Caecaster

Overview

Caecaster is the capital city of Caer Arcolano, one of the five autonomous Provinces (Caers) of the Asgarthan Protectorate. With a population of approximately 116,000 inhabitants, this troglodyte city was erected within and beneath a mesa, entirely made of red rocks and pink marble.

Geography and Climate

Despite the harshness of the desert, the buried city benefits from a welcome coolness, as its inhabitants have opened a gigantic well into the depths of the earth. All around Caecaster, a vast desert stretches as far as the eye can see, a barren expanse of ochre and chalk. The city experiences a perpetual summer, with an arid furnace of heat contrasting sharply with the chilly air found within the underground depths beneath the city.

Architecture and Layout

The city is built within a massive mesa, a rocky plateau overlooking the crimson sand. Its inhabitants prefer to live in the shadow and coolness of this stone shelter, which has been extensively carved into:

• Grand vaulted halls
• Labyrinthine corridors
• Immense and often depopulated corridors
• Connected passages and chambers

Time often seems suspended in these carved spaces, locked in the perpetual summer that characterizes the region. The architecture provides natural protection from the desert heat while creating a distinctive underground-integrated urban environment.

Arcolano Milk Production

Caecaster is known to be the nerve center of Arcolano Milk production, a substance that Factions buy at a high price for its psycho-catalytic properties.

Hypogea Exploration

Caecaster serves as an ideal outpost for the exploration of Hypogea, a strange underground world that is far from having revealed all its secrets.

The Hypogea

Beneath Caecaster and its environs sprawls Hypogea, the underground world where Arcolano Milk is harvested. This underground ecosystem extends through the perpetual night of the depths, featuring:

• Underground rivers
• Streams winding in rivulets over sand
• Carved passages and natural cavities
• Areas where Arcolano Milk can be collected
• Uncharted areas in its deepest reaches

The Hypogea is accessed by long, thunderous staircases with railings, leading down into the immense underground ecosystem where sounds reverberate, muffle, and spread. The atmosphere is subdued and soft, with refreshing humidity laden with mineral scents contrasting with the arid desert above.

Life in Caecaster

The city maintains a connection between its surface and underground environments. Residents include:

• Harvesters who work in Hypogea collecting Arcolano Milk
• Citizens who navigate the carved corridors and halls
• Families living in the carved stone shelter
• Workers who move between surface and underground areas

The city features covered gardens and markets, with routes memorized by residents who navigate between various districts. There is a sense of community, with neighbors and friends often accompanying each other when needed.

Connection to Yzmir

The city has connections to the Yzmir Faction, with “Initiates of Caecaster” mentioned as contacts who reached out to the Yzmir Magisters regarding Lindiwe’s unique case of bonding with Maw without the traditional The Musubi ceremony. This suggests a Yzmir presence or interest in the city, likely related to the Arcolano Milk harvested in Hypogea.

Notable Residents

• Lindiwe: Grew up in Caecaster, born blind, eventually bonded with Maw
• Nesiwe: Harvester of Arcolano Milk in Hypogea, mother of Lindiwe

Cultural Atmosphere

Caecaster maintains a quieter, less cosmopolitan atmosphere compared to the capital. The city has a sense of suspension, with time seeming to move differently in the immense carved corridors. The perpetual summer and the contrast between the arid furnace above and the chilly depths below create a unique environment that shapes the lives of its inhabitants.

Significance

Caecaster serves as an important center for Arcolano Milk production, a psychotropic substance that Alterers sometimes use to enhance their demiurgic abilities. The city’s unique geography—combining carved stone architecture with access to deep underground systems—makes it strategically important for this resource extraction while providing a distinctive way of life for its population.