Skandara

The original city founded on the location where Moru Kel stands today, Skandara was one of the jewels of the old Urek Empire. Abandoned for centuries for unknown reasons, most of what is known of the city comes from living in its shadows.

Skandara was most obviously a marvel of engineering: the very tiers were cut into the sides of the mountain like so many giant staircases. Clear water is piped throughout the city by aquaducts constructed by Skandaran engineers. And the great stairwells, with their arched landings that serve as miniature forums for gatherings in the city, are also of Skandaran provenance. Even the names of the stairways — Kolibri, Tucha, Goanna, Crowncap, Urchin, Sawnose, Ochala, Briarmouth, and Maize — are taken from images hewn into them in Skandaran times. The old Broadback Bridge seems to have been of quite early construction as well.

The extent of Old Skandara remains a mystery: several buildings have been unearthed in the shallows of Kilpo Bay, indicating that the water level was perhaps lower before the Maelstrom.

The buildings on the tiers have largely stood the test of time, as well: some of them were occupied directly by settlers of Moru Kel. While they’ve seen cleanups and remodels in intervening years, the fundamental structure was still sound centuries later. Even the Abbey of Whiro stood largely untouched (though unreachable save by boat until the causeway was built), battered by the seas for hundreds of years. There the bones of Whiro, who sacrificed his life to save the city and its people.