[Competition 4S] Capitals

Post Reply
User avatar
Scott Alexander
Posts: 1778
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:20 am

[Competition 4S] Capitals

Post by Scott Alexander »

Last week's religion and AC contests were both popular, so I'm going to continue the tradition of having both a serious contest and a fun contest each week. This is the serious contest.

The theme is "capital cities". If you have one, talk about it. If you don't have one, discuss where and how exactly the business of government gets done.

If you can give a specific location for your capital city, I'll also mark it on the map at the end of the contest.

The prize is expansion credits, as usual. Exact amounts to be determined by number of entries.

User avatar
Alicorn
Posts: 245
Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 2:57 am
Location: Mevwan, Pelagia
Contact:

Re: [Competition 4S] Capitals

Post by Alicorn »

The Delo-Kyan Municipal Board of Tourism issues the following pamphlet:
Are you getting ready to take a vacation? Consider beautiful Delo-Kyan! Situated on the northern coast of central Island, it's a perfect example of all the best Mevwan has to offer. Must-see sites include:

- The Capital Center, a campus of several buildings including the Avewe's staff offices, the Cezkwe meetinghouse, the building people have been meeting in to discuss politics lately because it seemed like a good building for the purpose, and the Bureaus of such departments as Citizenship; Public Goods; Interfaith Cooperation; Product Regulation; Psi, Defense, and Energy; Technological Advancement; Press Archival (newly expanded!); Transportation; Law and Justice; Finance; Infrastructure and Nourishment; [redacted]; Welfare Services; and International Relations. (Many of these Bureaus are open every day! Consult a tour guide for up-to-date details on their hours.)
- The Crash Museum, featuring many parts of the original Kwa-Mevwan and offering daily guided tours to the crater.
- The Golden Flagpole in Kio-ath Square is only a short walk from the Museum of Mevwani History.
- The Print Tower, the nation's largest collection of presses for hire, offers interactive tours: print yourself a souvenir! Visit the gift shop for your own set of authentic movable type in the Print Tower's original font!
- Rathteik Station, the second-largest train station in Mevwan, and its Train Museum.
- The Embassy Circle, just east of Delo-Kyan proper, featuring the embassy for each nation with which we have established relations.
- Palde Avenue, source of the finest dining in the nation - every restaurant is comprehensively streamered, no need to inquire within about compatibility with your species or dietary restrictions!
- The Retail Quarter: exactly what it sounds like! Shop until you can't carry any more, then hire a cart or a perturber and shop more!
- Stage Street, a collection of the foremost theaters, playing the latest productions. Get your fill of Cosashi traditional dance, symphonic telepathy, provincial drama, and more from Mevwan's best performers.
- Ethdan's Lantern, the architectural masterpiece of a Lantern Bright Hapheng temple - even non-Haphengko can appreciate its artistic significance! Other major sites of worship in Delo-Kyan include Sun's Purity, Revelation Delo, Anand-Ei's Sacred House of Enlightenment Beyond, All Patrons Offer-site, and the Silver Monument to Beoi, Averter of Doom.
- Fortune House, the world's only large-scale organized enterprise of anticipaths in business to tell you what your future holds and what you can do about it!
- Kyan Park and Zoo, a collection including every species of offworld plant and animal that was brought to Pelagia! See also its sister institution, Park and Zoo of Pelagia, which showcases many exotic plants and animals originating closer to home; the Park of Pelagia includes a labyrinth of trellises you will love to get lost in.
- The largest campus belonging to the Mevwan Art Collective is just south of Delo-Kyan proper: don't miss the ice sculpture gardens in winter, and there's always a standing archive of our nation's finest modern sculpture, painting, and other creative works. (For older art, visit the Delo-Kyan Museum of Art History.)

User avatar
Illuminarch Nicholas
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:49 pm

Re: [Competition 4S] Capitals

Post by Illuminarch Nicholas »

The following is an issued transmission, approved by the Scorpia Bureau of Intelligence
The Omega Complex is not a country per se, but rather a large autonomous body of scientific firms known as Sectors who find Pelagia a haven for science, unfettered from the wiles and ulterior motives of the outside world. Evolving from the illuminarchal regiment of Eruditia, the 12 Sectors have different specialties and roles in maintaining Omega.

