Rildayorda is a Bennvikan city. It also functions as the provincial capital of Bastalf.
Hentani Origins When the Hentani settled in the south after their eviction from Hazgorata in 612 BU, they built a large camp near the coast. As was the Hentani way at the time, this consisted of a large number of wide, squat, gers surrounded by a huge fence of wooden stakes. However, this new settlement, then named Jianoko, was different from any previous Hentani camps due to its sheer size. It was a city of gers, over a mile in diameter. The only Hentani settlements that would ever even approach this size would be Quesoto and Imako, far to the west, but these would not be founded for some years.
Over the centuries, with the tribe establishing a sense of permanence to their dwellings, this large fence was replaced by a wooden wall, which in turn was later replaced by a much taller one of stone. The gers would go on to be removed to make way for wooden houses and large public buildings, and the grass was covered over by cobbled streets. Siege, Conquest and a New Identity Jianoko was successfully besieged by Bennvikan forces in 1501, and after it fell, its new owners immediately set about Bennvikanising the city. They began by rebranding the city 'Rildayorda', meaning 'The City of the Wilds'.
But the changes didn't end with a new name. The walls were reinforced and updated, and open sewers were introduced to the city streets where previously there had been none. Upon the hill overlooking Rildayorda, work began on what would become the mighty Preddaberg Citadel, now the home of the Alyredd family, while down by the sea, the abandoned fishing village, vacated by its inhabitants at the beginning of the siege, was developed into an enormous port. The Temple of Lomatteva and Bertakaevey
Perhaps the most famous legacy of the Bennvikan colonisation of Rildayorda is its temple. This is thought to have been the second new building to be commissioned after the invasion. The first, perhaps rather tellingly, was the City Prison.
The project surrounding the temple's construction, as much a diplomatic one as a religious one, was the brainchild of the city's first Bennvikan governor, Lord Yathrud Alyredd, who had personally taken part in the siege. He was well aware that, although they were ostensibly defeated, the Hentani still represented the vast majority of the city's population, and to keep them under control, he would have to keep them happy.
The building of the temple was Alyredd's masterstroke. By muddying the waters and making two distinct religions appear to many as two sects of the same religion, at least on a local level, he managed to ease the tensions between the Bennvikan and Hentani factions in his city in the seventeen years since the temple broke ground and the present day. The Rildayorda City Theatre
For any traveller walking through Rildayorda intending on indulging in some sighteeing, there is something of a 'big three' on any visitor's list. If the Temple of Lomatteva and Bertakaevey is the first, then the Rildayorda City Theatre is most certainly the second.
This state-of-the-art building features everything a modern theatre-goer could wish for, as well as a design based on the famous Zevarium Theatre in the hills outside Gorgreb, Verusantium (pictured right). At the Rildayorda City Theatre, a whole range of comedies, tragedies and satyrs are played out at this dramatic open-air venue, and you can even buy a cup of only partially-watered wine for less than two fedrukas.
Rildayorda Gladiatorial Arena
The third major must-see building in Rildayorda is by far the oldest, the Rildayorda Gladiatorial Arena, affectionately known to the locals as 'Halbrod Lane', in referance to the street that runs past it. Unlike the tample and the theatre, this building pre-dates the Bennvikan invasion by some decades, but in the days since then, its popularity has risen to hights never imagined during the Hentani era.
This wooden stadium may be a faction of the size of the giant stone venues of Kriganheim, but for any die-hard gladiator fan, there is nothing like a traditional, sand-base arena like this one, where you can get so close to the action that you can almost taste the spilt blood.
Artwork - (Top to bottom) 'Rildayorda City Map' by Oliver Bennett at More Visual Ltd, 'The Parthenon' by Thomas Djalloul at Artstation, 'Ancient Greek Inspired Theatre' by Tom Moore at Artstation and 'Gladiator Arena' by Nikola Damjanov at Artstation.