Amathus, the City of a Thousand Towers

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The City of a Thousand Towers is in the middle of a technological revolution. After seizing control of the city-state, its merchants-mages are now rushing to secure their independence by reclaiming the glorious inheritance of their past, whatever the cost.

History of the City

See the Chronicles of Amathus.

Before the Fall

Amathus was founded 5 thousands years ago (-2000 years before the Fall) by the Propoetides civilisation and their legendary Mages-Kings. It started as a small city-state not different from any others. The Mages-Kings that ruled it were powerful, but no more than any other royal family.
Shortly after, the Mages-Kings of Amathus stole secrets of magic from the gods and spread them to their people and neighbours, gaining their respects and awe. They used these new artefacts and knowledge to make mighty weapons and start the conquest of neighbouring lands. In year 1835 before the Fall, the Kingdom of Kýpros is born, with Amathus as its capital.
In year 1655 before the Fall, the Kingdom of Amathus expanded beyond what are considers its natural borders, and several other kingdoms came under its dominion. This marked the start of the Empire of Kýpros. Amathus continues to prosper as the imperial capital and was the envie of the rest of the world.
From year 133 before the Fall, the last members of the imperial line of Mages-Kings fought each other for the succession to the throne of the Empire of Kýpros. They raised against each other powerful weapons and terrible magic that should have never been used against their own people, laying waste to the whole continent and Amathus in particular. In the end, in year 0, the last heirs kill each other, putting an end to their illustrious line and marking the Fall of the Empire of Kýpros.

After the Fall

The war of succession left the continent destroyed and weakened, an easy prey to external powers. The empire was immediately dismembered and became the theatre of centuries of unrest and conflicts, as everyone attempted to cut themselves a new kingdom out of its remains. Amathus itself was in ruins. After this, every ambitious person on the continent and beyond attempted to conquer it to prove their might. Worse, each visitor to the city left with ancient artefacts and even building stones, until nothing was left of the old empire. Thus, year 0 to 2000 is the intermediate period during which Amathus was subjugated to outsiders, with no signs betraying the previous magical might and knowledge of its inhabitants.
In year 2947, The Merchants-Mages of Amathus start to gain more prominence. A few of them have managed to gather some ancient imperial artefacts and study them. From this, they redeveloped some old magical techniques, leading to a technological revolution. They have use these to impress the other inhabitants of Amathus and their neighbours. The foremost among those is the artificials, which are their attempt to recreate the automatons that made the old imperial armies. Their appearance has triggered fear in the rest of the continent despite the artificials not being fully automated and required the binding of a soul to work.
All thanks to this, on the 2000 anniversary of the Fall, the Merchants-Mages of Amathus were able to expel all foreigners from the city and to organise themselves in a ruling council, marking the official rebirth of the City-State of Amathus. Despite their unlimited powers over the city, the Merchants-Mages are unlikely to reconquer the old Empire of Kýpros any time soon, as they seem more interesting in back stabbing each other in an attempt to come on top and declare themselves king.

Modern Amathus

Modern Amathus bear very little traces of its past glory. Nothing is left of the imperial period beyond the Mages-Kings' Mausoleum lying undisturbed below the city thanks to its impenetrable wards.
In the last few centuries, the Merchants-Mages have raised towers of extraordinary power as a demonstration of their magical might. Anyone wishing to call themselves a Merchant-Mage and to pretend to assist to their monthly meeting is required to have their own tower. Height reflect magical powers, but higher towers requires both more magical power to maintain them upright and better and more power-consuming wards to prevent attack against the tower or assassination attempts. Thus, Amathus is a made of a mish-mash of towers of different sizes and of the remnants of the abode of those who did not judge their own limits properly.
However, despite its nickname of the City of the Thousands Towers, not all of Amathus is made of such buildings. Alongside the towers are many ground levels houses and apartment blocks of only a few floor, most of which are considered slums. In addition to those, there are a few villas who used to belong to rich foreigners before they were expelled from Amathus. The few of those that have not yet fallen to ruins have been re-appropriated by the Merchants-Mages and are used to organise meetings between each other on neutral ground. This is, of course, where the ruling council gathers.
Because it is made of so many towers, communication and travel by the Merchants-Mages and their servitors is most often done by air, either through sending flying communication device, using their wings to fly in the case of artificials, or through flying with the help of magical artefacts or pure raw powers in the case of normal humans. This means that the sky of Amathus tend to be rather busy. In addition to physical presence, it is also filled with the discreet glimmer of the multitude of wards extending from each of the towers.

A tower by AmélieIS with an image from rajeeblochanchand on Pixabay

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Amathus, the City of a Thousand Towers

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