Cyrod City

	The Imperial City, the heart of the Empire, lies sprawled across the many islands in lake Rumare, surrounded by the vast fields of the Heartlands region. It is a crossroads in many ways; as the centre of the continent-wide Empire, it is here that merchants, diplomats, scholars and fortune-seekers come from all over the known world, congregating to chase their particular interests and getting lost in the massive crowds of the ant-hill that is The City. Inside the confines of the Jeralls and the Valii, this is where the West and the East meet, crashing together in the explosion of sights and sounds; in a majestic construct of districts that seem to go on forever, rising up into the sharp spires that tower over the pulsating crowds on the streets and the clogged gondolas in the canals. The City has many names – some would say as many as there are stalks of reed on the banks of the Rumare. In the driest, most official of terms, it is known as the Imperial City. Many forgo the “Imperial” part, even further accentuating its position as not only the centre of Cyrodiil but of Tamriel as a whole. To others, it is known as Cyrod-upon-Rumare, Cyrodilium, Alessium, Nibennium, Nirnavel and so on.

	Originally, the City Isles were inhabited by communities of Nedes (that is, the original Nedes whose name would later spread to be used as a label for many other indigenous Men), Rumarans and other northern Nibenean tribes. Sometime in mid-Merethic era, they were joined by new arrivals: groups of Aldmeri fleeing persecution in the Summerset Isles seeking refuge in the Heartlands, establishing colonies along the coast of Lake Rumare.

	It is on the banks of the Rumare that the Nedes that had been brought to the Heartlands from all over the Ayleid-ruled lands generations prior to Saint Alessia’s heroic effort, those that either lacked knowledge of where their ancestral lands lay or had no wish to return there, settled down, mixing with the local Heartland tribes, the Rumare Nibeneans as well as some of the Nordic mercenaries that had helped in the war effort. Out of this pan-Nedic conglomerate formed the modern Heartlanders of Cyrod City. Ironically enough, the urban islanders, whose identity was forged from many others, would to many a foreign observer be seen as the stereotypical Nibeneans.
	Throughout the ages, the city had seen many changes. The original Ayleid settlement – the modern “Wheel” containing the Imperial palace and the many historical districts – was built on the main island due to the central location in the Heartlands. As the Ayleid population in the region grew, more and more Nedes were brought into slavery or serfdom, with many ending up on the islands of Lake Rumare. Much like the native Nedes in High Rock or elsewhere in Cyrod, the people of Rumare settled down in villages of shacks surrounding the Ayleid city and as Saint Alessia began the war, they had already formed a community sprawled across the isles.

	The Ayleid city surrounding the White-Gold tower, named Alessium by the Great Marukh and known by many as the Inner City, became the home of Saint Alessia’s warlords as well as some tribal chieftains that had helped in the war. Throughout the ages, much of this original aristocracy would remain the same (albeit bearing some marks of the Akaviri they had intermarried with many ages ago), living in Ayleid mansions with slight style changes (most noticeably the shift towards Akaviri-inspired architecture as well as a later move to the classical Imperial architecture as time went on and many manors had to be renovated or sometimes even completely rebuilt) and retaining much of the old dialect. Although they were once great warlords who wrestled power from the Mer, the aristocrats retained quite a bit of the old, Ayleidoon-influenced language to stand above the common folk; something that not even the Alessian order could root out completely. On the other hand, the nobility in the city was largely opposed to intermarriage with the remaining Ayleid aristocrats in the Heartlands which led to some clashes with the Nibenese higher circles which saw pride in such pedigree expansions and an opportunity to even further improve the magical capabilities of their blood.
	The common folk in the Isles largely remained the same, on the other hand. For a long time, the population grew slowly, with most of the newcomers hailing from the Heartlands. In time, more and more came from the Niben Bay and even the Greater Cheydin area, seeking a more cosmopolitan and rich life. To the Colovians, the Heartlands were still largely unknown and hostile, with the only visitors to the City being merchants and Cyro-Nordic mercenaries. The newly-arrived people settled down in the already established communities surrounding Alessium as well as the increasingly important Nedic fishing village which came to be known as the Waterfront.

