User:LadyLameness/Kharbranth

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Kharbranth, City of Bells, is an independent city-state on Roshar, ruled by the King Taravangian. Colours of Kharbranthian royalty - burnt orange and white

Geography and Ecology

Location

It is located in a natural harbor on the the Tarat Sea, in the western most regions of the Frostlands, in an area that was formerly under the control of Thalath, one of the Silver Kingdoms.

Features

- May be older than the Last Desolation - at least one in world source claims it was built during the shadowdays - BUilt on raw, unbroken stone like most of Roshar. - A small politically fragile city state but also a free city The city-state consists of only Kharbranth - Vorin Kingdom - Docks open to all regardless of nationality or status - Animals can be found around the docks (and presumably throughout the city): skyeels, crabs, haspers, mink - Built up a steep incline/mountain - Wedge shaped - Built into a natural lait, like a wide crack in the stone. One of the most sheltered major cities in the world - Considered by Captain Tozbek to be a 'safe city' - "a man pulling a curious contraption with two large wheels and a canopy-covered seat. " - Long/Scenic and short/direct route from the docks to the Conclave - Roadways are cut up the hill in switchbacks - The story goes that the bells were initially set up to warn of the Highstorm as it was so soft that people wouldn't notice. - Bells are everywhere - displayed in shops, hung from rafters. Hung under every lamp in a lantern poles, on transport carts such as the one Shallan takes through the city - Strong smells to the city. Spicy scents of food, the pungent smell of alleyways. Shallan describes the city as not having a clean smell. - Noisy. A hundred voices called to one another, mingling with doors slamming, wheels rolling on stone, occasional skyeels crying. The ever-present bells tinkled in the background, louder when the wind blew.

- The mountain that protects Kharbranth is hit hard by the highstorms and this can sometimes lead to cave-in's within the structures that have pierced the mountain though they are rare(such as the Conclave). Avalanches on the stormside can sometimes occur after highstorms and these can lead to the cave-in's.

- Bells can be heard even from deep within the Conclave/mountain

Buildings

- Blocky and colourful. A majority of the buildings are red and orange, with the occasional blue or yellow. - Buildings are grouped by colour which also indicates purpose - Violet for clothing, green for food. Homes are also painted but in pastel colours with a different pattern. - Constructed from some sort of mud/daub/crem - The Conclave, Palanaeum and King's Palace are located at the top of the city - Most buildings set directly on rock, while some are carved from it

The Conclave

- Painted white and carved from the rock face. The roof outcroppings have squat domes that are painted in metalic colours - Inside it is a large rectangular hallway lined with Stormlight lamps. Broad, high and long, with grand chambers lining the sides and smaller corridors branch off from the main room.

- The hallways are particularly long and drill downwards into the mountain

- There is no gate before the Conclave

The Palanaeum

- Set in the Conclave within the mountain - Both the Palanaeum and the Veil predate the founding of the city. Some on Roshar believe that the rooms were built by the dawnsingers.

The Veil

-Before the Palanaeum proper is the Veil - a waiting room that stretches upwards into the mountain and with sides pocketed by private balconies. - The door to the Veil is an intricate geometric design that incorporates circles, lines and glyph's and creates a chart, split across the two doors. - There are stone shafts around the room with manually controlled elevators set into them to take people to the different levels. Four Parshmen are needed to operate these elevators - The balconies can be accessed through hallways set into the stone surrounding the room. - They are round like a turret, with a waist high stone rim and topped with a wooden railing. - Desks connect to the rim of the balcony and follow the curved shape.

The Palanaeum Proper

- The Palanaeum proper is accessed through a small chamber full of soulcast crystal partitions. - The chit of admittance for the Palanaeum proper is of one thousand sapphire broams, which pay for the many hospitals in Kharbranth. There is no fee to use the Veil. - There are over seven hundred thousand seperate texts in the Palanaeum - more than even the Holy Enclave of Valath

“The only things Kharbranth has to sell are fish, bells, and information. The first two are hardly unique to us. But the third … well, the Palanaeum has the finest collection of tomes and scrolls on Roshar. ”

—Master Servant to Shallan

History

Kharbranth was formerly a pirate town in its early years, before becoming a real city over the course of decades.Template:Annotation ref It is culturally diverse, with people from all over Roshar both visiting and residing there. The city is home to the Palanaeum, the largest library on Roshar. Kharbranth is also known for the quality of its hospitals, and people come from all over the world to train in medicine.

1173: Shallan arrived in Kharbranth on the ship, The Wind's Pleasure, searching for Princess Jasnah Kholin who had relocated to the city. Jasnah used the Palanaeum in her research of the Voidbringers.

Jasnah saves Taravangian's granddaughter after a cave-in following a highstorm. In exchange, she is granted access to the Palanaeum

After being initially denied her request for wardship, Shallan waited for the Brightwoman in the Veil, while Jasnah was within the Palanaeum. It is here that she first meets Kabsal, an Ardent who had come to the balcony also looking for Jasnah.

Jasnah was not initially impressed to see Shallan, snapping at her and sending her away. Not long after she apologised and after being further petitioned gave Shallan the chance to re-petition her once she had filled some of the gaps in her knowledge. Shallan met up with Yalb outside the Concave and on their way back to the Winds Pleasure, he inspires an idea in Shallan about how she could speed up her chances to re-petition Jasnah. They visit a Thaylen bookstore, where Yalb pretended to be a servant from a rival merchant to help bring down the price of Shallan's purchase. Heading back to the Palanaem, Shallan rented the balcony next to Jasnah's with the intent of cramming information. Jasnah joined her before she could begin and accepted Shallan as her ward, after first perusing her sketchbook and it's annotations.

Lirin desired to send his son Kaladin to Kharbranth to train as a surgeon at the Great Concourse of Kharbranth.

Politics

Vorin ranks - Taravangian would be on the level of first dahn (?) but does not use the ranking system as it would negatively affect foreign relations - find WOB and confirm Jasnah would rank higher? - confirm against WOB

Culture

Peoples

People

` - Wide variety of people and cultures. - Jah Keved - shirts and trousers that lace at the front for men, skirts and colourful blouses for women - Tashikk - clothing of single sheet wraps - ?? - ankle length coats, open at the front - Natanatan - gloved hands and slightly bluish skin - ?? - tall stately people dressed in robes of black - ?? - Men with beards bound in cords, looking rodlike

Religion

The ardents hold a lot of sway in the city but so does Taravangian. He is not worried about them when he enlists Jasnah to help soulcast a rock and save his granddaughter.

Notable Citizens

• Taravangian

See Also

Plot:

Notes

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