The Eight Cities

location · importance 45 · 1 theory

“The last great cities of the Ergen Empire before its fall”

also known as Cities of the Empire, Cities of the Ergen Empire

Appearance§

The corpus describes the Eight Cities only through their names and their status as the last great cities of the Ergen Empire, with Myr Tariniel singled out as the greatest and most splendid. No detailed visual rendering of their streets or skylines is given in the provided sources; they exist primarily as legendary place-names within ancient stories rather than as scenes characters physically walk through, so concrete architectural detail is not established here.

Description§

The Eight Cities are the surviving great cities of the ancient Ergen Empire, the remnant left standing after the catastrophic wars of the old world. They are named Belen, Antus, Vaeret, Tinusa, Emlen, the twin cities of Murilla and Murella, and last of all Myr Tariniel, the greatest among them. They appear throughout the stories of the Creation War era and are bound up with the legends of the Chandrian and the empire's fall. The Adem account of the war tells of seven cities and one city: the names of the seven are forgotten, but the one is remembered as Tariniel. In the empire's final ruin, six of the great cities were destroyed in the demon's rampage and one was saved, leaving the empire with a single unfallen city.

Relationships§

• Destroyed By The Chandrian — Six cities destroyed during the demon's rampage tied to the Chandrian
• Remnant Of The Creation War — The remnant left standing after the catastrophic wars of the old world
• Greatest City Myr Tariniel — Myr Tariniel is the greatest of the eight, the one city remembered as Tariniel
• Includes Belen — Belen is one of the named eight cities
• Includes Tinuë — Tinusa is among the named eight cities
• Cities Of Ergen Empire — The surviving great cities of the ancient Ergen Empire
• Includes Antus — Antus is one of the named eight cities
• Includes Vaeret — Vaeret is one of the named eight cities
• Includes Emlen — Emlen is one of the named eight cities
• Includes Murilla — Murilla is one of the twin cities among the eight

Established facts§

• After the wars of the ancient world, eight cities remained as the surviving great cities of the Ergen Empire.
• The eight cities are named Belen, Antus, Vaeret, Tinusa, Emlen, the twin cities of Murilla and Murella, and last of all Myr Tariniel.
• Myr Tariniel is identified as the greatest of these cities.
• The cities feature in the ancient stories tied to the Creation War era and the deeds of the Chandrian.
• The Adem account of the Creation War tells of seven cities and one city; the names of the seven are forgotten, but the one is remembered as Tariniel.
• Six great cities were destroyed during the demon's rampage and one was saved, leaving the empire with a single unfallen city.

Theories§

• plausible Each Chandrian Betrayed a Specific City and the Riddles Tell Us How pop 633

Appears in theories§

• plausible The Eight Cities Share a Surname — Unlocking Amyr and Adem Origins pop 263
• plausible Atur May Be the One City That Survived the Creation War pop 219
• plausible The University Stands on the Ruins of an Ancient City (Likely Belen) pop 143
• fringe El'The Means 'Namer' and Humans Are the Defeated Namers of the Old War pop 82
• plausible The Lackless Box Is a Sygaldry Heat-Eater Built to Slow the Burning Cities pop 61
• fringe The 'Seven and One' Pattern Maps Onto the Lunar Phases and Recurs Across the Lore pop 51

Top contributors§

People on r/KingkillerChronicle who built the theories above.

• u/Level3_Ghostline — 1 theory · 123 pts · extended
• u/kingkillerpodcast — 1 theory · 19 pts · corroborated