Minkaraph sits built on the foundation of an ancient Heteri fort. The Chlendi built a grand city on that foundation calling it Kamaniilayaat. It represents the furthest incursion of the Mindat and was renamed Minkarrapht after the war, meaning “battlement against the Mindat”, representing the triumph in surviving a great seige. Minkaraph became the capitol of the Eschlatli at their prime, and was ravaged and rebuilt during warfare with the Mindat.
As the Maetah (Early Archaevaligne) fled south to escape Chlendi persecution they found clearable land and plentiful building materials left by the ruins of the ancient Heteri city, Gezar. All that had stood was the military fortiifcations upon the coastal inlet river of the Minkush. For decades the early settlers fought with the native Geblumin tribe, believed to be of Heteri descent, who lived in small villages in the hills lining the river valley. But they Chlendi soon followed and enslaved them as they absorbed most lands held by the Maetah.
The city was the center of the Barony of Minkaraph, a province during the days of the Eschlatli Empire, and became the southern capital in the late days of the empire.
The Mindat laid seige upon the city for a year and a moon. After the war machines failed and troops were pushed back by the Chlendi spirits, they brought in a circle of sorcerers to bring down the city walls. Despite the Chlendi magicks, plague and starvation had set in, yet the city had not fallen.
In the midst of the riots, the imperial family had retreated to the palace, using fell magicks to secure the building. The Mindat ritual crushed the city walls, leveling the city and killing most of the inhabitants.
Yet, amidst the rubble, the palace stood in silence. Old walls still remain in places, and tunnels, trenches, and battlements dot the countryside. After the reconstruction and the end of the war, no one disturbed the palace. Those entering have never returned. The city now holds five “quarters”, the nobles’ still quiet.
The city was raised above ground level on plazas in the construction style of old Chlendi towns, leaving the old ruins below. Pairs of statues commemorating the old emperors straddle both the rivers’ entrances to the city walls standing even above the huge spires that can be spotted from miles away.