Gulanadur

Gulanadur is home to a race of dark elves that exclusively practice the faith of the Dual Faced Goddess. Ruled over by the Crown of the Spire, an office currently held by the First Matron Szin'ilzt Vyz'crul and her privy council, Gulanadur has remained isolated and apart from the rest of the world for several centuries. It has only recently stepped out into the public stage and established trade routes with Arangoth and Najjir in the last few years. Gulanadur is a competitive, ambition-driven society where the strong survive and the weak are culled by ignominy.

Gulanadur
Information
Realm:	Beneath Northern Arangoth
Population:	150,000
Predominate Race:	Dark elves
Year Founded:	10,000 years ago
Government:	Competitive Dictatorship
Head of State:	First Matron Szin'ilzt Vyz'crul
Privy Council:	Crownblade Lassk Arch Priestess Siraz'jah Av'Zathrak
Religion:	Faith of the Dual Faced Goddess

Origins & History

Modern History

In the last few centuries have seen an expansion of Gulanadurian borders beneath the surface. Hydroponic farming satellites have been established to meet the greater population needs. Slowly, in the last decade, trade with the surface has increased, bringing new wealth to Gulanadur. Exportation of liquor, spider silk, rare and precious raw metals and stone, and varieties of narcotics have flourished. Gulanadur imports wood and textiles, surface livestock for slaughter, and other items it cannot produce easily on its own.

During the summer of 483, Gulanadur announced its presence to the surface kingdom of Arangoth, sending a delegation to the northern capitol of Tagrana. In closed negotiations, and under unknown circumstances, King Arlok ul-Dorn ul-Arangoth granted a large tract of surface land in the northwestern part of Arangoth to the Gulanadurian Crown, acknowledging the sovereignty of the city state. The details of this particular treaty are unclear, but the Gulanadurians claimed mostly forested or mountainous land and did not displace any native Arangothians.

Government

Gulanadur is ruled over as a dictatorship. The Crown, as the office is called after the position in the Spire, can change hands often. Styled as the 'First Matron' or 'First Patron', whoever holds the office is precisely as the title implies. They are the parental figure of the entire city, and each citizen is one of their children. Whoever sits in the Crown's apartments at the top of the Spire rules the city, ensuring that only the most ambitious, ruthless and cunning person can hold the office for any length of time. People from all Houses jockey for position throughout the apartments of the Spire. The higher one's position is in the Spire, the higher one's favorability in the court of the current Crown. This de facto ranking system is a visible indication of the nepotism that can afflict the Crown's governance, and can lead to some instability. However, due to the competitive nature of the office and those of the privy council, the Crown is always held by the person who can effectively deal with all of these threats.

Traditionally, the Crown has a cabinet of advisers that make up the Privy Council. The number of people on the Privy Council varies, as by preference of the Crown. Typically, the Privy Council is staffed by a representative of the Mages' College, the clergy, the Assassins' Guild, the Merchant Guild and the Farmers. Often times, this tally is supplemented by the Crown's preference and is afflicted by nepotism. It is not uncommon for the Crown to staff their Privy Council of those closest to them, such as other members of their House. The competition for the Crown makes most of those that hold the office paranoid. This trend commonly leads the Crown towards tightening their grip on their power, often to the detriment of their rule. Many a Crown has fallen or been deposed due to their own paranoia.

Current

The current Crown is the First Matron Szin'ilzt Vyz'crul, who has held the office for the last two hundred years. Such stability is unprecedented and initially, was a direct result of the power vacuum that the First Matron left behind in the Spire during her ascent. Despite the ruthlessness in which she seized the Crown, her reign has been marked by a steady increase of production in all fields. Her rule has been relatively peaceful, and Gulanadur has flourished beneath it. She is the first Crown to have established trade routes with surface cities, beginning an unheard of rush of surface goods coming into the city. Szin'ilzt Vyz'crul is responsible for bringing Gulanadur to the attention of Arangoth and other countries by announcing its presence in 483, making it one of the first dark elven cities on the international stage.

Her privy council is much smaller than previous Crown's, but she has the full support of the clergy in the form of her childhood friend, Siraz'jah Av'Zathrak, the current Arch Priestess and Lassk of the Assassin's Guild.

Layout & Architecture

Gulanadur is an oddity among subterranean cities and appears, at first glance, more like a surface city rather than a system of caverns. A feat of magical engineering and construction, the city resides within a massive, spherical cavern carved laboriously from living rock millennia ago. The city is broken into three main sections: the Spire, a large tower that dominates the center of the city and reaches nearly the ceiling, the Floor, and the Bowl, the walls of the cavern from which three Tiers were carved. Atop the Spire is the false, violet sun that lights up the city at all hours; a fainter light than true day light, the violet sun does provide enough illumination that most surface dwelling visitors are capable of seeing.

The Spire is several stories tall, has no windows, and narrows the higher one goes along it. Walkways without railings connect from the Spire to the First and Third Tiers in three points, providing some access from one side of the city to the other. The interior of the Spire is mostly residential apartments belonging to each of the various Houses of Gulanadur. At the top most levels is the Crown, the seat of the current ruler and the government of the city. Occupancy of the apartments closest to the Crown is usually reserved for those most in favor of the ruler. This jockeying for positioning in the Spire is a status symbol. Those Houses with apartments closest to the Crown are among the most ambitious and cunning of Gulanadur. Those lower in the Spire do not find themselves changing apartments as often as those higher.

The Floor is a wide expanse at the bottom of the Bowl. It is the darkest area of the city, a fact that doesn't trouble natives, but can be problematic for surface dwellers visiting the Gulanadur. Primarily, the Floor is for those aspects of that provide the foundation for the city: the Temple of Asherta, the various hydroponic and livestock farms, the Mages' College and the arcane reservoir that protects and powers the city. There are some shops located on the Floor, but they are all closely related to the other occupants there, such as the food market or some of the enchanters' stores.

The First Tier is additional shops and contains an all hours' marketplace and bazaar. The Second Tier is residential in its entirety, containing a variety of homes for citizens. Most Houses' main branch live in ancestral residences on the Second Tier and have since the city was founded. The Third Tier is a combination of import goods from the surface, such as lumber and livestock, as well as merchant establishments that cater to these things. Some residences have expanded into the Third Tier as the city grows. Several elevators and stair cases are cut into the sides of the Bowl to provide access to the various levels as well as the entrance to the city.

All buildings are cut into the rock face of the Bowl, save for the Spire. Architectural design is varied but feature a lot of decorative embellishments. Vaulted roofs over doorways and pillars are common, as are pergolas connecting two areas. As the city is carved from rock, engraved designs are quite common. Gardens and planters of fungus and plants bred specially for the low, violet light of Gulanadur are spread out all over the city.