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Map Darujhistan

Darujhistan

Map Genabackis from GotM

Map of Genabackis from Gardens of the Moon

Darujhistan by Erikson

Darujhistan and Environs map by Steven Erikson

Darujhistan [de-RUH-schistan[1] or dah-ROO-zhih-stan][2] was the largest, most influential and last of the Free Cities on Genabackis.[3] It had been called the "City of Cities" and was located on the southern shore of Lake Azur, in the centre of the continent.

Darujhistan was mainly populated by people of Daru and Gadrobi descent.[4] During major festivals, the population of the city expanded to as many as three hundred thousand people.[5]

It was said that the two thousand year old city[6] (Baruk claimed the age to be three thousand years)[7] was built on rumours.[8] According to the scholar Mammot, when rumours of the presence of a Jaghut barrow in the Gadrobi Hills spread, the influx of fortune seekers led to the founding of Darujhistan. The rumours themselves were based on indigenous Gadrobi tribe legends. No barrow was found and the origin of the saying 'born on a rumour' was now unknown to most.[9]

Despite having no standing army, it was said never to have been conquered. Some attributed this to the protective eye of the gods.[10] Nonetheless, Darujhistan maintained a plethora of private militias.[11]

Time was marked in Darujhistan by the sonorous chimes of the city's water clocks.[12]

Topography[]

City of azure fire by artsed-d8wxrup

Interpretation of Darujhistan by Artsed

Darujhistan by RCKfouri

Darujhistan by Roberto C. Kfouri

A wharf sprawled along the shore of Lake Azur[13] which was busy with fishermen and commercial traffic coming and going from Dhavran and Gredfallan.[14] From there, inland from Gadrobi District's harbour, the city rose in four tiers climbing eastward. Ramped cobblestone streets, worn to a polished mosaic, marked the Gadrobi District's five Trade Streets. They were the only routes through Marsh District and the next tier, Lakefront District. Beyond Lakefront's crooked aisles twelve wooden gates opened into Daru District. From there, another twelve gates which were manned by the City Watch and barred by iron portcullis, connected the lower and upper cities.[15]

The high-walled estates[16] of Darujhistan nobility as well as its publicly known sorcerers were located on the fourth and highest tier. Majesty Hall, where each day the Council gathered sat on a flat-topped hill which was found at the intersection of Old King's Walk and View Street. The hill was encircled by a narrow park, with sandstrewn pathways winding among centuries-old acacias. A castle had once stood upon Majesty Hill and at the park's entrance, near High Gallows Hill, stood a massive rough-hewn gate, its last-surviving remnant.[17]

Darujhistan Detail by Steven Erikson

Detail of Darujhistan map by Steven Erikson

The rooftops of Darujhistan consisted of a crowded array of flat tops, arched gables, coned towers, belfries and platforms, preventing sunlight from reaching most of its streets.[18] Domes, minarets, and spires could be seen from outside the city's walls.[19] Some roof tiles were tarred[20] others made of ceramic.[21]

Some houses were made from brick[22] and the windows of at least some were fitted with thin panes of glass[22][23] others were shuttered.[24]

In tenement buildings, doorways to individual abodes might have curtains rather than solid doors.[24]

The city had over twenty-thousand narrow alleys, barely wide enough for a two-wheeled cart, and an unknown number of major avenues and wider thoroughfares.[25] At least some of the unlit alleys were cobbled and strewn with rubbish.[26] The tangled web of haphazard byways used by the city's criminal element to travel across the city's rooftops were known as the Thieves' Road.[27][28]

The city's three land-facing sides were bordered by an incomplete and uneven wall--dismantled in places and unfinished in others. It would never have stood up to a siege for any length of time.[29] Outside each of the wall's gates were ramshackle shantytowns like Worrytown or Maiten.

Districts and named areas[]

Streets[]

Estates[]

Citywall gates[]

Internal gates[]

Notable Landmarks[]

Law and order[]

The city was ostensibly ruled by the Noble Council from Majesty Hall but also, behind the scenes, by the members of the T'orrud Cabal. The Assassins' Guild was another factor in the constant power struggle in Darujhistan.

