Kahairath

Description

The size of splendour of Kahairath rivals all of the greatest cities of the surface, and yet in its hues and colours there are none who could hope to rival the capital of the Triton. Many of its buildings are sung into being from the coral reefs that fill every street, stretching out and growing more natural towards the borders of the city, eventually blending in with the sea floor itself. Fantastical fish swim everywhere one looks, some of which are species only found in triton settlments and never seen near surface nets.   Those houses and homes not fashioned from coral or limestone are often made from the awe inspiring shells or skeletons of enormous sea creatures, and between them forests of sea plants form groves for children to play in or farms to feed the populous. The songs of nereids can be heard from every corner of the city, and the palace grows out from the center like a crystal emerging from the crust of the earth itself.   Squads of whaleriders patrol the city while triton children below play hide and seek with their cephelapod friends and artists use glowing inks drawn from bioluminescent creatures to paint their majestic sculptures or homes.    

People & Organisations

The Heart of The Sea

Triton hold faith for only one God, whom they name Urathyn but call only Goddess. She is the mother of all that is, and the very water that they need to breathe. She is a noble goddess, who has charged her people with ruling her domain wisely and keeping The Protectorate (another name for the surface world) safe from enemies of the triton.   The Heart of The Sea is the queen of all that lies beneath the waves, said by some to be the daughter of the divine and argued by others to be a fully fleshed avatar. As such, she is sometimes called Urathyn after her sire, though most refer to her by one of her many titles.   Even among those rare few surface folk who have been to the capital, almost none have ever seen The Heart, but reports and rumours speak of a beautiful being with deep blue skin, glowing hair and extra arms, a skirt of tentacles in place of legs, and a trident with the power to release and summon even mighty krakens to her defence.  

High Warden Jonros Vahlesath

With a large body, dark scales and a long, heavily scarred shark tail replacing his lower half, this triton could almost be mistaken for one of the monstrous merrow when viewed from a distance. But those fears are lain to rest when one gets closer and sees the majestic, almost-translucent fins that extend from his shoulderblades and appear almost like wings when spread out.   Jonros is the most important military figure in the city, and when not guarding Telyvarath Palace has led many campaigns against the enemies of Urathyn while wielding his famed Crescent Blade alongside his lightning-fast swordfish companion.  

Yezaala the Giving

Marids are extremely powerful, occasionally fish-faced elementals, sentient and lordly enough to be named genies alongside creatures such as djinni and efreeti. Their culture is one where each competes to be named a king or baron or empress of some section of the sea or another amongst themselves. To that end they have claimed a section of Triton lands to call their own nation, which has been built up into a truly impressive kingdom of its own, despite still technically being owned by Urathyn. This has caused some tension in recent days - tension which Yezaala the Giving has been sent to hopefully end.   She has been a most honoured guest of Telyvarath Palace for some time now, and is regularly seen swimming through the city adorned in her gleaming jewels while creating food or wealth or fanciful illusions with no more than a wave of her hand. The people have begun to love her displays of power and generous nature, though some believe it a shallow attempt to turn their hearts against The Sovereign.  

Reefweavers

Coral is one of the most abundant and important resources to the Triton, and The Reefweavers are a faction of druids and bards who can "sing" to the coral and encourage its growth. There are those who can manipulate it into temporary walls, animate it into jagged golems, or shape it into permanent homes.   As a group they are vital to the construction and defence efforts throughout the city, and their highest members often hold ranks amongst the nobility. Even the lowest ranked members who lack any magic or experience are important, as they are responsible for breaking off parts of homes or walls that have grown out of shape and replant the cast-off pieces for others to shape again.  

The Chorus

Leader of the Reefweavers, The Chorus is a sentient colony of polyps which sings with a thousand voices in beautiful harmony, inhabiting one of several coral statues throughout the city at any given time to converse with those around it. In times of great danger The Chorus has shown itself able to spread its consciousness across almost all of the golems and walls in the capital, turning the city itself into a massive, living creature with a singular shared mind.   Belief holds that The Chorus has a statue hidden somewhere private within the palace, and is one of The Sovereign's only confidantes - a being she is able to speak with as a friend instead of a worshipper or servant.  

