Akorok City
Akorok, also known as Akorok City, is a partially-ruined city in western Oldeshire, located directly south of Brumley and southeast of Pangea. The city is bisected by a wide river, with distinct characteristics and histories defining each side. Once a thriving urban center of creativity and contradiction, Akorok today stands as a smoldering monument to both ambition and ruin.
History
Akorok was founded by Schlogee and is considered a relatively new settlement in Oldeshire compared to other nearby regions. It began as a modest village on the river’s east bank before eventually expanding westward. The city gained notoriety for its unregulated development, peculiar reverence for sheep, and alleged intellectual theft— elements that shaped both its culture and its eventual fate.
On February 8, 2025, Akorok was devastated by a cataclysmic event described as a solar death ray. A searing beam of intense heat ignited the city’s structures, melted stone, and left entire districts in perpetual fire. Though the origin of the beam remains unknown, many mystics blame the city’s reputation for deceit and appropriation. The blaze has yet to be fully extinguished, and much of Akorok remains charred and uninhabitable.
Geography & Layout
East Side (Original Settlement): Akorok’s east side is the original heart of the city. It lacks the structured layout of its western counterpart, with buildings and roads emerging haphazardly over time.
- Akorok Village Central Tree: A massive tree with treehouse residences in its canopy. Beneath the roots lies the now-decommissioned Akorok Train Station, once part of the West Shire Rail network. Deeper underground is a vast hidden chamber, featuring a tranquil underground lake ringed by manicured forest. Suspended above the lake is a floating island holding an unnamed bar.
- Akorok Cathedral: A white quartz, oblong domed building topped with a distinctive crown of pinnacles steeple. The cathedral is sacred to the Four Sheep Gods of Akorok, with each deity represented by a color: cyan, red, magenta, and purple. The cathedral opened to the public on February 18, 2022.
Civic & Commercial Buildings:
- Akorok Capital Building: Located just west of the cathedral, similar in architectural style but taller and more ornate.
- Akorok Town Hall
- A row of shops
- Infrastructure: All east side streets are paved in red granite.
- Clocktower: At the far eastern edge of the city stands an enormous clocktower, over 100 meters tall, decorated with stained glass and murals of natural beauty.
- World Map Pavilion: Far to the north sits a grand sandstone hall housing a 10x10 meter world map, said to be one of the most accurate and detailed in existence. It remains one of the few buildings untouched by the fire.
West Side (Planned District)
The western half of Akorok was built later and features a planned layout radiating from a central circular plaza.
- Central Plaza: Anchored by a massive multi-tiered fountain, 40 meters in diameter and 25 meters tall.
Architecture:
- Uniform façades: Calcite stone and dark oak timber walls with lapis lazuli roofs.
- Streets are paved in cobblestone.
- Numerous homes and shops line the planned roads.
- Bridge: Connecting the two halves of the city is a striking red-and-maroon bridge adorned with blue canopy details.
Cataclysm and Present Day
The event of early 2025 decimated most of Akorok. Entire neighborhoods on both banks were consumed by fire, and charred remains of buildings still smolder today. While the World Map Pavilion and a few outlying structures survived, the city proper has become a scorched ghost town.
The cause of the solar death ray remains a mystery. Religious leaders and scholars speculate divine punishment, while more skeptical observers point to unknown magical or technological forces. Theories abound, but no answers have emerged.
Akorok today remains under informal observation. No official restoration effort has yet taken place, and the city’s fate remains uncertain— whether it will be rebuilt, abandoned, or repurposed by a future generation.
Notable Dates
- Feb 18, 2022 – Akorok Cathedral opens to the public
- Feb 8, 2025 – Akorok Train Station decommissioned / Solar Cataclysm occurs