"Here one prays twice a day: in the morning for the soul, in the afternoon for the mountain." — Meridian saying
165,000 inhabitants, stagnant since 1879. Capital of Meridia, seat of the court of Stromakra, of the Ardentine refineries and of the Archpriesthood of the Ashes.
Urban geography
Situation
- The eastern skirt of the Volkar, the volcano of Seal III, eleven kilometres from the crater. Built in terraces on the petrified lava of ancient eruptions, leaning on the sea.
- A city on three geological steps: the Seafront (port, sea level), the Middle City (commerce and people, on the first ancient flow), and the High Ashery (court and refineries, on the terrace nearest the mountain).
- Why a capital there: because the Ardentine is there. Every explosive on the continent comes out of this volcanic skirt, and whoever controls the Ardentine controls everybody's artillery. Meridia built the capital on top of its own asset, deliberately, so that nobody could take it without taking the court along with it.
Climate
Mediterranean: dry hot summer, mild rainy winter, strong light the whole year. Olive, citrus, vine on the low slopes; bare rock on the high ones.
Living beneath the Volkar
The volcano is no background landscape. It is routine.
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