Khazadheim (Kerk'al for "Home of Dwarvenkind") was the capital of the Dwarven Empire in its final decade. It was built from scratch, in a formerly rural part of Bao-Mou.

Construction

The city was built the same year that some Moradfilki descended to Oshmondu to join Imily-Tur in ruling the world. It was built from scratch, in colossal proportions that befitted a universe-spanning empire, to replace the former, decidedly archaic and overcrowded capital of Aithnar.

The works were led by Dunatis, God of Wisdom and Strategy. Workers from all over the Dwarven Multiverse were used for the task, slaving in the uncounted thousands to build the sprawling complex. A teleportation Circle, the first addition to this network since the Dictation crafted by Krynn and Imily-Tur, was used as the primary means of bringing in construction materials; other ways were huge flying barges, a fleet of ships and rafts on the nearby waterway, and three purpose-built rail lines.

Architecture

The palace was built in Neo-Eternal style, out of innumerable tons of white marble. Secondary construction materials were blood-red stoneglass and gold. Many sections of the building were (literal) giant-sized colonnaded hallways and bare rooms, often built in patterns with various symmetries around massive domed capitols. Various pieces of art decorated the construction, all crafted by dwarves but with inspiration from all over the worlds.

This gigantic complex was, among other things, home to the primary centers of Dwarven government; notably the Ministry, which managed the empire as a whole; the Interplanar Commonwealth; the Armed Forces Directorate, which also oversaw the Firefleet (which however wasn't based here); and the Holy Seat, presided by Imily-Tur herself, which presumed to hold authority over the Moradfilki and all other deities as well. These institutions were massive, judged to employ hundreds of thousands of bureaucrats, who all worked and lived in Khazadheim. The complex was also home to Imily-Tur and some other deities' palatial residences, a teleportation Circle with a palace and logistics center of its own, ports for dragons and wyverns as well as one of the huge Firefleet bases, two train stations, and an attached port for oceangoing vessels (a channel deep enough for them to navigate from said oceans had to be specially dug). A whole army corps of around 400'000 men, dedicated to guarding and defending the capital, was also stationed here.

Nonetheless, Khazadheim was still several times larger than needed. Those areas that were used were often vast; bustling administrative complexes featured giant-sized halls which bureaucrats tired their feet traversing, and otherwise stood empty. The residences were similarly mostly empty-standing grandeur. And there were still entire sections of the capital that were wholly unused, standing empty; in fact, many parts had been designed with the intent of leaving them empty; some multi-story wings barely even had floors inside, standing mostly as empty shells to impress a viewer who stood outside and above the complex.

For all its marble and mithrine splendor, Khazadheim exuded and uneasy atmosphere; somewhat like some other imperial centers did, but in a much more notable way. The buildings were beautiful and radiant in the sunlight, but onlookers often felt queasy approaching the place; some even described it as depressing. The buildings loomed gloomily, things felt oppressive and tired. Some critics of the Holy Empire judged this to be a sign of the empire's corruption or even its evil, that even its most beautiful and colossal center proved unholy. However, a more practical explanation is drawn from the extreme magical strain caused by the great concentration of holy and arcane magics inside a close area, which strained the weave to the point of weakening and damaging it in ways noticeable even to the uninitiated.