Bruhmethius

Flag of Bruhmethius

Bruhmethius at night, 11/13/2022

Map view of Bruhmethius, 11/02/2022

Bruhmethius is an imperial core city of the Empire of Kufmal. The city is most well-known for its rapid growth under the former tyrannical governor Shathenaten, and has since become a hub of culture and learning. The city has a distinct Egyptian theme.

## History

### The Early Days - City State

The city of Bruhmethius began as a city state that was a stop along an ancient trade network between Carhio and the twin towns of Ravalgand and Kathuria. The town quickly took up a spot in the growing Empire of Kufmal in a bid to outshine its neighbors.

### The Domed Church

The largest achievement of Bruhmethius' early history is the construction of the Hagia Bruhphia Cathedral. The structure was a gift to the city from Kufmal City in exchange for lucrative trade resources. The large church was built to be a multi-faith chapel for all religions in the city. The cathedral began construction in early November of 2020, and was completed in mid-December. After construction completed, the city's development stagnated for some time.

### Reign of the "God-King"

The city's fate took a new trajectory in February of 2022, when the city received a new governor named Shathenaten. The governor had one goal in mind: to bring glory to himself and his city. The first part of this plan was to transform Bruhmethius into an Imperial Core City. This was put in motion with a massive construction plan, funded by heavy tax reform. The increase in local taxes was justified by extravagant projects to bring pride and opportunity to the city's residents.

This plan involved a rate of design and construction that could not be handled by Bruhmethius' Kappa engineers alone. He ordered the Kappa to tirelessly work to create new designs for structures, and the pace was so fast that they even dug up old designs. One of these was a plan for a yellow lighthouse, the same one that was supposed to go to the city of Cape Lookout before their designers swapped blueprints by accident. This old blueprint became the Yellow Lighthouse.

Even with the rapid pace of development, Shathenaten was not pleased with the pace. He then hatched a plan to abduct the best architect in the empire, Master Architect Illotep, using the justification that he was born in Bruhmethius and thus should stop making projects for other cities. This plot was carried out when he sent his agent Hunter Hardy (under the alias *Agent H*) to kidnap the architect from the construction site at the Imperial Summer Palace in Uxban. This was carried out in mid-March of 2022. The Bunbunmaru Kufmal Gazette reported on this, but was oblivious to the true cause. Shathenaten kept the architect locked up in secret, forcing him to design various large building projects for the city.

Shathenaten's next step was sending Agent H to case out Kufmal City's Temple of the Yellow Sun for inspiration on decorating a pyramid of his own. However, Hunter accidentally found the hiding place of the avatar of a sun god called the Yatagarasu, who was being kept a secret by one of the temple's priests. This information caused another plan to form, and the governor decided that if he could harness the power of a sun god, he could become a king, or even a god himself. He ordered a secret containment chamber be installed in his pyramid design.

Soon enough the Pyramid of Shathenaten was completed, which at the time was described by the Gazette as "a place of worship, as well as serving several other governmental roles" and "shows the dedication and glory of its governor". However, some failures of hiding construction of the containment chamber on the top floor led the Gazette's head Tengu reporter, Aya Shameimaru, to grow suspicious. Shathenaten, realizing the architect had a watermark made of calcite in his construction style that was in every building he built, sent Agent H to burn down the house of Illotep in Uxban to hide evidence of this link.

The agent succeeded, but some documents survived, and the information was found by a private investigation led by Aya and the businessman Fren Banklin. An assassination of the crow Tengu was attempted, but failed. This prompted the team to investigate further, obtaining enough proof to present to the Emperor.

### The April Uprising

Shathenaten decided to move up his timeline, having his agent kidnap the somewhat dim-witted Yatagarasu and locking her up inside the pyramid on the night of 4/6/2022. That same night, he announced that Bruhmethius was separating into its own kingdom, with himself as its new God-King. He revealed that his prison for the Yatagarasu could harvest her power and create a solar weapon no one could counter. This did not deter the Emperor, as he rallied the Kufmalian Army under general Roy Bateas and the Kufmalian Navy under admiral Aquarius.

Despite Shathenaten's rapid construction of defenses around the city and mass conscription, the Imperial forces conducted a naval invasion on the ninth of April. Once a beachhead was established, most of Shathenaten's forces defected to the imperial side, with the rest retreating to the Pyramid of Shathenaten. A quick siege led to an assault the next morning, with imperial forces breaching the wall and storming the lower levels and rescuing Master Architect Illotep from a dungeon below the pyramid. However, when the army made it to the entrance of the containment chamber, a mechanism in the roof focused the Yatagarasu's power into beams that blasted holes in the side of the pyramid, vaporizing anyone caught in their path. With quick thinking, a charge led by the Emperor himself gave him room to fire enchanted arrows at the cage's mechanisms. This freed the Yatagarasu, which turned out to be a Hell Raven named Utsuho Reiuji. Upon breaking free, she turned her powers against the remaining rebel forces and turned the tide. Shathenaten himself fled in the confusion using some unknown magical assistance, and all remaining resistance surrendered.

