Shaprashilara Lum
Shaprashilara Lum, the great capital of the Overlordship of Gorcorumb, rests in a mountain valley of the Ephysgæe Mountains in Gorcorumb. It is world-famous for its immense, domed towers that reach to dizzying heights, made of marble and fine granite. The city today is the seat of the Overlord of Gorcorumb and the ruling houses of Gorcorumb.
The city is often shortened to ‘Shaprashilar’ in less than formal speech, with the accent on either the antepenult or the final syllable. The word ‘Lum’ means a ‘nest, weir, or high place’ in the Gorcorumbese Language.
Origins and History
The Gorcorumbese Giants relate that the mountains of the Ephysgæes have been inhabited by their race since before the Flood of Aturyanda. The city is attested in contemporary records of the Bhonippa Kingdom, Sratna Dynasty, of Kalama around 7700 AS. The city may have succumbed to throes contemporary with the chaos period of Kalama, 6,992 AS to 6,100 AS. Epics believed to have been recited as far back as 8000 or more AS have reference to the Gorcorumbese Giants and their high cities in the mountains, but do not mention Shaprashilara Lum by name. The city has been the capital of Gorcorumb since the twenty fourth century in connection with the Awakening of the Geddamin.
The city became best known among humans of the Pallathantic during the Midretassene Empire due to conflicts between Midretasso and Gorcorumb in the late fifth century AI. Despite heavy losses in battle and loss of their holdings in Ambrinqua, Gorcorumb itself and its great cities never fell to Midretasso. Midretassene historians relate that the giants built great citadels of impenetrable stone in the mountain fastnesses and were virtually unassailable.
The city is mentioned as a habitation of Mugentiacus the Conqueror in the eighteenth century (1700’s), but was not the capital of his kingdom.
In the twenty third century, Shaprashilar and Gorcorumb had fallen subject to the lesser Chaos Ruler known as Strakkos Chaos Mage of Ebinóë. With the defeat of Strakkos and the Awakening of the Geddamin, the city came under rule of the new ruling families that rose to the top in the subsequent struggle for hegemony. Shaprashilar was established as the seat of the these families and became the residence of the Overlord of Gorcorumb and a vast assemblage of immense domed towers.
Six building phases, one in the twenty fourth century, two in the twenty fifth century, and finally, three in twenty sixth century brought the city to its present-day appearance. Despite the loss of empire and internal struggles for independence, Shaprashilar retains much of its historic splendor and seems to defy time.
Architecture
It is important to keep in mind that the average Gorcorumbese man is about eleven feet (10'8" or 3.25m) tall. Doorways and halls are typically about fifteen feet (4.5 meters) high. Gorcorumbese architecture underwent a rebirth in the twenty fifth century, employing ribbed domes, pointed arches, and reinforced stone walls with reinforced flying buttresses to produce very high towers.
Sites
- Palace of the Lords of Gorcorumb, assembly hall, administrative courts
- Individual Towered Palaces of various Ruling Houses (Shaksha, Thushabin, Mikhsadha, Pahubeh, etc.)
- Esplanade of the Titans, great open walk area paved with white granite
- Skyport of the Lords of Gorcorumb
- Grand Steps of the City, thousands of steps that lead from the lower valley up into the esplanade.
- Temple of the Ancients (Ancestor Worship, Titans)
- Temple of the Sun
- Temple of the Moons
- Temple of Shandkhaya (Gorcorumbese God of Magic)
Under City of Telmuric
The non-ruling Gorcorumbese who until recently served the ruling families have lived in Telmuric, a city confined to great caverns and tunnels resting in the mountains and underneath the valleys of Shaprashilar. After the uprising, Telmuric became largely autonomous.
See Also
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