City of Calacthchan

Notables of Calacthchan:

• Calacthchan, Zenith Caste Solar, Golden Emperor and God of the East
• Calamity, Dawn Caste Solar, Orichalcum Angel and Divine Warlord
• Tokiya, Air Caste Dragonblood, High Sorcerer
• Falling Petals, Endings Caste Sidereal, proprietor of the Violet Lotus and head of the White Tiger Syndicate

City of Calacthchan

The once-and-soon-to-be-mighty city of Calathchan stands on the West bank of the Maruto River, southeast of Marita. From its first age glory it dwindled fitfully to a mere large town, until a recent surge of growth returned a semblance of its former glory. The Church of Resplendence identifies this as a side-effect of the recent return of its prophecised God-King for whom the city was supposedly named.

Government

The City is governed by the Steward Council, a self-selecting circle of a dozen nobles and merchants who took over in the wake of the Shogunate’s decline. For most of its history it has been the corrupt but unquestionably dominant influence on Calacthchan, but the rising power of the Church saw it reduced to a circle of puppets that rule by religious assent.

Notable Laws

• King Calacthchan is the source of authority, the author of law and the highest court of appeal.
• Public beauty must not be concealed.
• None shall be disfigured or mutilated. Those who disfigure or mutilate another must make restitution to the victim and society.
• All people must maintain themselves in good health and cleanliness, not succumb to obesity and bathe at least once every week.
• Delight sustains us through the hours when the Sun's face is turned. No house of entertainment is to be closed before the first light of dawn.
• All building designs must be cleared with the Board of Censors to ensure a pleasant environment.
• All children are to be educated between the years of seven and twelve. Scholarships for further education are provided for the promising.
• The streets are to be kept clear of refuse. This is the responsibility of the homeowners.

Architecture

In Calacthchan, architecture is a clear indicator of status. The most important sign of wealth is the ability to afford a house of limestone or marble, rather than wood or worse, adobe. Those who wish to enter Society often go into debt attempting to finance a modest stone structure, and socialites must be wary that their new friend has a genuine stone house, not a stone shell and then wooden interior walls hidden behind plaster.

The other sharp division of architecture is between the old and new growth. The heart of the city dates back to the Early Shogunate, and has many well-maintained buildings from that and later periods. The outskirts of the city are far more recently developed and display modern styles from across the East. Whatever their era and origin though, the influence of the Church’s aesthetic laws ensure that all buildings are pleasing to behold.

Layout

The city is laid out in pentagram format, with five major districts surrounding the Old City and the Tower. This arrangement was not carefully planned like the precise geometry of Paragon, but arose naturally in accordance with the local dragon lines, a phenomenon that fascinates and alarms observers.

The Old City

The Old City is the heart of Calacthchan, that remained inhabited throughout the years even during the worst periods of decline. It is still the centre of political, financial and spiritual power. The formal edge of the Old City is the ancient city wall, but the inner edges of the Five Districts are also among the region that has been inhabited for centuries.

The Tower

At the heart of the city, in the exact centre of its geomantic and physical geometry, there has intermittently stood an enormous black tower, more than a hundred yards tall. ‘The Tower’, as the locals straightforwardly call it, is obviously a powerful manse or artefact and warps the dragon lines in the vicinity, but so far it has defied all attempts at control by the city’s luminaries.

The Tower has now awoken, by the grace of Calacthchan. It has powerful energy beams and an army of gargoyles.

The Temple

This marble structure would dominate the city centre were it not for the Tower. It was constructed some hundred years ago by the ascendant Church and is the focal point of temporal and spiritual power. With Calacthchan’s palace still in ruins, it also currently serves as his throne room and offices.

The Council House

This more modest limestone structure is the home of the Steward Council. During the council’s glory years funds were diverted to personal residences, and the Church’s ascendance has seen investment in religious structures, leaving the House in need of refurbishment.

District of Letters

The District of Letters is the home of Calacthchan’s intellect. The vast majority of the local libraries and scholars are to be found here, overshadowed by the Hall of Records and the Six Towers College and supported by a mass of petty clerks and accountants for the Great and the Good of Calacthchan.

The Hall of Records

On the inner edge of the District of Letters stands this low limestone building. Its halls and its vaults contain the history of the city dating back to the shogunate, though many of the older records have decayed or been destroyed over the years.