Of the 12, six are devoted to government and six devoted to pure science. Caprica, Gemenon, Taura, Piscera-Aquarion, and Orion are focused primarily on the expansion of the sciences. The following deal mostly with governmental dealings:
  • Scorpia Bureau of Intelligence: Commonly known as Scorpia Intel, Scorpia is in charge of most of the ... [garbled transmission; unintelligible from this point] ...

    Leona-Aries Manufactory: The LA Manufactory is the primary source of military production for Omega. It also works in the general fields of engineering.

    Libris Enterprises: The financial Sector of the 12, Libris funds all research for the others. It also provides legal jurisdiction and protection.

    Virgon Union: Virgon focuses on the practical applications of the sciences being developed by other Sectors. It also does charity and advertisement work.

    Sagittara Consortium: A conglomerate of educational districts that focus on the needs and specific requirements of students and scientists, for the production of only the best minds.
Each Sector creates and manages the meticulous checks and balances that allow Omega to function.

While the Science Sectors may have flashy labs and testing establishments on their islands and provinces, the sights in the Government Sectors are nothing to scoff at either. Scorpia Intel's largest facility, Apex Tower, is actually ... [garbled transmission; unintelligible from this point] ... proving to be a fascinating part of the enigmatic Scorpia Sector. Leona-Aries has some of the most impressive factories and assembly plants in the entire Complex: it provides work for many of those who call Omega home. Being in the center of the Large Island, its lush jungles provide a pleasant backdrop for the industrial setting of Leona-Aries. As compensation, several resorts are located on the shores of LA's Sector. Libris is renowned for its libraries and archives; many documents are hidden and stashed away in Libris' mammoth reserves. Libris is also notable for its bank and law firms. Virgon and Sagittara, both neighboring Sectors, provide most of the housing and cityscapes for Omega. Vast sprawling cities, including the impressive Metropolitana (a metroplex that spans across the border of the two Sectors) are situated here. Grand museums, apartments, condos, restaurants, and malls are located in the flatter, more tamer parts of Omega.

Bottom line: you don't need to be a scientist to enjoy the mysterious splendors of Omega and its Governmental Sectors.
Illustro est via

User avatar
Nathan
Posts: 2024
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:57 am

Re: [Competition 4S] Capitals

Post by Nathan »

The capital city of Quadropoli is situated on the east and west banks of the Merveille River, which cleaves the country in two. All four Houselands meet at Quadropoli and own the city equally and passage between the quarters is open to all Merveillais, although residents generally remain in their respective House's quarter. The city is primarily designed by architects from House Amours and financed by the overflowing coffers of the Rubis, resulting in a truly splendid city.

Amours' Quarter - located in the southwest quadrant. Contains centers for culture such as the Artists' Guildhall, the Quadropoli Symphony and Opera Hall, Merveilles Museum of Art, and the Library of Wonders. The Quarter is also filled with coffee shops, street cafes, street performers, minor concert venues and playhouses that are placed almost haphazardly on the winding and narrow streets encouraging exploratory strolls that yield something new each day. The river has been diverted through this quadrant to create picturesque canals with quaint bridges at regular intervals. There are two straight, wide boulevards in the quadrant that runs east to west from the Sovereign's Spire to the Amours City Gate, and the second, Diamond Boulevard, runs north to south connecting the Matraques' and the Dagues' quarters. The Lord of Amours also keeps a villa along the riverfront.

The Matraques' Quarter - located in the south east quadrant. Compared to the narrow and winding charm of the Amours Quarter, the Matraques' Quarter is built on a strict grid plan with only one deviation: the diagonal Diamond Boulevard linking the Amours and Rubis quarters. It contains defensive organizations such as the Merveilles Military Academy, City Security Administration Building, the Armory, and the Society for Advanced Wonderful Weaponry. The architecture here is consistent with the rest of the city, but at the request of the Matraques has been greatly simplified. No structure goes higher than three stories for practical defensible reasons and there are very few windows except where necessary for natural illumination. The Lord of the Matraques keeps a manor here deep within a residential block.

