I just wanted to give a description of the capital city where my main character Valon spends most of his time in my debut YA fantasy romance novel NOCTURNA, which is named after the country the city Udea is located in and hidden within modern-day Turkey.
City of Udea
After the death of King Gideon in 127 (CE), the boy king Alexei moved the capital from Ruzea to Udea, which was on a popular trade route for merchants even before contact with humans was revoked. Towering stone walls encircle the city made of clay bricks, polished stone, and timber.
The entrances to the wall, one posted in the north, another in the west, and the last in the south, are guarded day and night by sentries posted on the towers that are built around the gates to watch for intruders. The buildings are supported by magic during the rainy seasons and have recently been restructured and have become sturdier with the help of the human world’s architectural advancements.
A decrepit, broken down town, placed just outside the towering wall on the southwest border, contains the human slaves. They work in the quarry a mile’s walk from the city day after day with monsters to guard them and even persuade them to continue working when they’re too exhausted to do so. Also outside of the gates is plenty of farmland where crops are grown and brought into the city along with the imported goods from the human world. Livestock is also bred and tended to alongside the fields and orchards.
Within the gates, on the southwestern most side, resides the poorer citizens of the fair city. The homes are closer together and with usually many occupants in one residence, the school is smaller and only is able to provide education for boys, and the people here get low-end jobs or become foot soldiers for the army, the lowest rank. To the northwest is a marketplace, where many of the middle-class citizens sell their wares in stalls or in stores to earn their livelihoods.
Moving further into the city from the western gate rest the houses of the middle- and upper-classes, typically seen in the southern half of the city, along with many other commodities, like a library, a Healer’s Center (similar to a doctor’s office), a public bathhouse, and a larger, more inclusive school for the children.
The northern half contains the training grounds that the soldiers train in when they need a bigger field and the Main Palace, where the King and his family stays, and the Second Palace, where the King’s concubines stay.
Against the Main Palace is a giant lake which is used to disperse water around the city and to the fields outside of Udea. The Councilmen’s houses rest on the lake’s shore and are the biggest mansions in Udea though they hardly ever leave the Main Palace to stay in them.
At least six barracks are inside the city walls, the soldiers inside them living and training as hard as they can so they can prove themselves in any war that threatens their land. More soldiers and guards stay within the palaces or, usually only the higher ranks, have homes of their own.
There is so much more to talk about, but I decided to keep it short, haha. Comment below, though, if you have anything specific you want to have answered about the city. You can also find the layouts of the two palaces of Udea by checking out the artwork section under the NOCTURNA tab above. Hope you enjoyed this!
Friendly reminder that NOCTURNA is now available for preorder on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle formats so take the time to check it out here or buy it here.
Novels by Ashley Elliott 