Kelethan
Those whom have visited the Depen will be familiar enough with the aboreal settlements common in the nation by such a time as they arrive in Kelethan, yet even with being ready for such a thing, nothing can mentally prepare one for the majesty of the capital city of the Depen. The beauty and power, the balance and function. Technology and nature as one. Dominated by the core city, the island heartwood in the southeast corner of Lake Kele, this beautiful core is surrounded, almost lovingly embraced, by a large Sky-port, the largest in all of Durol, with a notable industrial district on the mainland, complete with a very large and busy rail yard. Some 70 thousand of the capital's citizenry live and work on the mainland, and in some ways, this is it's own second 'sister' settlement. The core city houses the rest, and they are connected by ferries and by a set of massive bridges of vine, timber and kelp, these living bridges maintained by the Emerald Order. The core heartwood is a site to behold, a teeming metropolis amongst a canopy of massive trees, with the tangled network of walkways and gangways connecting it all as if a road system. It is beyond proper description, and must be seen and experienced to be believed.
Diary of an unnamed traveler
Demographics
As is the standards of the day, Kelethan's population count needs to have a couple of asterisks attached to it before delving to deep into its demographics. The first is it does not count any children, so anyone 14 or younger as a human standard, with that standard applied via basic conversion math based on average life span for other races. Secondly is that it does not count beggars or their ilk, people whom do not pay any sort of taxes and therefore have no real voice within the society. Like all the largest cities in Valerick in this age of Revitalization, there is a racial diversity now that has not ever been seen. Within that however, in the Depenwood it should still come as no surprise that Elves are, collectively, the largest demographic, with halfmen and Tanturs being notable for their amounts too. As always humans have a healthy presence. Dwarves and gnomes are the least common, likely a cultural disdain for the more nature loving tree-hugging type culture that is normal in the Depen. For humans, though those of Koltani heritage make up the largest percentage, their quite a healthy mix in Depenwood.
Kelethan is a very strange and wonderous place, a place of learning, of magick and education. It is also known for being the birthplace of the Magisterium, for it was here many centuries ago, in the Arcania Tempestus Sanctum, the place that has become known as the thrumming heart of the Arts Arcanis in all of Valerick. This, beyond all else, is a gift of great wealth and boon to the city and to all of Depenwood as a whole. Knowledge is collected and catalogued here, the works of science and magick and lore rivalling and even perhaps surpassing those of the Children of the Ascended's own house of knowledge in Nightvale, solely because of the lack of things like pesky religious restrictions. One will find all manner of opportunity to become educated in Kelethan. It is a city built on two principles. Harmony with Nature, and the necessity of knowledge and mastery. It is here one will find the grandest halls of learning on the continent, perhaps even in all the world. It is here that is the thrumming heart of the Magisterium, a mighty and powerful organizaton indeed. It is here the nation's governing body steers the Depenwood Federation from and it is here that houses knowledge untold. All these factors help make Kelethan quite a diverse but wealthy city, as can be seen below via the graph breaking down the city's populace by their income bracket, according to the previous year's tax records.
The economy of the city of Kelethan is driven in large part by the fields of eductation and the study and application of the esoteric arts. This is the city of magick, the birthplace of the Magisterium and the city within which the Arcanis Accords were first ratified and signed. It is a historic site, and sees its share of tourism as well. Naturally there is a healthy industry surrounding the arcane as well, be it shipping goods, resources, the arts enchantment, or the Magisterium itself. Kelethan is city built on the study of the esoteric and the strange.
It is also, like much of Depenwood, built its economy on the necessity of food production. Food is plentiful in the Depen, the great forest is curated to a degree for that purpose, with standing laws in place about harming food bearing plants, harsh punishments attached to many of those laws. As such it should come as no surprise the industrous mainland part of the city has a healthy canning and tinning industry, working with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. It is a new technology, but a valuable one. They also export many perserves, jams and jellies, and there are plenty of facilities in that business within the city. Below, to give one whom is interested in such things, is a chart for your consideration, roughly breaking down the city's populace by industry in which they earn their income;
| Race | Rough % of Population | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Dwarves | 4% | 10717 |
| Elf, Woad | 21% | 56266 |
| Elf, Skye | 17% | 45548 |
| Elves, Mixed | 13% | 34831 |
| Gnomes | 7% | 18755 |
| Halfmen | 12% | 32152 |
| Humans (All heritages) | 14% | 37510 |
| Tantur | 12% | 32152 |
Kelethan is a very strange and wonderous place, a place of learning, of magick and education. It is also known for being the birthplace of the Magisterium, for it was here many centuries ago, in the Arcania Tempestus Sanctum, the place that has become known as the thrumming heart of the Arts Arcanis in all of Valerick. This, beyond all else, is a gift of great wealth and boon to the city and to all of Depenwood as a whole. Knowledge is collected and catalogued here, the works of science and magick and lore rivalling and even perhaps surpassing those of the Children of the Ascended's own house of knowledge in Nightvale, solely because of the lack of things like pesky religious restrictions. One will find all manner of opportunity to become educated in Kelethan. It is a city built on two principles. Harmony with Nature, and the necessity of knowledge and mastery. It is here one will find the grandest halls of learning on the continent, perhaps even in all the world. It is here that is the thrumming heart of the Magisterium, a mighty and powerful organizaton indeed. It is here the nation's governing body steers the Depenwood Federation from and it is here that houses knowledge untold. All these factors help make Kelethan quite a diverse but wealthy city, as can be seen below via the graph breaking down the city's populace by their income bracket, according to the previous year's tax records.
