zkoueli

Zkoueli is a fictional town in the world of Orasia, used in speculative fiction and role-playing games as a setting to examine urban life, governance, and culture. Its details vary by author, but it is consistently depicted as a small regional center.

The name Zkoueli is a constructed toponym with no canonical language origin. In some in-universe texts it is traced to the hypothetical Zkouelan language, where it is interpreted as meaning river town or crossroads. It is understood as fictional.

Geographically, Zkoueli is described as located on a high plateau in northern Orasia, near the Sol River. The climate is temperate with dry winters and wet summers. The landscape blends rolling hills, mixed forests, and stone-and-timber architecture.

Zkoueli is said to have grown from a 11th–century trading post to a regional market town. It developed rail and road links in the 19th and 20th centuries, expanding crafts, logistics, and local services. In modern settings, it is framed as a cultural hub.

The population is commonly given as about 25,000 residents in contemporary game-world lore. Zkoueli is depicted as multilingual, with the constructed Zkoueli language used in official contexts and regional dialects of Orasian spoken by others. Local culture centers on crafts, markets, and food.

Its economy emphasizes crafts, small manufacturing, and tourism. Notable institutions within the town include the Zkoueli Institute of Arts and the Zkoueli Technical College, which are depicted as centers for cultural programs and applied research.

In fiction, Zkoueli serves as a recurring setting in novels, role-playing supplements, and worldbuilding guides, where authors explore urban design, governance, and intercultural exchange. It is sometimes used as a test case for narrative city planning.