March 2018 Challenge: The Petals of Pilahr
Off to a late start on this one, but I'll flesh out the details as I progress.
This is [going to be] a map of Pilahr, the capital city of an empire. It has many canals that carve between the long palaces that flank its streets. Each palace hosts various monarchs and royalty from the assorted nations of the empire. This city is actually part of a book series that I've written, and I'm using this challenge as an excuse to flesh out the setting.
Skip to The Feud if you don't want to read the backstory.
Pilahr, the Capital
When the founding Queen of the Linoran Empire unified more than a dozen nations under her banner, she brought peace to lands that had been at war for centuries. To celebrate her accomplishment, her followers commissioned a city from the magicians of the new empire, and together they created Pilahr. The city itself resides in the middle of a desert, where the queen herself was born.
Before the magicians could proceed, the Queen demanded that the city meet two conditions. First, it would have no gates or walls, and would be open to all travellers in need of rest. Second, the other nations were to use the city to display the worthiness of their respective home, be it through art, eduction, physical prowess, or other means, but all competitions and demonstrations of deference to the queen were forbidden. Her intent was to keep the former enemies from warring by proxy in the streets.
The National Quarters
A portion of Pilahr is assigned to the various nations of the empire. Construction within, and the use of, their quarter is entirely the choice of that nation, but they must not commit to egregious displays of nationality (eg, a parade is fine, but a parade every day is not).
The Flow of Power
When the city was built, the first demand of the queen created an impressive hurdle. Her people loved her, and wanted a fortress, but a fortress without walls or gates was all but useless. Eventually, they found their solution. The walls that surround the city are not walls, they are elevated canals that supply water not only to those within the city, but those outside of it. In addition, the royal palace itself sits more than 100 feet above the desert, on a massive plateau of stone. This was a loophole, and the magicians knew it, but the queen did not object as long as they upheld their promise to keep the city free of gates, which they did; all passages into Pilahr, even onto the palace grounds, are not gated.
However, Pilahr is not defenseless. To march an army through Pilahr, anywhere other than the primary promenade, would be almost impossible. It is maze-like on purpose. This alone would not prevent the fall of the city, and so another measure was put in place.
The water of Pilahr flows up from underground, first appearing in the palace basin. The water comes from mountain glaciers, fed into the basin through an underground system built by the magicians. It is forever fresh, and never ceases to flow. From within the palace courtyard it moves north, out beyond the Queen's Garden, before wrapping back around the city and pooling outside the palace. Lastly, it flows south, flanking the main entrance, before finally emptying into small rivers in the desert.
Unknown to all but the highest in command of the Royal Guard, the flow of water can be shifted from the rear of the palace to the front. in the event of an invasion, the palace basin can be emptied down the stairs and directly down the promenade. The resulting flood would likely drown anyone unfortunate enough to be caught within it.
The Feud
When the most beloved queen of Pilahr finally passed, her people were devastated, but she trusted them to sustain the peace that she had built. Unfortunately, on the day of her interment, one tree had shed its petals. This particular tree had been placed atop a building as a subtle beacon to travels. The tree in question had been transplanted from Soraly, as it was their national flower, and those hailing from Soraly could use it to find their own people. However, the petals of this one very specific tree happened to fall into a canal, and as the funeral of the queen took place, its colourful petals drifted past the thousands of mourners.
Thus began the Petal War of Pilahr.
Within the year, more than a thousand trees had been transplanted into Pilahr. The nations of the empire placed them on their roofs, as high as possible, such that their petals would fall into the water, or be blown there. No nation wanted to be seen as having shown less respect to the deceased queen. Within a decade, the canals were clogged with petals, every colour of the rainbow, one type for each nation. Whole units of royal canal keepers took to sweeping out the petals. That was over 300 years ago. In the intervening years, the nations of Pilahr have built their buildings higher, covered them in trees, and built bridges between the gaps, transforming the desert city into an oasis of rooftop gardens.
With one exception...
The End is Nigh
By all appearances, the end of the Petal War is coming. The Union of Aahn, a collection of powerful states under a common flag, is Pilahr's oldest and strongest member. Due to their physical size and influence, their ward within the northwest portion of Pilahr is much larger than most. For many years, it could be claimed that Aahn was winning the Petal War. That is until recently. When the newest Queen of Aahn claimed her throne, one of her first commands was to strip the Aahn Quarter of Pilahr down to its roots and replace the extravagant displays with fields and pastures. She claimed that the current state of Pilahr was not within the spirit of the city. Subsequently, the land of the Aahn Quarter supplies free food to all visitors, and several other nations have already begun to follow Aahn's lead.
Not Shown
The legions of tents and people that live outside the walls of Pilahr are not shown on the map. Why? I'm lazy.
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pilahr-01.JPG
