Niria

Any traveller approaching the city of Nirnia will notice a giant, towering central tree rising up from the distance. It's great white trunk reaches hundreds of feet into the sky, before branching off into a canopy of blue leaves. Keen eyed observers may even notice green crystals growing out of the tree, almost like fruit. Those with a magical aptitude may feel the tree pulsing, radiating from both the tree and its roots, giving off a cleansing aura.

There are no clear walls or defensive fortifications around the city, as the main roads around the city meet up and connect to the winding inner roads of the city. Travellers will notice trees, expertly grown and crafted into usable buildings and structures. On the outskirts, the tree dwellings are short, stumpy affairs, with wide bases and are usually one one or two stories tall and hollow in the center. As one would make their way towards the center of the city, the tree dwellings become thinner, taller and more elaborate, made of the same white-trunked and blue-leaved species as the central tree.

In the center of the city, stands the massive Eiffeltree, its trunk hovering a hundred feet above a glistening circular lake. Its aerial roots envelop the lake, melding into the paths around it, and forming a series of walkways to the trunk. Visible from ground level are massive windows seemingly grown into the outside of the tree trunk.

The Cathedral

(Based off of the NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL, LAON in France)

First Floor

Built and grown into the core of the massive Eiffeltree lies the Cathedral dedicated to Mundus. All of the root walkways lead around to one major entrance to the South- two massive Blue doors, each shaped like a candle flame. Inside, there is a small entryway (about 20-30' deep) that contains doors leading to the outer ring of the cathedral, and a set of stairs to bring you to the second level. The main hall is divided into three parts- The outside ring, which is formed from wooden columns and arches that create a sort of "pathway" all around; the inside ring, full of wooden benches facing the center; and then the inner circle, formed by arches coming in from the outside, and housing a thirty-foot tall statue of Mundus herself. Carved into the columns and walls are blue elven runes, which glow slightly in the darkness. They range from prayers, to magical spells of fortitude, to wards, to poetry and history.

Starting from the left, inside the pathway on the outside wall, are paintings every so often. They represent the history of the elves, from the first towns settled in the forest millennia ago, the First Great Invasion and the elves fighting alongside the dwarves, to the discovery of the Irongrove and settling of Niria itself, the Second Great Invasion, The Great War, etc., up until near present day.

The inside circle contains black benches, for normal elven-heighted persons, oriented around the "gazebo-like" structure housing the statue in the center. All of the columns and arches retain the white coloring of the wood they are grown/carved out of.

The outer ring of the first floor, accessible through the doors on the sides of the entryway, has a hallway that runs between the inside wall and the many rooms on the outside of the ring. Those rooms have windows grown into the outside trunk of the tree, letting in light, and are used for a wide range of tasks: research rooms, storage, classrooms, private offices for the priests to work with the lower-ranking clergy, prayer rooms, etc. On the Northern end of the hall, another set of staircases, mirroring the South side, lead up to the second floor.

Second Floor

Sections of the City:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
F)
G) Eiffeltree & Lake