Katrapetch
The city of Katrapetch, in the Alchemical Alliance, is the largest and most historically important settlement on the southern hemisphere continent of Punjuki on Magicians' End. It stands on the Jold River, to the east of the Katra Mountains.
Government
An informal constitution for the city was established early, not long after its foundation in the Age of the New Kingdoms and as the prosperity and power of the settlement grew, this developed rapidly, creating the Court Circle of Katrapetch as an instrument for governing the city under the leadership of the Raja. The Court Circle and its protocols and procedures remained in place under the Empire of Bradalkut, the Trinity Moon Triple Enfolding and the Old Pale Empire, even when the Rajas were compelled to bow before foreign rulers, and it persisted past the Planar Conformation and right up until the Limit Protectorate made sweeping changes that abolished the old bureaucracy and its royal rulers forever in 5155 APC. Those who wish to understand the long history of the city must appreciate, above all, that the Court Circle of Katrapetch lasted as an institution for close to fifteen thousand years and that none of the forms of government which have subsequently replaced it can even aproximate that duration.
From 5155 APC, under The Limit Protectorate the city was ruled by a City Protector who answered directly to Prince Rygarde. When the Loyalist Thaumatic Army Council restored the independence of Magicians' End, the Court Circle of Katrapetch was not restored. Instead the Army Council maintained their own control through a General Advocate. A period of democracy followed under the Third Popular Ascendancy, before the city became one of the five capitals of the Jewelled Queendoms. Under Ixthamon it almost fell apart but it has since become the first and most important member of the Alchemical Alliance and is now governed by the Grand Alchemist for Katrapetch, who operates at the heart of a labyrinthine civil service based in the old Royal Palace. Some have noted the parallels with the ancient Court Circle of Katrapetch, albeit there is no longer a Raja or Rani and the position is not hereditary.
Industry & Trade
Katarapetch is the main centre for the drying and distribution of phryne, which is grown on the uplands of the northern peninsula of the Cape of Juki, east of the city and traded here in the famous Katrapetch Phryne Market, which has also become a hub for other kinds of trading.
The city is also important as the main manufacturing centre for the cloth Vassith, which is made from the woven stems of the cultivated grass, Celovass, grown in large fields south of the Jold river. Vassith is the foundation of an extensive industry based around the making and trading of many kinds of clothing, with all the ancillary services required to support large scale and specialist garment production.
Districts
Katrapetch straddles both sides of the Jold River. Docks and quays line the banks to the north and south. The famous Katrapetch Phryne Market is on the northern side, a short distance inland from the docks where the phryne harvest is shipped up river into the city to be stored in the drying rooms of a score of warehouses which stand between the docks and the market.
The Royal Palace of Katrapetch is north of the market, and stands on the upper slope of a low range of hills, which have been terraced to provide a vista over the city.
To the west of the market, there is parkland and then the more populous areas open out beyond and over the southern bank. Sowsow street, shown in the illustration below is part of the Halaban District where there are many weavers, tailors, seamstresses, dyers, laundry houses and other specialists who work in a variety of clothing related trades.
Katrapetch - Sowsow Street by DMFW with Midjourney
History
Note : A timeline which can be opened from a button at the bottom of this page, picks out selected events from the long history of the city which are of particular local importance.
Katrapetch is certainly one of the oldest, and possibly the oldest, continuously inhabited settlement on Magicians' End. It was founded by migrants from the New Kingdoms on Myruthea in 9842 BPC, not long after the very first maritime explorers to venture away from the shores of Myruthea had discovered Punjuki and Tinturbean. Since most (all?) of the contemporary or older settlements on Myruthea have subsequently been lost, ground under the glaciers of the Sundering or abandoned in favour of newer towns, Katrapetch now has a good claim to have the longest history of any currently populated city.
It was conquered by the Empire of Bradulkut, during the middle period of the New Kingdoms and when the Empire fell, it continued to be a part of the Proctorate of Bress, joining the Trinity Moon Triple Enfolding at the time of its formation.
After the Sundering Katrapetch regained its independence and grew in power and influence through control of the phryne trade as that became ever more important as a source of wealth, eclipsing Bress to become once again the superior regional power which it had been long before Bress was ever founded. The Palace Heart of the Royal Palace of Katrapetch was completed in 7040 BPC, early in the age of the Long Thaw and has been developed and extended over subsequent centuries.
It was phryne which made the city a key target for the invading armies of the Old Pale Empire during the Northern Punjuki Campaign and it joined the Empire after it was defeated in the Battle of Katrapetch in 4485 BPC. The Empire began a systematic program to increase phryne cultivation, and in 4285 BPC, two hundred years after the conquest of the city, the modern Katrapetch Phryne Market was developed to handle the greater volumes of trade. This was later expanded further, incorporating other goods and services, the most notable new building taking place when a grand arcade was created for the fruit markets in 3936 BPC.
In the aftermath of the Breach Wars that followed the fall of the Old Pale Empire, Katrapetch was one of the first major cities to recover. It became the capital of one of the Flame Kingdoms but would suffer the consequences of unwise arcane experiments when the eruption of Mt Gelzibom covered the city in a layer of ash in 211 APC.
Much later, during the Time of Terrors at the beginning of the fourth millenium APC, the city was home to Clarise Vabatan who founded the notorious Sisters of Vabatan, a cult which operated for more than six hundred years.
The Court Circle of Katrapetch governed the city from its foundation until as late as 5155 APC, when Prince Rygarde and the Limit Protectorate put an end to almost fifteen thousand years of continuous tradition, imposing a City Protector with supreme authority and abolishing the ranks of Raja and Rani.
In still more recent times Katrapetch was one of the five capitals of the Jewelled Queendoms. It was here that the infamous wizard Ixthamon (aka the Mad Mage) first came to power when he poisoned Queen Helena and imprisoned the princess Samaryn on her coronation day, before she could be crowned.
After the fall of the Mad Mage, Katrapetch was ruled by the Sacred Coven a system of government that eventually gave rise to the contemporary grouping known as the Alchemical Alliance. which unites a number of the most ancient cities around the world with arcane traditions who wish to remain independent of the Trans-Oceanic Empire. Although the Alliance technically has no capital, Katrapetch was a founder member and considers itself the first amongst equals. Whilst others might disagree, certainly the Grand Alchemist of Katrapetch holds a very important role in the Alliance, perhaps second only to the current Magistrada of the Assembly.
Points of interest
The Royal Palace of Katrapetch was completed in 7040 BPC as a much grander replacement for the previous seat of the Raja. This was a time not long after the Sundering when most of Tinturbean and a significant part of Myruthea were still recovering from the effects of the ice. Punjuki was relatively unscathed and Katrapetch, independent again after the fall of the Trinity Moon Triple Enfolding was undergoing a period of renewed growth, power and confidence. It is one of the greatest periods in the history of the city.
The Royal Palace at Katrapetch by DMFW with Leonardo AI
Founding Date
9642 BPC
Type
Large city
Location under
Included Locations
Owning Organization
Related Tradition (Primary)
Related Traditions
Related Materials
Queen Helena of Katrapetch by DMFW with Midjourney
Magicians' End - Clarise Vabatan by DMFW with Leonardo AI
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