Khlee-by-the-Bonn

The Citadel of the West of Zarnul.

The citadel of Khlee-By-The-Bonn lays over the large river called the Bonn, which stems from a range of mountains far away in the east of the continent of Evernever and delves deeply into Zarnul. Khlee is situated at the eastern edge of Zarnul. The city was originally founded by the ancient elves native to Evernever. Khlee was built as a praying and ritualistic center to the forest of Zarnul. Khlee is a very large metropolis made out of ancient clay and beige stone bricks. the tallest buildings have four floors, akin to a termite's nest, with no regards whatsoever to the center of gravity or to balance or symmetry. The whole city looks chaotic and it is densely populated.

The only symmetry in the city was its walls. Khlee was a circular walled citadel, its walls being immense and nigh-indestructible. Khlee had four entrances, each located on one cardinal direction.  The Gate of the Leaf, situated at the east of the citadel walls, faced directly towards Zarnul. The Gate of the Bonn, situated at the north of the city, faced the Bonn river and led to the Circleway of the Gods. The Gate of the Stone, situated at the west of Khlee, faced the imposing range of mountains that could be seen lining the horizon far away. The Gate of the Gale, was located on the southernmost side of the citadel, and led towards the Interallian Sea as well as towards the Citadel of the South through the Circleway of the Gods' southern arc.

At the start of the First Unification War, the population was around 2 million souls of every fantasy race. two centuries later, after Silvira's rule, Radelia's interim rule and Ingersoll's despotate, the population had shrunk to 1 million. The decline in population is attributed mostly to the many civil wars incurred during this period, and after Ingersoll's rise to power, it is attributed to mass exode of the population before the four great doors were closed and the citadel locked for a century. Khlee's different neighborhoods were separated by pallisades at the time of Ingersoll's first arrival. This was due to the segregation of the population by races into their own crime-controlled ghettos. These pallisades were destroyed by Ingersoll's early teachings of harmony and self-improvement. Even with the pallisades down, each borough conserved its cultural identity for many decades, with the colors, smells and sounds varying from street to street.

The Grand Ziggurat of Ascalon, located in the center of the citadel, was built three millenia before the events of our book by the Dominus Ascalon, who ruled most of Zarnul's periphery. Ascalon was the son of the God-Emperor Absolon, who ruled over the Agarian Empire established on the southern continent of the Hedda, across the Interallian Sea.

### History (before the arrival of Ingersoll)

Khlee was the elves' sentinel citadel in the East first named Galileya, both to keep the monsters of Zarnul away from elven kingdoms, and to keep the pagans and the profanes from the holy forest. Eventually humans immigrated into Khlee from the south by crossing the Interallian Sea. South of Evernever and of the Interallian Sea is another continent, the Hedda. Its human populace built ziggourats, and one ziggurat pyramid was built in the center of Khlee by the new human immigrants.

Over the time, Khlee fell in grandeur as elves stopped ruling it and many species came to live in it such as orks, humans, beastfolk, dwarves, gnomes and other fantastical peoples. The city was conquered by Ascalon, thus becoming its Dominus. Khlee, then renamed Khaliyah-salhass-Bon in the Agarian language, was the seat of power over the Inner Dominion of Khaliyah. Instead of creating a beautiful melting pot, Khlee became chaotic with multiple ghettos forming around the species diasporas. A civil war ensued for power over the city by the many race factions which was devastating for everyone involved... no one really won.

It is at this moment, around two centuries before its liberation by Hormuz and Ohannas, that Ingersoll took control of the city as its benevolent ruler. Ingersoll intervened on behalf of the High Guardians of Zarnul, which all agreed Khlee needed order and rule in order for it to thrive and not threaten the holy forest of Zarnul. A century of rule by Ingersoll, and the city went from being a multicultural anarchy to an ordered technocratic autocracy. Ingersoll was immortal due to his divine role in the world, and saw his new role of ruler of Khlee as his endgame. It was by the High Guardian's mandate that he ruled, and in the best interest of Khlee that he controlled and opressed in the name of Enhoph's order and knowledge.

## Sub-Divisions

Khlee is divided in 10 sub-divisions commonly called districts. The districts stem from racial ghettos where the members of the inhabitant races would agglomerate in Khlee after the death of the Dominus. The 10 districts are:

1. Old Galileya - Modest Elf borough situated in the north center of Khlee, by the west bank of the Bonn
2. Bhon'town - Very dense and poor Agarian human ghetto in the center of the citadel, between the Grand Ziggurat and the Bonn
3. Prospero - The only wealthy borough in Khlee, this gated community at the southern center of the city protects the elite class of the citadel from surrounding poverty and crime
4. Cosmopolis - Multicultural and modest cosmopolitan center, where the Grand Ziggurat is also located
5. Smolburg - Gnome ghetto situated in the north-west if Khlee
6. Stonehood Low - Dwarf ghetto situated at the west end of Khlee by the Gate of Stone. It spans underground to an even larger borough than what sees the eye over the ground
7. West End - Human ghetto home to families from multiple origins. Most of the migrants from surrounding citadels or villages come to the West End to live. The West End also houses mixed-race individuals, though they are shunned by the humans. This is the largest district in Khlee
8. The Swamp - Orc ghetto situated at the south end of the citadel. Characterized by its flatness and propensity to flood, hence its name
9. The Release - Multi-racial streets housing the people commonly known as beastfolk
10. Elf Quarters - Poor elf ghetto, where ancient elves of Evernever co-exist with other elf races from the Korabe