Ardh

The ancient city of Ardh is the oldest known surviving settlement amongst the city states of the Galeric Rail Baronies. Unlike the other Rail Baronies, Ardh is located in a region known for its namesake, the Ardhal Plateaus, and is home to the Grand Ardhal Railroad Barony, the sole rail barony in the plateaus and the fifth largest in the Desert Galeric. Ardh features grand architecture and expensively-irrigated floral beauty along the upper ridges and tabletops of the three dissected plateaus that compose the central city, but the lower canyons and valleys between (and below) the plateaus are considered some of the most lawless and dangerous areas in the entire Galeric. This glaring dichotomy reflects both the massive income equality present within Ardhalian society, as well as the degree to which the Ardhalian elite have lost touch with reality, as the dangers to those not living on the highlands have historically been ignored or downplayed to the detriment of all, including the nobility themselves.

Government

Ardh's current government is run by the Ardhal Oligarchs Council largely composed of former executive members of the Grand Ardhal Rail Barony, with some notable exceptions. The Oligarch's Council controls legislation, taxation and mediation throughout the Ardhal Plateaus, though most of these are almost always conducted with the permission and blessings of the Grand Ardhal Rail Barony; the Barony's ostensible power over the Oligarch's council is reinforced by the massive bribery and kickbacks the two entities enjoy off of one another, often passing the costs to other entities or the Ardhalian people as a whole. As a result, Ardhalian government has slowly but surely disintegrated into a largely ineffectual state. The wealth from buried emerald mines within the plateaus stayed the effects of corrupt government for a time, but the glaring cracks inherent with Ardh's leadership have become more and more apparent as the region's floor has become more dangerous and the lower classes grow increasingly volatile.

Infrastructure

Ardh's construction on a series of dissected plateaus requires extensive building infrastructure to maintain it. This includes the construction of The Great Pax lift in 165 ME, the largest mechanical elevator in the desert, located at the Ardhal central plateau and used to raise massive quanties of materiel and supplies up to the city center on the tabletop.

Founding Date

Unknown (4500-5500 years ago)

Type

City

Population

40,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Ardhalian

Ruling/Owning Rank

Rail Baron

Owning Organization

Ardhal Grand Rail Barony