The Temple City of Ekora
The Temple City of Ekora overlooks the Thael Sea, guarded by the Thàllur Bluffs, and has been the sacred city of the Ëlhyaean faith for thousands of years. It is believed to be the site where the first elves landed in Felora, from their prehistoric home in the Dàlùnsten.
Gulls call from the sky, their calls carried on the ocean wind. Majestic bluffs across the harbour guard the sacred tranquility of the Temple City. Stillness pervades the area, as orderly queues form at the city's gates, conversations just above a whisper. The smell of salt, incense, and fish graces your nostrils as you take your place in the queue to enter.
Quarters of the Temple City
There are four quarters in the city. During the Feloran Empire, the Imperial authorities divided the city into even more districts outside of the walls, however the collapse of the Empire at the start of the Present Era left these districts empty and dillipated.- Ëàdo. One of the lower quarters of the city, near the southern docks. It is home to most of the city's fish houses, where the day's catch is stored and gutted, prepped for shipping out of the lower quarters to the upper quarters. The quarter has the more lively accomodations for most travelers, as they cater more more outsiders, and local noise ordinances are less strictly enforced.
- Fùlia. The other lower quarter, located along the northern docks. The site of the city's market for most food and non-magical items, although spices and herbs may be found here.
- Yuröèlia. Ekoran for "place of thought", this upper quarter is situated around a central open-air atrium and is a space for the public practices of Ëlhyaea, and is the location of most of the city's artisans and skilled laborers. The rest of the ctiy's forges are located here, along with the workshops of the city's wizards and others skilled in magical arts.
- Eladrel. The area immediately around the Tower of Eladrel. It is home to many shrines, the most in any one area in Ekora and potentially all of Felora. The market for higher quality herbs and spices, and of course magical components, potions, and enchanted items is located here.
Important Locations
- Tower of Eladrel. Home to the Conclave, a sort of authority or "church" for the Ëlhyaean faith, named for the inner circle of Druids who meet at the top of the tower to discuss and trade the secrets of the faith that they seek to uncover in their druidic circles. It houses all the numerous archives and offices of the Conclave, a compendium of knowledge dating back to before recorded history, although much of it is stored deep within the tower's lower levels and off limits to most. The tower also holds the living accomodations of Conclave members, and has numerous rooms for contemplation and prayer.
- Sesa's House of Rest. What passes as the local inn and tavern in the upper quarters. Not a lively joint.
- Captain Lei̯r's Keep. Located in Ëàdo, this establishment is favoured by the city's sailing residents, who take advantage of the lax enforement of noise ordinances for evenings of revelry. Above the Keep's main door is the Yira Lullo, a spirit of the Thael Sea that many of the fishing crews revere, who when honored with a bountiful catch is a patron of celebration.
- Gardens of Ghīr'a. The largest of the Temple City's public gardens, located in the square at the base of the Tower's main entrance.
Demographics
The Temple City is relatively small for a capital city by Feloran standards, with a population of 25,863. 1,301 reside within the Serene Temple itself, master practitioners of Ëlhyaea, including the members of the Assembly of Mages and Circle of Judgement. The remaining 24,562 are free individuals of varying degrees of wealth, ranging from fishers subsisting on the catch of the day to trained professionals and artisans. Of the city's total population, 90% are eligible to vote for representation on the Temple City's Je'thor Council, while the remaining 10% are either members of the Conclave, not present enough of the year, or have been sanctioned by the Conclave. Much of the city's merchants are not full time residents, who hail from Felora as well as far off lands such as Okunokan or the Tcharss'tai Pact. Most of the population is of Feloran Elvish descent, more specifically Ekoran. 5% of the city's permanent residents are half-elves, generally devout Ëlhyaean practitioners from the Dotharan Alliance. Also present are Dragonborn from the various clans of the Tcharss'tai Pact, and a small minority of humans and the odd dwarf.
Government
While the rest of Ekora is left to it's own devices to govern itself, with only the appointment of Shrine Custodians, Temple Heads, and Local Magistrates being any indication of the Conclave's authority across the steppes, the Conclave is as involved in the day-to-day affairs of the Temple City as they are aloof from the world outside it's walls. Laws are enforced by a 600-strong City Watch, who are also supplemented by the Conclave's Order of Amberes. The Je'thor Council has authority on non-religious matters and handles most of the daily governance, and is elected by the residents of the city's quarters. The Council is subordinate to the Làkùlaì, a member of the Conclave selected as the head of the city's temple and sacred protector of the settlement.
