Arcanium

Arcanium is the and largest city in Zahava. It was founded by the Iapetian peoples after their conquest of the Prykhian civilization on the ruins of the Prykhian capital of Khamia. Its position on a peninsula formed by the Mageiaus river, and the lapetus sea made it easily defensible and a center of commerce

According to Zahavan mythology the location is believed to be the site where Zahavarius was victorious over Mortarius and the forces of the underworld, and that he established the city as a sanctuary for mankind and as a monument to the gods who had aided him.

Historically Arcanium was a rival to the city of Tanith, and Maegra, the rivalry would last until the Lapetus Wars resulting in the total destruction of Tanith while Maegra effectively became a client state.

Fortifications


Arcanium was famed for its massive and complex defenses in ancient times. The first wall of the city was erected by Verus Caspean, and surrounded the city on both land and sea fronts. Later, in the 5th century, the Tetrarch Demoleon commissioned the construction of the Demoleon walls, which consisted of a double wall lying about 2 kilometres to the west of the first wall and a moat with palisades in front. This formidable complex of defenses was one of the most sophisticated of Antiquity, and while besieged on numerous occasions by various armies, the defenses of Arcanium proved impregnable for nearly nine hundred years.

Many of the cities most famous buildings, including the Sanctorus Basileius sit atop man made plateaus and natural rocky outcroppings with the earliest evidence of inhabitants to the area being dated to the fourth millennium BC. Throughout history rulers, and other officials have sought to establish the city itself as a symbol of their own power, with many magnificent palaces, domes, and towers, monuments and temples spread throughout the city.

Imperial Library of Loikanos
Established 290 BCE when king Photius Zimisces ascended to the throne the Imperial Library of Loikanos was originally designed solely to house legal, diplomatic and religious texts from the Imperial household. It was during the reign of Siromos Astraeus, following the Arcanic Leauge victory in the Iapetus Wars that the Library was expanded and given the additional purpose as a repository for examples of Avalonian and particularly Zahavan culture as part of Astraeus' initiative to promote a united Zahavan culture instead of maintaining the divided city state over national pride

Sanctorus Basileius
The Sanctorus Basileius or Divine Palace is the Primogenitor's Imperial residence in the capital of Arcanium. The palace is situated atop a plateau overlooking a bend in the Mageiaus river. The residence serves as both a symbol of imperial authority and prestige while also serving as the center of state and military power in the empire. The palace and its surrounding grounds have expanded over the centuries eventually encompassing the entirety of the plateau. The grounds contain shrines to the various gods, and particularly has temples to the Imperial cult. The grounds also house several museums, gardens, and other libraries containing artifacts and texts dating back to times of antiquity.

Kastro Corpus
The Kastro Corpus while officially built as Kastro Callinicus, named after the Custodes Tribune who oversaw its construction, the citadel has become known by its unofficial name as the Citadel of Bodies. The citadel serves as the headquarters and prison ran by the Ordo Custodes, the Imperial Security Directorate. The Kastro Corpus is meant specifically to house traitors and political prisoners with the majority of the citadel encased within the rocky outcrop it is situated upon. Over time the Kastro Corpus has developed a reputation as one of the most brutal and horrific prisons in the world, with prisoners regularly subjected to all forms of physical and psychological abuses and neglect.

Famously it is rumored that the Imperial pretender Demoleon Haedo, after his defeat in the Zahavan civil war was entombed for some fifteen years in a standing only cell inside the Kastro with nothing but a small drain supplying him rain water, sunlight and table scraps from the Custodes billets as they were swept out every evening for food.

Kastro Hetaeri
The Kastro Hetaeri, or Citadel of the Companions serves as both the barracks, and academy, and armory for members of the Imperial Guard.