Eth Dreythna

Eth Dreythna is a cosmopolitan metropolis where virtually every race of the realm mingles.
Elves are especially predominant due to the city’s legacy of its founding by elven rulers, even as immigration has made the population a mosaic of cultures and peoples.

The immense population is sustained by the Empire’s vast resources and attracts continuous inflows of migrants. The nature of the capital means one can find entire enclaves of different cultures: halfling neighbourhoods, dwarven wards, gnome workshops, and mixed communities where interracial families are common.

The city’s governance is an absolute imperial monarchy centred on the Emperor, who rules the Grenanonese Empire from his Imperial Palace in Eth Dreythna. He sits upon the Golden Throne of Grenanon in the splendid palace complex at the city’s heart. The Imperial Palace serves as the seat of government, housing throne rooms, council halls, ministries, and archives all within a fortified compound.

Beneath the Emperor, a complex bureaucracy manages daily governance, much as historical empires employed ministers and administrators to keep the state running. Eth Dreythna’s bureaucracy is staffed by learned scribes, magistrates, and ministers of various departments (treasury, war, public works, justice, etc.) who implement the Emperor’s will across the city and empire. These officials gain their positions by imperial appointment rather than public election, and patronage and noble status are key.

The government is multi-tiered: the city is subdivided for administration, and local magistrates (often appointed from noble families) handle civic matters in each district, reporting up the chain to the Imperial senate.

Eth Dreythna’s palace has numerous wings and courts: audience halls for state ceremonies, administrative offices for the Imperial Chancery, living quarters for the royal family, and great halls where the Emperor holds court with nobles and foreign ambassadors. Sumptuously decorated throughout with marble colonnades, frescoes, and mosaics, the palace is meant to impress visitors with the Empire’s wealth and power. A corps of courtiers, eunuch chamberlains, and ministers manages palace affairs.

The city’s builders have, over centuries, constructed an extensive network of aqueducts, sewers, roads, and public amenities that make it the envy of the civilized world. Clean water flows abundantly through fountains and bathhouses, supplied by aqueduct channels that draw from distant mountain springs.

Arching stone aqueduct bridges carry water across miles of terrain into the capital, feeding both public needs and imperial luxuries. Thanks to these works, an Eth Dreythnan commoner can access fresh water at neighbourhood fountains, and the elite enjoy indoor plumbing in their villas.

Beneath the bustling streets runs a complex sewer system that keeps the city remarkably sanitary for its size. The city’s sewers are vaulted tunnels of brick and stone, large enough in places for workers to walk through. They connect public latrines, bathhouses, and private homes to central drainage canals, efficiently carrying waste out of populated areas. Eth Dreythna’s under-city is a network of arched sewers flushed by aqueduct water, periodically cleaned and maintained by guild-employed “cisterners.” The sewers empty into the nearby river (or bay), keeping the streets above relatively clean and dry. Travellers are often astonished that unpleasant odours and filth are far less prevalent here than in other cities.

Roads and streets in Eth Dreythna are broad and well-paved. The main avenues are laid with fitted stone. These wide boulevards, some lined with colonnades or statues, ensure the flow of commerce and imperial processions. Secondary streets and alleyways form a dense grid in the older quarters, a layout refined by generations of city planners. Major thoroughfares follow a logical grid or radial plan leading from city gates to the central forum, while side streets wind organically around ancient landmarks or terrain features.

The city’s infrastructure also includes numerous public buildings and amenities. Dozens of public bathhouses are spread across the districts (large thermae with hot and cold pools, steam rooms, and gymnasia), supported by the aqueduct and heating systems. Public latrines (often adjacent to baths or forums) provide sanitation for those without private facilities. Paved plazas and forums serve as markets and gathering places. There is even a rudimentary street lighting system: guard patrols light oil lamps on main street corners at dusk, keeping the main avenues illuminated. Aqueduct-fed fountain squares provide drinking water and ornamentation in each ward. Moreover, Eth Dreythna maintains infrastructure for security and convenience: stone bridges span the river that runs through the city, massive granaries and storehouses stockpile grain and supplies to feed the population, and forums/markets are covered or arcaded to shelter merchants and shoppers from the weather.

The city is crisscrossed by well-maintained roads, sustained by plentiful water, and kept clean by underground sewers. Beyond mechanical infrastructure, magic has allowed certain enhancements, such as ever-burning lanterns in important public areas or wizard-enspelled pumps that raise water to high towers.

Eth Dreythna is divided into numerous districts for easier governance and urban management. Each district has informal names and official numbers, and is typically defined by natural boundaries (like a river or hill) or by walls and major avenues.

1. The Imperial District: At the heart of the city lies the Imperial District, home to the Emperor’s Palace and the bureaucracy. Here one finds not only the palace complex but also ministries, aristocratic mansions, and the central courtyards where official ceremonies occur. The streets are wide and clean, patrolled by elite guards. Access to certain areas is restricted due to palace security.

2. Temple District (Holy Quarter): Eth Dreythna’s religious centre occupies another prominent district, filled with majestic temples, shrines, and monasteries. Eth Dreythna’s Temple District similarly hosts the Great Temple of Justice (a massive temple to the chief deity of the Empire, with marble columns and a gleaming dome visible across the city) along with lesser temples to various gods, a religious court, and even a grand bathhouse used by pilgrims and clergy. Pilgrims throng the plazas here on holy days, and processions frequently parade down its incense-scented avenues. The architecture is spiritually inspired – soaring spires, ringing bells, and iconography on every corner.

3. The Forum and Market District: The main commercial hub of Eth Dreythna is a sprawling district of markets, forums, and bazaars. The largest of these, the Grand Forum, contains government basilicas, record halls, and monuments, doubling as both a marketplace and civic centre. Attached to the Grand Forum is an enormous, semi-circular, multi-story market hall where vendors in tiny “tabernae” shops sell everything from fine clothing and jewellery to magic trinkets. The bustling Market District never truly sleeps – by day, traders and artisans hawk wares in open-air stalls; by night, torchlight and ever-glowing lamps illuminate food vendors, taverns, and street performers entertaining travellers.

4. The Tradesmen’s District (Guild Quarter): Many craft guilds base themselves in a specific quarter of the city devoted to manufacturing and workshops. Narrow lanes here are informally named after the trade that dominates them (e.g. Bakers’ Row, Armourers’ Alley, Glassblowers’ Lane). The air is often tinged with smoke from forges and kilns. You will see blacksmiths shoeing horses in open-fronted smithies, coopers assembling barrels, and dyers hanging vivid fabrics to dry. The organisation is partly driven by the guilds, and each craft guild maintains a guild hall here and regulates activity on its street. The result is a highly organised industrial quarter: No one may set up a workshop without guild approval, ensuring quality and zoning are maintained (for example, tanners and butchers, which produce foul smells, are kept toward the edges of the city).

5. Harbour District: Eth Dreythna lies on a major river; to wit, its Harbour District is the lifeline of trade. This district encompasses the docks, wharves, warehouses, and shipwrights’ yards. Eth Dreythna likewise has a main harbour along its riverfront which falls within one of the outer wards. Here, merchant ships from abroad unload spices, silks, grains, and other cargoes. Giant cranes and ramps assist in moving goods to the storage. The Harbour District is rougher in character – sailors’ taverns, fish markets, and foreign merchants’ enclaves give it a polyglot, earthy vibe. It’s heavily guarded by the City Watch and naval marines, as controlling customs and preventing smuggling is a priority. A notable feature is the Harbour Fortress at the mouth of the port: an old coastal fort that has been converted into a lighthouse and watch-post.