Rubis' Quarter - located in the north east quadrant. The Rubis allowed the Amours to design their quadrant as elegantly as their own quadrant, thus the two look similar. Thanks to more private wealth and contributions, the architecture in this quadrant is even more ornate than the Amours' quadrant, almost to the point of being gaudy in some purists in the Artists' Guildhall. The streets are on a less strict grid pattern than the Matraques, but retain some winding and narrow streets at the Amours' insistence. It contains the economic centers of the city including the Bank of Merveilles, Market Square, Union of Crafthalls Headquarters, and the Museum of Natural History. The Lord of Rubis keeps a mansion on the gentle hills in the north of the city that overlook the other quadrants.

The Dagues' Quarter - located in the north west quadrant. Contains the administrative offices such as City Hall, Mayor's Office, Society for Clandestine Wonders, and the Archive of the Tetrarchy. The quadrant contains the winding and narrow streets that the Amour architects are so fond of however the traditional architecture of the Dagues was incorporated to create a hybrid style that balances the Houses' style with the uniform style of the overall city. The narrow streets are covered by the slanting facades and awnings that the Dagues prefer, creating a very shadowy and dark quadrant. The Lord of Dagues keeps several apartment complexes in the quadrant and stays at each one on a seemingly random schedule.

At the very center of the four quadrants is an island in the middle of the Merveille River. The Sovereign's Spire is built on this island, which belongs to no House. The upper levels belong to the Sovereign allowing the Sovereign to be in clear sight of the entire city, following the history of mistrust among the Houses. The ground floor contains the Chamber of the Congress which has four gates allowing direct and equal access to each quadrant.

The island is accessed by four bridges, each originating in one of the quadrants. Many other minor bridges span the Merveille River but the two major bridges are part of Diamond Boulevard, which runs through each quadrant. The Diamond Point Bridge in the north and the Diamond View Bridge in the south.
The ghost of Nathan Waffel-Paine

User avatar
Shyriath
CONDOLORD
Posts: 1444
Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 1:45 am

Re: [Competition 4S] Capitals

Post by Shyriath »

A Guide to Ezhku

The Council of Outsider Relations, under whose authority this guide has been published, wishes to dedicate it to Antil Xen, the current head of the Council's translation team. Her contacts with foreign peoples have not only enabled her linguistic contributions to this guide and other publications of the Council, but also innumerable insights into the best ways of presenting of our culture to the World Outside.

Due to resource and technological limitations, this first edition of the Guide has been engraved on small-format copper sheets, as is standard in government works of this type. We apologize to those Outside readers who are used to books and pamphlets made from lighter materials, and we assure them that once a functional paper mill has been constructed and sufficient lumberjacks have been trained to provide it with raw material, more convenient editions will be forthcoming.


Introduction

Aside from the port of Xalt, the main point of entry for Outsiders into the lands of Kennerext, the Beacon best known to the world is almost certainly Ezhku. As the oldest of the Beacons, one of the closest to the surface, and the traditional meeting place of the Illuminating Council, Ezhku is the preeminent political, economic, and cultural hub of the Deep Singers, and the closest analogue to a capital city that the nation possesses.

A Brief History

Ezhku is the first known Beacon, of which all the others are ultimately colonies. The earliest history of the Deep Singers is obscure, but our mythology tells us that Ezhku was founded prior to the Cataclysm as a redoubt of surface-dwelling beings called the Shapers, who had a deep understanding of living things and the power to alter them. Their use of this power was increasingly abused, and at last they attempted to Shape our ancestors in ways that caused them enormous suffering. The Cataclysm came shortly thereafter, and the upheavals that resulted destroyed the Shapers and their power, leaving the Deep Singers to dwell unmolested in Ezhku. The Shapers' Road, the great tunnel by which the Shapers had come from the surface, was collapsed, leaving the inhabitants cut off from the World Outside.

