Ankorien ān Riarond

Ankorien ān Riarond is the capital city of Conoilith, and formerly the capital of the Conoilithian Empire. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cities in Burithien, a title it has rightfully earned, Ankorien ān Riarond, and its impressive architecture and wealth, is famous throughout Burithien as the former seat of the Conoilithian Imperial Family, who once ruled northern Eithlith.

## **GEOGRAPHY**

### **GENERAL LAYOUT**

The city is laid out surrounding the main harbour, which is located in a large bay. The better-off parts of the city, including the Citadel, the homes of the wealthy, parks, educational institutions and many public buildings, are generally located in the northern half of the city, while the lower classes live in the densely built up south of the city. A section of the city around 1.5km squared is also set aside as the city's ghetto, nicknamed by residents as 'the Stain'.

### **PLACES OF NOTE**

**THE CITADEL**

Located on a prominent cliff on the northern side of the harbour bay, the Citadel is a massive fortress built during the Conoilithian Empire's earlier centuries as the Imperial Family's fortified residence and seat of power. Although the Royal Family now mainly lives in the Royal/Imperial Palace, the Citadel still remains as the meeting place of Conoilith's government, and also a major military base; however nowadays it seems to be more of a tourist attraction as well.

**THE ROYAL/IMPERIAL PALACE**

The Royal Palace (or Imperial Palace) is a palace in the northern side of the city, acting as the home of the Royal Family, and formerly the Imperial Family.

**THE HARBOUR**

**'THE STAIN'**

'The Stain' is the ghetto of Ankorien ān Riarond, where ethnic minorities, such as elves and lower-class Arjentrians, and outcasts of society are expelled and confined to. Although many cities in Conoilith over time grew more accepting of minorities and kept their ghettoes only as a separate district of the city, before the collapse of the Conoilithian Empire, the upper-classes of Ankorien ān Riarond staunchly continued to restrict minorities and outcasts to the Stain, paying little attention or funding to its maintenance. As a result, the Stain is a slum compared to the rest of the city, made of tightly packed, centuries-old buildings shored up with wooden boards and cloth; the sewerage system in the ghetto is extremely primitive, and thus the area is also disease-ridden. After the collapse of the Conoilithian Empire, much of the Stain has been demolished to make way for better housing, although some of these slum areas still remain.

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## **PUBLIC ORDER**

#### **Law and Respectable and Sanctioned Districts**

As the capital city of the Conoilithian Empire, Ankorien ān Riarond's city government made extra effort to ensure that it was the gold standard for the Conoilithian ideal of a city, fitting for the Emperor. Following the Conoilithian revolutions, in the 29th century they went to great lengths to maintain public order and a flawless appearance; there a wide variety of acts which, though considered legal or even common in many other parts of the continent, were registed in the city's lawbook as illegal, including but not limited to:

* Littering
* Being homeless or begging in districts of the city where doing so was not permitted
* Spitting in public
* Prostitution
* Being 'indecently dressed' when within sight of the Emperor, nobles or other honoured persons (effectively everywhere, except for in certain designated districts)
* Getting into a brawl
* Publicly slandering the Emperor, nobles or other honoured persons.

These were punishable by at the very least a fine, and in the worst case scenario, imprisonment. Nevertheless, the city government was aware that they could not completely ban all behaviour considered to be indecent or damaging to the Ankorien ān Riarond's reputation, so there were numerous sectors of the capital where such acts were permitted; those born and raised in the more respectable sectors would then be heavily discouraged from doing such acts or going to such areas of the city during their education. City planners made sure that these sectors would make up only a small minority of the city's total area. This effectively polarised the conduct of Ankorien ān Riarond's population, with all those considered not up to standard funneled into a secluded area of the city, which was kept under heavy guard by police and even the military, and to and from which travel was restricted, such as the Stain.

As such, public order in the 'respectable' districts of the city was immaculate; the people followed the rules, were hospitable, respected each other and the emperor, and were shamed and quickly rectified and apologised for their transgressions of they were made. As a matter of fact, annually, civil districts - regardless of whether they were respectable or sanctioned - would be awarded a prize if they were deemed to have maintained the most excellent appearance, in order to encourage conformity and good conduct. On the other hand, the worst of the 'sanctioned' districts were regarded as 'an accumulating hive of villainy, and a breeding den for all the scum of the earth'. There was still of course plenty of middle ground; some of the respectable districts followed the rules less closely, while many of the sanctioned districts still had average to decent standards of conduct, but even in these, public order was extremely well maintained.

#### **Police Force**

Ankorien ān Riarond consistently maintained the largest police force in Conoilith, and in fact out of all cities in the entirety of Eithlith. The force was divided into different departments for different districts.