Arkgow

As with other settlements in the Orvulian Empire, the majority of the population is human.  There are small populations of halflings and gnomes, as well as the occasional half-orc, tiefling, or dwarf.  The city is home to a significant elf population, located mostly in the Platinum Overlooks.

Since the city is the seat of the High Steed of Syltannia the city government has no single seat of power.  Instead the city and the immediately surrounding lands are overseen by a council known as the Red Sun Clast.  This council of 9 has a member from each district of the city as well as a member chosen to represent the surrounding countryside.

Arkgow has a single wall that surrounds what is called the 'walled city'.  There was an older wall that originally protected the fledgling city, but nearly all traces of that structure have been erased.  At the center of the city is the citadel where the Red Sun Clast's palace sits as well as the palace of the palace of the High Steed of Syltannia.

At the mouth of the Sa Helaar, Arkgow is the center of trade for farmers across central Syltannia.  The headwaters of the Sa Helaar also reach far into the Wverndun Mountains with deep channels.  As such a significant amount of ore and other raw materials float down to the city.  The Traps especially is constantly covered in the faint haze of forges and furnaces as the materials from the mountains are forged into numerous shapes.

Old Arkgow - The largest district of the city within the walls, Old Arkgow is not the oldest part of the city.  This section of the city is characterized by by larger stone buildings, typically 3 or 4 stories.   The Traps - By measure the traps are the oldest part of Arkgow that remains standing.  The twisting streets and tall buildings that crowd over the streets lend this large section of the city its name.  The traps is a large center of industry within the city, the location of the blacksmithing guild and other types of industry.   Greyport - This section of Arkgow directly against the bay has small traces of the oldest parts of Arkgow, but most of that portion of the city has been erased.  When the expanding Orvulian Empire made of its many attacks on the city, that portion of Arkgow was raised to the ground.   Sunbridge - Situated on a small spur between the river Sa Helaar and the bay, Sunbridge was a portion of the city that was raised by the raiding Orvulian forces more than any other portion of the city.  Originally the location of the Red Sun Clast's seat of power, the palace had been rebuilt 4 times before the palace was moved to within the city's citadel.  Sunbridge now is comprised of huge, near-ruins, of grand palaces fallen into utter disrepair.  This small section of Arkgow harbors some of the most powerful undercity factions.   The Rot Warrens - This small section between Sunbridge and the city wall is the most despondent portion of Arkgow.  The name Rot Warrens applies not only to the twisted, often flooded, grime-covered streets found abutting the city wall, but also what is found below the streets.  During one of the Orvulian attacks on the city, a portion of Sunbridge that would become the Rot Warrens collapsed.  The sinkhole revealed a complex web of undercity streets that ran under not only Sunbridge, but the entire walled city.  More than a system of sewer tunnels, this 'Under City" had large rooms, streets, stairs, halls, and all trappings of a functional city.  While more entrances were discovered through out the city, since the only entrance was the sinkhole, the entire under city became a breeding ground for the foul scum that subsists on what is left in the dark forgotten corners of civilization.   Farpath - This collection of buildings on the northern side Arkgow gets its name from the major imperial highways that come into the walled city through it.  Filled to bursting with inns, brothels, and all sorts of services any and all travelers might need, Farpath is home to a rowdy, but good natured people.   Tallin - Clinging to the eastern wall of Arkgow, Tallin is a strange portion of the city.  The organization known as The Guild of Growers is located in this portion of the city.  This 'guild' is often responsible for any riot that farmer participate in.  Despite the Red Sun Clast's many attempts to crush the Guild of Growers, they always manage to slip away into the cracks.  Over the past 50 years the guild has gathered a stronghold in Tallin, the section of the city is hostile to any outsiders, and is one of the few places the city's Heart Guard rarely treads.   The Floodways - This portion of Arkgow that is wedged between the city wall and the heights of the Platinum Overlook has a distinct air from Arkgow.  With the city focused inside its walls and the natural heights opposite it, the Floodways never had a chance to win the levee war it found itself in.  Come spring or heavy storm, this portion of Arkgow often finds the river Sa Helaar spilling deep into the shanty town.  As such, many buildings nearer the river are build in stilts.   The Platinum Overlooks - This large section of Arkgow sits on a natural rise on the southern banks of the river Sa Helaar.  Seeking space outside the confining walls of Arkgow the aristocratic upper class of the city built their large manors and palaces here.  The district has since expanded greatly since the initial manors were laid down.  It's exclusive nature would not remain however, after several attacks on the city by the burgeoning Orvulian Empire, significant portions of the Platinum Overlooks had been destroyed.  This allowed a great number of merchants to build within the district.  This is the reason for the districts strange structure of enormous palaces and manors that stand like islands in the crowded homes of merchants and other wealthier individuals.

The Blacksmithing guild and the Operators guild are the most powerful officially recognized guilds in the city.  The unrecognized Guild of Growers also has significant influence in the city, despite the Red Sun Clast's best efforts.  The final large player in the city is a loose collection of undercity gangsters known as the Rot Barons.  While officially the city has three major arms that compete for influence, The Blacksmithing guild representing nearly all aspects of craft, the Operators guild controlling huge portions of trade, and the Heart Guard representing the interests of the Red Sun Clast, for centuries no aspect of the city has been free of the Rot Baron's touch.  In recent decades the Guild of Growers has begun pushing into the delicate power dynamic of the city.  So far the Blacksmiths, Operators, and Rot Barons have allows the new guild to slowly put feelers out for power.  The Red Sun Clast is the only major power to openly oppose the Growers, only time will tell if this rise to power is one that will last.

Arkgow has been a seat of consistant power in Selendaar for longer than any other city in the dominance. While Kyllmyrr is older than Arkgow, the older city has risen and fallen in power while Arkgow has consistently remained a stronghold. Such that Arkgow was the capital of the country that formerly held much of what would become Syltannia.  In the 17th century of the 4th Era, the Orvulian Empire began its conquest of modern-day Syltannia.  Arkgow at the mouth of the Sa Helaar stood for years as a bulwark against the burgeoning empire.  For decades the city withstood every attack laid against it.  Until in 1637, when an attack by the Orvulian navy managed to raise portions of the city.  This began a long series of attacks and raids against Arkgow that grew closer and closer to defeat, each attack burning more of the city.  Finally, in 1648 after a 5 month seige by the largest army ever fielded by the Orvulian Empire, Arkgow fell.