Evaluating how the city operated, Baruk, the unofficial leader of the cabal, told Anomander Rake that the council was the city's machine and although a place of bickering and pettiness, still a place which got things done. He told Rake that the use of the Assassins' Guild provided the noble families with a measure of control over their vendettas, arguments and so forth and that without them the city would have long ago succumbed to civil war.[66]

Charged with upholding the laws passed by the council was the City Watch, whose members would patrol the shadowy streets bearing globed lanterns.[25] Mages and necromancers could be requisitioned by the guard to assist investigations, but the wheels of bureaucracy ground reluctantly in such matters unless someone of importance was slain.[67] Sentencing for some crimes, such as being drunk and disorderly, was immediate, resulting in imprisonment at the Warden Barracks for a few days, with days added on for poor behaviour.[68] Assaulting a watch soldier saw an immediate sentence of six months of hard labour.[69] Rehabilitation programmes encouraged prisoners to learn a trade during their incarceration and the city's guilds were bound to honour any qualifications earned.[70] For the most serious crimes there was High Gallows Hill.

Swords were not permitted to be carried on the streets. Violators faced imprisonment and "a damned huge fine."[71]

Residents could hire advocates to settle legal disputes.[72]

According to Mammot, Darujhistan's 'army' consisted of a handful of noble sons who did nothing but strut back and forth on Whore Street.[73]

Ritualised dueling was allowed by law and attempts to outlaw the custom were doomed to failure in the Council.[74]

The underworld of Darujhistan[]

Apart from the Assassins' Guild, Darujhistan had a flourishing number of thieves. Amongst the thin hemp clothes lines spanning the streets of the city were others, made out of wrapped wire and securely bolted to the walls, forming what was called the 'Monkey Road' by the thieves.[75]

Members of the thieves guild paid 10% of their income to the guild in order to avoid the attentions of the law,[76] a law that would call for a captured thief to have their hand removed, or execution if they had killed someone during their activities.[citation needed] Notable members included Crokus Younghand.

Culture[]

Writing was done on parchment.[24]

The colour white and the number twelve were considered to be unlucky. Both of these superstitions went back to the Age of Tyrants. No buildings within the city were painted white apart from places related to death, such as a mausoleum.[77]

Because of the city's near tropical climate, the dead were quickly dressed before being interred in cemeteries made up of squat Daru crypts.[78] The unclaimed and the poor were buried in pauper pits outside the city walls.[79] It was customary to wear black upon the death of a relative.[80]

Climate[]

The region's climate was near tropical.[81] Around the time of the year when Darujhistan celebrated the Gedderone Fête, the city often experienced rains coming from the north.[82]

Calendar[]

Darujhistan celebrated the start of a new year on the Gedderone Fête on the first day of Spring. Each year for the past millennium was given a name based on an arcane mechanical device known as the Wheel of Ages. It was created by Icarium and displayed in Majesty Hall. The Darujhistan year ending in 1163BS was the Year of the Tusk. This gave way to the Year of the Moon's Tears.[83]

The Gas Supply[]

The extensive excavations at the time of the hunt for the fabled Jaghut barrow led to the discovery of underground caverns of gas.[84] From around 260 BS onwards, the gas was channelled to provide light for the city.[25] It was the only known city to use natural gas in this way.[4] The distinct blue flame produced by burning natural gas cast a sapphire glow into the sky at night.[85] Darujhistan was sometimes referred to as the "City of Blue Fire".[86][87]

Almost all but the major streets of the city had no direct sunlight. Some of those streets and alleys were lit by gas torches which were hollowed shafts that gripped a pumice stone with fingers of black iron. The gas for those torches was drawn from the underground caverns and controlled by massive valves, then fed through ancient pitted copper pipes. Only major avenues and thoroughfares were lit by gas, over twenty-thousand narrow alleys remained unsupplied.[25] Gas was also used by the wealthy, like House D'Arle for example, to illuminate parts of their property.[88]

Occasionally fires would break out and flames might reach hundreds of feet into the sky.[25]

The workers servicing the gas supply were called the Greyfaces.[25]

At some point, when the tunnels leading to Darujhistan's gas supply were extended, eight hidden chambers were found carved from the earth by antler picks and decorated with scenes of a glorious past painted in spit, hematite, charcoal, blood, and snot. Each chamber contained a small pedestal upon which copper body ornaments were found. The artists had named themselves (presumably by marking their works) and the finest seers in Darujhistan had identified them as the mortals whose spirits were later worshipped by the Rhivi.[89]

