Malkariko (Total War)

Malkariko is a Hylian city in Hyrule Field, along the border of the Kokiri Forest, approximately 30 miles southeast of Gundrumether. It serves as a Siege Map and the setting of Of Princess and Portents in Hyrule Conquest.

Etymology
Malkariko is named for its founding royal house, House Malkori. Impa refers to the city as Malkoriko, likely an older variant of the name.

Location
Malkariko is located in eastern Hyrule Field, along the border of the Kokiri Forest. It is nestled in the hills surrounding a large stream that runs south and east, splitting the city proper from its surrounding farmlands and villages on the plains to the west. To the immediate northeast is the Kokiri Forest while to the northeast stretches the border of the Kokiri Forest, with access to many tropical foodstuffs imported from the east.

Layout
Malkariko is split into five district separated by stone walls, at the heart of which lies the Castle District, the administrative heart of the city. The Castle District is home to Malkariko Castle, a large fortification that serves as the seat of power for House Malkori. To its west along the stream is the well fortified Military District, headquarters of the Knights of Malkariko and home to numerous smithies that produce the famed Malkariko chainmail. To the east of Caastle District is the Residential District, an maze of narrow streets that serve as home of most of the city's population. The residential district continues to the south, across the stream, only connected to the rest of the city by a single bridge. To the south of Castle District, on an island in the center of the stream, lies the Market District, connected to the rest of the city by three bridges. The central plaza is dominated by a large fountain depicting the three Goddesses, while the ancestral apple tree of House Malkori grows on a small spit of land jutting out into the stream.

Culture
Malkariko is one of the most populous and wealthy cities in the Kingdom of Hyrule, famed its agricultural bounty and crafting iron armor and chainmail. It is ruled by House Malkori, whom take an ancient apple tree that grows in the heart of the city as their sigil. House Malkori serve as a major vassal to House Harkinian and by extension the Royal Family. The knights of House Malkori are clad in green with gold highlights emblazoned with a red apple. They are well fed and plentiful but notoriously long in their training.

History
Malkariko traces its origins to the Tribes of Akkala as they emigrated from Arcadia. Like other Akkalan settlements, it began as a sheltered community, a central Noble manor or castle home to one of the larger Houses, surrounded by rural villages governed by their bannermen, in this case its namesake, House Malkori, a vassal house of House Harkinian with holdings on the eastern edge of Hyrule Field, bordering the Kokiri Forest. In 126 AG, the ruling Lord Barbo Malkori hosted Princess Oraiya Nohansen Zelda IV and her daughter Tetralyna Nohansen Zelda V along with their retinue for a summer retreat. Among the royal retinue was Lord Akazoo Vapith and his adopted daughter Agitha, whom secretly set out to bury Gohma hives under and around the city, allowing the Gohma to consume the city's populace in exchange for Akazoo enacting his revenge on the hated Princess himself. Agitha and her ally Mido brought forth a swarm of Gohma from the west, and secretly awoke the hives under the city. These combined forces overwhelmed the city garrison, killing much of the city's populace and using their bodies to feed a Hive from which they could strike east into the Kokiri Forest to free Sulkaris. The Princess was seemingly killed by Akazoo and her daughter abducted, and the city served as a Gohma Hive for several weeks before the Gohma, led by Sulkaris, traveled north to Lanayru Province. The city was subsequently recaptured and restored by the Kingdom of Hyrule.