Ethgan'tor

An independent city-state that was formerly in the province of the Lylles Kingdom of Lauryl, but has now been lost to the Black Fog.

IC Note: It is widely presumed in-character that Ethgan'tor and all of its inhabitants were lost to the Black Fog that afflicted Lauryl. Any knowledge or interaction to the contrary must be approved and role-played.

Description

On the very western edge of Aelyrian-known lands, the city of Ethgan’tor sits in the Forest of Light, sharing a border with the province of the Lylles Kingdom of Lauryl. Since the city’s inception, its location has been a well-guarded secret, hidden away by magical wards and ever-shifting forest paths meant to confuse and distract accidental and intentional travelers. Its defense has been maintained by such subterfuge and reticence, having only recently been opened to outside trade with the most wary of eyes.

The path leading to Ethgan’tor is long and arduous, even to this day. Rumor has long identified the Forest of Light as the city’s home, but there is no clear road leading through the twisting woods to bring one to its doors. It is only once deep inside and lost among the trees that one can make out the dim outline of a footpath, twisting and turning around the trunks only enough width to fit a single Horse across. Further along, remnants of rocks still glowing and humming with arcane energies are littered on either side of the path. Miles further the first dim image of Ethgan’tor can be seen between the thick viridian, appearing like a ghostly mirage that appears one instant and then is lost from sight the next like a mirage on a heated day. Not until one is standing before the great gates does the city ever come in clear view to the traveler.

Built over natural quarries of marble and precious gemstones, the city stretches like a white skeleton against the greenery of the forest, requiring its inhabitants to constantly struggle to keep the trees and greenery at bay. Soaring pinnacles, elegant domes, and expansive towers create a unique landscape, all arranged behind expansive, high marble walls on which patrol the ever-vigilant Esh’lahier. Though the Tel’ Nim Ando serves as the city’s only official entrance, many believe that there are more secretive paths into the metropolis through the expansive network of mine tunnels riddling underneath it like a shadowed spider’s web.

Separated into nine main districts that radiate out like spokes on a wheel, the center and heart of the city is composed by the Tiri’yaana en Ethgan’tor, the great temple where all the city’s religious life takes place, and the Final Tower, the government center housing the offices and corridors of power for the kingdom of Ethgan’tor and the Esh’lahier nation at large. Most of the great noble houses have established their extensive ancestral compounds somewhere near the center, while most commerce, crafting, and the common citizens’ homes are intermingled in the more distant districts. A web of tunnels extend underneath the city to fuel their mining industries, as well as serving to house Ethgan’tor’s population of slaves and prisoners kept away forever from the suns in a torment worse than death.

History

Originally part of the dark elfin kingdom of K’Terak in the Greater Elfish Basin, the race that would later be identified as the Esh’lahier separated from their Vysstichi cousins in the era -2190. They immediately migrated to the Medonian Continent and began to settle in various small enclaves, with the greatest portion of their population wandering into the Forest of Light. Legend says that when the Esh’lahier were at the last of their strength and about to give themselves over to death when a spirit of the forest spoke to the Lady Aria Areth’ya and led her to the site that would become their holy city.

Ethgan’tor was established as an oligarchy to be ruled by the heads of the Triad, the three great families that were historically credited for the success of their people’s retreat from the Vysstichi war effort in K’Terak. A series of assassinations and the miraculous change in the Esh’lahiers’ appearance in era -1919 to the present-day pale blanched skin and colorless hair lead to the establishment of a totalitarian monarchy. Under this was formed the Great Council, originally comprised of three anyias but eventually expanded to nine appointed officials from the city’s nobility.

For millennia the existence of Ethgan’tor was nothing more than a legend. Only the inhabitants of the city knew how to by-pass the defenses woven throughout the forest safely, and it was a well-kept secret defended to the very death. Raids on nearby villages by the “white ghosts” to spirit away the strongest and fittest made the Esh’lahier a fearful and misunderstood presence in the Forest of Light, particularly since they did not further interact with their surrounding neighbors. Any trade was conducted via the other secular enclaves and never with the “lesser” races.

It was not until recently that, while suffering under the ill-effects of a drought that nearly wiped out all of Ethgan’tor’s agricultural industry and food supplies that the city was finally opened to the Aelyrian Kingdom. Queen Laroa of Linalantava signed a Treaty of Friendship with Prince Milo I of Aelyria to open the gates of Ethgan’tor to Aelyrian traders, provided the possession of a special visa. As a result, the magical wards were dismantled and the gates opened, though the city guard continues to keep a wary eye on any and all visitors to the city. Any suspicious behavior is dealt with immediately and severely.

Culture

Typically a reclusive people, the Esh’lahier retain many cultural features from K’Terak. Much like their cousins, the base of Esh’lahieri society is the familial unit, forming houses of related members that all share a common surname. These are then ranked into a system of nobility that differs between areas based on local custom. Many enclaves of pale elfs have assimilated pieces of the surrounding cultures in which they inhabit, creating a patchwork of different perspectives among the race.

Most Esh’lahier consider those inhabiting Ethgan’tor to be of the purest strain and bloodline. Their culture, style, and fashion is emulated by even most of the settlements of Esh'lahier. The city elfs are known for their stringent establishment of nine noble houses, their emphasis on tradition, education, and Religion, and their refined taste for the elegant in clothing and art.

The Esh’lahier make no distinction between genders in private family roles or public office. While elder generations are respected and their wishes obeyed as law, the elfs’ natural ambition and hunger for power leads to a very meritocratic and tempestuous system where the most cunning and talented are accorded the grandest positions and inheritances held by their scheming and force of will.

No matter their location or local governmental system, all Esh’lahier consider Ethgan’tor and its monarch to be their cultural leader and head. Many Esh’lahier make “pilgrimages” to their holy city on a regular basis. Any person descending from the families of Linalantava, Yeranthas, or Areth’ya, commonly known as the Triad, are the equivalent of royalty to all Esh’lahier for their ancestors’ part in the flight from K’Terak. Other minor noble families have earned positions in and reputation beyond the walls of Ethgan’tor and would be recognized by those familiar with its society.

Local Government

The Crown, or the ultimate seat of authority in Ethgan’tor and, by transfer, all Esh’lahier people, belongs to the Sun House. The noble family occupying this position has all rights of descent and power to name a regnant, either King or Queen, from generation to generation. The King or Queen has, in theory, complete power to dictate Ethgan’torian politics and policies, as well as overarching authority over the Great Council and all military forces.

Statistics

• Population: 20,000
  
• Culture: Esh'lahier Elves
  
• Trade: Art, stone, jewelry, furs, weapons (Very little outside of the city)
  
• Landmarks: The Bright Temple of Ethgan'tor, Lil Vigaj

Credit

Charybdis