Cities

This page contains information on the River Cities.

Main Cities

 * Laan-Tarun
 * Taraval
 * Heaven's Spire
 * Gromia
 * Cornamur

Towns

 * Darkmoss
 * Dragonport
 * Featherfall
 * The Landless Nomads' Outpost

Book 1
The five most important cities in the realm are known as the River Cities. The establishing of trading routes among them has led to an era of progress and growth, and the quality of life in these cities has improved greatly. Life expectancy has also risen from the advances in medicine caused by the ample trade of knowledge and materials.

The River Cities are Taraval, Laan-Tarun, the Heaven’s Spire, Cornamur and Gromia. Taraval and Cornamur bear both the names and ideals of their founders, great wizards who were rumored to have been part of the council of old. Laan-Tarun, known before as Laan-Rivus, was renamed as a tribute to the memory and deeds of the great Daniel Dan’Tarun, a paragon of knowledge among men.

The Heaven’s Spire was founded by Erlac Lacquar, and houses the greatest library in all of the realm. It is also the home of the High Eyrie, a place of worship to Io, Bahamut and even Tiamat. One can only wonder if Erlac ever imagined his city would become a religious site of pilgrimage to the devouts of the dragon gods.

Book 2
The River Cities did not always exist as we have them today. In fact, before this land came to be renowned as a prospering trading route, there was only a single city in the wilderness, and that was Laan-Rivus. One could say that the traveling and establishing of the great wizards of the council in the region and subsequent founding of the major cities we have today brought about a repopulation of the area.

After crossing the Old World Plains, the first pilgrims established Laan-Rivus near the main river of the region. It had been a long voyage since they first left their home cities, and now they erected their first settlement by the river. It had everything one could ask for: fertile land, an irrigation point and a place of defense among a high plateau. Over time, the city was established and people sought to spread to the north, west and east.

Up to the northeast was the Wild Vale, and to the northwest a vast length of mountainous terrain, improper for settling. The Wild Vale proved too troublesome, as it was a good place to supply the city with valuable lumber, but was far too dangerous for expeditions who were constantly assaulted by feral inhabitants of the forests.

To the east was a body of water that the settlers did not care to explore. They could see mountains far at the distance, and if the northwest was any indication, those could  extend themselves for far too long.

The west proved no more welcoming. The barren Hinterlands, as they are known now, did possess some stretches of fertile land, with several thickets, woods and small forests populating the areas at distanced intervals, but the land to the west was the home of savage, brutal orcs. This was the point where three of the wizards who would later found the council of old pooled their resources. Hertlam Earthshake, a notable smith and scribe of the Old World was sent by command of the king, to help the struggling settlers erect a fortress that would serve them as their main point of defense against the orcs.

A local boy prodigy, Daniel Dan’Tarun, was discovered by Hertlam as he was preparing the terrain for construction. The boy possessed advanced Divination skills for his age, and was able to foresee the movements of the orcs, giving the defending army plenty of time to prepare themselves to better repel the assailants. The last one to join the construction of Darkmoss was Erlac Lacquar, also known as the ‘Shortscale’. He was an itinerant scribe, seeking to record the flora and fauna of the new region when he came to the Hinterlands, and his skill in Transmutation proved invaluable when erecting the fort.

Taraval, on the other hand, was founded by a renowned man of faith who sought to create a somewhat secluded place where everyone could praise the gods for welcoming them into this new land. The man’s name was Túriel, and he expended his small fortune hiring stonemasons and builders to erect temples in favor of the many gods.

Many years were passed before the founding of the other river cities, after the dissolution of the council, Hertlam would go on to found Gromia, to the east, and Arillin, another former wizard of the council, moved further north and settled in what later would become Cornamur. The old locale where Erlac sought to erect his Grand Library later became the city known as Heaven’s Spire, and Laan-Rivus was redubbed in honor of the wizard prodigy that represented the Humans in the old council, although its inhabitants would forever be wary of other races.