Daiyla Kiv is located in the valley of the An-Kiu River. This valley is the breadbasket of the Empire, and is heavily cultivated. There is little waste land, open and unclaimed land, extensive forest, etc., in this area, and anyone riding across the countryside (as opposed to along the roads) will encounter frequent fences and peasants who are not happy to have you riding over their crops.

Daiyla Kiv is at the junction of the An-Kiu and the Fatebringer Rivers. By the time the two rivers reach this point, each is a MAJOR stream in its own right: think of the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Below the fork, the river is easily a mile wide and runs deep and fast.

The city of Daiyla Kiv is in three sections, which are walled; the wall is no mere ornament but a serious fortification; even though it has been centuries since the city was on the frontier or sustained an attack, the fortifications are still kept in good condition. Entry is through gates which are guarded at all times. The city walls cross the rivers on pilings, and the streams enter through stout grills which are replaced periodically as they are corroded by the action of the water.

On the high point of land between the two rivers is found "Old Daiyla Kiv," the oldest part of the city, centered around the ancient Great Temple of Mantor, some eight hundred years old. (The city itself is newer by at least a hundred years.) Around the Great Temple, which is quite large and situated within a walled compound--only parts of it are open to the public--are located other lesser temples to Mantor, temples to other gods (Mantor is not jealous, and so long as a god does not require human sacrifice or other behavior considered abhorrent to him, the worship of other gods is tolerated), the Imperial Academy and other schools of all levels of instruction in both "academic" subjects and martial skills, inns and hostels for pilgrims, businesses which are associated with the religious and scholastic activities of the district, and some residences. The arena is between the rivers but OUTSIDE the city wall (there not having been any room to build it within the walls). There are numerous supporting businesses around it, forming a decent-sized village in themselves: taverns, armorers, healers, guildhouses... The main street in this section is the Warriors' Way, which runs more or less northeast from the Great Temple to the Warriors' Gate in the city wall and on to the arena; it then goes on north to Shang Sian. Right in front of the Great Temple it is crossed by the Avenue of Scholars which runs down to the rivers on either side. There is a large plaza in front of the Great Temple called, expectably, the Old Temple Plaza. The streets which connect these main streets are mostly narrow, some no better than alleys, and their courses follow old wandering footpaths that date back to the earliest days of the founding of the Great Temple; thus they are not particularly organized in their layout.

On the east bank of the river, mostly below the junction of the two streams, is the "River Town." Most of the fishing companies, the boatbuilders, the dwellings of the fishermen, the markets and taverns that cater to them, and so forth are here. It could be said that this part of the city is middle to lower class. In this part of the city there is one main street--the River Street--which runs along the river bank itself, with buildings only on the inland side; most of the other streets run back from this, more or less at right angles to it but tending to curve or turn for no apparent reason; cross connections between them are usually alleys. Wall Street, the other major street here, runs just inside the city wall.

On the west bank of the river is the "New City." Here, below the junction, is found the walled compound of the Emperor's Palace (it is walled within the walls of the city). This is by far the largest part of the city as well as the newest, as large as the other two districts combined. The Salenian Way (named after the Emperor who built it), the great north-south road of the An-Kiu Valley, runs through this part of the city (it runs the length of the valley from Tilal Ming to Lyn Tirian, on the west bank of the river) and passes through (from north to south) the North Plaza, the Green Plaza, the Fountain Plaza, and the Great Market Plaza in its passage from the city's North Gate to the South Gate. The Grand Processional is a very wide if rather short road that connects the Fountain Plaza with the Emperor's Palace; as the somewhat narrower and more modest Fountain Street, it continues on to the west (more or less) until it joins the Ring Street, which runs along the inside of the city wall. The White Road enters the city through the Hart's Gate, passes through the North Plaza, crosses the river, and becomes the Avenue of Scholars in the Old City; it serves the farmers to the northwest of the city. From the Green Plaza, famed for its gardens, the High Street runs to the West Gate, where it becomes an important intercity road called the Teelorian Way; it goes to the Jade Panther Hills, and a branch of it called the Karsamian Way angles off to the northwest and joins the Great Western Road just this side of the Han Torra Khang. The Silukyn Road enters the city through the Market Gate and comes to the Great Market Plaza; it mainly serves the farmers to the south and west of the city, but it also goes to the towns along the Silu Tan River. No particular effort has been made to see that the lesser streets of the city conform to any particular plan; Daiyla Kiv is a city that just grew up naturally rather than a planned site.

The Emperor's Palace is of stone, a walled compound of considerable size which contains several courtyards, most of them not accessible to the public. Besides the Emperor's residence, the structure includes the main offices of the Imperial Government, the Emperor's private temple of Mantor, and the quarters of the Emperor's Own Guard. The city government, under Lord Magistrate Hlarnal ten Tharan, is handled from another location, and the Emperor and his Ministers are not directly concerned with it.

Each Emperor has his own style, and Dian sen Lakha Twelve Graces is an informal man. Once each month he hears petitions from such common people as desire to approach him, and they are not required to abase themselves--it is Dian's feeling that such bowing and scraping would demean a warrior, and at least in theory, all citizens of the Empire of Lirith Kai are warriors. He doesn't have a large "court" of lords and lackeys in constant attendance, although some of the official court functions may be attended by hundreds of nobles.

The city is walled, and it has been walled since the very beginning. In some areas, you can see the concentric rings of three walls (although most of the inner walls have been pulled down) which show the growth of the city as do the rings on trees. All the buildings inside the walls, without significant exceptions, are multi-storied--with building land so restricted, people have made the most of what they have by building up. The building material, without exception, is stone or brick; wood is too flammable in the closely-packed city for any but ornamental use. The streets in the city are paved with flagstones; some of the alleys and lesser streets, especially in the River Town, may be unpaved.

Such construction as may be found outside the city--and there is a fair amount--is mostly along the main roads and at least two-storied so as not to take up too much valuable farm land. These would be inns and taverns, livery stables, freight companies, blacksmiths, farmers' residences, and so forth. The main highways are all paved with stone blocks and have a wide grassway at one side for ridden horses; at frequent intervals (10 to 20 miles, depending on the terrain) along all main highways are Imperial posting stations where couriers may change horses--these horses are not available for other people. Posting inns, however, may be found along the main highways as well, perhaps not so frequently as the Imperial stations, but they will rent horses to any traveler who desires one and also will stable a change of horses on an ongoing basis for someone who expects to travel this route frequently. Country roads are unpaved.