Kasan

I have to admit that after visiting Kasan for the first time I was impressed by the sheer beauty of it. Even for creatures as old as us it is good that there are still things in the world that can move us.

— High Sage Syronikir

Kasan is the current capital of the Crystal Empire but has been around for far longer than the creation of this nation. According to the mythology of the Ilbon Pantheon, the flying islands of Kasan were already found by the god Tanajin. If the myths are to be believed the large blue Fall crystal at the center island was the body of the first Dragon, Seeria, who perished during Magicfall.
Today it is still the most holy site of the Ilbon Pantheon and therefore visited by numerous pilgrims every year.

Crystal Empire by Kefkejaco with Inkarnate

Extra Information

Founding Date

Unknown

Location

Kasan is located in central Oneraga at the edge of a gigantic crater

Owner

It is currently the capital of the Crystal Empire

Population

1 235 000

Primary Races

Gnomes, Draconids, Halflings, Humans, Elves

Known for

Seeria Crystal, floating islands, silk, jewelry, Falls, rice

Avg. Temperature

16 °C

History

Founding

There are no real historical accounts of the founding of Kasan itself. The earliest records that mention the settlement are from 3800 BF which is already at least 2 centuries after its supposed mythological founding date. Regardless of its true founding date, this date for its first historical mention still makes it the most ancient settlement of the planet.
According to the founding myth the god Tanajin wandered Niorath in a search for survivors after the devestating God War. He gathered all the Gnomes he found along the way and took them along. They travelled the world until they arrived at the a large floating crystal Fall where Tanajin noticed four mourning Dragons. These Primal Dragons told him that they were the children of Seeria and that the large crystal was in fact the remains of the first Dragon Seeria.
Eventually the Primal Dragons set out to all corners of the world besides the blue Dragon Sanjoo, who remained at Tanajin's side. Together they created the first settlement of Kasan around the crater. On the central floating island Tanajin built a large palace from where he could oversee the entire valley.

by kefkejaco with Midjourney

by kefkejaco with Inkarnate

After Tanajin

For a long time Tanajin was content with his life but over time he grew weary and his urge to search for others like him grew once more. According to the Divine Golem myth it was at this time he created his Juggernaut with which he, and several Gnomes crossed the ocean and settled in Farlis.
His high priest was left in charge of Kasan and its crystal throne. For a long time the descendants of the high priest looked over Kasan which became the center of a loose alliance of smaller kingdoms in the region commonly referred to as the Kasan Kingdoms. There is some debate whether the true descendants of the high priest were Dragons or Draconids as the myth only mentions that he was a child of Sanjoo, a term which is used to describe both. This has led to the ruler of the city to change quite regurarly between both Dragons and Draconids families that are descendants of Sanjoo.

Under Isshan Rule

For a long time Kasan remained the center of the nations around it. However the southern nation of Isshan kept increasing its territories. First these conquest were only towards the eastern Iki Clans but soon the eastern kingdoms of the Kasan Kingdoms fell one by one as well. In the end Kasan itself was also conquered although the Crystal Throne and its surrounding palace were reached much later. Kasan's ruling Dragon at the time fled before the siege of the capital probably out of fear of the Empire's magic.
It is believed that the Isshan Empire's great use of Mind Magic allowed it to conquer many territories. According to legends they even manged to control the minds of Dragons which allowed the Empire to use the Kasan Kingdom's stongest allies to be used against them.
Under Isshan rule the city still prospered but the amount of pilgrimages declined during this period. After a century of rule the Isshani were able to create Mind Magic strong enough to manipulate one of the floating islands. This allowed the Isshani to finally access the Crystal Throne.
Almost overnight the Isshan Empire fell to some reason that remains a mystery up to this day. Their core regions were devestated by Chaos Corruption and survivors fled in all directions. This caused a wave of Gnome migrations across the world causing a huge population shift in Kasan as well. Many refugees of the core region of Isshan eventually settled near the relatively safe Kasan.

by kefkejaco with inkarnate

by kefkejaco with inkarnate

Crystal Empire

Once the period of Isshani migrations ended, Kasan quickly grew in standing once more. With the Isshani having lost much of their Mind Magic knowledge the descendants of Sanjoo quickly took control of the Crystal Throne once more. To this day it is still the same Draconic family that rules Kasan since most other claimants to the throne had perished either during the Isshani occupation or the chaos after its fall.
This time however, Kasan took a more direct leader position and unified much of the former kingdoms into one nation. Only the northern areas remained independent as they did not recognise the leadership. The northern territories were ruled by a Draconid family who also held a reasonable claim to the Crystal Throne. Eventually this led to a war between nations which the southern regions won. After that victory the nation became known as the Crystal Empire and its ruler as the Dragon Emperor.

Geography

Kasan is a large city at the edge of a gigantic crater. Many belief that the crater was created during Magicfall. The first Dragon Seeria is believed to have perished during this event after which she returned to her primordial, a large blue crystal. When this crystal reached the surface it created the crater and caused the debris to fly high in the air.
However, due to the magical nature of the crystal the debris formed islands that still float near the crater to this day. The large crystal itself is located on a island that is now high up in the air and can't be accessed from the surface.The other flying islands are near surface level which, over time, allowed the inhabitants of Kasan to visit by constructing various bridges. Most of the city is still located at the edge of the crater but the noble districts can mostly be found on the flying islands.
The city itself covers every edge of the crater which makes it look like an irregular ring. One large road circles around the crater and connects every district of the city. However in some places the bridges to the flying islands offer shortcuts. Sadly there are no direct bridges from one side of the crater to the other. This makes travel to the other side of the side a bit inconvenient.

by kefkejaco with midjourney

The city gets it water from the many rivers that flow from the mountainous edges of the valley towards the crater. In many places this water is redirected into basins for later use. The water that flows into the valley is a bit of a mystery, however. Although there is a lake near the bottom the crater itself has never overflown. It is therefore thought that at least part of the water gets out of the crater through an underground river system. A large portion of the water however floats upwards due to the Air Magic of the region where it reforms into clouds. Most of these clouds release their rain at the edges of the valley.

Landmarks

by kefkejaco with midjourney

Dragon Palace

High above the crater itself there is an island flying that houses the large blue crystal Fall believed to be the body of Seeria. The island itself is only possible to reach by flying, which is not really an issue for the Dragons.
A large palace has been constructed around the crystal itself large enough for Dragons to inhabit it. Each day the Dragon Emperor allows a certain amount of pilgrims to visit the palace. When the Dragon Emperor decides it is time he uses the power of the throne to lower the flying island, allowing the pilgrims to visit the palace. This is done only twice a day as it is quite cumbersome. Many that look after the needs of the Dragon Emperor live on the island as this limits the trips that need to be made.