Location from The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb
A lost Elderling city reclaimed by dragons and their keepers — the ancient capital of a civilization where humans and dragons lived as partners, now awakening after centuries of abandonment.
Kelsingra is overwhelming. The memory stones whisper — touch one and you're flooded with the recorded experiences of an Elderling who lived thousands of years ago. The hot springs steam with mineral warmth that feels like the earth breathing. The Silver wells call to dragons with an urgency that borders on compulsion, and to Skill-users with a seduction that is genuinely dangerous. The city was designed for a partnership between species that no longer exists, and the new Elderlings and their stunted dragons are trying to rebuild it with fragmentary knowledge and sheer determination. It is a place of wonder and danger in equal measure — the memory stones can overwrite a person's identity, the Silver can transform or kill, and the dragons view the city as theirs by right.
A vast city built of Elderling memory stone, shimmering with colors that shift in sunlight. The architecture is impossibly graceful — arches, spires, and domed buildings scaled for both humans and dragons, with landing platforms and flight lanes integrated into the city plan. The memory stones glow faintly, holding the recorded experiences of Elderlings who lived here millennia ago. Hot springs emerge from the earth, and Silver — raw Skill — wells up in pools that dragons and Elderlings need to survive. Much of the city is damaged or overgrown after centuries of neglect, but the bones are magnificent. Standing in Kelsingra's plaza feels like standing in a cathedral built by a civilization that never knew doubt.
Also known as: Kelsingra, The Elderling City