Sakha is the largest city in Upper Khapesh by a good margin, home to around 105,000 people. The city is built at the base of the Sakha Falls, and was originally founded to support merchants portaging their vessels up and down the river. Sakha is a low density city, sprawling out over a massive land area compared to other cities within the kingdom. At the center of the sprawl is the Sakha palace, a grand circular structure atop a hill. The palace is home to the Sakha libraries, renowned throughout not only Khapesh but the world for its collection of tomes and translations of ancient works.
Sakha's patron deity is Maat.
People and points of interest
The Sakha palace is a circular building on the central hill of the city. Four sets of grand staircases lead up from the cardinal directions. The entire hill is covered in terraced gardens, fed by water from the river. The palace is made of white marble, with columns supporting a large roof around the outside. Inside is a circular courtyard, with more gardens and a large sundial in the middle.
The adventurer’s guild office in Sakha is a small affair, relegated to a side area of the palace. Those in search of work can sometimes find leads here, though they do not provide the extra services that the adventurer’s guild in Faiyan does.
The entrance to the Sakha libraries is rather deceptive. To enter the libraries, one must first go to the palace complex, then find an austere door with a sign above it. Inside this first, circular room is very little - just a small platform in the middle with a book on it. If one is curious enough to open the book, the floor starts dropping at a rapid rate down into the library proper. The library is an immense circular structure underground with a 50 ft tall domed roof, with rings of tall bookcases and desks surrounding the central glass and iron column that provides visitors a view as they first enter. Although tomes on many subjects can be found here, the library is primarily an archive of ancient writings and their translations.
Outside of town, across the river and a few hours walk, is an ancient temple to Anubis. At some point in the recent past, the temple was desecrated by cultists of Set and used to worship this deity instead. In Y6976, adventurers brought priests of Anubis to reconsecrate the site - the consequences of this remain to be seen.
Within the sprawl of Sakha, the temple of Anubis is somewhat difficult to find. It stands out only by the murals depicting the path of the afterlife painted on the outside. While few primarily worship Anubis, the priests and priestesses are always available should they be required.