The Naggaramakam, or Forbidden Dominion, is the name given to the walled sub-city which serves as Nibenay's center of government.The square structure appears to be a massive keep with walls over 50-feet high. Above the walls, the tops of enormous agafaris trees can be seen rising out of the king's gardens. To the casual observer, this enormous wonder appears to be a well defended garden. The interior of the sub-city is rumored to consist of beautiful temples and plazas, but no freeman can say for sure. The palace itself said to be sculpted in the form of a stylized head of the Shadow King. Thousands of sculpted dancing women form columns that appear to be locks of the king's hair, each carved to resemble one of his templar wives. The interior of the palace, legends have it, is a honeycomb of dark mazes filled with the fog of thick incense and the hypnotic chanting of templars reciting their devotions.
Of all the rulers of Athas, the sorcerer-king Nibenay (who gave his name to his city) is perhaps the least involved in the day-to-day management of his empire. He has, over the centuries, established an amazingly competent bureaucracy that allows him to focus his attention on the study of dark magic instead of the mundane matters of government. Nibenay's reclusiveness has earned him the title of Shadow King from his people. He spends virtually all of his time in his walled sub-city, called the Naggaramakam, which lies at the center of Nibenay. From here, his templar-wives manage the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom.
Reportedly, the sorcerer-king maintains a network of
tunnels deep beneath the Naggaramakam which he
stock with creatures captured in the salt flats or bred in
the palace. Armed prisoners are thrown into this arena
dungeon and allowed to fend for themselves in a unique
trial by ordeal. It is possible to reach a holding cell
beneath the public arena through these tunnels