The city was founded around 1200 as Arénica; the name derives from arosd, the Meťaiun word for 'delta'. The original area of settlement corresponds to today's Mažtan-lagana, the campus of government palaces in the center of the city. The fortress of Arcaln was built during the time of the Caďinorian emperor Ervëa, c. 1620. In Caďinorian times, settlement extended to the Scafiora, Nezi, and Biško neighborhoods, as well as along the southern bank of the river.

The city has grown explosively in the last few centuries; it now has close to 600,000 inhabitants. It can be seen that the city walls have been rebuilt further out several times. The innermost existing walls date back to the Arcalnei dynasty (3000s); the Žeuro neighborhood was enclosed in Eleďe times, Istuen and Sarniëma in Abolineron times (3300s).

Times are now safer, and there has been no move to enclose the newer neighborhoods that have grown up outside the walls. These areas are the poorest areas of the city, and most of the kingdom's new factories are found there (except for shipbuilding, of course, which is concentrated in Istuen). The name of Čümána neighborhood is that of the old plague hospital, which was once well outside the city limits, but has been swallowed up by the growth of the city.

Taslelë lies partially up a hill; the refreshing breezes, magnificient view, and distance from the noise and smells of the city have long made it a favorite spot for the nobility-- though they are now joined by the new commercial elite. For city living the rich prefer the Išira quarter.

The meanings of neighborhood and village names may interest some. Meťaiun is the pre-Caďinorian language spoken in the northern Plain, ancestral to modern Kebreni.

Arin island
Arcaln	Arin fortress
Nezi	island
Biško	unknown; possibly Meťaiun
Inside the walls
Maztan-lagana	city plaza
Išira	a goddess; wife of Enäron
Nočii	of the Night
Žeuro	unknown
Istuen	is letuen outside the walls
Ažimba	Meťaiun sea goddess (V. Ažirei)
Sarniëma	eastern park
Scafiora	docks
Petrei	after Nëron Petro church
Outside the walls
Erabordë	southern shore
Čümána	the Plague Hospital
Trevmesti	grassy field
Lúdamen	olive hill, in Meťaiun
Etäš	leafy valley, in Meťaiun
Caubo	bee water, in Meťaiun
Nan Istuen	north Istuen
Taslelë	bay view
Nearby villages
Caudan	Caubo town
Šelirei	šeli elreë queen's grace
Eliata	olive grove
Pónefar	manly lord (a given name)
Šustana	name of the Fate controlling death
Aďmeca	god-daughter

Řuk Ranetami is a fortress established on the island of Ranetami ('frog pond') to help control the river trade.