Defences
The city's walls are among the oldest in Felora, built long before the formation of the Province of Ekora by the Feloran Empire in -1866 EIE, these walls surround the upper quarters, shielding it from attack by the plains. The city's natural defences from the nearby bluffs are guarded by outposts with Felmorn troops, which have a pyre beacon system to warn of hostile approach by sea. The three satellite towers among the lower quarters also serve as barracks, while lastly the Tower of Eladrel itself also serves as a citadel for the Conclave's fighting members, including it's paladins.
Industry & Trade
Since the Getninian cataclysm, the city has been the only safe port east of the Turgen Atoll, a series of dangerous islands and unstable seas in the northeast of Felora that makes travel around it difficult, as the further one goes out to sea the harsher the winds and storms tend to be, although modern sailing methods are beginning to overcome this. The city's most valuable resource is it's access to the Thael Sea, which has bountiful fisheries that sustain the city and were the source of much of the Ekoran diet before the Feloran introduction of advanced agriculture. Thousands of fishing boats line the docks of the lower quarters, and the city has the largest shipyards outside of the Dotharan Alliance, though they tend to repair ships more often than build them.
Infrastructure
The temple city has the amenities of most major cities of the Feloran Successor States, although it is only one of two in the Ekoran Conclaval Lands to have both streetlighting and plumbing. It is the only capital of a successor state not connected to the others via canal, as one was never built during either the Imperial or High Imperial Eras. Due to the city's sacredness to the Ëlhyaean faith, much of the city is kept immaculately clean, with the exception of the fish houses in the Ëàdo Quarter, and there are public gardens spread evenly through the city growing herbs for healing and other medicinal/magical use. Heavy industry found in other modern urban settlements are heavily restricted so to protect the sanctity of the city.
Guilds and Factions
The Temple City is, not surprisingly, dominated by the Conclave of Ekora, those who reside within the Tower of Eladrel who seek to expand the bounds of Ëlhyaean spirituality and have devoted themselves to their practice. The city is considered sacred ground to most Felorans and practitioners of Ëlhyaea, which dampens any open conflict between the Conclave and any of the more secularly minded guilds.
History
No one knows exactly when the Temple was founded. The city's central spire, the Tower of Eladrel, which holds the Conclave and which extends as deep underground as it does into the sky, has always been present in historical and mythological references, predating those to the city or even Ekora itself. The first permanent settlement is dated to -700 RE, during the Ekoran Age of Ìmbrìl, when the eponymous Baesli established a small town out of the resident fishers living in the landing below the Tower.
During the Age of Gèsarö, the Droke people were allowed to settle the fields near the Tower, greatly expanding the settlement's population and making it a city for the first time. As it grew, it became an attractive target for others in the region, and Baesli Gèsarö ordered the construction of a wall to protect the Droke. This wall was completed in the first decade of the next Baesli, the Age of Kàlèrn'a.
When the Feloran Empire created the Province of Ekora in -1866 EIE, the city became the provincial capital. During the imperial eras, the city's population exploded as others from across the Empire made pilgrimage to the city as the Empire adopted the practice of the Conclave, and as Lèlbrìkèrn espoused the city's mystical history and quality. After peaking at over 130,000 people in 1800 LIE, the population plummeted in the collapse of the Empire and ensuing continent-wide famine. The city continued as the seat of power for the Conclave and the lands it is responsible for after the collapse of the empire.
Architecture
The city's most distinct feature, the Tower of Eladrel, is made from the rock of the surrounding area, and in fact is carved out of the cliff formation, extending to the lower quarters. Most of the buildings are made out of the plentiful Limestone available, while during the Imperial and High Imperial Eras the Felorans imported wood from the Dotharan rainforest for use in some of the buildings. Homes and buildings are usually adorned with representations of personal Yīra of the inhabitants, most commonly ancestral figures and Yira of good fortune or safety, while other buildings have figures of yira relevant to the building's function. The Felorans greatly expanded the city's harbour, almost 60% of it's footprint consisting of reclaimed land or docks capable of holding buildings, made from much of the aforementioned Dotharan wood.
Geography
The temple city is situated where the Jollì Steppes suddenly drop into the Thael Sea. Across from it's harbor are the Thàllur Bluffs. The city is bisected by the cliff, with half formerly sprawling across the fields above and the other sequestered in the landing below, steadily reclaiming portions of the bay and bulding into the water through infills and docks. The city is humid most of the year, with a rainy and cooler dry season.
Founding Date
-700 RE / -5321 AÌ
Alternative Name(s)
the Mystical City, City of Life
Type
Capital
Population
25,863
Inhabitant Demonym
Ekoran
Location under
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
