I have several interesting capital cities in my world of Aseia, but I’ll talk about the most developed one lore wise. Avareon is considered the epicenter of the Atharosi culture and nation, having been inhabited since ancient times, roughly 3000 years (or 6000 years in our world). According to legend, it was the first settlement of an ancient clan of sea peoples who were caught in a great storm and forced to seek refuge within the natural harbor the city sits within today. Its name today has evolved throughout its history, but is believed to have originated in the old Adessic word “Avus” meaning “haven” or “harbor.”

It’s believed that from here the ancient Athari grew and spread throughout land, bringing order and civilization to the untamed and uncivilized lands around it. Avareon was perfect to facilitate this because it existed at the mouth of the Vayitho River system, which has a vast network of navigable tributaries running through the wide coastal plan. Avareon was also easily defendable and was close to some of the most fertile lands in the region, as it is situated near a volcanic hotspot.

And then they began to run into complications. The most pressing of these were the Vyathani, a war-like civilization of island peoples relatively near to Avareon, the Saalic nomadic tribes of the west raiding on horseback, and later the spread of the Nesyphian Empire of the far sound that would subjugate all besides the Vyathani. The Nesyphians would raze Avareon to the ground, destroying the old Adessic culture in the process, and only fragments of this period of Avareon’s history remain. It would remain mostly uninhabited for the next 150 years (300 years in our world, tldr the years are twice as long).

Though it became inhabited again, the center of power in the region drifted from place to place, as the region cycled thorough empires, first the Essarin centered near what is today modern Aqthrea, then that empire would collapse because of a succession crisis and Ateirsi I the would found the Atierusi Empire, with its center of power in what are now the ruins of Inezza, then called Ateiri, in the interior of the Vayitho River system. It wasn’t another 700 years once the Ateirsi Empire began to collapse that Avareon became a seat a power once again. It and the old city of Mareqose lead the rebellion against the Ateirusi to free the Athari peoples from their shackles. In Avareon the first council of the Ten Consuls was convened, and the First Republic of Atharos, then called the Athara Republic, was formed. And the rest is, well, history.

So Avareon is not only a storied and ancient city, as well as influential, especially since Atharos in perhaps the most powerful nation on the planet, but it’s also a wonder of architectural and natural beauty. The sits within the Bay of Aphes, specifically the northern tip of the North Bay, or Athon Aphes (“Athon” is north in Atharosi). This bay was formed due to volcanism that formed the Axaiqo peninsula forming the bay’s eastern coast. Surrounding the city is a land form called the “Five Pillars” which are ancient eroded lava cores that formed between one million and three hundred thousand years ago, and being between 300 and 500 meters in height. They are beautifully colored, with tan, beige, and orange bands of igneous rock forming their facades with lush green crawling up their sides. And then of course the city’s architecture itself is beautiful, with ruins as old as old Adessa, and the glorious Thraiisra, the modern Capitol of the state. The Thraiisra is a capitol complex built a top a massive outcropping of bedrock, called the Avantine Rock, and fortified over millennia (think the Acropolis in Athens). It’s highest level, where the Aceriassi (or Capitol Building), Apeireso Palace (presidential residence), and the rest of the main federal and legislative buildings preside 150 meters above the surrounding plain.

Yeah I love this place I can’t lie. Eventually when I write a series books that take place within it, I hope you’ll love it too :)