Mazarathin
The imperial capital of the Kijaand Empire, it contains demesne of every major house in the empire. In addition there are a number of temples and embassies. It is located on the eastern shore of Lake Maza. The city consists of the inner city, the inner wall and the inner canal. Surrounding this are the outer districts and the outer canal.
Places of Interest
The Imperial Palace
Located at the center of the city, the Tal'Dyran built an completely new palace on top of the existing palace. The older buildings however where generally not destroyed, except where they rose above they new "ground" level. This construction was not abnormal for the city, instead it followed a history of building onto of existing buildings, creating a city with is now on multiply levels and has a number of artificial hills.
Temple of Rest
Located just north of the Imperial Palace on a large area of gardens. It is at ground level and isn't particularly large or imposing considering its proximity to the center of power.
Temple of the Sun
The temple is part of the Imperial Palace complex and is the home to the Imperial Colleges of Magic. It is physically imposing, built from crystal and gems. Its close connection to the imperial throne mean it has only limited arcane power, as all Houses keep their most potent arcanists carefully hidden.
The Temple is well frequented by the general populace with many smaller Houses often using its services. It is also the only real publicly assessable part of the imperial throne and is considered to be relatively safe and free of House politics, so it often a meeting place.
Garden of Eternity
At the shore front directly west of the Imperial Palace is a small pebble garden surrounded by a narrow stone wall. It was two mithril gates, which when closed look like a single image. The gates surface is not solid but is instead a complex filigree of minute mithril wires with tiny gem specs at their many intersections.
Seen though the gates is a flat semi-circular area with stone paths wandering though pebble beds and various stone water features at seemingly random locations.
At the shoreline a fine metal bridge looks to cross the lake to an island. The bridge looks like it is unsupported and a little over a hundred yards in length. However the bridge does not seem to exist outside of the garden and the island is over a two miles from the shore. At some uncertain point along the bridge you will cross into Cormelle.
Shrine of Life
Located near the Garden of Eternity this small marble gazebo is now in the center of a large intersection of roads. It has no maintainers or parishioners and is normally avoided.
The High Halls
Located to the south east of Imperial Palace is a wide elegant tower. Surrounding the base of the tower is a stange collection of kinetic sculptures. The tower consists of ten stories, each about 40 feet in height. The tower is circular and roughly symetric, with each story having 16 evenly spaced tall windows.
The High Halls are the official residence of the High Elves and holds a copy the Great Library. Entrance to all but High and Star elves is strictly by invitation only and its residents are very rarely seen within the city.
Forge of Unity
To the east of the Imperial Palace near the city walls lies the dwaven enclave of Mazarathin. It is also the home of both the gnomes and hobbits living in the city, with a reasonable number of human and orcish residents also. It lies between the inner and outer canals north of the plains road. The Forge itself lies within the great hall which is at the center of the district.
The Forge District is a loud and boistrous area, full of activity and petty crime. It has many markets and free houses, with numerous street vendors competing with hawkers for trade. The heart of the district is the great hall, a large stone feasting hall. The hall is always open and occupied, with many small fireplaces lighting its spacious interior. Most evenings the halls are open to all for feasting and drinking and bardic competitions are common. Star elves can be found in the hall on occasion and very rarely a high elf will visit. The sun elves are welcome but only those of low rank seem to visit.
The Quiet Quarter
Situation between the canals to the south, abutting the lakeshore and going all the way to the plains road, is the Quiet Quarter. This district consists of wooded hillocks and neat fields and is the residence of the wood elves and their hobbit tenants, the Greenleaf family.
The Greenleaves is a large extended family which live in and maintain the district. Their main village is near the plains road but numerous small dwellings are scattered thoughout the area. Visitors are welcome in the village during market days but are expected to leave before sundown.
The wood elf landlords have not been seen by any except the Thain in many years until recently. It is rumoured that a substaintial presence of wood elves now live in the Quiet Quarter but this has not been verified.
