Aphalê

Category	Cities
Continent	Brucrumus
Region	Cinazan
Owner	Khazarkar Empire
Population	250,000+
Races	Corralum 35% Terrant 25% Minâth 20% Nermanean 10% Kriavfahliil (Gilraens) 5% other 5%
Founded	4 Bloom 1487
Map	Darmaer

Aphalê, the westernmost jewel of the Khazarkar Empire, rises where the Alarthand meets the expansive Core Sea. The city unfurls along the river and coastline in a series of nine fortified port-districts, each a miniature township whose citadel-like construction has long deterred any seaborne adversaries. To the northeast, the urban landscape ascends a cliff to palatial terraces that once overlooked a bay; from these lofty vantages, the terraces descend in vertiginous steps toward the sands of Throa Sveid.

Aphalê's silhouette is defined by its formidable defenses: four concentric walls encircle its approaches, the outermost constructed in response to the Orchish advance during the Core Offensive (1749–1760), when the Orchish Empire endeavored to establish a western stronghold.

The Khazarkar Rûnê navy is headquartered at Aphalê, whose naval yards are fortified with formidable military hardware—eight renowned Cyclops Harbor Cannons, a battery of Thunder Hand mortars, and an assortment of heavy artillery. The mightiest of these weapons are mounted on rotating platforms and transported by teams of skeletal elephants beneath their saddles, a somber dance of warfare and technology.

Above the streets, fortifications soar upon lenticular earth motes, functioning as both martial and residential guardians: some serve as platforms for aerial defenses, while others operate as exclusive docks for the affluent or as moorings for skyships, harmonizing commerce, style, and the perpetual rationale of authority.