Ardsruth

Translating to "Highriver," Ardsruth is a critical city in the Northern parts of the The Realm's heartland. Set in and around a confluence of the Arais and Tileon Rivers, Ardsruth is the home of the Colastile and the Staidear and is often seen as the secondary capital of The Realm.
Built amongst the hills and valleys of where the two major rivers come together, Ardsruth is known for its unique architecture that often hangs from cliff-faces and juts from small islands (both natural and man-made).
Amongst the complicated geography of the city is the Colastile, the foremost University and place of learning in The Realm (and arguably the world, though citizens of The The Principality of Al-Tiba and Singlar may disagree). The Colastile is split into two parts, the normal University half that centers on topics of study such as mathematics, medicine, language, and so on. The other half concentrates on magic and is home to the Staidear, the council of magic users that train and manage magic in The Realm. It is also the home of the Councilor of Fire when they are not seeing to matters on the Domhanda Council.
The concentration on learning and magic has made Ardsruth a notable city of learning and enlightenment in The Realm, and while people of other nations may disagree with The Realm's dogmatic principles or teachings they would have a hard time dismissing Ardsruth as a scholars city.

Demographics

Due to the presence of the Staidear and the Colastile there are a higher number of Fire Genasi here than anywhere else due to all Fire Genasi being slated for membership in the Staidear.

Government

Like most cities and provinces in the Heartland of The Realm Ardsruth is governed by the local Stuthoir of the Bealai. In Ardsruth specifically the eldest and chief Stuthoir of the temple is the de jure ruler of Ardsruth. The de facto leader of the city, however, is the Councilor of Fire and the Staidear, who often give "advice" to the leading Stuthoir which is almost heeded.

Defences

The city is defended on the rivers by a contingent of The Realm's navy. On the ground the city maintains a garrison but mostly relies on the rivers for defense. If that fails the Colastile is filled with hundreds of magically adept people, including the primary Staidear council which are all masters of their craft.

Industry & Trade

The city most lives off of its academics and magical users, taking the shape of research, enchanting, and activities supporting those tasks. The rivers do allow for fishing and the nearby hills allow for limited mining.

History

Ardsruth was once a military garrison of the Atkorian Empire, allowing it to control the confluence of rivers. After the Atkorian's abandoned it the area was largely abandoned until the time of the Carlegnian Empire, when Frant established the Colastile to aid in the education of the arcane on the continent.
When the Carlegnian's fell the city fended for itself until being taken by Joaniala who renamed and remade the Colastile into what it is today.

Architecture

With much of the construction in the city being done after the foundation of The Realm, the city enjoys up to date Realmer architecture. Even the Colastile, while older than The Realm, was torn down and rebuilt with new Realmer architecture.

Geography

Ardsruth finds itself at the confluence of two major rivers, the Arais and Tileon. Further, the confluence is hilly and filled with valleys and off-shoots. This unique makes the city hard to build physical defenses around, but gives it an undeniable beauty.
To its east lies the region known as the world's gift, a large patch of flat and arable land that is home to a massive amount of The Realms farms and farming communities, and many come to Ardsruth to sell their crops to ship down the Arais river to the capital.
To the north civilization begins to weed out as you get closer to the Faeane Galarturie, but more farming is done by those willing to risk it and those who live in Deiristad.

Alternative Name(s)

Seat of Fire, City Amongst the Waves

Type

City

Population

70,000~

Inhabitant Demonym

Ardsruthian

Owning Organization

The Realm