### Post-Uprising

The city received imperial funding for its recovery. A series of trials also led to the execution of Hunter Hardy for treason, as well as the other former rebels being sentenced to labor to rebuild the damage to the city. Shathenaten's pyramid would not be repaired, as a way to remind the city of his destroyed legacy. A new governor was appointed in his stead, the former labor commissioner named Yamesus. His first act was to dedicate the April Uprising Monument on 4/25/2022.

Since then, the city has made an effort to rebrand itself as a center for education and progress, while not trying to erase the past. The Obelisk of Progress, erected by Shathenaten, was not torn down, but instead complemented by the Obelisk of Redemption. The University of Bruhmethius, first founded by the former governor, was expanded. Streets were named after the two investigators that uncovered the plot, Shameimaru Street and Banklin Lane.

More recent expansions include the creation of the Ravine Alley district and the expansion of the Kufmal Metro to the city. Yamesus has also overseen the construction of a new palace, an arena for a new Kufmal Ball Game team, and additional plans. The city will forge its own path, rising from the ashes of its past.

## Geography

Bruhmethius lies in the center of the northern shores of the continent of Pinniped. It is a short journey by rail from its eastern neighbor of Carhio. The city borders the Sea of Kufmal and is connected to Lake Jennings and the city of Fort Jennings via the Bruthings River. The city is surrounded by desert and savannah.

## Demographics

Bruhmethius has a mix of various species, with a Human majority. A notable percentage of the population consists of Kappa, but this population shrunk do the emigration during their persecution under the reign of Shathenaten. It has since partially recovered.

## Administration

The local government is run from the Governor's Palace at 3 Bruhmethius Square. After the April Uprising, there is a permanent imperial officer stationed in the palace to keep an eye on the current governor.

## Infrastructure

The city has the following infrastructure links:

* Connection to the Nether Highway Network via a portal on Nethergate Avenue
* Connection to the Kufmal Metro, served by the Orange Line with two stations in the city
* A trading port with water access to the Bruthings River and the Sea of Kufmal
* The city uses the Imperial Address System, numbering buildings and naming streets

## Economy

The city is a major producer of sandstone for the empire, most notably supplying large quantities to building projects in the city of Arkala. Bruhmethius also is a large fishing port.

Bruhmethius is a major draw of tourists, especially known for walking tours covering the dark history of the April Uprising of the tyrannical governor Shathenaten. tourists are drawn to the luxurious Cyan Palace Hotel as a base for exploration of various tourist sites such as the Pyramid of Shathenaten and the Hagia Bruhphia Cathedral.

## Culture

### Religion

There is a healthy mix of religions in the city, with no majority religion. At one point, most of the city was (forcefully) converted to the Cult of Shathenaten, but this religion mostly died out after their disgraced "God-King" fled into the desert following the April Uprising. The continued openness of the Hagia Bruhphia Cathedral to all worshippers has made it a welcome refuge for religions that were unpopular in other cities. The Catholics tried to claim it as a cathedral of their own, but the city's new governor struck the motion down.

### Nationalism

The citizens of Bruhmethius are very proud of their city's prestige, and tend to be more competitive and boastful than other cities. There are still some citizens that approved of Shathenaten's reign due to the massive growth of the city under his reign. There are even rumors of an underground movement that seeks independence for the city forming, even after the Shathenaten's fall.

### Learning

Citizens of Bruhmethius boast that their heights of education put even Kufmal City to shame. The University of Bruhmethius is the largest in the empire, and its engineering and architecture colleges are the top choice of all prospective students, especially the Kappa.

## Notable People/Characters

* Former Governor Shathenaten
* Master Architect Illotep
* Hunter Hardy
* Current Governor Yamesus

## Notable Structures

* East City Gate - 1 Church Street
* Hagia Bruhphia Cathedral - 2 Church Street
* Bruhmethius Palace Office Complex - 3 Bruhmethius Square
* Nether Gate - 32 Nethergate Avenue
* Pyramid of Shathenaten - 0 Despot Drive
* Cyan Palace Hotel - 8 Illotep Avenue
* KFP Bruhmethius - 21 Canyon Avenue
* Charioteer Statue - 38 Shameimaru Street
* Yellow Lighthouse - 39 Lighthouse Road
* Obelisk of Progress - 12 Bruhmethius Square
* Pharoh Statue - 41 Lighthouse Road
* April Uprising Monument - 52 Church Street
* University of Bruhmethius Main Building - 53 Tanridge Street
* Obelisk of Redemption - 62 Tanridge Street
* Temple of the Deep Ones - 71 Ravine Alley
* Bruhmethius Arena - 82 Despot Drive
* Pillar Palace - 91 Slabstone Street

## Trivia

* The events covering the rise of Shathenaten to the April Uprising are the subject of the first "season" or major storyline of lore in the empire, the season's title being "A Dark Sun over Bruhmethius"