Imraldun City
The City of Stairs, the City of Seven Cairns
Imraldun is the capital city of Arlium and Noelred. Its name is derived from “Emerald Glen,” and it is nicknamed the City of Stairs, or the City of Seven Cairns. It boasts a population of 28,000. Imraldun was granted its charter in 1220 by King Eldred Kolthen, and its crest is seven stars, or on a field of sable and argent.
Imraldun is said to have been King Kelthan’s capital in antiquity, and it is built over an impressive Bronze Age hillfort on Imraldun Isle. (This claim is disputed by other sites.) Imraldun Isle lies where the Lenns River splits for a short distance, embracing Imraldun Isle, and the city lies on the east end of where it rises to a commanding escarpment. It is both a river port and river island city, and the settlement is surrounded by rich agricultural land on the island and in the surrounding countryside. Imraldun is in the Barony of Imraldun, the Duchy of Kallund, the Kingdom of Noelred, in the High Kingdom of Arlium. The city is connected by secondary roads to Mydia City to the southeast, Andwycc Town to the southwest, Nilston to the north by northwest, and Skygate to the distant west by northwest. The Lenns River also connects Imraldun to Mydia to the southeast.
As you follow the road (called “the Royal Road”) east across the island, you pass through a line of seven cairns, said to be the resting places of King Kelthan’s seven legendary knights. This folklore is controversial, because most of those seven paladins became kings of distant lands and are entombed in those places, not here. The city's main gate or barbican is called Iron Gotte, dedicated to Iron Heart, the dragoness who defended Noelred in the days of Creosis and Thexelis. The city has steep streets and many stairs, with wynds & closes throughout the city. Many of the homes are masonry, with stone sourced from local quarries. The city curtain walls are old but they have been modernized in recent time and are quite defensible. The city’s main thoroughfares and market are cobbled.
Imraldun’s first castle was the Winter Tower, with a moat fed by the river.. It was turned over to the Red Lions after Castle Sablestone was built. The Winter Tower also serves as a mint and royal armory. Castle Sablestone was built by King Eldred in the 1220s, and it dominates the city’s eastern extremity and highest point. It is highly defensible and modern, and its great hall is decorated with priceless tapestries and valuable stained glass from Eofwin. This castle is said to house the finest library in the highlands. The Silver Hawks commandery, a royal peculiar, is attached to Castle Sablestone.
Kelthan Sun Cloak’s Basilica in Imraldun City hosts a steady stream of pilgrims all year to pay their reverence. This cathedral includes a spacious hospital set aside for pilgrims and the infirm. The city’s patron saints are Kelthan Sun Cloak and Amorghus the Bountiful. Additionally, Imraldrun hosts the mother house of the Renunciater order.
The people of Imraldun are hardy, idealistic, and used to overcoming adversity. They are a lively bunch, featuring crockery throwing at festivals and wife-carrying competitions on Solstices. The city also hosts yearly games to pick new Red Lions recruits, accepting only the toughest athletes and finest fighters. Imraldun industry centers on weaving, dying, and fulling, which means the city often smells bad, and on training the illuminators who decorate many fine books. This city is also famed as the finest producer of lamellar and scale armor in Aorlis.
Contemporary natives of note include King Eldred Kolthen (abdicated), and Queen Lovan Kolthen, his consort. The city’s most famous citizens are the mythological King Kelthan Sun Cloak, his consort Aragent the Dragon Maid, their son King Eldoran Long Arm. Also of note is Kelthan’s wizard, Kendroth the Unseen, and the king’s magic horse, Valdor Thunderhoof.
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