Djir
Djir is generally acknowledged to be the second most-influential city in the Hegemony and was even the Hegemony’s capital for a time. Its status was eventually revoked and primacy returned to the mighty Xha’ahan, but Djir emerged unharmed. Its ruler, once dubbed “emperor,” is today given the slightly less grand but still impressive title of “great prince.”
Surrounded by a tall hexagonal wall, Djir is built in a different style than its rival, with tall red stone buttressed towers, squat square homes with spacious central courtyards, public plazas, and great aviaries where many exotic breeds of bright-feathered birds can be seen. The city’s phoenix-sigil symbolizes its fascination with winged creatures, as does its legendary griffon cavalry, once the pride of Djir’s military but now reduced in the long peace to a single squadron of six individuals based at the city’s central edifice, known as the Phoenix Palace.
Like Xha’ahan, Djir’s population has expanded beyond its graceful city walls, but adequate planning and public funding largely prevents the creation of slums or other ugly sprawls. Districts beyond the wall are administered with the same level of bureaucratic efficiency as the rest of the city, and feature the same broad streets, attractive buildings, and public spaces.
Despite its beauty and tranquility, all is not well within Djir, for it is known that the Crimson Mask criminal syndicate controls much of what goes on there, with many nobles and officials in its pay. Though the city of Djir presents a pristine and spotless image to the world, the Crimson Mask represents a rot at its heart.
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