Ambassadors

All ambassadors of the Triton are chosen based on their appearance - they must appear "human" enough to not invite too much revulsion or awe by the people of The Protectorate, for their purpose is to speak on behalf of their Sovereign and belief holds that those on the surface are easily distracted by unusual things. And so those with mighty fins, or notable ridges, multicoloured skin or tentacles for legs are unwelcome, which is to the gladness of some and jealousy of others, for going to The Protectorate can be seen as a great honour or a punishment, depending on whom you ask.  

Ambassador Kolzos Juvonath

One of the busiest ambassadors in recent days, Kolzos Juvonath has proven to be a favourite amongst the surface folk, for he speaks with wisdom, patience, and humility all. His time as a senior Reefweaver has served him well, and he has brought his powers to bear once or twice fighting alongside heroes of The Protectorate, or using his coral golems to defend areas of interest to them.  

Ambassador Narzas Ahnolath

With a fin along his head that looks like a majestic spiked crown, Narzas is known for an arrogance that implies he believes he is truly royalty, and not simply a triton with impressive looks and a cruel personality. His one major outing was to speak with The Exotics about a missing piece of The Destroyer, though future interactions with the surface heroes would be handled by his rival Kolzos.  

Sage Dazas Gonudath

A white skinned triton with gold and black markings along his skin and elongated head. As a sage one of his many tasks is the research and logging of the knowledge Ambassadors bring back from the surface - a task he takes to most enthusiastically. In recent days when strangers from The Protectorate came to visit (a most rare occasion!), he served as their tour guide and taught them of the city he loves.  

Embercoil Vesyn Volorsath

True metallurgy as a skill is extremely rare amongst Triton, for without fires and forges it can be near impossible to handle any metals harder than tin. For most weapons and armour then, people will rely on corals, stones, or other materials which can more easily be shaped with magic or skill. But there are occasionally needs which only metal tools will fill, and so people turn to the Embercoils - smiths who work near (or in!) spiraling volcanic vents outside of city while protected from the heat by magic.   Vesyn is one such smith, known for "training" herself by attempting to get closer and closer to the heat without protection each day she travels to her trade, determined to one day be able to do her work without help. The Embercoils are already looked at strangely for their affinity with fire over water, and Vesyn more strangely than most.  

Aka The Mischievous

A mighty finback whale who passes through the city every now and again, often swimming and playing with any who approach, or causing the odd bit of havoc by either picking up and moving the houses around the Pallius Fields with his mouth or shaking some of The Bubbles whenever he knows people are inside.   While some regard him as a menace, most (especially children) delight whenever he swims by and will sometimes go up to brighten his pale grey blubber with drawings and paintings. The inks have usually washed off by the next time Aka arrives, creating more space for a new generation of art to be added.      

Places & Landmarks

Telyvarath Palace

The iridescent heart of the city glows in all directions, bringing multicoloured light even to the sea floor. Its rainbow walls seem to be made of countless tourmaline bricks, shifting from green to pink to blue depending on where they are viewed from and the time of day. Its architecture is unlike any building found on the surface, for it was built to mimic the formation of a crystal cluster, with multiple hexagonal towers spreading out in many different directions (the angle of some of them being near impossible were it not for the bouyancy of water reducing the load!)   Within the walls are halls filled with beauty and art, weightless furniture and floating tables, music and magic. Each room's interior might be lined with one of a hundred different materials from aquamarine to emerald to blackened stones, while at the very centre chamber within the structure rests a circular throne carved into a hollowed out pearl the size of which few could possible imagine.   On the outside an upside-down curtain of wispy, glowing anemone tendrils stretches many feet up from a trench around the palace, drifting side to side in the water while eels and fish play amongst the whips. The ethereal curtain stings those who touch it yet can be parted by the voices of Triton or nereids with great enough purpose. While it would be easy enough to swim over the anemone entirely, it is said to incure the wrath of guards and protective magics alike to approach without first passing through the tendrils.  

