Adlrasi Ruins

Once the pristine halls of an ancient race's capital city, these crumbling remains now serve as  lawless thieves' towns, where all kinds of desperate and depraved folk can hide from the world. For a price.

History

The Adlrasi were an ancient race of Siv'ians distantly related to modern fei. They are one of the first civilizations to emerge after the end of the Corruption. In order to stop the corruption, ancient Siv'ian mages and scientists cut off the flow of magic through the multiverse, leading to a backup of magic on Si'via. While this effort prevented the spread of the corruption to new worlds, the backlash of magical energies nearly destroyed Si'via and wiped out an estimated 96-98% of life.
Those creatures that survived the back lash were severely mutated to the point that they rarely resemble the original species. Eventually, these individuals spawned whole new species that reinhabited the world. It is assumed that the Adlrasi were descended from the main group of surviving humanoids, since they developed so quickly and what we can gather of their mythology and history seems to tell stories of pre-corruption events and the corruption. 
The Adlrasi first started building cities around 6000 post-corruption (18 million years before the establishment of the emberton empire) in northern Valdesa. Many of these simple cities were quickly abandoned, though the reason why remains unclear. The dirt and wood structures didn't stand the test of time, but artifacts and the outlines of foundations can sometimes be found. In the mid-6000s PC, the Aldrasi started building again. These cities were larger, more fortified, and farther north, which has led to the theory that the original cities were abandoned due to some kind of attack.
The second wave of Adlrasi cities grew rapidly, and roads started to be constructed between cities. As time moved on, the Adlrasi moved further and further north. A theory for this continued migration is the climate and ecosystem changes that occurred as si'via adapted to its new state, and the environment the Adlrasi were adapted to started disappearing.
In the late 8000s PC, construction began on the One Great Capital City. Construction was halted two times, first for a plague in the early 9000s. Then some sort of conflict, suspected to be a civil war, left the city razed in the mid-10000s. The  One Great Capital was finished in the late 11000s. It was a centre of trade, business, education, culture, and religion for nearly 10,000 years. 
And then the Adlrasi disappeared.
For millennia the Adlrasi faded into a half-forgotten myth. Their southernmost cities in Valdesa and the Dancing Iles were taken over or built over by ancient Elves and Fei. While these early cultures almost certainly had interactions with the Adlrasi, the memory of who or what they were faded. What remained were stories of the corruption and post-corruption era, and of strange, ethereal beings to the north, often assigned as some sort of gods' helpers.
The rumours of the One Great Capital City remained, but for many millennia no one was brave or desperate enough to go looking. Then, a group of renegade elves ran to the north to escape justice for their crimes and settled in the ruins of an Adlrasi trade post. This became a trend among criminals and run aways from both/ all three northern continents, as the north was too hard to surpass for their pursuers and Adlrasi ruins made good pre-made defensible locations.
As time moved on, these 'thieves' towns' were pushed north by the expanding borders of increasingly modernizing kingdoms and empires, and much like the Adlrasi before them they ended up at the One Great City.
There are no laws in the Once Great City. Agreements made there are made at your own risk, as is everything else. In the rare moment where unity benefits the inhabitants, a power faction will usually rise to be the 'leaders', but this status is temporary.

Alternative Name(s)

Theives' Haven, Up North, Cowards' Palace (derogetory)

Type

Region

Location under

Otherlands

Inhabiting Species

• Will o' Wisps