The Layout of Tiangchou

See also: The Places of Tiangchou
 

First Ring: Atop the hill that Tiangchou sits is the White Palace, built of white marble the structure is still intact from the days before the Scourge. It is isolated from the city by a high white marble wall. This has a single gate that is guarded well and only a select few are allowed entry.

Second ring: Military, the army is stationed here, it is the army that patrols the city streets. There are also some military quarters. There is no longer a wall separating the second and third level, however the road from the palace winds round the hill and the road eventually comes to a gate house that divides the two rings from each other.

Third ring: Artisans : Factories, workshops, the city makes profit from finished goods having few natural resources and even less metal. There is no longer a wall separating the third and fourth level, however the road from the palace winds round the hill and the road eventually comes to a gate house that divides the two rings from each other.

Fourth ring: Merchants : Shops for the artisan, for food for everything really. A wall has been build around this area and the road ends in a gatehouse that all people wishing to enter the fourth level must enter.

Fifth ring: residential, for the merchants, military and laborers. There is no wall separating the fifth and sixth level, however the road from the palace winds round the hill and the road eventually comes to a gate house that divides the two rings from each other.

Sixth ring: The markets form the sixth ring, temporary in construction they are like booths. These booths are made from bamboo with awnings of colored cloth.

Seventh ring: Animal pens.

Eighth ring: Tribal grounds 

Ninth ring: Grazing fields 

The Mines: The entrance to the mines are within the residential ring. Now reopened several dwarves are now working to bring out the stone that can be used to build. 
 

Journal of Captain Lucas Smithson, Imperial Army, 12th Legion

(From a letter written to a fellow officer)

---

I have marched from Maston, a long way to come to the city of Jade and Marble. This is where the emperor's tea service was made and the one that I saw once whilst on duty in the palace as a member of the Guard, before the incident that finds me on this godforsaken duty. Despite my misgivings I am impressed by the vista that greets me as I round the final corner that brings my first view of the city. The glimmering river running at the base of the large hill atop which stands a brilliant white edifice, many buildings surround the largest and I can just make out a section of the greens undergoing drill training, the 7th regiment who we are replacing in this outpost of the Empire. I could not tell much of the city itself yet outside on the plain there was a large market set up, colorful stalls appearing to ring the city as if laying siege. Further out herds of horses and sheep graze under the eye of their charges, men mounted on horseback themselves.

As we approached the outer edges of the city, some of the horse warriors for that is what they clearly are, rode recklessly up to our formation and in a feat of horsemanship I had never seen before, they managed to turn them sharply and ride down our flanks. I can see why the emperor would wish to make peace with such lenient terms, though lightly armored I doubt if the cataphractoi of the guard itself could touch them. As we approached the city I could now see other encampments about the city, but it seems that the horsemen were the most numerous at this time, possibly because of the disbursement of their horses 

Soon the horse warriors were left behind and we marched past several empty animal pens, which appeared to have held sheep from the wool caught on the fencing at some time. I had worried about how often we would eat real meat in this posting before I arrived, now I was a little more confident that we would be eating more than just the white worms the veteran's had told us about. A few peasants watched us go past. Dressed simply in a brown tunic, tied at the waist by a belt, they seemed slightly cowed by our presence, oh its good to be an empire soldier sometimes. Strangely only one of them wore a weapon, a long sword and a shorter blade, she was the only one who showed no fear and stood oblivious to the rest of the group as she watched us pass.

Passing the pens we entered into a temporary market, though I have since learnt that the stalls are actually never taken down unless to be rebuilt. This is obviously a common market, looking down the stalls I could see nearly anything one would want for a home. Food, furniture, clothes and livestock but I could not see any weapons for sale and in fact very few metal goods whatsoever. Each stall was made of colored cloth, framed with what I learnt later was bamboo, collected from one of the groves that grew near the river. It was full of people from all the different tribes each wearing their own peculiar costumes. I was also able to identify some of the greens, so at least we were not disliked within the city and were free to roam when off duty. As we passed an open space the road seemed to take us towards a large city gate. This was made of a dark gray stone but had no guards upon it. It would have been a superb defensive position but for the fact there was no supporting walls.

As we entered through the city gate we were entering the city proper, this level contained smaller houses in the main with one or two streets leading off the avenue upon which we marched. This was obviously the poorer section of town, there was a considerable amount of rubbish laying about, the Maston councilors would have a fit, but I had seen worse and I suppose it could have been a lot worse. There were some drinking bars but they appeared to remain closed during the day, and as the streets were reasonably empty of people one could see why. The road spiraled around the hill and rose gradually. One interesting feature was a groove down the center of the road, about two feet wide and around a foot deep. This groove in fact started high up at the palace and was used by the city cleaners to flush away the sewage

Having climbed for a good fifteen minutes and circled the city once we arrived at another fortified gate, this time there was a city wall that was manned by City Guards. A gap had been cleared between the wall and the remainder of the city and the road climbed around and up the hill to leave a killing space before this wall. Just inside the gate was a single story building that had an extraordinary number of guards, it appeared as though everyone entering the city had to pass through this building. Of course as the relief force we were exempt. We entered the merchants quarter, this contained larger buildings, mainly of two stories, where the ground floor was a shop, very similar to Maston and the second the living quarters of the family who owned the shop. These buildings were still quite small as most of the larger buildings were higher up the hill. Again the road circumnavigated the hill and ended in another gate. Although the houses of the merchants quarters were made of the same drab gray stone that was used elsewhere, the owners decorated the front facia with hanging silks of various colors. There were normally three banners for each building, the side panels of the same color and the central one carried a device which appeared to indicate what kind of shop it was. 

Passing through the next gate of the city brought us to a district that reminded me of the docks in Maston. This was the district of the artisans. Long warehouses, some spewing forth smoke, some not, line the main thoroughfare like warehouses at the docks. In fact these were the factories of the people who lived lower in the city, as we passed there was obviously a lunch break as large numbers of workers lounged about outside their buildings. The acrid smell of tanneries permeated at least half of the level although I only saw a couple with the tell tale signs of steaming vats. I learnt later that Tiangchou is an industrious hive of productivity and most of the finished goods in the region are produced here including the small jade horse that I purchased and sent back with this letter. Prominent amongst these buildings were the potteries, whose kilns bellowed forth smoke into the sky. There is also a paper factory that produces reams of paper for sale. 

The road continued up, suprisingly there was again no wall but another unguarded gatehouse. Walking through we realized that this was home. The 13th Legion had a company formed up around a wagon in the parade ground. I assume that this was the annual tribute wagon that we ourselves would be escorting back to Maston in one years time, when our tour of duty finishes. Looking around I could see barrack blocks for our troops and also what appeared to be a couple of guild buildings, a church. The bladesingers tower being the most obvious, though clearly building restrictions were extremely rigid as the tower was only 3 stories high, the smallest I had ever seen, the golden cap let me recognize it though.

As one of the senior commanders of the regiment I was privileged to enter the palace on the next day. The walls and gate were like nothing I had seen before, smooth marble walls I knew to expect, but it appeared as though the walls were continuous, in one piece and when the gates were shut I could not see any join. An amazing feat of military engineering. After we entered the gates, the palace was extensive, alas I have not seen the famous water gardens but we were presented to the Mandara, the regional governor here. She was an amazing woman, very quick of thought and with an amazing memory. She even asked after you it seems she met you once, many years ago during her visit to Maston.

So on that note I finish my promised missive about Tiangchou, even if you have not been able to see it, at least you have the eyes and words of your loyal aide to reveal its mysteries to you. 

See also: The Places of Tiangchou