City of the Sun Saint
Oranda is a walled city located in the northwest of Iagos. It sits in the Wenden Highlands basin near the border of Torvaria, and grew up around the banks of the Lastima, a distributary of the River Auspenwald. The surrounding lands are fertile and well-farmed, despite standing on the brink of the great desert of San Leone.It is a stately old city with roots in the classical age, and residents generally enjoy a good standard of living. Besides agriculture, Oranda's location makes it a trading hub in the region. The economy is further bolstered by visitors to the famed Gran Templo de San Orando.
History
Although habitation of the area goes back to prehistoric times, the city proper was built as a colony of the First Empire - indeed, it once marked the frontier of the Pax Cyrona, in an age when the Wenden Highlands were still very much a part of Arvanna, and unfriendly to the advent of humankind.
In the Cyron era, the city went by the name Occidea. After the Old Empire under the line of Kaspar converted to the worship of the prophet Braius, the city would be renamed to Oranda, after Saint Oran of the Burning Sun, the famed Braicosi knight who fought in the Empire's campaigns in Talumia. It is commonly held that Saint Oran was born in Occidea, but there is some historical debate on the exact truth of that point.
To this day, the flavour of the First Empire is evident in Oranda's layout and infrastructure, from its canal system and sewers, to the bathhouses and traditional manors found in the older parts of the city.
On the north side of Oranda, one may see the ruins of an ancient aqueduct that once carried water into the city from the hills. Although Oranda now relies on a more modest irrigation system to divert river flow to their farmland, the towering pylons of the Cyron-era aqueduct remain as a symbol of a more grandiose past.
The Gran Templo San Orando is one of the city's most famous landmarks, and serves as the resting place for the saint's raiment and golden armour. Pilgrims often travel great distances in order to pray and receive healing in the presence of these holy relics. The Gran Templo is presided over by the aging Abbot Sabero, though in fact much of the temple's day-to-day affairs are conducted by the capable and genial Reverend-Steward Navarrez.
Last year (3710) the Armour of Oran was stolen from the Gran Templo by a secret cult wishing to hurt the faith. Fortunately, the relic was recovered after a few months, and restored once more to its proper place.
Last year (3710) the Armour of Oran was stolen from the Gran Templo by a secret cult wishing to hurt the faith. Fortunately, the relic was recovered after a few months, and restored once more to its proper place.
The present day Oranda benefits from being built on top of a Cyron-era underground sewer system of cisterns and drainage that run from the older districts of the city to the canal.
It has recently been discovered that the Imperial era infrastructure was itself built on top of an even older complex of catacombs left behind by some previous ancient society... though exactly who is a secret lost to the ages.
It has recently been discovered that the Imperial era infrastructure was itself built on top of an even older complex of catacombs left behind by some previous ancient society... though exactly who is a secret lost to the ages.
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