Thronderhauer

A settlement of just over ten million in the present day, Thronderhauer is renowned for its historic architecture, cultural significance, and idyllic forests and lakes. An abundance of local marble was quarried in the city’s early construction, used to build the old western quarter that blends like ivory against the surrounding snows. A worn metal obelisk, inlaid with lines of the same marble, sits at the center of the western quarter, and claims to mark one of the first sites of landfall from when House Crux arrived on Hiera back long before the Scream. Climbing to the east, the city rises into more modern Crucian towers and sweeping halls before breaking against the banks of The Schimmern, an often frozen but mighty river across which sit the estates of many Nobles, nestled amongst the pines. On some evenings, one can even see the Elfenking appear from the trees, their hides lit pale along the banks of the river, searching for water.

Layout

Thronderhauer is divided very distinctly into four quarters, each with a unique personality. The quarters grow progressively younger, West, North, South, and East respectively, the skyline of each taller than the last. The city is well regarded for its culture, including a local music festival, a highly regarded Volkenhunde show, and remarkably well preserved pre-Scream architecture and sculpture.

The Western Quarter

Composed largely of marble halls and mansions tucked snuggly against each other along the cobbled streets, the Western Quarter is almost entirely a pre-Scream construction, though significant portions were repaired in the years leading up to the First Imperial Civil War. Despite likely having been built in the Empire’s early, technologically advanced years, whatever architects or Noble whims envisioned the Quarter took exceptional care to make every facade and foyer feel old and unabashedly ornate. Even a small townhome, squeezed together with others in long rows, is incredibly expensive simply because of its elegant design and meticulous beauty. 

Notable buildings include the Thronderhauer Concert Hall, a sweeping edifice under a domed roof, the Ivory Basilica, arching buttresses adorned with all manner of carvings between the gleaming stained glass windows, and the Promenade, a collection of towering buildings lining a central thoroughfare that serves as a major economic and artistic hub for the city and its surroundings.

A local curiosity is the large number and wide variety of Volkenhunde carvings and sculpture, allegedly incorporated because Thronderhauer was the origin city of Hiera’s Folk Dogs. The Thronderhauer Volkenhunde Show is held annually at the Promenade, drawing competitors and tourists from across the Empire to the region in droves.

The Northern Quarter

Where the Western Quarter survived in remarkable condition, the Northern Quarter has been heavily rebuilt and repaired from the collapsing ruins it once was. Many of the original buildings are stone and brick with little marble, suggesting perhaps serf accommodations or some other class below the Nobility, who likely inhabited the marble mansions of the Western Quarter. Despite the different materials, though, the historic structures retain the same care and elegance found in the older Western buildings. Newer structures using stone and brick to blend more easily with the Quarter’s aesthetic have been erected by and large, but a number of more modern designs of metal and glass are scattered throughout.

The Southern Quarter

Rising upwards from the lower buildings of the North and West, the Southern Quarter is the transit hub of Thronderhauer, dominated by the city’s spaceport and landing field for airborne craft. Numerous restaurants, shopping centers, and gardens surround these focal points, providing travelling nobles with whatever they might need upon arrival or to pass the time as they wait to depart. The city’s maglev train also connects the Southern and Eastern Quarters, providing quick and comfortable transit to the many hotels and vacation homes of the Eastern section.

The Eastern Quarter

Dominated by towering hotels, commercial headquarters, and local judicial buildings, the Eastern Quarter rises like a wall of metal and glass until it meets the River Schimmern. Starkly modern and bustling with life, many visitors claim that Thronderhauer is really two cities, the historic contrasted against the contemporary monoliths.

Also included in the Eastern Quarter are the estates and mansions that peek above the pines of the thick forest sprawled along the opposite bank of the Schimmern. The maglev train crosses the river to only two stations for the Nobility that live in the forest, each featuring large vehicle lots and transportation rental kiosks. Graveled roads for ground vehicles wander deep into the forest for nobles who desire the rustic experience of “driving a car.”