Thalmos - The Capital of Aelmyr¶
Geography¶
The city is located on an island by the southern shore of Aelmyr in the northern part of Ocantos.
The island is the largest isle in the island group known as The Shambles. The city is build around a mountain called The Stem.
Before The Battle of the Gods (TBOTG), the city was located and spread across the mainland, but during an attack by a god, the city and land were shattered and became the island group known today as The Shambles.
Layout¶
The city is build all the way around the mountain called The Stem. It is constructed in eight layers, each layer more prestigious than the one below it. The walls are made of white stone and a huge white castle towers over the city from the highest layer. This is were the royal family resides. On the southern side of the island you can find a big dock area, where ships from across Ocantos arrive to sell exotic goods. Two bridges connects the city to the mainland at the west and north side. From here travelers and caravans pass through.
The Eight Layers¶
(From bottom to top)
Travelers' District¶
The Market District¶
The Garden District¶
The Artisan District¶
The Magic District¶
The Military District¶
The military district is behind the most reinforced wall in the city besides the one protecting The Royal Keep. This is where the advanced military units are trained and new war machinery is invented. It is also where high-ranking retired military resides. To cross this layer, most people would be in need of permission by officials.
The Noble Quarters¶
The Royal Keep¶
The King and his family occupies the white keep on the eight layer.
History¶
Thalmos is believed to have been founded 3.000 years before The Third Age began by the mountain called The Stem. The legend says, that a man named Positan was exiled to the mountain called The Stem by his village for constantly making bad mistakes, as he was not very bright. Positan entered a cave high in the mountain to find shelter, and he came upon a gate to another plane; Library of Magillion. There he met Magillion - God of Knowledge, who heard Positan's story and to help him, granted him access to all of his everlasting library. Positan stayed here for years without aging and became an extraordinary learned man. He later returned to the material plane and his village to share his newfound knowledge. Soon after the villagers began following him and he constructed the city of Thalmos around The Stem. From then on, he was known as Positan The Wise. He constructed an elaborate temple around the planar gate restricting access only to the most devote seekers of knowledge.
Positan fathered many children, and he and his descendants ruled and expanded the kingdom for millennia until The Battle Of The Gods (TBOTG). Due to the dangers of the having open pathways to the other planes and the threat of an apocalyptic war, the gate was closed, the key was hidden and the temple was sealed off. Thalmos in the Second Age is now referred to as Old Thalmos.
During TBOTG, gods tried to obliterate Old Thalmos completely. To defend themselves, the most skilled mages and spellcasters constructed a magical shield around the center of the capital in the last moment, and saved what was inside it, but the attack ruined the rest of the enormous city and shattered the land into pieces. Thalmos became an island and much of the city sank into the sea. The islands now surrounding Thalmos were named The Shambles. The years following were filled with unrest and power struggles as the city rebuild. Reparations has taken several centuries, as both large amounts of life and knowledge were lost in the war.
Eventually, enormous bridges were built connecting Thalmos to different islands in The Shambles and from those to the mainland. This opened new and safer trade routes and Thalmos began blossoming again. The Shambles is covered with ruins from Old Thalmos, that are still being excavated almost a thousand years later.