Anchoris

Anchoris, Seat of the Sun Palace — The Divine City of the Living Sun

Overview

In the blinding upper heavens of Kemet, where flame and time become one, sprawls Anchoris, the Seat of the Sun Palace — a divine metropolis built upon a continent of living light. It is not merely Ra’s dwelling; it is Ra — a city of flame and geometry, alive with his will, radiant with his breath.

Anchoris rises from the Sea of Fire, a shimmering golden bay that burns without consuming. From this crescent harbor, avenues of crystal and brass climb the desert cliffs to the Sun Palace, a structure so vast it forms the city’s skyline for a hundred leagues. Its domes gleam brighter than the mortal sun, its canals flow not with water, but with molten light — the soulblood of Ra. Every street, every wall, every banner hums with divine resonance.

Here, the Light is law. The city is a testament to dominion made divine — perfect, merciless, and beautiful beyond comprehension.

Geography & Structure

Anchoris is shaped not in circles but in layers of ascension, radiating westward from Ra’s holy throne toward the horizon of the burning sea. Each district represents a divine principle, and every structure doubles as both temple and mechanism — components in the celestial machine that sustains creation.

1. The Sun Palace (Eastern Heights)
   The golden heart of Anchoris — a palace so vast it could house a mortal nation. Its terraces rise like stepped suns, each crowned with open sanctuaries and solar obelisks that blaze eternally. At its center lies The Throne of Light, Ra’s seat, carved from living flame. When Ra speaks, the palace itself resounds, and the whole city trembles with worship.
   
   

2. The Path of Flames (Central Causeways)
   Broad, radiant avenues descending from the palace toward the harbor. Each path is flanked by monumental pylons shaped as divine falcons and lions, their eyes glowing with solar fire. The causeways carry the “procession of the hours,” twelve daily rituals that ensure the mortal sun continues its course across the heavens.
   
   

3. The Solar Courts (Central Plateau)
   A sprawling district of marble, gold, and polished crystal where angels, demigods, and divine administrators gather. Each building mirrors an aspect of Ra’s governance — the Court of Zenith handles law, the Hall of Embers oversees divine warfare, and the Vault of the First Flame stores decrees of creation written in fire.
   
   

4. The Crimson Harbors (Western Edge)
   The city’s great crescent-shaped bay, where fire meets form. These are not seas of water, but liquid sunlight — glowing amber tides in which the Solar Barges rest between journeys. At dusk, Set’s legions patrol the piers, their armor blackened bronze and scarlet — guardians of divine order at the horizon’s edge. The harbor’s heat is immense; mortals who glimpse it in vision are said to weep molten gold.
   
   

5. The Outer Wards of Dusk (Defensive Bastions)
   A fortress wall of brass and orichalcum, known as the Red Horizon. Here, Set rules as High Marshal of the Flame, commanding the Dawnforged — radiant warriors who wield mirrored shields that blind falsehood itself. These walls are inscribed with every storm ever loosed upon the mortal world; the wind through their battlements sings like a hymn.
   
   

Architecture & Atmosphere

Anchoris is alive with perfect symmetry. Towers curve like sunbeams; bridges arc as if drawn by divine compass. The light never dims, yet there is no shadow — Set’s influence ensures contrast remains without chaos.

Every structure resonates like a note in Ra’s divine chord. The air itself hums; each breath fills the lungs with brilliance. Walls are translucent, glowing from within as if the city remembers the moment of creation. The sky above Anchoris burns amber-white, and the ground is glassy, shimmering underfoot like sand turned to sunrise.

To mortals, it would seem oppressive — unending radiance, order without mercy. But to the divine, it is home: eternal, flawless, unquestioning.

Inhabitants & Hierarchy

The citizens of Anchoris are not mortals or even souls — they are emanations of divine will, fragments of light that think and act according to the aspect they embody.

• The Solar Host: Seraphic beings of pure radiance, their wings prisms of color. They manage the rituals of the Hours, ensuring the mortal sun rises and sets in harmony.
  
  

• The Dawnforged: Set’s soldiers, guardians of discipline and divine wrath. Their shields reflect sins as blinding light; their spears pierce deceit.
  
  

• The Ember Scribes: Wingless angels who inscribe Ra’s decrees into the fabric of reality, their quills forged from dawnfire.
  
  

• The Auric Priests: Mediators between gods, mortals, and light itself. They sing truths into form and unmake falsehood through silence.
  
  

Above all reigns Ra, enthroned in flame, and Set, his shadowed sentinel — opposites in perfect allegiance. Their unity sustains the sun’s discipline; their balance keeps light from consuming itself.

Phenomena & Wonders

• The Light Eternal: Illumination flows outward from the palace, circling the city like breath. It changes tone throughout the day, creating a “music of hours” audible only to the pure of heart.
  
  

• The Pillars of Creation: Twelve immense obelisks rising around the Sun Palace, each corresponding to an hour of Ra’s daily journey. When the twelfth shines, mortals witness sunrise.
  
  

• The Flame Canal: A river of molten gold running from the palace to the harbor. Each drop that spills becomes a star, cast into the mortal night below.
  
  

• The Solar Barges: Great divine ships of fire and bronze. They sail the Sea of Flame each dawn, carrying Ra through the twelve gates of the heavens. When the barge returns, Set stands at the pier to strike down any shadow that dares follow.
  
  

• The Golden Gale: A constant wind that flows east to west, whispering commandments through the banners of the palace.
  
  

Divine Function & Relationship to the Mortal Realm

Anchoris governs the law of dominion — it is where Ra’s edicts are made and Set’s vigilance enforces them. From its throne flows every sunrise, every spark of leadership, every act of rightful power. When a mortal ruler acts with discipline and purpose, their authority glows faintly in Ra’s light — they are said to “speak with the sun’s tongue.”

Sekhemet, the Mirror Gate on earth, is the mortal echo of this city. Its architecture and rituals mimic Anchoris’s geometry, though in clay and brass instead of living flame. The Pharaoh’s dawn rites align exactly with the palace’s solar hour — proof that Anchoris casts its shadow even into mortal law.

Philosophy & Symbolism

Anchoris represents the union of light and discipline — Ra’s perfection guided by Set’s endurance. Its faith teaches that leadership is an act of worship and that to rule justly is to maintain the universe’s rhythm.

Here, even rebellion has purpose; Set’s vigilance ensures Ra’s rule never stagnates into complacency. Their partnership defines divine authority — power illuminated, not corrupted.

The city’s creed is carved above every gate in fire that never cools:

“Let the light be firm,
the flame be merciful,
and the will of the sun endure.”

The Living City

Anchoris breathes in rhythm with the sun itself. When Ra sleeps in his western sanctum, the city dims to a soft amber glow, and the Sea of Fire cools into calm molten glass. At dawn, as the god rises, the entire metropolis ignites anew — streets flare, spires blaze, banners erupt with radiance.

From below, mortals see only a spark at the edge of the world. But from within the heavens, the gods see Anchoris for what it is:
A colossal living palace, half city, half deity — the radiant engine that keeps day from ending.