Anth'Tkur

Anth'Tkur is the orcish capital city in the Waste, and is located on the largest wastebone formation yet discovered. The formation, which takes the shape of a tortoise-like creature's skeleton, makes an excellent foundation for this sprawling metropolis. Despite its size, however, the city's growth has overtaken it over the years, and even the great dimensions of the stone shell are too small to contain the demand for more space. More than three quarters of the orcish population in the Waste lives there, after all. To circumvent this problem, Anth'Tkur has grown upwards, stretching towards the skies with impressive spires. In fact, "Anth'Tkur" means "sky-reaching town" in orcish. Despite their great height and crowdedness, as well as the uneven foundation they are built upon, the towers of Anth'Tkur somehow hold themselves together, and there are no confirmed accounts of any one of them falling or coming close to it. It would not be ridiculous to assume that magical building techniques are being put into play, with wards and runes to enhance the stability of the buildings. While orcs are generally amiable towards other races outside of their home, they are unusually strict about not allowing outsiders free reign inside Anth'Tkur. Non-orcs or half-orcs must be granted special permission to enter, and are expected to leave their weapons outside of the city and to submit to the watch of at least one city guard at all times. They must provide their reasons for entry, and everything they intend to do while in the city, and are then issued documents detailing all this. They must provide said documents whenever visiting a shop, or an inn, or any other establishment. They have grown more lax with these procedures in recent years, but one rule remains as strict as ever: No dwarves are allowed entry into Anth'Tkur without direct permission from a Lahi'Gaur.

Demographics

Anth'Tkur's permanent population is almost entirely orcish or half-orcish, with some extremely rare exceptions. The vast majority of the population is common laborers, whether they work within or without the city. A minority of the population is merchants, business owners, et cetera. The smallest minority consists of the Lahi'Gaur, the nobility and ruling class of Anth'Tkur.

Government

Anth'Tkur is an aristocracy, ruled over by a council of nobles known as the Lahi'Gaur, whose defining feature is their sorcerous control over storms and lightning. However, only thirteen of them actually vote in important matters, and that council of thirteen is decided by vote every thirteen years.

Defences

The only defenses Anth'Tkur needs come in the form of the Lahi'Gaur. Nobody wants to go up against a small army of powerful and heavily armed storm sorcerers on winged mounts.

Industry & Trade

Anth'Tkur's biggest export is water, a resource that is quite scarce in the majority of the Waste. The orcish propensity for storm sorcery is quite beneficial for gathering water, as they are capable of simply gathering clouds from the water vapor in the surrounding area and causing it to rain.

Type

Capital

Population

89,486

Inhabitant Demonym

Tkurite

Location under

The Tortoise

Ruling/Owning Rank

Lahi'Gaur

Related Tradition (Primary)

• The Ton'On