Rethis
Before the war, Rethis was the famed City of Silver, the centre of mining in the Iron Hills. Shipments from the outlying mines and towns flowed through this great city before being shipped east into the heartland of Kinilan, and coin flowed back. It was also the last major stop for trade caravans passing into the Chelestra in happier days.
But that was before the Great War. Fifty years of bloody war, with the Iron Hills at the centre of it all. Mines were destroyed, civilians driven out. Rethis itself was conquered half a dozen times through the war, leaving it a shattered ruin.
Now the war is over, and people are trying to rebuild. The High Queen Mishann Norixius has ordered a select group to set out and reclaim the Iron Hills. Most of the group are refugees who fled the war - those hardy enough to be eager to return to their lands, and those hoping to get a leg up on those who are more cautious in returning, but among its leaders, things were tense even before they left the capitol.
Demographics
75% human, 10% elf, 5% gnome, 10% assorted other species, mostly native to Kinilan.
Government
Praeses Caelynn Tenithra acts as official representative of Queen Mishann, overseeing day to day functions. However, Marquis Vali Agnisson joined the resettlement group as well. Officially, the nobility give their full support to the High Queen and her network of representatives, and the Marquis shows every outside sign of simply trying to facilitate the governor's rule. The governor is also regularly advised by Lubash the Wise and Onyx Ida, representatives of two powerful mage guilds, as well as Prelate Morkral Ironfist, a religious leader with ties to many of the lost communities that might have weathered the war.
Infrastructure
Rethis was once a major trading centre, with large gates, and even a canal stretching west to the capital city of Antius, permitting the flow of goods in and out of the city at a prodigious rate. Now the wide boulevards are strewn with rubble, and most of the great archways have fallen - it's now easier to get into the city by climbing over the crumbled remains of its walls than through the main gates.
The first wave of returning refugees have begun rebuilding. Already, the canal has been restored to service. More people live under roofs than in tents, though they tend to have more housemates than they'd like. A tavern does brisk business, bartering drinks imported from the heartland of Kinilan. Smiths are hard at work salvaging metals, making and repairing tools, outfitting soldiers and expeditionary forces. Fields that lay fallow for decades have been ploughed and seeded - if all goes well the harvest will be more than enough to provide for this first wave.
Beyond the gates, the roads are in much better shape, having been spared the magical assaults that destroyed Rethis. While they could use some attention, many of these roads have been used for centuries to access various major mining towns, and some have even been maintained, by one side or the other, throughout the war. However, now that the armies have gone, a new danger lurks in the wilds outside the city - storms of wild magic sweep through the land, causing mischief here and summoning demons there.
Alternative Name(s)
The City of Silver
Type
City
Population
200ish
Inhabitant Demonym
Rethi
Included Locations
Characters in Location
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