The Six Towers College

The unusual geomancy of Calacthchan and the presence of the Tower have not gone unnoticed by those interested in such matters. The Six Towers College (named for the five of its own, plus the Tower) is an association and educational institution for thaumaturgy specialising in geomancy, with a few god-blooded sorcerers among its membership.

Wheat District

The Wheat District is named for the granaries on the inner edge, but its main relevance to most of the public is as a place for the sick, the dying and the dead. Most of the city’s graveyards are found here, along with the refuse piles and the hospital. It is the poorest district of the city, as few live in such surroundings by choice.

Grain stores

These squat buildings have kept Calacthchan supplied through the best and worst of times, but the city’s recent expansion has left them woefully inadequate for its needs in case of emergency.

Hospital

The Church runs this vital institution, providing medicine for the sick and cosmetic treatments for the ugly.

Prison

Those awaiting trial, or who have received a judgement of imprisonment, are sequestered here. Convicts do forced labour during the day and sleep in crowded cells at night, if they are lucky enough to avoid the ampitheatre or more esoteric punishments.

Festival District

The Festival District is named for the square on its inner edge, which has since the early shogunate provided space for open-air celebrations and markets. During the period of expansion it has become a fashionable place for the incoming well-to-do to establish themselves. The social tensions between the old Marble and new Festival socialites can cause quite a stir in Society. Apart from the well-guarded communities of the rich, the Festival district is not especially wealthy.

Festival Square

On most days, this square is full of merchant stalls and loud haggling, but once every week these are cleared aside and the space between its ancient walls is given over to religious festival. It is widely held that the majority of children in the city were conceived on festival day.

Ampitheatre

The Ampitheatre is one of the largest recent constructions in Calacthchan, and is used for all kinds of functions from public meetings to performances of plays to athletic or gladiatorial contests. It is known that the new King very much approves of the institution and plans to patronise it extensively.

Marble District

The Marble District is the most prosperous region of Calacthchan outside the Old City. The old money of the city lives here on the inner edge, surrounded by exclusive tea houses and gated streets. Further out past the extensive gardens are the public baths, and then the district of artisans and tradesmen and the armoury. In the near future this district is likely to be transformed by the reconstruction of Calacthchan’s palace.

The Gardens

Calacthchan's gardens are semi-private, with different areas open only to different classes. Anyone can enter the Common Gardens near the craftsmen's quarter, but tickets for the Flower Garden require at least a professional salary and the Water Garden is expensive indeed. The most exclusive Sacred Garden is open only to priestesses, and what it might contain is the subject of much rumour and little fact.

The gardens contain many cages and other pens cunningly built into the scenery, displaying a variety of fascinating beasts.

The Palace

The region in and around Calacthchan is dotted with remnants from the Shogunate and even the First Age. Almost all are ruins and nothing more, and lie out of sight and out of mind until the growing city leads someone to build over them, though local superstition about vengeful ancient kings makes this rare. The return of Calacthchan however has reversed this policy, nowhere more dramatically than at the crumbled region he has identified as the site of his Palace, to be restored posthaste. It remains to be seen how the King will fund such an enterprise on top of his planned wars and incessant hedonism, but surely nothing is impossible for a God as potent as Him.

The Baths

To promote hygiene and aesthetics, the Church demands that all citizens bathe at least once a week. The city’s vast public Baths were established for this purpose. The pools are continually refreshed by cleansed river water and warmed in winter by braziers under the base.

The wealthy can afford entry to more exclusive private baths, featuring all manner of amenities and temperatures and and barely-clad attendants with various substances at hand. Many of the city’s clandestine arrangements are made in these steam-shrouded pools, away from prying eyes and ears if voices and times are managed carefully.

Armoury

Towards the edge of the city is the Armoury, a recent construction to support the Church’s increasing militancy. The building amounts to a small fortress, containing not just weapons for the army but smithies, fletchers, and carpentry workshops to produce new ones, and training grounds for soldiers to practice their use.

River District

The River District is the arm of Calacthchan that stretches across the river. It contains the city’s docks and the greater portion of its traders and merchants and transient populations sailing through. It is also a pit of corruption, intrigue and criminality.

Violet Lotus

The Violet Lotus Tea House is a secondary among the ignorant and premier among the informed place to be to drink good tea, play good Gateway, and make good deals. It has alleged links to the White Tiger Syndicate, but nothing concrete, and the new King is for some reason disinterested in the crackdown proposed to him.

Masked Nail Trading Company

The Masked Nail Trading Company is of course involved in Calacthchan, and maintains a large trading station on the waterfront.