The Beacon remained the only concentration of Deep Singers for several generations thereafter, amid very low population growth. Many people suffered from inherited conditions that shortened their lives or rendered them infertile, and knowledge of tunneling, metallurgy, and harvesting cave life for sustenance remained rudimentary. Much of whatever knowledge they had once had access to was lost amid hardship and struggle. The tide did not begin to turn until approximately 90 SA, with the appearance of two movements. The first, often referred to as the Earthcalling, stemmed from the message of the prophet Enxai proclaiming the preeminence of the Voices of the Earth; the other, the Preservation Movement, aimed to gather together those who could still recall anything of the knowledge and artifacts assembled before the Sealing Away and pooling and recording what was known. The one provided spiritual guidance to its followers, and the other began the reestablishment of a technological and scientific base. Although the two were initially opposed to each other, they found common ground in the desire to improve the welfare of their people and to live in harmony with the World Inside, and their cooperation was vital in establishing the Technologists' Guild and the Harvesters' Guild in 97 SA.

By the 130s, the various heritable conditions had disappeared from the population and food production had risen, leading to a population boom. Although the Beacon expanded through the acquisition of nearby caves and, eventually, though excavating new chambers, the difficulties involved in providing space and light for the entire population continued to mount. Scouts and explorers had already located several other caverns that could be inhabited, but it was not until the discovery of several functional turbines in 147 that power could be provided outside Ezkhu. Naidax was founded the following year, Kaldim in 151, and Saxir in 158, all of which became great Beacons in their own right. Numerous lesser Beacons followed over the next century, but without further pre-Cataclysmic turbines to be made available, were forced to turn to less impressive methods of making light.

Although early on the pattern had been established of each Beacon being autonomous, they remained in contact with one another for purposes of trade, cultural contacts, and good relations. The first organized gatherings of Beacon representatives began in the 180s, becoming regular events after 206, with Ezhku the usual location. In 218, the Beacon-Gathering, or Kennerext in Taxnim, was established as an organized body of all the Beacons; this has since become the standard Outsider designation for our nation, though in native use the term has a somewhat narrower meaning. Ezhku is now the permanent host of the governing body of the Gathering, the Illuminating Council.

Into the mid and late 300s, despite a slowing of growth throughout the Beacons, a lack of available caves for expansion increased population pressures, particularly in Ezhku. At the same time, a series of related crop blights put food supplies in considerable danger. In 386, a particularly damaging blight emerged that wiped out Ezhku's food supplies for several cycles in a row, forcing the Beacon to rely on dwindling reserves merely to survive, and those who did not starve to death outright were often weakened enough to be more susceptible to diseases. The crisis was not brought to an end until 403, when blight-immune varieties of a staple fungus crop were discovered and introduced.

In the same year, Firtin Kur, exiled from Ezhku for murder, stumbled upon the remains of the Shapers' Road, and followed it to the Great Gate leading to the surface. Upon his return, the revelation that the Outside was, though harsh, not uninhabitable, sparked a wave of exploration in and around the Gate, most of which passed through Ezhku. The Beacon, after consulting with the Illuminating Council, made use of the surveys gathered by the explorers and began reopening the Shapers' Road; despite the objections of Naidax and several other Beacons, this work was completed in 424. Most traffic with the Outside, and most of the colonization efforts there, now pass through Ezhku due to its unmatched position on the routes to the Great Gate.

Local Sights

-The Beacon Hall is the cultural center of Ezhku; originally a natural cave, it was expanded and shaped by artificial means. Its pre-Cataclysmic origin is evident in the unusually high quality and regularity of its construction, the technological sophistication of the Beacon light in the center of the chamber, and the sophistication of the decorations. The roof is particularly famous, the stone having been well-smoothed and inlaid with precious metals. Although the meaning of the roof was unclear to the inhabitants for most of its history, Outsiders will immediately recognize the depiction of the heavens, with the sun picked out in gold, the moon in silver, and the stars and constellations in bronze and steel.

-The Council Chambers are the seat of the Illuminating Council, and are the centerpiece of the administrative cave complex north of Ezhku's main residential areas. They are distinguished by the restrained but detailed carvings and inscriptions characteristic of the official Early Gathering Period style.

-The Turbine Room is a large cave slightly southeast of the Beacon Hall; it houses the steam turbine that provides power for the Beacon's artificial lights. Non-authorized personnel are separated from the machinery itself by the steam pit; this allows a good view of the overall operation, while keeping the untrained from inadvertently damaging the turbine.

