Shirekeep

Shirekeep Sxirosikx
Population:	40,082,533 (1674)
Predominant language:	Præta (official) Babkhi, Elw, Istvanistani (tolerated)
Main roads:	Kaiser's Boulevard, Infernal Avenue, Nobles' Avenue, Heretic's Walk
Major districts:	Bailiwicks: Cabbagefall, Foley, Lichkeep, Northshire South, Saint Zor, Valley of Mors Quarters: Raynor's Keep, The Old City, Northshire, Docklands, Underkeep
Current mayor:	Mira III Octavius-Aryani (Countess of Shirekeep)
Map versions:	every map

Artitst interpretation of the early Keep, before the large scale renovations by Kaiser Leto I.

Shirekeep is the capital and chief city of Shireroth. When people refer to Shirekeep, they generally refer to the most ancient and central parts of the city, The Inner City. The population (1674) is 40,082,533 persons, making Shirekeep one of the world's most populous cities. The city has a high population density. It has had a reputation of being crowded, dirty, and polluted.

It is the political, economic, cultural, and religious center of Shireroth. It holds the seat of the Imperial Government, and its historic Raynor's Keep serves as the official residence of the Kaiser. The city is also home to the Legislature and the Imperial Judex. It is the site of the Temple of Mors, one of the most important religious shrine in the nation.

Shirekeep is home to numerous museums, art galleries, theaters, and libraries. It is known for its vibrant nightlife - as long as one does not leave the Inner City-, world-class shopping - the Imeritus Pleasure District -, and numerous festivals. The city is also home to some of Shireroth's most famous landmarks, such as the Esagila of Raynor, the Shirewikian Imperial Library, and Malarborty Park.

Several voices call for the Raynor's Keep of Shirekeep to become a Shirerithian Heritage Site as a whole. It is also home to numerous historical and cultural sites, including the Golden, Silver and Iron Gates, the , the Inner Keep, the Great Armory, and the Astronomy Tower. The city is also home to several universities, including the prestigious Metzler University.

Shirekeep is connected to the rest of Shireroth by a network of roads, railways, and an international airport. It is also served by a number of ferry services and a tram and bus system.

Demographics

Shirekeep and its city districts.

Data from the 1674 Shireroth census

Division	Total population	Citizens	Denizens	Loyal subjects	Community servants	Protected persons
The Inner City	576,109	36,710	345,990	110,884	72,037	10,488
Cabbagefall	14,620,574	310,884	11,458,830	2,037,992	805,964	6,904
Lichkeep	13,412,846	359,093	10,108,262	2,037,927	903,882	3,682
Northshire South	11,473,004	190,884	7,955,030	2,088,933	1,234,048	4,109

Division	Citizens	Denizens	Loyal subjects	Community servants	Protected persons
The Inner Cty	6%	60%	19%	13%	2%
Cabbagefall	2%	78%	14%	6%	0%
Lichkeep	3%	75%	15%	7%	0%
Northshire South	2%	69%	18%	11%	0%

Government

Shirekeep is politically divided into Quarters, who each elect a Quarter Council to manage that particular area. This body elects one Provost to chair the Council for a 3 year period. The Provosts sit in the Council of Provosts, which constitutes Shirekeep's central elected body. However, the power of the city remains in the hands of the Prefect, who is appointed directly by the Kaiser.

Prefect

The Prefect of Shirekeep (before 1577 AN called the Lord Mayor) is the, by the Kaiser appointed, ruler of the Imperial Capital and County of the same name.

The Prefectoral Palace was located the Boreal Quarter of Shirekeep and served as the administrative centre of the Prefect and his administration before it was burnt down during the Year of the Four Kaisers.

During the administration of Titus Morvayne the Prefect was advised and assisted by a Council of Provosts, an elected council divided along party political lines. The Council was however suppressed with the downfall of Titus.

List of Prefects

Portrait	Name	Reign	Comment
File:Senechal Jon'Kur I portrait.png	Jonas Win'Eth	1577–1591	First to hold the title of Prefect instead of Lord Mayor
File:Kai Jackson.jpg	Kai Jackson	1591–1594, 1594–1610	Hottest Prefect in recorded history, served two non-consecutive terms
	Shyriath Letifer Farstrider of Mortis	1610–1622
	Audun Joel Ayreon-Kalirion	1642–1644	Marquess of Shirekeep
	Mira II Octavius-Aryani	1645–1663	Also Steward (1657–1663) and Countess of Shirekeep, 1661-1663. Assassinated in the Steward's Tower of Raynor's Keep
File:Titus Morvayne.png	Titus Morvayne	1664–1672	First Prefect taken from within Shirekeep's government
	Mira III Octavius-Aryani	1672–	Countess of Shirekeep 1663 –. "De facto" Prefect since the deposition of Titus Morvayne in 1672.

Public Health

A noisome but indispensable denizen of the city, the dunporter is a man responsible for manually unclogging the groaning sewer network of the Imperial capital whenever, inevitably, the sewers built underneath the city by the Kaiser Dominus and his successors failed in the face of the sheer volume of human and industrial waste being forced through narrow confined spaces. So long as sewer eruptions are wished to be avoided, then dunporter will continue to remain integral to the operation of the city, no matter how badly he smells. A position of improbable privilege that the Dunporter's Guild continually strives to uphold.

The insanitary conditions of Shirekeep and its environs, including the Underkeep, long submerged in backed up effluent, have become infamous the world over and gave rise to a myriad of disease. The suspicion has been for many years that a great mortality has been kept at bay in the city only by the continual warring of the bacterial microbes as to which should give rise to the next exterminating pestilence.

A Shirekeeper may be readily identified by the discovery of the so-called "keep-blister", a putrid green bubo or blister, which may be found about the underside of the armpit, in the groin or on the neck of the sufferer. In a Shirekeeper it is the sign that the bacteriological warfare raging in his body has reached a stalemate and that the patient may expect to reach about the average age of someone resident in the city who does not die as a consequence of direct human intervention, which is to say forty-two years. For a person who has come from the countryside or less malignant or indeed more sanitary climes the discovery is usually swiftly fatal.