Triumph Gate
"The Triumph Gate is perhaps the greatest tribute to the Kalriv - not just with its artwork commemorating their victories, but the very structure itself exemplifies the indomitable martial tradition of that people. Nobody has ever breached it, and nobody ever will."The Triumph Gate is the main gate granting access into the city of Var Kalriv. It is one of the great architectural wonders of the Kalriv Empire. It is built at the top of the ramp leading from the outlying settlements in the Venderan Desert up to the City Mesa itself.
-Shekis Herran, Sapphran philosopher
Purpose / Function
The Triumph Gate was built to control access into and out of the City Mesa. To that end it serves both as a defensive measure and as a show of aesthetic splendour. It is the first sight visitors to the city see, and its height, formidability and decor are designed to present an image of grandeur, prestige and might.
Architecture
The Triumph Gate is a portion of the city walls of Var Kalriv. The walls as a whole are made up of glazed bricks of a royal blue colour. The gate section itself consists of two guard towers protruding from the wall itself, along with tiered battlements atop the city wall.
The gate is a large arch that has been cut into the wall, large enough to admit ten people standing abreast at once. It is sealed by a pair of thick gates, framed in bronze and thick enough to withstand considerable impact. Alongside the gate are bas-reliefs depicting great heroes and battles of Kalriv history.
Defenses
In addition to the city walls, guard towers and defensive gates, the Triumph Gate is also manned by its own sub-garrison. These forces are stationed atop the wall, with sentries guarding both the interior and exterior of the gate. Archers are stationed atop the walls, and cauldrons of boiling oil and water can easily be readied to be dropped on besiegers.
Before even reaching the Gate, an attacking force would have to ascend the mesa ramp, which is heavily fortified with barriers and guard towers even before reaching the Gate. In addition, tall stone statues of great Basileii of the empire have been raised near the gate, modified to serve as archer platforms.
History
The City Mesa has always had some form of fortification since its creation, however during the immediate centuries after its foundation such fortifications were simple earthworks or piled stones. The brick walls in their current form were built in 1200 DoM, during the Kalriv tribe's wars with the city-state of Lycrus, considered to be the ascendancy of the Kalriv from regional city-state to rising empire. The Triumph Gate dates to the victory of the Kalriv people over that tribe, with the decorations, paintings and bas-reliefs that make up the Gate depicting this moment.
Tourism
Anybody visiting Var Kalriv by default visits the Gate, as they can only access the City Mesa through it. It attracts a certain amount of interest even in its own right, with many philosophers even beyond the Empire considering it a wonder of the world and wishing to see it for themselves. Within the Empire, the Gate has great historical and cultural value, as it exemplifies the martial nature of the Kalriv and honours its greatest warriors and its rise as an empire.
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