The economy of the city of Kelethan is driven in large part by the fields of eductation and the study and application of the esoteric arts. This is the city of magick, the birthplace of the Magisterium and the city within which the Arcanis Accords were first ratified and signed. It is a historic site, and sees its share of tourism as well. Naturally there is a healthy industry surrounding the arcane as well, be it shipping goods, resources, the arts enchantment, or the Magisterium itself. Kelethan is city built on the study of the esoteric and the strange.
It is also, like much of Depenwood, built its economy on the necessity of food production. Food is plentiful in the Depen, the great forest is curated to a degree for that purpose, with standing laws in place about harming food bearing plants, harsh punishments attached to many of those laws. As such it should come as no surprise the industrous mainland part of the city has a healthy canning and tinning industry, working with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. It is a new technology, but a valuable one. They also export many perserves, jams and jellies, and there are plenty of facilities in that business within the city. Below, to give one whom is interested in such things, is a chart for your consideration, roughly breaking down the city's populace by industry in which they earn their income;
Government
Section to be added much later after summercamp. I'm jumping the shark writing bout capital before I've really finished writing about the country.
Infrastructure
The beauty and impossibility of Kelethan, as with most places in Depenwood, is the blend of urbanization and nature. The cities do not remove nature, they are part of it, they are in it, they are built around it, embracing it with care. The mighty heartwoods, groves of trees of a goliath like size that house entire neighborhoods, markets and more in some cases all about their strange warped semi hollow structure, and all about their canopy, the branches and limbs woven as walls, platforms and walkways, bridging from tree to tree, are a sight to behold. They seem to defy the biology of trees as we would understand it, defying physics in the process. Kelethan stands as an awe inspiring monument of this. The undercity itself is amazing, built within the shade, structures shaped and build to utilize the trunks, instead of clearing them, build around brush and wild berry bushes, the city's streets are a tangled weaving knot as well, to insure food plants that were growing wild continue to do so. Yet the aboreal districts, well these are where the true artistry lies. The crown jewels are the three mighty heartoaks, each massive. One housing the seat of government, the Wyldemount. The second, surrounded by a small orchard and garden growing wild, not planted in lines, but a tangled grove of food and bounty, a holy place, the Everlasting Grove, the grand Cathedral of the faithful of Talia, the lady of the Leaves. The third a towering specimen with eight distinct crownings, splits in its mighty canopy where the limbs come together to form large multi-floored woven structures. This is the Arcania Tempestus Sanctum, the heart of the Magisterium, the central location of their power, with each crowning the organizational center of one of the eight Orders that make up the massive organization.
Indeed Kelethan, by some arguements, may be the single most powerful, wealthy and influential city in the world, and certainly is on the continent of Durol, even despite her smaller population than many cities on Gavis-Lune or Wyriel. The history of this place, steeped into the roots of the mighty heartwood, has blossomed in such a way to insure that Kelethan will always hold a powerful position on the worldwide scale of Valerick. The Magisterium will insure that, knowing that of all the kingdoms and nations, the Depen was on their side from the beginning, the only nation that did not bend to the will of the Children of the Ascended, or turn a blind eye to their behaviors, during the Arcanis Crusades.
Indeed Kelethan, by some arguements, may be the single most powerful, wealthy and influential city in the world, and certainly is on the continent of Durol, even despite her smaller population than many cities on Gavis-Lune or Wyriel. The history of this place, steeped into the roots of the mighty heartwood, has blossomed in such a way to insure that Kelethan will always hold a powerful position on the worldwide scale of Valerick. The Magisterium will insure that, knowing that of all the kingdoms and nations, the Depen was on their side from the beginning, the only nation that did not bend to the will of the Children of the Ascended, or turn a blind eye to their behaviors, during the Arcanis Crusades.
I'm always impressed when someone can determine exact population sizes and demographic ratios. Big fan of the pie charts :)
Speculative-Fiction Writing