Knife's Edge, Capital of Salvar

Knife's Edge is both the oldest and the largest city in the Kingdom of Salvar, with a history dating back over three thousand years and a population just shy of two hundred thousand. It is located in the Testhan Valley area of the western Ahyark Mountains, a region noted for its relatively mild temperatures and plentiful resources, despite the harshness of most of Salvar. The city is constructed on a vast area of land where two large streams flow out of the mountains and converge to form the mighty Testhan River. Its formidable defensive wall has three sides, with two gates on each side--a river gate and a gate opening onto land. Guard towers line the walls at regular intervals and soldiers can always been seen walking along the ramparts.

Despite the city's age, to glance at it from the outside would show that the government has not been lax in upkeep over the years. Its defenses undergo regular inspections and repairs and the land outside the city is kept barren for several miles, except for the mounds of bones that lie at the bottom of the city's walls--the corpses of criminals, traitors, and foreign invaders that broke themselves on the defenses of Knife's Edge. Beyond this barren land, on the river plains and in the mountains, there are countless forts, walled towns, and estates that act as a military buffer to the city. Also, a strange flickering can be seen above the skies of the city from time to time, what rumors say are part of a project of the aeromancers, though none know what it may be.

The layout of the city is mostly haphazard. Oftentimes one can walk through an ancient neighborhood with wide boulevards and ornate mansions of brick and stone, then all of a sudden step into a sprawling slum of wooden shacks or a busy market square. To say that Knife's Edge is a large city is an understatement--it's simply massive. While exact comparisons have never been done, it is said that it is one of the largest cities on Althanas and indeed maybe the largest city on the mainland. The city is home to a diverse population. Although it is dominated by humans, it boasts a sizeable number of dark elves and dwarves, and a smattering of others. It is home to aristocrats and beggars, merchants and artists, priests and mercenaries.