-The Cave of Echoing Memory was the center of Ezhku's original residential area. A long, narrow cave opening into a variety of rooms on either side, the population of the Beacon was housed here for the first century after the Cataclysm, and in the absence of widespread knowledge of writing the inhabitants attempted to preserve their knowledge through extensive cave paintings, which still cover the walls. Legend has it that their voices still echo there at the proper times. The area is now a protected site.
Shyriath Farstrider (aka Shyriath Bukolos), KD MOU OLH XBH
Viscount Farstrider of Erysisceptrum, Count Bukolos of the Condo, Harbinger of Cheese

TOTUS MUNDUS TABULAM RASAM EST

User avatar
Aryeztur
Posts: 2121
Joined: Mon Dec 13, 2010 11:16 am
Contact:

Re: [Competition 4S] Capitals

Post by Aryeztur »

The capital of Aryasht is Aryapur (Noble City). It was founded at the mouth of the Pavitra river, where heaven and earth meet in the Arya traditions on the order of Emperor Akhilesh I, founder of the Kingdom of Aryasht. The city spans both banks of the river. On the northern bank, the city sprawls around the Imperial Palace in a semi circle. Towards the west, the city gradually breaks off into open space and parks. To the east, the city becomes more commercial as the docks on the sea are located closer to the river mouth. On the south side of the river, the city sprawls around the Grand Temple and is mostly residential and artisan. The estates of nobles and the rich as well as the Assembly and Parliament are located on the north bank. La Grande Academie d'Aryasht is located on the south bank and is the chief vehicle of Aryashti culture.
The Great King, King of Kings, King of the World

User avatar
Scott Alexander
Posts: 1778
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:20 am

Re: [Competition 4S] Capitals

Post by Scott Alexander »

Image
The northern port area of Drachumphan


Drachumphan is a very...functional city. It was set up from pre-fab structures just after the Apocalypse, and although there has been ample time to replace it with something more permanent the look just sort of stuck. Most buildings are blocky, made of concrete, and occasionally slathered in bright colors of paint to cover up the first two facts. They are mainly huge apartment complexes, a relic of the bad old days when people had to live together in communal shelters, and there are precious few individual family homes.

In the center of the city is the Dream-Origin Stone. In ancient Raikoth, it stood in central Tala (see point 21 here), supposedly the sole relic left from before a primordial disaster in the ancient past. With its rescue and transport to Drachumphan during the end of the old world, it has now weathered a total of two apocalypses, making it a relic of great importance. It takes the form of a black-gray menhir about twice the height of a person standing in the city's central square.

In the south of the city as a sort of separate complex stands the so called "Center of the World" - a capital for the so-called "Archipelago" or world government - consisting of the Senate House, offices and residences for various diplomats, and the headquarters of a few organizations like the Geographical Survey. Omi Oitherion doesn't live there. He lives in Oldest-bar, a small prefab house in the middle of the city rumored to be the oldest building in the world, which he almost never leaves.

The Drachumphan Hospital has a special role. Although it was originally founded as a small clinic to help those wounded during the dark times after the end of the old world, its status as the most hypotelluric area in Drachumve has led to a centering of the city's technological infrastructure and research facilities of all sorts in its various basements and sub-basements until it's now almost a city unto itself, with less than half being devoted to anything remotely medical.

The city is also a port, with exploratory expeditions going forth to all corners of the globe, and a trade hub despite its unlikely location, with primitive countries from different areas of the world bringing goods to Drachumphan and trading with other countries they may otherwise have no contact with. Although the port is mostly ice-free, the ice-cap prevents any ships from reaching the western side of the Drachumve peninsula, a constant thorn in the side of merchants who would love to make a killing on the spice trade with Aryasht. There is a smaller port city on the western coast, and people are constantly floating the idea of digging a canal of some sort across the peninsula, but it's never been practical.

The city has little heavy industry except for ship-building, which it takes to with gusto, and gets a lot of its resources from Lant in exchange for old-world knowledge, technology, and trade contacts. Because Lant is quickly catching up to and has probably surpassed Drachumve in most of these things, this is a very unsustainable business model, something that keeps the small percentage of the city government who are actually doing their jobs up at night.

Post Reply

Return to “Contest Archives”