Organisations[]

Notable Inhabitants[]

  • Baruk: High alchemist and member of the T'orrud Cabal
  • Coll: Onetime city councillor and aristocrat, also a drunk and a regular at the Phoenix Inn.
  • Crokus: A young thief and nephew to Mammot.
  • Kruppe: A fence, a regular at the Phoenix Inn and a man of surprising depths.
  • Mammot: A mage, historian of Darujhistan, uncle to Crokus, member of the T'orrud Cabal.
  • Murillio: A courtier and regular at the Phoenix Inn.
  • Rallick Nom: An assassin and a regular at the Phoenix Inn.
  • Vorcan: High Mage, Master of Assassins and member of the T'orrud Cabal.

In Gardens of the Moon[]

Into Darujhistan

'Into Darujhistan' by Corporal Nobbs

After the Siege of Pale, the Malazan Empire shifted its focus of attention to Darujhistan. The city provided the location for the majority of events from chapter five onwards.

A large faction of the council, led by Turban Orr, hoped that by declaring neutrality they would be spared the fate of Pale. Orr tried to gain the support of the alchemist Baruk by promising that the mages of the city would be safe under the declaration. Baruk however declined to be drawn in and Orr told him that even without his help, a majority support reached that night would ensure the vote to go in favour of his proposals.[92][93]

Orr did not know that Baruk, unofficial leader of the mages of the T'orrud Cabal, was already negotiating the support of the Lord of Moon's Spawn, Anomander Rake against the expected invasion. Neither of the men realized that an advance contingent of the Malazan Empire had already infiltrated the city. A squad of Bridgeburners under Sergeant Whiskeyjack, was busily mining the major intersections of Darujhistan with Moranth munitions.

At the same time, attempts by the Malazans to contact the local Assassins' Guild were thwarted by Rake's Tiste Andii night-hunters who wiped out a large part of the guild in ambushes.

Events came to a head at a fete organized by Lady Simtal where the appearance of the Jaghut Tyrant Raest caused havoc. The fight against him resulted in the appearance of a new Azath House. During the fete, the Malazans made contact with the mistress of the guild, Vorcan, who took on the contract to kill the members of the T'orrud Cabal. She killed three of them but was wounded and took refuge in the newly arisen Azath House.

The Malazans decided against detonating the intersections once they realized that, due to the presence of the gas supply in those locations, doing so would set the entire city ablaze.

Amongst those who played a large part throughout the events, were regular patrons of the Phoenix Inn in Darujhistan.

In Deadhouse Gates[]

Fiddler received a box of Moranth Munitions, sent to him by Quick Ben. When he asked what the mage had said about the source, the reply was that it came from the Blue City's streets. It is highly likely that this was a cryptic reference to the Munitions used previously to mine the intersections.[94]

In Memories of Ice[]

The city sent Councillors Estraysian D'Arle and Coll to represent Darujhistan in negotiations with the merged forces of Caladan Brood and Onearm's Host. They successfully concluded an arrangement to supply the combined armies as they marched against the Pannion Domin through the use of the Trygalle Trade Guild.[95]

For two weeks, the Gadrobi District was plagued by a series of murders. Horribly mangled bodies were found every night. A mage was hired to investigate, but whatever he found terrified him. The Noble Council even went so far as to hire the Assassins' Guild to look into the matter, but no culprit was ever found. Instead, the killings stopped on their own. The presence of notorious necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach in the city at that time may have been merely coincidental.[96]

In The Bonehunters[]

Cutter encountered the undead Soldier of High House Death in Seven Cities and the ancient Seguleh spoke of Darujhistan in ways that confused the young thief. The Soldier asked Cutter if the Tyrant's children still ruled the city and whether the Tyrant's Seguleh army still held sway. When told there was no Tyrant, the Soldier spoke of the T'orrud Cabal as a group of undying, secretive, paranoid mages preparing for the inevitable return of the Tyrant. Among them he named Barukanal, Derudanith, Travalegrah, and Mammoltenan. He called Cutter's claim that Mammot was his uncle absurd.[97]

In Toll the Hounds[]

(More information needed)

