Known Ruins of Elder Jantara

The true splendor of Elder Jantara is measured not in what endured, but in the magnitude of what was lost. Five cities once anchored the heartlands of the jackal civilization, each a distinct pole of culture, trade, or cunning. Today, all are ruins—picked over by centuries of scavengers, scholars, and memory-haunted dogs. Their names are seldom spoken outside the codex and their locations, though mapped and marked, are more legend than destination.

Ay’Albwa

The City of Arts & Science

Once the jewel of northern Jantara, Ay’Albwa was famed for its academies, scriptoriums, and marble halls lined with statues to dead philosophers. Legends claim its libraries rivaled anything in Ruselon, and its artisans minted coins and mechanical wonders that ended up as tribute in every court of Zhuru. The city was abandoned in the final purges, its great dome shattered, and now only fragments of stained glass and eroded sculpture remain, half-buried in the grass.

Nab’Wa

The City of Puzzles & Gardens

Built on a series of engineered terraces, Nab’Wa was a city of green walls and geometric courtyards, each section designed as a puzzle or labyrinth. Its rulers took pride in riddles, botanical grafts, and the artistry of living sculpture. The invaders who ended Nab’Wa’s reign left little but broken aqueducts and tangled stonework behind. Even the rivers were diverted, turning its gardens to dust.

Zha’Bwazha

The City of Birds & Ledgers

Sitting astride the central trade arteries, Zha’Bwazha served as Jantara’s ledger-keeper, mint, and post. The city’s aviaries sent messages by trained corvid and pigeon from stone towers. By the end, not even the birds stayed; the ledgers rotted and the market squares filled with mud. Bantos traders still pick over the old vaults, seeking lost coins and the secrets of Jantaran bookkeeping.

Am’Waratt

The City of Crystal & Desire

Am’Waratt was infamous even in its own time—a den of glass towers, pleasure houses, and revels that drew the jaded and powerful from across the continent. Here, the jackal lords mingled with visiting tigers, Ruseloni mystics, and every breed of vagrant prince. When Am’Waratt fell, its crystals were plundered, its lamps smashed, and its streets littered with the bones of both merchant and courtesan. The site is now haunted, dangerous, and cursed by any clan that remembers.

Yoz’Zhoubatt

The City of Lotus & Intrigue

Closest to the southern wastes, Yoz’Zhoubatt was a city of shadow, trade, and veiled plots. Alchemists brewed lotus extracts in cellars beneath the great ziggurat, and spies sold secrets to whoever could pay. The city’s collapse was absolute; no clan claims descent from it and no scavenger lingers long—strange lights and sickly blooms still appear in the ruins, and the wind carries the scent of poppy and death.