Korth

The city of Korth has served as Karrnath’s capital since before the days of the kingdom of Galifar. Some of its buildings date back to the earliest human settlements; many others were built during the great expansion that marked the middle period of Galifar I’s reign.
The Korth skyline rises along the southern shore of the Karrn River, with the dense Nightwood to the east of the city gates. The high walls of Crownhome, the hereditary home of Karrnath’s royal family, rise atop King’s Hill in the Highcourt Ward of the city. Another prominent structure, the Cathedral of the Sovereign Host, fills a sizable piece of real estate in the Temple Ward and has shrines dedicated to the entire pantheon. In general, the style of the city is heavy and symmetrical, with blocks set forth in a grid or radiating out from a central plaza. The militaristic influence that infuses all of Karrnath society permeates Korth and helps define the monolithic appearance of the buildings and decorative features such as monuments, obelisks, and tombs. The weight of age is immediately clear - many of the stone buildings here appear thousands of years old, their crumbling edifices displaying the styles of antiquity. The buildings are as massive as they are old, with many taking up entire city blocks and stretching to fill the sky.

Demographics

60% humans, 19% dwarves, 6% halflings, 4% half-elves (khoravar), 4% elves, 7% other

Government

The government of Korth, like all politics in Karrnath, is dominated by King Kaius. However, the city is ostensibly controlled by Civic Minister Hyran ir'Tennet who sees to day-to-day administrative duties and has some considerable power in his own right. This power divide is subtle and mostly played out in court intrigue so that the common people see a united and strong city government.

Defences

Korth is the home base of one of the knightly orders, and keeps its own garrison army for defence. 
The Knightly Order of the Conquering Fist are the elite knights based in the city, but they are typically only fighting there in times of peril. The White Lions are the city's garrison force and keep the law, and are supplied as a city militia and run by a dedicated general. Many of the noble houses in the city also maintain their own personal guard, who can be called in to defend the city during a siege or attack. 
Between the high walls, fortified buildings, and armed population, the city is considered to be extremely well-defended.

Districts

Since the war, the city has organized into five wards, named Highcourt, Temple, Commerce, Community, and Low District. While each ward consists of living space, markets, and other city necessities, each concentrates on an aspect of city life and is built to accommodate that aspect.
The Highcourt Ward houses most of the government departments, as well as the halls of the royal family and some of the more affluent noble families.
The Temple Ward features winding streets dedicated to the many religions of Khorvaire; everything from small shrines to giant cathedrals can be found here, and some representative of even the most obscure cult probably finds a location to preach from within the walls of this ward.
The Commerce Ward presents businesses of all types and provides space for the enclaves of all the dragonmarked houses; supply and demand come together inside this sprawling ward.
The Community Ward is the most residential ward in Korth, providing housing for the middle class.
The Low District is a dangerous maze of narrow streets housing the poorest of the city. The criminal element has a firm hold on the Low District, using its twisting warrens as a hiding place and somewhere from which to conduct business best done in the shadows.

Crownhome is the King's palace, a fortress where Kaius rules. Built like a massive wall between two towering rock spires, Crownhome is as much military base as it is residence or seat of government. More than a thousand soldiers are garrisoned here, including elements of the White Lions city guard and the Conqueror’s Host, the king’s royal guard. The towers and roofs bristle with magical siege engines capable of reaching a full mile from the city walls.
Kaius’s audience chamber is rather austere, but it’s designed to put visitors off their guard. Elite guards escort visitors through a labyrinth of twisting corridors. When they climb a final set of stairs into the throne room, they find they’ve emerged from underneath Kaius’s throne, and now stand with him above and behind them. Maps of Khorvaire cover every wall, and a board for the game of Conqueror sits at Kaius’s right hand.
The throne room is strictly for official audiences; Kaius takes no entertainment there, and his ceremonial duties are few. For personal guests, he has a pleasant, tapestry-filled audience chamber, much less imposing - it is said that an invitation to the sitting room instead of the throne room is the true honour.
The Tower of the Twelve floats above Wolvern Park, a mage's college where the dragonmarked houses send their best and brightest. This thirteen floor tower (with one empty floor to memorialize the lost Mark of Death) is full of classrooms, libraries, and laboratories devoted to arcane research. The Tower of the Twelve is the primary rival to the Arcane Congress of Aundair, but enrolment is strongly in favour of those with ties to a dragonmarked house. Unlike the Arcane Congress, they are not a national resource that serves the country, but rather an independant group funded by the houses, particularly Cannith.

Korth’s Cathedral to the Sovereign Host was restored after the Treaty of Thronehold Prelate Roerith led the reconstruction of a massive house of worship at the heart of the Temple Ward. Travelers come from miles around to worship there and see the Dome of the Twelve Moons, the inside of which has a magically animated starscape said to predict the future.

History

Located on the Karrn River, Korth has been a major trade settlement since humans settled Khorvaire… Before, even, if you count the goblin settlements that set up nearby. 
The City of Kings has a long legacy of powerful rulers and military conquests. For many in the Five Nations, Korth is synonymous with armies and generals, even more so than Rekkenmark. “Officers come from Rekkenmark but wars come from Korth,” as the saying goes and that heritage has shaped the city.
Korth suffered sieges from Aundair (939– 940), Cyre (936 and 971–973), and Thrane (994) but it never fell to the invaders—a fact that fills Korth residents with pride. But siege weapons damaged large swaths of the city, and Kaius used the rebuilding opportunity to unsnarl many of the tangled streets and add a semblance of order to one of Khorvaire’s oldest cities.

Population

285,000

Owning Organization

Karrnath