Mohkba – Heart of Ice, Iron, and Intrigue
Mohkba, capital of the Klavek Empire, is a metropolis of snow-dusted towers, brutal order, and ancient ambition. Positioned beside the frozen expanse of Lake of Angelic Tears, the city stands as a testament to the indomitable will of the Klavekian people and the cold grip of their ruler, King Tokolvor XIII. Towering walls, icy streets, and wind-choked alleyways conceal not only relics of divine history and arcane experimentation—but secrets, spies, and the whispers of rebellion.
No city in Aventyr rivals Mohkba’s size, control, or paradoxical blend of sacred tradition and ruthless tyranny.
Origins of Stone and Survival
The founding of Mohkba dates to the Years of the Angry Sea, when the titanic Kraken razed the eastern coast. The surviving Klavekians fled inland, abandoning seaside colonies and instead settling along the serpentine river routes leading into the cold interior. There, among the glacial-carved hills and trading paths, Prince Yuri Dvagaslov established Mohkba at the confluence of faith, commerce, and strategy.
The river corridors that crisscross the region formed the veins of early Klavekian civilization. Furs, amber, honey, and timber flowed into Mohkba’s heart by water in summer and sled-trail in winter. These routes not only sustained trade—they became arteries of political power, spiritual influence, and cultural unity.
To this day, ancient birch-bark scrolls, iron-bound seals, and sunken relics lie hidden in the city’s cryptic catacombs and canals, relics of a time when the gods walked among mortals—or were simply stronger myths.
Rule of the Iron Crown
King Tokolvor XIII, self-declared First King of Klavek, governs Mohkba with an iron will. His presence is felt in every street, in every whisper that halts at a shadow, in the stiff bow of merchants offering a percentage to the throne. He tolerates no rebellion, no dissent, no unsanctioned power.
Magic is illegal except for those trained within the Sanctum Imperiala, the state-run fortress academy also known as the Velkovniy Citadel. Here, magic is dissected, studied, and militarized under heavy surveillance. Unauthorized spellcasting is punishable by death, and it’s not uncommon to see cloaked Null-Wardens prowling the city, eyes glowing with detection wards, searching for unlawful sorcery.
The Eight Quarters of Mohkba
Mohkba’s layout is both sprawling and vertical. Social status is determined not by address but by altitude—the higher your tower, the greater your station. Within the city’s stone bones lie eight major quarters:
1. Divine Quarter
Dominated by the holy spires of the Sophianeum, the Divine Quarter is where gods are venerated—particularly the Ancestor Spirit and those permitted under imperial canon. The Sophianeum’s monolithic structure predates even King Tokolvor’s rise and houses the legendary Icon of Yuri the Crossroad, whose painted gaze is said to detect lies.
Pilgrims arrive year-round to visit sacred sites such as:
- Church of the Nameless Hero – The iconostasis shifts once a year to reveal an unknown champion.
- Tower of the Inquisition – Home to the religious enforcers who extract heresy like poison from a wound.
- Order of the Elk – The crown’s holy knighthood, often deployed in both war and witch-hunts.
2. Arcane Quarter
📜 On the Practice of Magic in the Klavek Empire
“By edict of Crown and Sanctum Imperiala, no citizen, noble, foreigner, or beast shall conjure, transmute, hex, or harness the arcane within Klavekian lands unless duly certified by the Velkovniy Citadel. All others shall be deemed spell-thieves, heretics, and traitors to the Empire.”
—Excerpt from the Black Ledger of Arcana, 1127 AK, archived in the Library of Mutamateria“Those who bear the brand of sanction may cast freely under the Crown’s gaze. All others would do well to keep their fingers unlit.”
—Overheard from a Null-Warden, outside a collapsed tavern wall Within the emerald-hued ramparts of the Velkovniy Citadel, sanctioned mages study under watchful eyes. The central college, Mutamateria, nicknamed the “Transformation Cathedral,” glows with magical murals and eight domes—one for each legal school of magic. These towering halls double as both academy and prison. Rumors speak of students who never leave.
The Alchemical Forum, a wing of the Citadel, is home to sanctioned alchemists and experimental potion-masters. Explosions are not uncommon.
3. King’s Quarter
Heavily guarded, eerily silent, and lined with watchful gargoyles, the King’s Quarter is home to the Faceted Palace, part-elven in design, and the Bellfry of Adamant, whose bells can call armies or drown out public screams.
The square of The Millenium of Klavek, a massive bronze monument, immortalizes a thousand years of rulers, rebels, and regret. No outsider stays in the King’s Quarter long. None enter uninvited.
4. Tradeyard Quarter
Across the river lies the Tradeyard, accessible by the Bridge of Banners. Though rebuilt in stone after fire and invasion, many buildings hide older, charred foundations.
Here, the Beatricovan Galleries sell everything from carved icons to questionable relics. Whispers of the Thieves Guildlinger in alleyways, but the Inquisition has never managed to prove anything. The most prized monument is the Cube of Names, inscribed with names both visible and rumored hidden.
5. Carpenter’s Quarter
This quarter houses furriers, cobblers, and artisans of every stripe. But the most haunting presence is the Abandoned Monastery, once home to false tsars, rebel priests, and a bell tower whose chimes have not rung since the Troubles. Each bell was cast for a different god, and legend holds that when they ring again, Mohkba’s fate will change forever.
6. Mariner’s Quarter
Low-lying and thick with fog, the Mariner’s Quarter houses brothels, taverns, and the Navy Museum, which consists of one glorified rowboat. Yet beneath its streets lie submerged shrines and the Cathedral of Natalya’s Staff, where sea gods are still worshipped quietly by sailors who dare not speak their names aloud.
7. Gardener’s Quarter
Once gifted to a commoner who became royal consort, the Gardener’s Quarter is now the city’s green heart. Elks roam sacred parks under the watchful eyes of druids. Children sled down the Hill of Spring Calling, and artists carve divine scenes from pine and rosewood. Yet its tranquil paths also host spies, hidden altars, and silent assassins.
8. Zveni Island
Though geographically distant, Zveni Island is still considered part of Mohkba, thanks to a royal decree by Tsar Alexei the Twin. Connected by a bridge and ringed in granite, it hosts the Monastery of Gregory Stolbensky and seven towering churches. The dead here are said to be granted a single true wish—if that wish is not political.
Zveni’s bell towers once signaled city-wide alarms during Vikmordere raids. Today, they echo only on feast days, weddings, and when someone of royal blood dies. The island’s waters are unusually clear—and unsettlingly deep.
Download the Player map of Mohkba with all tags removed.
Opportunities for Adventure
Mohkba is ripe with intrigue, mystery, and danger:
- Investigate the silent bells of the Abandoned Monastery and what they guard.
- Infiltrate the Velkovniy Citadel as an unsanctioned spellcaster.
- Uncover hidden names etched into the Cube of Names.
- Survive a royal summons to the Faceted Palace.
- Steal an icon from the Sophianeum—and live.
- Broker power between the Inquisition and the Order of the Elk.
- Explore forbidden crypts beneath the Divine Quarter where pre-Imperial relics may yet breathe.
In Mohkba, even your thoughts may be watched.
Related Reading:
Klavek Empire
Lineage of Klavekian Tsars
