Saresh

Saresh is the capital of the May’Kar Dominion, and the city from which the Dominion’s predecessor, the Kingdom of Saresh, took its name. Saresh straddles the Ukor River, its two halves conjoined by large bridges that arc high over the water to stay dry even when the river gets to its highest levels. It’s the northernmost of the river provinces, a status maintained by strict law, and is both the literal and metaphorical seat from which all power flows in May’Kar.

The wealth of the desert, largely accumulated through taxes, has allowed Saresh to sprawl far beyond its original size. Multiple layers of irrigation networks, built on top of each other over the centuries as the city’s needs grew, allow the entirety of the city to look like a lush garden paradise, to the extent that it’s easy to forget that one is in a desert at all.

Within this sprawl, six formal districts have been designated, each centered around a cistern that continues to supply the area with water even when the river runs low. These districts are equal parts administrative and ceremonial, dedicated towards specific functional purposes, while also enshrining certain ancestral Mahsai faiths and providing venues for rituals and festivities.

1. The Gate of the Small Gods is positioned at the southwestern end of the city, and is the main point of arrival for newcomers to Saresh. The district is densely packed with temples to various minor Mahsai faiths that see near-constant activity both as sites of active worship and also as micro-embassies for the many peoples of the May’Kar. As faiths wither and die, or are stricken from the Mahsai ledger, temples become repurposed and rededicated to new beliefs and spirits. Its cistern is dedicated to the Laghu Deva, whose followers solicit offerings from visitors and residents in exchange for political favors and advice.
2. The Temple Hill is the oldest of the districts, overlooking Saresh’s western bank. It’s considered a deeply sacred part of the city, and is visible from all over, containing the tallest and most opulent of its buildings, which seem to slope away from the palace in which the Priest-King and their family resides. Also here are multiple large dome-topped buildings in which the yazi convene to discuss law, and in which the most serious and significant cases are judged; grand temples and monasteries to the oldest and most enduring faiths; and lush gardens carefully arranged from plants found all across the Dominion. Its cistern is itself a massive temple dedicated to the Bhalin, the majority faith of Saresh before it was seized by Prince Tsimfa centuries ago, who purify and prepare its waters for the use in the most sacred rites of the Priest-King and other holy workers within the city, such as paladins in the process of preparing their divine blades.
3. The Market District is found on the southeastern end of Saresh, and is easily the largest, having been expanded multiple times on account of a continual need for more space and infrastructure. The district sees an incredible amount of activity on a daily basis as a hub of commerce for both foreign and domestic trade, and is subdivided further in an attempt to organize different goods by their type. Its streets are dense and maze-like, formed by permanent structures for merchant companies, and layered onto with stalls and carts in constant flux and people come to and leave the city. This is also where a large number of tax collectors and assessors live, and is where tithe and tribute that must be paid to the Dominion goes. Its cistern is dedicated to the Apanadevata, whose followers are employed en masse by the Register, are responsible for the minting and maintenance of coinage used within the Dominion, and are empowered to take legal action when fraud or debasement is discovered.
4. The Trade District is placed on the far eastern end of the city, carefully isolated to ensure that none of its industry can pollute the Ukor or the other waters of Saresh. This is where trade guilds are organized to work. Some are put together on behalf of the crown, while others are private companies that have purchased space to work in. A relatively small number of tall residences exist here, built with wind catchers designed to bring in fresh air from higher up and displace the noxious scents produced by the various trades. The district’s cistern is dedicated to the Vyapara, whose followers cultivate expertise in architecture and engineering and act as consultants to the expansion and maintenance of the city.
5. The Setting Sun District in the northeast is the most densely populated of the six, with narrow streets and tightly packed housing units arranged around small courtyards. It’s home to the city’s working class, as well as the unemployed and infirm. Poorer families tend to live in multi-family wooden houses, two or three stories tall, while those better off enjoy larger walled compounds with different domiciles for different households within the same extended family. The district is connected by roads that travel around the periphery of the city, connecting people to their places of work without sending them through the heart of things. Its cistern is dedicated to the Sadharana, whose followers are charged with the care and rehabilitation of orphan children, and those unable to work.
6. The Rising Sun District is built along the eastern bank. It’s a mirror to the Priest-King’s Temple Hill, and a pale attempt to mimic its grandeur. This is where the wealthy dwell, including the yazi and their families, powerful merchants, and foreign dignitaries. Their homes are certainly spacious and luxurious, but lack the cohesion and religious significance that makes its counterpart an architectural jewel. The district’s cistern is dedicated to the Kulina, whose followers are paid handsomely to maintain extravagant gardens and fountains within the estates of those living here.

The rest of the city is a heterogeneous mixture of residential, industrial, and commercial areas, which have filled in like patchwork over Saresh’s long history. There’s a clear shift in architectural style over time, seen as one starts in the center of the city and walks to its edge, illustrating not only the change in fashions, sensibilities, and technologies of the time, but also the addition of new materials for building brought in by May’Kar’s expansion and trade.

The majority of the working class in the city operate under a patronage system. Rather than receiving coin for their work, they labor on behalf of one of the many temples of the city, which in turn provides housing and access to food, water, and other necessities. What opportunities a person has access to depends on the social connections they have and can leverage, and while faiths do not exclusively hire from their own followers, conversion is often the difference between subsistence and comfortable living. Temples coordinate with each other and with city officials as a means of exchanging favors and attempting to secure themselves additional influence and prestige.

Those unable to find patronage with a temple might instead enlist with Saresh’s city guard or the Dominion’s military, receiving a proper salary for their service in addition to being provided with city-owned housing. This is one of the few paths available for upward mobility- an illustrious military career would usually be met with coin to spare and give them the means of purchasing a better life. Service in either force is a minimum of ten years. Once that time is up, a soldier can only receive discharge by relinquishing any of the housing and/or privileges granted to them as part of their service, leaving them only with whatever coin they’ve managed to save.