	The first traditional districts came into existence soon after the city had been founded, with the oldest surrounding Alessium itself. After the fall of the Alessian order, the name Alessium remained in use for quite some time, although several different names came in use later. After the throne came under control of the Septim dynasty, the district would become known as the Talos Plaza in official documents.
	With the fall of the Ayleid rule over the Isles, the Alessian Order could finally found their own base there. Opposing any Ayleid influences, the priesthood commissioned construction outside of the Inner City, the architecture influenced by the styles of the Gold Coast, as well as Cyro-Nordic and Colovian Nedic citystates with a heavy emphasis on the glory of Saint Alessia and the Empire. After the Order had collapsed, much of the architecture remained the same but the great quarters of the Order were converted into smaller temples.
	Outside the Inner City, the freed Nedes soon expanded their villages, with a new community forming in the so-called Elven Gardens. Much like the aristocracy inside the white walls, they too would resist newcomers through wealth and power, for a long time acting as the economic backbone of the city.
	Quite early into the Empire’s expansion, the first foreigners would start arriving in the City. Originally, they were Nords and Cyro-Nords looking for employment as mercenaries but as the Empire expanded, more would come from other parts of Tamriel. They settled among the Cyrodils but as their numbers grew, the Foreign quarter was founded to house them. Nevertheless, there was never an effort to contain them there save for a few occasions. Through fully organic development, smaller districts were established inside the Foreign quarter where distinct peoples could live among their own.
With the growth of the City, many of the coastal villages grew as well, slowly being incorporated into the City as districts. One such village was Weye, a mere hamlet that exploded in population after the construction of the Weye bridge that connected the City with the mainland. The native population of these villages would in many cases become drowned out among the new arrivals, with their family names remaining the last reminders of their native origin. The names of their settlements and the local area, however, would live on in the speech of the newcomers. Many of them are still used today, never mind that the vast majority of the locals may not be aware of their origin.

	Although the City attracted people of wealth and influence, a large population of the original inhabitants were of lesser means, slaves, serfs and tribesmen who had lived on the Isles for generations. As the original villages around Alessium grew in wealth, the commoners gravitated towards the coastal fishing villages where they would be joined by Heartlanders from the other bank of the lake as well as Nibeneans from down the Niben. Their shanty towns grew in size until there was no room for expansion as the City districts set down their claims.
	New constructions copied the traditional Nedic and Nibenean stilt house designs, popping up anywhere where stilts could be erected from the muddy Rumare floor. Similar constructions would appear on bridges connecting the islands; on a number of occasions the haphazardly constructed dwellings would collapse, drowning those not lucky enough to escape. Soon enough, however, the submerged ruins would be picked of any useful remains and new homes would appear on the now strengthened lake floor.
	Many Imperials praise the Imperial sewers as a technological marvel created by Ayleids but perfected by the Heartlanders but it is a sad fact of life for much of the rabble living in the stilt houses and rotten shacks on the mangrove-rich banks of the Imperial Isles that their waste is washed straight onto the filthy narrow pathways or the planks that form primitive bridges between rows of poor dwellings. A popular Heartlander saying for a naïve, foolish person has him “wading knee-deep through the Rummy (colloquial name for Lake Rumare) searching for gold”. For many downtrodden inhabitants, especially children, wading through the muddy “Rummy” is the only way to truly find their “gold” – many kinds of eel and crabs live in the foul waters surrounding the slums, the only source of survival for many families living on the stilts. Additionally, one never knows what trinket could be found in the mud; on rare occasions, Rumarans do get lucky, finding ancient artifacts in the silt. More often than not, however, their discoveries are mere scrap.

	To many of the downtrodden Rumarans, Cyrod City is but a backdrop; although any mainlander would consider them city folk, they on the other hand see themselves as people of the Lake. It is not uncommon for proles to “go to the City” to look for work, primarily that of a menial kind. Their dirty faces can be seen inside canals loading Rumaran mud onto barges to be taken out into the deeper parts of the lake or simply discarded near the closest stilted community, running errands for publicans or waiting at the docks to offer their services to the next merchant vessel that anchors there. Due to centuries of new arrivals from all across Cyrodiil, the typical shack-dweller could boast to be more “Cyrodiilic” than any other inhabitant of the province, yet only a naïve noble looking down onto the destitute shacks from atop a marble balcony could ever imagine these paupers to consider life outside their damp, fetid dwellings and feel any connection to a wider identity.
	Others find the City as foreign as any city on the mainland, living as fishermen or divers and trading with other inhabitants of these communities on the very edge. To some, even the Heartland soil is unknown; even before the mainland and the isles were fully colonised, many of the local tribes lived on boats, much like their kin further downstream. These strands of society are closest to the tribals of the Deep Niben – although they in most cases speak the same tongues as the people on the shore, only a small minority ever enter civilisation and it is considered treasonous for members of these boat clans to leave the “Roh’tlal” (thought to be an ancient local name for Rumare, or “the great womb”) and live among the city folk. It is said many never leave their boats, which are both their home as well as the most valuable heirloom that passes from generation to generation.

