Imperial City, respectively, protecting the capital from every avenue of attack besides the sea. The walls themselves are composed of mortared rubbles, faced with blocks of fitted limestone and reinforced by courses of layered red brick. To enhance the network's integrity, the towers and walls are built independently of one another. The outer circuit alone constitutes some twenty miles of wall, thirty feet high, reinforced by over 600 towers, bastions, and small fortresses. There have even been rumours that the Imperial Praefects have taken the additional step of imbuing the very stones of the walls with potent spells and wards of protection, though no enemy has ever been able to get close enough to the capital to threaten it and test to see if these rumours are true.
To cover the city from a seaborn attack, a series of defensive towers were constructed along the shore which, when activated, could raise chains with links as thick as man's neck across the length of the bay. These can be activated at different times, essentially enabling the defenders to trap enemy ships in a steel net. Thus confined, the Imperial defenders have enough ballista, catapults and other, more insidious devices, to reduce the attackers' ship to fire and splinters in short order.

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Capital