Diplomatic Hall

The only fully dedicated building in the city suitable for visitors from The Protectorate, it is a limestone structure built in the style of Òssan temples, filled with statues of surface creatures and books of surface knowledge, and magically filled with air breathable by other humanoids. It was built largely to prepare Ambassadors for what they may encounter in the world above, and allow them to train their ability to survive for longer without the aid of their Goddess' embrace.   Due to the absense of precious water within, it has been labelled an unholy place by some, though never within earshot of the Ambassadors who use it.  

The Bubbles

A dozen spherical buildings that drift slowly around the city, connected by ropes or chains. They were built as a novelty, out of cloudly quartz with air pockets in the top of each dome to grant them bouyancy. Most of the bubbles are used as gathering places and taverns, though one or two are residential homes.   On occassion the structure begins to drift away from the city, but with the aid of a friendly whale or two it is always easily returned to safer waters. Also on occassion, a playful whale or two will begin hauling the bubbles around for fun (much to the chagrin of those inside at the time!)  

The Pallium Fields

One of the most unique quarters of the city, The Pallium Fields are home to hundreds, possibly thousands, of enormous sea shells used as houses for its residents. Great spiralling buildings created from gargantuan tower snails stand beside simplistic homes that shine with a thousand colours created from abalone snails, alongside countless conch and cowrie shells that make up the majority of homes.   The source of these buildings are giant snail farms on the outskirts of the city, tended to by druids and fed a mixture of enchanted kelp and limestone mined from elsewhere to grow them to magical sizes with sturdy shells. Though it may seem strange to surface folk, the farms of the Pallium Fields are a major industry, with shellwrights trained to carve patterns, windows, or rooms into the shells, butchers and cooks who specialise in preparing the magical snail meat, and breeders working to engineer the brightest and most impressive buildings they can.  

The Trench

The city expands for miles in almost every direction, but stops abruptly to the Northwest near a cliff cutting across the sea floor like a scar. Light has never reached the bottom of the trench, and few who go too deep ever return. It is a wellspring of monsters and terror, yet has existed since the earliest records of the oldest libraries. Why the capital was founded so close to such a hazard is subject to constant theory, but the most common agreement by historians is that it was founded because of the trench, to originally act as a bulwark against the dark.   The Trench remains guarded at all times, and more than once have triton adventurers attempted to enter for imaginary treasures only to return as monstrous abominations.  

Tomb of False King Zahras

In ancient days when the tides were high and the winds were wild, Zahras was a warmongering noble of the triton who ventured out more than once into the waters beyond The Varolian, and launched several attacks on the surface world in order to gain wealth and influence. According to ancient history he was cast out and banished from all cities in the kingdom along with all of this followers, and a civil war began.   He called himself a king of his outcasts, and sought out dark powers within the deepest trenches of the sea to aid his success in the war. Though unproven, mythology claims that these are the origins of the evil Merrow, and the reason for their eternal war. This jagged tomb with a large statue built of dark stone was built in days of old and a ceremonial burial with a false body is held once a year, though whether it is as a reminder of a dark history or an appeal to the merrow to lay the past to rest is unknown.  

Tectonic Perimeter

In a 50 mile radius stretching around the Crystal Palace rests a ring of power formed by mythical enchantments, lost runes, and obelisks of mysterious materials. It surrounds the capital city as well as many nearby settlements and mines, forming a cylinder capable of rising up or lowering into the sea floor at the command of those who control it - a feat of magic at near impossible scales, rarely seen by any from the surface with a mortal lifespan.   While the city and its surroundings are sunken, it appears that the top of this cylinder contains two further enchantments - one forms a false floor with illusion and alteration magics to blend in with the ocean around it in any direction, and another allows this false floor to be seen and travelled through by those within the domain itself.   The few mages who have visited Kahairath and seen this awe inspiring feat of magic have wondered if the perimeter might in fact be risen far past its normal confines, to allow the city to breach the water level entirely if need arose.