The ancient city of Alziraan was once the capital of the Kryn Dynasty but has long fallen out of favor as the Dynasty expanded and spread through and out of the underdark. Built out of the underdark stone itself, Alziraan is a massive basin of rock, using the cavern it was crafted out of as strong, impenetrable walls, with stony walkways lacing around these walls on all sides of the city, allowing Aurora Watch soldiers to patrol all areas of the city and watch for attackers through hidden balistraria. The gates of the city are at the top of these walkways, as the only way to approach the city and see it is from the cavernous tunnels at the top crust of the Underdark, adding another level of defense for the city.

Buildings of Alziraan convey the skill of it’s original construction as well as it’s age. The oldest of buildings are sculpted from the stone, rising up from the cavern floor as a continuation of the stone itself, often spiraling or curving in amazing shapes. Others, such as inns or storefronts, are crafted from combinations of wood and stone with a wide range of styles and designs representing the city’s growth through the centuries. Torches and glowglobes light the streets, with large orbs casting orange-yellow light in 8 hour intervals as they drift slowly across the cavern ceiling, mimicking daylight in the subterrainean space.

Given it’s foundational history to the Kryn Dynasty, ancient art of the Dynasty’s culture is still present here. Statues line the city sqare and the courtyards of buildings, while prints and paintings adorn the oldest homes and public buildings. Even rudimentary cave paintings can be found on the outskirts of the city proper, and a temple of Avandra, the Change Bringer, sits two miles away, through a tunnel marked with fantastic renderings of Kryn history and the battles of the Calamity.

As the war has encroached on the Dynasty, Alziraan has been converted into a war outpost, with garrisons of Aurora Watch soldiers passing through on their way to surface skirmishes, and refugees from the surface and destroyed under cities gathering for protection and safety. Though it’s beauty and citizens have diminished, Alziraan stands strong, representing the history and resilency of the Dynasty itself.