Bel'Zanar

If ever it needed reminding that the former rulers of Caenar, the Elnori, were possessed of a divine intellect and power then one look at Bel'Zanar would do just that. Rising nearly four thousand meters into the air, its highest peak often lost amidst the clouds, Bel'Zanar is an eternal monument to a fallen people.

Bel'Zanar is not just the tower however. There is the tower itself, the Towering City. Then there is the Sprawling City around the tower. And below the ground, the Under City where precious metals and other resources are extracted.

ORIGINS

Bel'Zanar is a Babel Tower, one of many that the Elnorians built in the heyday of their civilisation following the Great Sin as it came to be called, that event in which the Elnorians turned against the Creator and either slew Them or drove Them into hiding. Casting aside the mantle of Shepherds by which the Creator had assigned them, the Elnorians would instead rule as God-Kings and used their divine wisdom and powers to raise great monuments to their glory and as potent messages to the lowly mortals beneath them that a new era had come.

Bel'Zanar was ever the largest and most grand of the Babel Towers for it was raised by the greatest of their kind, the first amongst equals, the Archon, and would remain that primary seat of power for their empire. Even if a new Archon came with the destruction of the old, Bel'Zanar would still be the greatest and most important.

And so it was for aeons, until the Cataclysm came and the Elnorians Empire fell asunder and they themselves destroyed or weakened enough for their oppressed subjects to finally raise their hands against their immortal tyrannical masters. Those Elnori who survived the chaos of the Cataclysm and its aftermath disappeared.

Many of the Babel Towers fell in the Cataclysm, that apocalyptic event proving even these towering monoliths were not invincible. But some endured, some were damaged yes but stood tall and proud still.

Bel'Zanar endured far better than most, though if that were by chance or design it is unknown. Only minimal exterior damage did it suffer. Internally support walls and tunnels collapse and those who sought shelter from the Cataclysm as it raged were buried alive. But for the most part, Bel'Zanar weathered the apocalypse and for those who had survived the Cataclysm flocked there for sanctuary.

Various factions sought dominion over Bel'Zanar, warring with others over control of the important areas such as the reservoir that collected rain-water, the mirror-panels that harvested sunlight to power to bring illumination and heat, the various aerial gardens and mushrooms that provided food. Ultimately, the Dewyn of House Mesitori would rise to prominence, using their gifts to bring order and suppress any who sought to challenge them. The current ruler of Bel'Zanar is Garal Mesitori, perhaps the most cruel and dangerous tyrant in history owing to his mysterious gift that allows him to manipulate others into his bidding without knowing it. Garal has spread the influence of his family beyond Bel'Zanar and across Caenar, and into Realms beyond.

APPEARANCE

Bel'Zanar is close to two miles high, a tower that gradually thins the higher it rises until its peak pierces the clouds. At the top one will find the Palace of the Archon, a fortress in of itself accessible only by well guarded elevator shafts and a private jetty only those who may fly or have access to an aerial vehicle may reach.

Within the structure are hundreds of levels, each consisting of vaulted chambers of various sizes and connected by tunnels great and small. The floors are accessible via stairways and/or elevator shafts, though no single route extends throughout its structure likely as a way of ensuring that the Elnorians who once ruled could control access to their domain far easier, especially in the event of an attack or even uprising.

Studding the exterior of Bel'Zanar are numerous jetties as well as jutting spires, balcony gardens and agricultural outcroppings as well as the mysterious mirror-like panels that gather sunlight and convert it into power, bringing light and warmth to what would otherwise be a gold and dark place within. These are another relic of the Elnorians, and something their successors cannot truly comprehend or recreate as effectively.

Rainwater and moisture from the air are gathered in sluices and pumped throughout its structure, though only in the higher levels. The lower levels must rely upon less sanitary reservoirs for their water supplies. This, along with the mushroom farms within the structure along with the various gardens and agricultural that dot the exterior mean Bel'Zanar is mostly a self-contained eco-system.

The Towering City

Bel'Zanar has oftentimes been called the Towering City, for it is that in truth. Even though a large and crowded urban sprawl called the Sprawling City surrounds Bel'Zanar, the Tower itself is its own unique thing. It is not uncommon for a common denizen of Bel'Zanar to never see the light of day, especially if they of low-standing, and only the nobles and wealthy elite can enjoy such privileges as fresh air, fresh water and natural light. Unsurprisingly, numerous insular cultures have formed in Bel'Zanar with their own belief systems and customs, some of which are quite alien to outsiders.

House Mesitori controls Bel'Zanar with a tight fist, the Militia serving as the most numerous and most visible security and military force alongside the rarer Templars and the rightly feared Emissaries. The populace of Bel'Zanar live in constant fear of attracting the ire of the Mesitori and an atmosphere of mistrust prevails due to the belief, and in all honesty a perfectly justified one at that, that anyone could be an agent of the state reporting directly to the rulers of the city.

The Sprawling City

The Sprawling City is a the ever growing metropolis that has grown over the centuries around Bel'Zanar. It is crowded and dangerous with the Mesitori only keeping the most meagre law enforcement there, preferring to allow the various factions of the Sprawl to govern themselves. During the time of the Elnorians the Sprawl was a small town, but over the centuries of rule by the Mesitori it has grown considerably into an industrial hell-hole.

The Under City

Like an iceberg, the greater portion of Bel'Zanar lies beneath the surface. In a vast subterranean network of tunnels the damned serve their masters high above by digging for precious metals, coal and other resources. The Under City is where those who have incurred the wrath of the Mesitori end up, or where those who have debts come in the hope of working off what is owed. The Mesitori presence is strong here, and any dissent is brutally suppressed lest the rapacious hunger for industry that feeds the Mesitori Empire falter.

Type

Arcology / Residential Complex