Vaskaro

The capital of the Karavost Empire, Vaskaro is a sprawling urban center built on top of a complicated network of underground tunnels.

## The Nirendel

The center of Vaskaro is dominated by a huge pit called the Nirendel. Walkways and stairs have been carved into the sides of this pit, spiraling down into the underground. At the bottom of the pit lies an underground lake.

Miners and architects designed a system of tunnels that go deep underground, with wide avenues capped by large sealed gates on the surface. Contingents of soldiers guard these entrances to the Underdark, and patrols regularly clear out the city below of monsters. The Empire hires citizens at near-slave wages to live underground and take care of the facilities in preparation for the next Great Winter. As the Empire grows, so too does Vaskaro’s underground. Nobles and rich people invest in lavish estates and pay their own miners to carve out property from the rock below. As the underground city grows, so too does the surface.

During a normal winter, the Nirendel stays moving, never freezing. However, during a Great Winter, the water of the lake below freezes and the running water stops working. Pipes burst and the Great Wheel grinds to a halt. This is a sign to everyone that it is time to evacuate to the meticulously maintained underground city.

### The Clockwork Network

Ancient clockwork operates a system of pumps and automated buckets to bring water up from the sinkhole and throughout the city. Specific people are hired to maintain this machinery, and its exact operation is unknown. There are rumors that at the heart of the city lies an advanced mechanical core that operates the system itself, the mechanics just keep the parts from breaking down.

Modern engineers have adapted some of the ancient pumps and other machinery to serve as vessels for ore and other mining equipment, as well as operating elevators that go deep into mineshafts. Coal and iron ore are some of the more prevalent resources extracted from below the city. Complex underground refineries utilize lava pumped from underground to smelt the ore and power huge forges.

### The Four Great Bridges

Massive bridges span the Nirendel, their architecture much different from the buildings around them. Unknown hands sculpted blocks of granite the size of a small house into an elaborate work of art. Huge statues of humanoid figures support the bridges on their backs, their facial features long worn away over time. There are many theories and speculation about who exactly these figures are meant to represent, but most people just refer to them as the Guardians. Imperial architects had to build extensions and modifications onto these bridges, as the steps and ramps are way too large for any normal humanoid to use efficiently. These modifications are obvious, as they use smaller, less complex stonework of limestone mined from the surrounding hills.

The bridges form a cross over the Nirendel. A granite spire sits where the four bridges meet, forming a type of pavilion. This area is a popular meeting place with food carts, portable merchant stalls, and entertainers swarming every inch. Imperial scientists, engineers, and architects study the bridges and the spire tirelessly, but none have figured out how everything stays aloft. By all known laws of physics, the bridges should have collapsed under their own weight long ago.

## Architecture

Some of the most expensive residences in the city are carved into the cave walls of the Nirendel. These cavernous estates house nobles, rich merchants, and high ranking Imperial bureaucrats. The sides of the Nirendel are decorated with plants, carvings, and hanging art pieces. Looking straight down the Nirendel is like looking into a kaleidoscope, with rich tapestries, hanging vines, planters, and colorful murals proving a sight to behold. The further down the Nirendel you get, the fancier the residences get. The emperor himself lives at the very bottom of the Nirendel inside a lakefront palace.

Other high end buildings surround the immediate rim of the Nirendel, often sporting large windows or balconies that look over and into the lake below. These buildings are often the headquarters for major companies or bureaucratic offices for the Empire.

Many residences and buildings in Vaskaro have rooftop pavilions with colorful canvas awnings stretched over them. These provide a place in the shade for people to gather during their down time and socialize. Most taverns have a rooftop component.

A surprising majority of middle to upper class buildings in Vaskaro have running water. Even more surprising is the temperature of the water, being quite warm as the lake is heated by geothermal vents deep underground. During colder months, steam rises from the Nirendel. Some upper class houses toward the bottom of the Nirendel have personal hot springs.

The further out you get from the Nirendel, the poorer the city gets. Water takes longer to reach the outside, and the pipes and machinery are not as well maintained as in the city center. Some well-off people have estates among the extensive farms on the outskirts of the city and personally pay engineers to maintain the infrastructure leading to their own manors.

## Landmarks

### The Glass Temple of Vaskaro

The Glass Temple of Vaskaro is the largest temple of the Auran Way in the world, resting on the northern edge of the Nirendel. The top of this temple is a large flat surface used for worshiping the aurora to the north. To keep worshipers out of the weather, Imperial engineers long ago created a stained glass ceiling above the roof. During the day, sunlight filters through the purple, blue, and green glass. Something about the glass itself also causes the colors to slowly shift over time, projecting an artistic representation of the aurora onto the south side of the Nirendel. Residents of the city often use the position of this false aurora as a timekeeping device, although more personal clockwork devices are more practical in rich households. These devices are constantly synced to the movement of the aurora on the Nirendal.

### The Great Wheel

The Great Wheel is a massive water wheel resting on the side of the Nirendel. Water pumped from the underground lake flows up and over this wheel, turning it to power the Clockwork Network below.

## Nearby Settlements and Suburbs

The major roads of Vaskaro originate from each of the four bridges of the Nirendel and extend outwards like spokes of a wheel, stretching out into the holdings of the Empire. Smaller street spiderweb in between these large, monument-studded avenues.

A major avenue runs from Vaskaro to the riverside settlement of Polcevik. This town is responsible for facilitating goods being shipped in and out of Vaskaro through the Tanthor River. Many of the people living in town work for either the government or one of the many Imperial shipping companies. There is also a well-traveled route to the town of Myrsbrevik, a seaside town that acts as Vaskaro’s conduit to the ocean.