Editing Charn (section)

==History==
According to [[White Witch|Jadis]], Charn was once the greatest city of her unnamed world, "the wonder of the world, perhaps of all worlds." It was a magnificent civilization ruled by a line of magically adept emperors and empresses, of whom Jadis was the last. However, by the time the protagonists enter, the world has become a cold, lifeless wasteland, and the city is on the brink of collapse.

Magic may have been widely used in Charn; Jadis referred to the common use of [[magic carpet]]s for transportation. Their use was apparently limited to the nobility, who inherited inborn magical powers. Jadis disdained [[Andrew Ketterley]], Digory's magician uncle, as a petty conjurer without a drop of real magic blood in his veins, saying, "Your kind was made an end of in my world a thousand years ago."

Apparently [[dragon]]s were also once abundant in Charn and in the service of the royal and noble families.

The Hall of Images displays the regal history of Charn, showcasing lifelike portraits of past rulers who are depicted as tall, beautiful, and powerful figures seated upon their thrones. The sequence of these images, through the expressions on their faces, tells a story of a civilization that was once benevolent but degenerated into a cruel, tyrannical empire. The early Emperors and Empresses of Charn were kind and wise, but over centuries, for unexplained reasons, their lineage devolved into one of malevolence, corruption, evil, and despair, seeing their subjects only as a means to an end. Evidently, their hunger for power was insatiable and they conquered several other realms, as Jadis gloats that "many great kings" attempted to stand against Charn, but were defeated and their names lost to history. [[Slavery]] was once common in Charn, as was [[human sacrifice]]. The last queen of Charn was Jadis, although the numerous empty thrones after hers suggest a premature end to the dynasty.

As Jadis leads the children through the crumbling palace, she describes the cruelty of Charn and its leaders. She points out dungeons and torture chambers to them and recounts that her great-grandfather once invited seven hundred nobles to a [[banquet]] and slaughtered them all, "before they had drunk their fill," for "they had rebellious thoughts."

When the children finally see the full extent of the city from the balcony of the royal palace, it extends as far as the eye can see in any direction, as if covering the entire world. It is described as being full of pyramids, bridges, palaces, and towers, with a great river that had long since turned to dust.  Jadis recalls viewing the city while it was full of life: "It is silent now. But I have stood here when the whole air was full of the noises of Charn; the trampling of feet, the creaking of wheels, the cracking of the whips and the groaning of slaves, the thunder of [[chariot]]s, and the sacrificial drums beating in the temples. I have stood here (but that was near the end) when the roar of battle went up from every street and the river of Charn ran red."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Magician's Nephew|last=C.S.|first=Lewis|year=1955}}</ref>