Lighthouse of Copernicus

Copernicus was designated to be the seat of power for the new Duke Gaswain of Calanthi shortly after he cleared the northern plains of the Orc menace that roamed those lands.  And the Duke had used this area as his main base of supply for the campaign during the final two years.  Being a military man he decided to build Copernicus in rigid street grids and levels denoting the status of all who lived there.
He was pleased to have his camp run with precision and on schedule, and he carried this love for timeliness forward from military commander to civil authority.  As part of his plan for Copernicus, he had watchtowers built to announce the time throughout the city on a regular schedule where the watchmen would toll the bells.
Along the way he became acquainted with an architect that turned many of his ideas into reality.  Now the Duke turned to the architect to build the most magnificent watchtower in the new city.  And the architect, being from the coasts, knew that great towers were built in a certain form with a circular base that tapered to the top to reduce weight but remain strong.  And so this was the form of the Watchtower of Copernicus, the name the Duke had given the project.  Other watchtowers would wait upon the bell from the Great Tower, and everyone would know the time.
The residents of Copernicus were not from the coasts.  They were military men that fought in the army, or camp followers that supplied what the army needed and learned to be ready to leave quickly when the army began to move.  They knew the manner of the day and the path to success in an army camp.  But as the Watchtower began to rise up from the land with the smooth arc built of stone spiraling upwards, they didn't know what to think about it.  The army built temporary structures that could be taken down and moved with them.  Now, among the walls and towers being built that defined the boundaries and neighborhoods of Copernicus, a single masonry structure was rising.
As more people learned that Copernicus would be the capital of the Duchy, more people flowed in to become settled and make connections among the burgeoning nobility.  Folks came from all parts of Calanthi, bringing their belongings and customs from wherever they came.  And so it took some time for anyone from the coast, the farthest reaches of Calanthi, to complete the journey.
But only a short time after this one of them asked, "Why are they building a Lighthouse here in the middle of the open plain?"  And other folks would ask, "What do you mean?  What is a lighthouse?"  And so it spread quickly among the lower classes that "the new structure wasn't a Watchtower at all; it was a Lighthouse!"  And this became a great joke among the people.  They began calling it The Great Lighthouse of the Plains.  It's a warning all the ships to be wary of the rocks and shallows.
Construction of the Watchtower was too far along for anything to be done about its form.  The Duke became annoyed with The Architect but he couldn't do anything of consequence to change it.  The Duke conferred with his Chaplain; could the top be fashioned as a bell tower for a cathedral?  The chaplain could only respond, "I don't know Your Grace.  Domes and roofs, bells and such are heavy things and I don't know about architecture to give you an answer."  And so the Lighthouse was completed as designed.  The bell was brought up and placed on the hanger.  Mighty ropes were strung down to the second level and the guard took over operation to watch and chime the hour.  But The Architect never heard the bell toll.  He had fled Copernicus in shame, for everyone thought his greatest work was instead a great joke.  And so the Great Watchtower was never known by that name.  It was always the Lighthouse of Copernicus.

Copernicus was indeed a massive supply base for years before the war was over.  And Duke Gaswain could see the completion of his campaigns were coming to a close.  He wasn't yet a Duke, but a Count, but he could see where this was going to end.  Having acquired this land from the Orcs, he would be given the right to rule and defend it.  And so the Duke was planning how his city would be laid out.
He imagined his palace being located on a great rise above the city.  He imagined the nobility would occupy the high places around his palace.  He imagined the influential folks and the monied aristocrats occupying the central city, and therefore planned gardens and boulevards, museums and theatres, libraries and exotic shops of furs and jewelry, all located in his inner city.  And beyond that, more rings of development with walls for defense.  And these elements of his city would take an extraordinary amount of work to bring to fruition.
So while the Great Watchtower was being built, so were the walls that defined the boundaries of the different parts of Copernicus being built.  This is partly why the Watchtower gained so much attention, because it was the only structure being built that was a place for people to inhabit.  Everything else was a wall, foundation for a wall, or foundation for a main boulevard.  Copernicus was going to rise out of the plains in the Duke's imagination.  But, only a few people knew there was much more being built besides roads and walls.

Copernicus was going to follow most of the customs of Calanthi in its operations.  Horses would not come into the city unless the owner paid a tax.  For this reason, beyond the city walls a lower city, or an outer city was being built.  And being outside the walls, many of the regulations on city life didn't apply to the folks living in the outer city.
In addition, a number of nobles petitioned the Duke for land to build a home for when they visited Copernicus.  These homes were not built next to one another, but on tens of acres, with space around the main structures for gardens and lawns.  Estates were also being designated for the highest members of Gaswain's Council.  These were not just built on tens of acres, but one hundred acres or more.  They were large enough to include farms, orchards and vineyards.  And while the noble that requested the property might not be in residence for more than a week each year, the mansions were never empty.  Usually a third or fourth son, or a daughter and her husband might have the residence year around while the affairs of the noble owner were managed by the staff.
All the nobility knew Gaswain was going to be an important figure in Calanthi, and many invested heavily to see how that might work out for them too.