The Kingdom of Dalmasca
From Dynasts End
A small kingdom comprising the lands around the city of Rabanastre, governing a portion of the Galtean Peninsula. While its territories are small, its situation at the crossroads of three continents enabled to prosper as a center for trade. More than 700 years are marked in the charts of history since her founding, yet many are the armies that have sought to claim her cultural richness and strategic importance. Upon her defeat to Archadia in the invasion of 704, her lands were placed under direct control of the empire.
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[edit] Royal City of Rabanastre
Capital of Old Dalmasca, and before that, many other kingdoms stretching back into the storied history of the Galtean Peninsula. Rule by the Dalmascan royal family lasted for several hundred years before the city's fall to the Archadian Empire fifty-two years past and subsequent restoration to independence.
The story of the city's people is the story of three cultures, those of Valendia, Ordalia, and Kerwon, who bore trade goods along the many well-frequented routes leading to her welcoming gates. The town proper of Rabanastre is divided into four sections by the cardinal directions of the compass. The east and west are merchant districts, the streets lined with shops and stalls of every description. In the north, the streets widen into a large piazza facing the palace, and to the South can be found three gates leading beyond the city walls to the Dalmasca desert and Giza Plains. The aerodrome can be found in the western outskirts of town, surrounded by numerous privately operated airship docks. In the northwestern part of town stands a splendid cathedral built in the Galtean style, the bell of which, when rung, sounds through every hearth and home in the city. In the North part of the city is the palace, inaccessible to the general public. Moogles operate a swift transportation system that allows citizens to teleport to different sections of the city.
The majority of Rabanastre's residents are Humes. There are also large numbers of Bangaa, Moogles and Seeq. The city also contains an small population of Viera and Nu Mou.
[edit] East End
The liveliest district of Rabanastre and its center of commerce. Shops line the East End's twisting streets, along with the popular tavern, The Sandsea. The businesses of the East End are largely more refined in nature than the street-stalls of their Western counterpart in the city, the Muthru Bazaar.
[edit] Royal Palace
A short walk north from the center of Rabanastre will lead you to the gates of the royal palace. The palace itself was built several centuries ago and has since been home to many Dalmascan monarchs, King ____ being the most recent. Numerous additions have been made to the palace over the course of its long history (the Royal City of Rabanastre having several times fallen under the control of foreign powers through invasion), but the overall bearing of its architecture is true to the original Galtean design. Within the palace are secret chambers containing documents and treasures belonging to the royal family. Few who live beyond the palace walls know how they may be found.
[edit] Lowtown
Lowtown lies, as its name would suggest, beneath the city streets of Rabanastre. Great pillars standing throughout Lowtown support the soaring edifices above. Prior to the war with Archadia, many merchants used Lowtown as a place to store foodstuffs and wares for sale. With the defeat and occupation by Archadia, many of the former residents of upper Rabanastre were relocated here, leading to its gradual transforming into a residential area. No natural light shines on Lowtown, save where there are passages to the streets above, making it perpetually gloomy. Many orphans from the war have adopted Lowtown as their new home.
[edit] Garamsythe Waterway
The Garamsythe Waterways are the sewer systems of Rabanastre. Built and rebuilt over the centuries, no one alive knows all of its labyrinthine ways. Some are said to lead even to the royal palace. There are stairs leading down to the waterway in Lowtown, but they are normally barred to keep unwelcome visitors down in the sewers where they belong. Within the waterways various dangerous creatures make their home, and would-be adventurers use them to sharpen their fighting skills. The Waterway also functions as a hotbed for much of Dalmasca's crime, attracting sky pirates, black marketeers, terrorist organizations and others of their ilk.
[edit] The Painted City of Druze
After the conquering of Dalmasca by Imperial forces, many of Rabanastre's citizens fled to avoid being forced into Lowtown, instead making their home in the then-small city of Druze. Although still under Archadian control, the small, unremarkable Druze was of less interest to the Empire, and so its citizens had more freedom than their countrymen in Rabanastre. Druze became the cultural hub of Dalmasca, and the arts flourished there. Most renowned are the painters and architects of Druze, who transformed the once gray, uniform city into a remarkable exploration of art and color. Nearly every wall in the city is brilliantly painted or tiled, and her architecture ranges from temples with domed ceilings of colored glass to Rozarrian-inspired minarets.
[edit] The Orfeo
Museum and gallery both, The Orfeo houses anything and everything that celebrates Dalmascan culture. The riots that broke out shortly following Vayne Solidor's dissolution of the Senate resulted in a fire that claimed the East Wing of the Orfeo. It is slowly being rebuilt.
[edit] The Round
A flat, tiled area that makes up the center of Druze. The many festivals held in the city are staged on the Round, and on any given day it is common to see painters and performers set up shop here. The fountain in the center, sculpted in the likeness of the Dynast-King, is a popular meeting place.
[edit] The Sapphire
One of the newer taverns in Druze, the Sapphire gained instant popularity for its unusual management; it's entirely run by viera. Many come to the Sapphire to catch a glimpse of this still unusual sight, and many outside viera come simply to wonder at seeing their own integrated so effortlessly into Hume society.
[edit] Estersand
One of the large desert regions of Dalmasca, located to the east of Rabanastre. Rife with all manner of monstrous beasts, it regular plays host to hunts organized within the city. What settlements there are line the banks of the River Nibra, a vibrant blue vein running through the heart of the sands, wherein can be found ferries for the conveyance of travelers and goods across her flow. Many merchants make a good point of stopping in the villages to trade on there way to and from Rabanastre.
[edit] Westersand
One of the vast deserts of the Dalmascan region situated to the west of Rabanastre. Few roads pass through this waste, and as such it is little frequented by merchants. In Dalmasca Westersand, the sandstorms are more greatly feared than the beasts; so much so, in fact, that whole societies of natural philosophers in Rabanastre devote themselves to their study.
[edit] Giza Plains
A vast savanna spreading to the south of the Royal City of Rabanastre, the environs of which vary drastically between dry and rainy seasons. Large dark crystals lie scattered here and there across the savanna. During the Dry, they absorb the suns radiance and glow with an auric brilliance. A village of nomadic herders is located near the middle of the grasslands. During the Wet, the villagers relocate to the mountains. While they reside in the grasslands, the menfolk rarely return from their herding, leaving the women and children to their own devices in the village. These nomads know the art of capturing the energy of the dark crystals in chunks of magicite, called sunstone, which they then bring to market to sell. The animals by which they make their living are primarily of cockatrice stock.