	Cyrodiil City’s avenues and alleys see endless masses of city dwellers move across them daily; any actual transportation can only be conducted on water. Ships enter Lake Rumare and set their anchor by the Waterfront, with some of the wares set down in the docks while most is unloaded onto ferries, barges and assorted skiffs. These can pass below the many bridges and through narrow canals and reach every last district of the City. Those who can afford it traverse the city on water by boat; the wealthier denizens of the City make a point of showing off their wealth through beautifully decorated, sleek boats. Others pay a few septims for public transport, either on bigger inner city ferries or on smaller boats operated by the outer city Rumarans. Nevertheless, not all can afford paying for transportation so it is not rare to see dozens of ragged figures holding onto the backs of mud barges that move back and forth from the deeper sections of the city towards the outskirts. Passage aboard these barges is usually tolerated; passengers aboard other vessels are usually not as happy about the matter and many a stowaway has received a good smack with a bat for holding onto a boat. The so-called “Rumare perfume” received after a beating, as the poor stowaway crawls out of the canal, makes even the weariest of City denizens step back. Still, reeking of City water is a better fate than that of many of the City’s drunks who end up in the canals in the early hours of the morning, never to crawl out. Their bodies float out into the lake, although they are usually pulled out before they can make it outside the city limits. Due to the number of such deaths in certain districts, rumours have spread of a werehippo that waits for unsuspecting victims at night. Night watches have sprung up in some districts, as well as cults dedicated to worshipping the "Big Eater". Many locals have also claimed that gangs of Argonians hiding underwater actually eat the dead but the City Watch deny any such claims being true. What is true, however, is that many Argonians have found home in the canals, building underwater nests and collecting garbage that collects in the canals for a living.

	The City’s Argonian community is said by some to predate even Ayleid colonization, although such claims have no material or written basis. What is known is that Argonian nesting grounds have always stretched into lake Rumare and were for a long time part of the region's food cycle - much like the modern practices on Topal Isle and certain parts of Deep Niben which, albeit de jure prohibited, are still prominent among the tribal folk. After the formation of the first proper civilisation, the Alessian Empire, these tendencies were mostly rooted out and Argonians were slowly brought closer to human settlement. Staunch aquaphiles, the Argonians continued living in water, although they exchanged rough Rumaran banks for the canals of the city.
	Just like their Rumaran neighbours, the local Argonians survive any way they can. They can often be spotted one the embankments selling eels and other kinds of native fish and crustaceans, selling scrap brought out of the canals to willing buyers or working as construction labourers. They are especially sought after for the latter as their natural ability to survive underwater without having to surface for air makes them perfect for establishing foundations in the murky waters as well as doing any maintenance on existing buildings.
	All that said, the lizardfolk are not always welcomed with open arms. The City Watch prohibit the construction of Argonian nests in the more well-off districts and even the more run-down districts are occasionally cleared, for Argonian nesting grounds may pose an obstacle when their construction encroaches upon land or blocks waterways. For this reason, they are most common on the outskirts, among the stilted communities of the poorest Rumarans, although the very fact that they are free to swim out into the lake to hunt for fish is appealing on its own.
Another location where Argonians are known to find shelter are the imperial sewers; there are whole sections where passage is impossible due to nests. Again, however, the City Watch regularly clear many of these to prevent the tunnels from filling up or deteriorating.

	Below the many City isles and the lagoons between them, a vast subterranean system spreads deep below the surface, possibly rivalling the City itself in size. The original sewers and catacombs are as old as the City itself, being founded by the Ayleids and growing along with the structures on the surface. Just as the jewel on the Rumare grew through history, so did its hidden kin, with new passages growing out of the older ones.
	The underground complex is a jungle of sewage canals, various tunnels and catacomb passages, all interlocked, connected and stretching in all possible directions. Due to their function, either as the final resting places of the City's inhabitants or as the destination of much of City's waste, as well as serving as a sort of foundation for the city on the lake, the underground structures require constant maintenance; an army of engineers and labourers therefore works underground full-time. Argonians and Bjoulsaeans in particular are sought after as there is a constant risk of a flood-in, especially in older, crumbling passages.
	Regardless of the maintenance services, only a small portion of the underground system actually gets attention from the City's authorities; many groups of people on the edge of society call City-Below-Rumare home. There are the homeless, either individuals down on their luck - or whole communities. Throughout the ages, many communities of Rumarans and other Nedic arrivals settled below ground where they survive on fungus and prey of many kinds. They have lived underground for so long that it is said they are evolving; truly, many more are born blind than above ground, which should not be a surprise for many never venture above ground. With the beginning of Argonian immigration to the city, many of the scaled beastfolk also found the sewers an ideal home, perfect for their nesting grounds.
But there are also other, not so harmless groups occupying the deep tunnels.

	The Imperial City underground also serves as a refuge for gangs. Keeping bases and warehouses in isolated passages, criminal syndicates stay a step in front of the authorities; in times of need, they can always relocate underground through passages in the cellars of their homes on the surface. Small time crooks, including some of the craftier homeless employ the world below much more actively, returning there after raids to lay low.
	Deeper down, the inhabitants get even less friendly. Individual vampire sightings occur on a semi-regular occasion but some sources claim that the dark expanses are home to whole clans of vampires. None of the claims have ever been proven, but there certainly aren't many volunteers willing to prove or disprove them.
	Certainly the biggest population of criminals reside in a specific underground complex - the vast Imperial dungeons that are part of a larger system of tunnels under Imperial Prison authority, mostly disconnected from the rest of Cyrodiil-below-Rumare. The Imperial Prison authority deny all allegations of escape routes leading into the Imperial sewers as complete fabrications.