City Highlight - The Capital (Purethought & Shining Light)

posted: 30 November 2019

The twin cities of Purethought and Shining Light have existed in some form for nearly 1,000 years. Shining Light was first: established as a small village supporting a local monastery. Some time after Shining Light was founded, a few families who didn’t quite fit in due to the increasingly religious nature of the town founded their own village several leagues away across the Gleaming River. This religious vs secular divide only grew more pronounced as over the next few centuries the monastery in Shining Light grew more important, and soon a large school was founded in what came to be known as Purethought.

Over the next few centuries both towns grew in size and importance, largely thanks to their convenient location where a primary trading route crossed the large river. As the towns became cities they each developed ports, trying to outdo each other in volume of trade. Each had different specialties however – Purethought traded in manufactured goods, weapons and armor, and especially arcane items. Shining Light was a hub for raw goods, foodstuffs, and divine magics.

Nearly two hundred years ago both cities had grown to the extent that they were for all intents and purposes one large city, though a city strongly divided along ideological boundaries. Multiple large bridges had been built across the Gleaming, and countless ferries carried people between the cities. It was at this time the Elyn Empire truly grew to prominence, and the twin cities were declared the capital of this new power. Leaders from both sides wanted their cities to be the new seat of government, so the Emperor made the decision to avoid playing favorites and build his new citadel on a large island in the middle of the river. It is from this citadel that the current ruler, Athel the Wise, heads the Elyn Empire.