Helmira

Helmira, officially The Eternal Imperial Capital of the Kythiran Empire, Helmira, formerly known as Kythira and Helmsdeep, is the oldest and largest city in the whole of Minecraftia by both population and surface area. Colloquially it is known as the City of Lights, the Eternal City, the City of Palaces, the Imperial City and the City of Blocks. In some parts of the Kingdom of Ardoragh it is also referred to as the White City. The metropolis is located on the coast of the Narrow Sea, in the Kythiran Kingdom of the Heartlands.

The city was formally founded by H.I.H. Emperor Richard I The Great Viromaro in the Third Era, although much of the old city has existed since the late First and early Second Era as capitals of the Kingdoms of Kythira and Helmsia respectively. Historically and culturally the conquest and subsequent unification of those two cities have been seen as the birth of the Kythiran Empire.

The city has been a global center of finance, culture, diplomacy, commerce, architecture and gastronomy. It is the seat of the White-Gold Tower, making it the heart of the Empire's government. The Kythiran Imperial family, House Viromaro, live their lives predominantly in the city.

The city, the size of which matches and exceeds some kingdoms, is sometimes described as the Seventh Kingdom of the Empire. The Seventeen Lords manage the city together with the Lord-Mayor. The Helmiran Imperial Guard is tasked with policing the city as well as protecting it against foreign threats.

The great wealth of this melting pot attracts people from all walks of life, from the highest nobility to the lowest of pickpockets.

History

Pre-Unification

In the closing days of the First Era, the city of Kythira was founded, though at the time nothing more than a couple of stone houses, a tower, market place and royal home. As time went on, it expanded. During the very early Second Era, the city of Helmsia was founded south of Kythira. A valley lay in between the two small kingdoms.

Minecraftian Dark Ages

During the Dark Age the remnants of both war-torn cities were looted by warlords and peasants alike. The Helmsian Theatre Society was one of the few groups that stayed in the ruins of the city of Helmsia, performing small plays in the open air and keeping many historical tales alive through oral traditions.

Third and Fourth Era

During the aforementioned

Helmira during the Grand War

Helmira was formally put under a State of Siege by the Lord-Mayor after the declaration of war was made public. This resulted in Whiteharbour closing all trade with the Raggisar Republic, although trade with the Aqumis Republic was maintained. As these convoys were attacked by the remnants of the Raggisar navy, this was eventually limited to a handful of ships a month. The Kythiran High-Command asked the Lord-Mayor numerous times to allow the Imperial Navy and Imperial Legion to use Helmira as a base of operations, from where to cross the Senfina Sea, but this was always rejected by the City Council out of fear of repercussions. They did allow a single army of the Imperial Legion to stay within the city, but only as an extra security force, manning the walls and coastal defences. As the war dragged on, the city took on a great many refugees from the Raggisar Republic, these mostly being wealthy former aristocrats and their entourages.

Culture

Helmira is, in a way, still two cities in one. Although the topographic divide has been almost completely wiped out through years of urban planning, her economic and social divides still linger. The classes of society seen throughout the Empire are all well represented here, with the city's wealthiest upper crust, who usually made their fortunes through inheritance, the trade in goods or the trade in slaves, and a select few through smuggling, try to attach themselves to Kythira's nobility in order to win political influence. The rest of the city's population is a mixture of middle and lower class families. The middle class often working for the government or one of the many trading companies headquartered in the city. The lower classes usually work in menial jobs, such as members of staff in the many mansions and estates across the city.

The one thing that unites all these different groups is culture, often in the form of (musical) theatre. The Imperial Helmsian Theatre Society, the oldest of its kind, has been producing plays non-stop since the early Second Era, surviving the Great Grief and the Dark Ages in more-or-less the same shape. Droves of people from all walks of life and from all across the Empire and beyond still come to Helmira to be entertained at one of her many theatres, enjoying the finest opera, simple stage plays or great symphonies.

Great artists have and continue to reside in Helmira for centuries, from painters to poets.

Helmiran Governance

Helmira is the only city in the Empire classified as a Free City. This makes it that, although it is part of the Kingdom of the Heartlands, it is not beholden to its laws and jurisdiction. Furthermore, although the Crown resides in the city, it too has relatively little influence on the city's governance. Instead, the city is ruled by a democratically elected Lord-Mayor once every fifteen years. Together with the so-called Seventeen Lords (Officially Lords XVII) he forms the city council. The Helmiran Guard is in charge of policing the city.

Six Districts

Helmira is divided into six distinct districts:

Arcadia

Military, government etc.

Old Town

Original cities of Helmsia and Kythira

Diplomatic District

Forum etc.

Whiteharbour

Trade etc.

Pasithea

Relaxation

Draconia

Many former Imperius residents