Uranon - Malignant Heart of the World

She is the great wound at the centre of all. The birthplace of the Abomination. And still steady she beats that malignant heart of our world.

— Kaius Verana, Iskendrian Scholar

No name evokes more emotion than that of Uranon. No name has ever been cursed as often as that of Uranon. No name will ever be as hated as that of Uranon. And no name shall ever be as great a draw upon man as that of Uranon. For this city at the heart of the world is both past and future of all mankind.

Greatest of all Cities

Uranon is easy to spot for anyone entering the Heartlands. High in the sky above an endless expanse of rolling hills and plains, there sits a city of truly cyclopean proportions. It appears similar to a cone, circle upon circle of smooth white stone winding up to further pierce the heavens. From these rings there emerge forests of pillars and towers, some blocky but otherwise normal, others strangely thin or twisting. And at the very top sits a singular tower with a peak of pitch black where lightning seems to dance eternally.
Some may think that Uranon is a singularly titanic construct reaching up from the earth, but the truth is stranger even still. For when one gets closer to it, they will realise that the city's base was not merely hidden by clouds. Uranon floats above the ground, beneath it a singularly massive pillar as tall as a small mountain. Made from smooth white stone, it stretches down onto the earth and expands into a fortress, a labyrinthine mess of towers, walls, bastions and all manner of weaponry shrouded in ominous light.

Heart of the World

Its size and grandeur are not the only aspects of Uranon that make it hard for people to fully grasp. The city's age alone is said to have driven many a man of sound mind to the bottom of a bottle.

Ancient Origin

Uranon features even in the oldest stories still told by the tribes of man. Some even say that it is the oldest city in the world, was the first to be founded in times so ancient they might as well not exist. Wherever that is truth or merely a remnant of Uranian propaganda no one can say. Or wishes to openly do so.

Imperial Power

Sure is only that it grew to become an empire that once spanned the entire world. This "Eternal Empire" held mankind in its iron grip for unknown ages, its reign a windless, voiceless void. Only when the empire's control over nature faltered and wind returned to the world once more did their grip slacken.

Centre of Everything
The entirety of the Eternal Empire seems to have centered on Uranon itself. All the great Steelroads, those thin metallic lines that cross the entire continent, ultimately gather under it in that great fortress. Same goes for the more "normal" roads made from white stone that lay over the land akin to a spider's web.
Old stories from the early days of the Great Rebellion also talk about rows of pillars crossing the land and strands of lightning dancing between their peaks on their way towards Uranon. But while some of these pillars still stand today, their enigmatic energy no longer flows.

Eternal Siege

by Marvin Hillmann

When the empire finally fell to rebellion in the fifth decade of the Storm Age, most of its people and forces sought refuge within Uranon's white walls. The armies of rebellion followed, but any attempt to storm the city failed for in their capital the Uranians' power remained unbroken.
The Last Siege began and continues on even today. From the siege camp emerged Malakan, now the second largest city in the known world. It surrounds the land in the shadow of the floating city. Beyond its inner walls is a dark expanse of mud, eternally patrolled by the technological abominations of the empire.
In the three centuries since the siege began, Uranon has never shown a sign of life. Fighting with its cold sentinels continues every day, but the city itself remains silent. Yet few trust this calm and even fewer think the great war at an end. For below the whistle of wind, the screams of animals and the orchestra of human life there is the dark beat of Uranon's malignant heart.

Perhaps they have forgotten us. Content with their life up among the clouds. In the end, that is the best remedy for any ill in this world: to forget.

— Iskander XIV. the Theologian

Parent Location
The Heartlands
Founded
During the Lost Age
Founder/s
Uranians - Cagers of the World
Owner/s
The Eternal Empire
Population
Unknown. Estimated to be in the Millions.

by Oliver Beck

Water Curtain
Water is constantly falling down from the lowest ring of Uranon. Alternating between full-on waterfalls, curtains of mist and slight drizzles, this ring of water has turned the land under the city into a hellish expanse of mud. Stories from the early days of the siege talk about how the contents of the falls would change. Sewage, chemicals, sludges of unknown kind and even glass were said to have fallen from the skies. But few believe in these tales anymore for no one has seen anything but clear water descend in over three centuries.

A million Uranians sitting above us...Oh, how I wish the skies would fall.

— Faron the Liberator

Isolated Empire
Many will question how most of the Uranians managed to find refuge within the city of Uranon. Not matter how gargantuan, even it could not hold an empire's population by itself, right?
If old records are to be believed, there never were that many Uranians. They ruled their empire from a few cities and fortresses, of which there appear to have been no more than two dozen in total.
During the Wind Age, these strongholds began to fall one after another through methods both natural and manmade. Many Uranians were killed, and some suggest that less than half their population managed to reach Uranon itself.

by Tony Tsao