The nomadic tyrant of the Lamatath Plain known as The Captain sent emissaries to Darujhistan and other cities bordering the plain to announce his claim to the territory.[98]

In Orb Sceptre Throne[]

(Information needed)

Trivia[]

The city of Darujhistan was invented and mapped by author Ian C. Esslemont for the Malazan role-playing games he played with Steven Erikson.[99] Esslemont describes Darujhistan as inspired by Constantinople,[100] "very Byzantinian...straddling two regions, a crossroads, an open cosmopolitan city."[101]

Notes and references[]

  1. Pronunciation provided to the Malazan Wiki by Ian C. Esslemont circa April 2016
  2. An Evening with Steven Erikson by Nerdaí Irish Nerds - As pronounced by Steven Erikson at 18:05
  3. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 4, UK MMPB p.156
  4. 4.0 4.1 Gardens of the Moon, Glossary, UK MMPB p.710
  5. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 22, US HC p.453
  6. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, US HC p.134
  7. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13 US HC p.307
  8. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.217
  9. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 11, UK MMPB p.370
  10. House of Chains, Chapter 3, US SFBC p. 145
  11. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.31-32
  12. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 6, US SFBC p.238
  13. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.177
  14. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3, US SFBC p.86
  15. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.194/195
  16. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.33
  17. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.195
  18. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.177/178
  19. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 22, US SFBC p.901
  20. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.182
  21. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.186
  22. 22.0 22.1 Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.188
  23. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.198
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.189
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.178
  26. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.183
  27. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.763
  28. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.35
  29. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 22, US SFBC p.900-901
  30. 30.0 30.1 Gardens of the Moon, Darujhistan map
  31. Orb Sceptre Throne, Prologue
  32. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.223
  33. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.676
  34. Blood and Bone, Chapter 1, UK MMPB p.43
  35. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, US HC p.173
  36. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, US HC p.175
  37. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.687
  38. Memories of Ice, Chapter 2
  39. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.220
  40. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, US HC p.175
  41. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.687
  42. Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 12, UK MMPB p.500
  43. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, UK HB p.719
  44. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.220
  45. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, UK HB p.719
  46. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, UK HB p.700/719
  47. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, UK HB p.719
  48. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, US HC p.318
  49. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, US HC p.175
  50. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, US HC p.156
  51. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, US HC p.173
  52. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 20, US HC p.517
  53. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US TPB p.714
  54. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 9, US TPB p.281
  55. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, US HC p.175
  56. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US TPB p.206
  57. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 7, US TPB p.206
  58. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, US HC p.167
  59. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 5, US TPB p.140
  60. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 17, US SFBC p.667-668/677
  61. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 24, US SFBC p.990
  62. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 15, US SFBC p.603
  63. Memories of Ice, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.75-77
  64. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 19, US HC p.507
  65. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US TPB p.717
  66. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13, UK MMPB p.438/439
  67. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.839
  68. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.781
  69. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.782
  70. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.782
  71. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, US SFBC p.38
  72. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.193
  73. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.185
  74. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.792
  75. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.187/188
  76. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 19
  77. Orb Sceptre Throne
  78. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.792/798
  79. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 15, US SFBC p.625
  80. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.226
  81. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 19, US SFBC p.792
  82. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.225
  83. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 20, US HC p.402
  84. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 13 UK MMPB p.425
  85. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.194
  86. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 1, UK HC p.13
  87. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3, UK HC p.81
  88. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.179
  89. Memories of Ice, Chapter 8, UK MMPB p.367-368
  90. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 3
  91. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.148
  92. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 5, UK MMPB p.184
  93. Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 6, UK MMPB p.203/205
  94. Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 20, UK MMPB p.810
  95. Memories of Ice, Chapter 5
  96. Memories of Ice, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.122
  97. The Bonehunters, Chapter 4, US SFBC p.161
  98. Toll the Hounds, Chapter 8, US SFBC p.287
  99. An Evening with Steven Erikson by Nerdaí Irish Nerds - See 18:13
  100. Discussing Inspiration and Imitation with Malazan Authors Esslemont and Erikson - A Critical Dragon - See 4:40
  101. Spoiler Chat: Orb Sceptre Throne with Ian C. Esslemont - A Critical Dragon - See 45:00
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