Tor Tirista (tˈoː͡ɹ tˈɪɹɪstˈɑː)

As the river bends and opens up into the expansive Cyrenloch, you… Feel the thrum of magic within your very bones, echoing from the core of the world. You taste the tang of iron on your tongue as a shiver travels down your spine. Ahead, as the lake widens, you see a collection of towering marble spires in a curtain wall of the same white stone, built on the lake’s edge. The waters are calm, here, and as you paddle calmly onward, you see a glimmer in the sky; a bright golden spark that alights in the air and vanishes like a sunburst. A moment later, the realisation strikes you. A magical ward. The City of the Guard, indeed.

— The Dungeon Master, Session 2: Over Hill and Under Hill

Tor Tirista, known as the City of the Guard or The Iron City in Common, is the southern-most city of the Iressar Conclave, and one of two elven cities not built within the dual rivers between which most of the magocracy is set. Due to its location on the Iron Road (from which it takes one of its nicknames), Tor Tirista is a conflux of differing cultures and tradesmen, though beyond this the city features a heavy military presence due to its proximity to the The Dreaming Weald.

Due to its proximity to the Dreaming Weald, the pursuit of Evocation and Abjuration magic are prominently featured in the arcane magics pursued by the mages and arcanists of Tor Torista, for dealing with the threats posed by the wildness of the Dreaming Weald. Alongside this, a lot of the arcane research done in the city by its cadre of wizards and other arcanists is focused on the Fey and their origins: attempting to close the massive Fey Crossing that is the Dreaming Weald.

Notable People

Name	Type	Description
Harnir Dezzock	NPC	The Dwarven barkeep of the Morning's Dew
The Lady	NPC	The Tiefling crime boss of the Lady's Court
Arcamal Da'leth	NPC	Senior Arcanist of the College of Necromancy
Sagax Seelie	NPC	Magister of the Umber Spire, an Eladrin Wizard
Galadriël Galanodel	PC/NPC	Elven Matron of House Galanodel
Laryn Alcarin	NPC	An Elven transmutation wizard and deceased member of House Alcarin

Demographics

A large population of around 45,000 makes its home in Tor Tirista at around 1172 AC, making it one of the larger cities in middle-Akhiilor. Most of this population is Elven (62%), with a sizable Human minority (21%). The rest of the populace is made up of Dwarves (9%), Halflings (5%), and other races (3%). This makes it a vibrant home of traders, travellers, and other wanderers, though few travellers stay there long due to the increased military presence to guard against the dangers of the Dreaming Weald. Nevertheless, the city is continually growing as immigrants flock to it and settle down; primarily outside of the city's walls, where a sprawling semi-attached village is emerging, to be incorporated into the city proper eventually.

While the city features a relatively large upper class in the nobles and their families in the High Houses, the middle class is most prominent, fuelling the bustling markets of the city and mostly serving the needs of the High Houses in doing so. The lower class is mostly commoners and immigrants, who flock to Tor Tirista for opportunity on the edge of civilisation in this part of the world.

Government

Like with many of the elven cities, Tor Tirista is ruled by a council (the Magisterium) of martially-elected individuals, usually originating in the High Houses, the nobility. The Magisterium consists of seven members, who are recognised as the greatest arcanists in the city, and collectively they govern the city: each has equal authority, and so decisions of the Magisterium are hotly debated within its halls, sometimes explosively.

The High Houses hold a hierarchy determined through arcane competition, conflict, and development, sometimes turning violent into duels, battles, or even inter-house purges. To come from the first few houses on this hierarchy is a great honour and boon: often it is members from the first seven houses to make up the Magisterium, though it is far from unheard of for others to claim such a position. However, it is traditional that the First House of the city shares among its members the Herald of Corellon, the primary priest and religious authority within the city.

Defences

Mundane

Tor Tirista features no citadel in the traditional sense as seen in human cities. Rather, it can be said that the entire city is the citadel. With defensive emplacements and arcane wards and protective measures throughout the city, some say that the City of the Guard takes its second nickname — the Iron City — rather more seriously than it ought to. With towering outer walls reaching a height of seventy feet (twenty metres) and of thirteen feet (four metres) wide, the city is reputed to be impregnable by normal means: the walls feature many defensive emplacements, which serve to ward off potential attacks from land and air both. The Outer Walls are fortified with high towers that, due to their nature, must be taken individually. It is said that if the entire city falls, a single tower can hold out for weeks.

Within the city are several smaller walls, the Inner Walls, reaching a height of 40 feet (or twelve metres) and possessing a width of six feet (two metres) which are used as the main defensive encirclement of the Rings within the city, the districts that divide the city into sections. Each district features multiple entrances through the thick inner walls: each fortified with several defensive emplacements and ringed with towers and other defences.

Magical

The sheer arcane might of Tor Tirista is not to be underestimated. It is primarily focused on offence and defence through Evocative and Abjurative magics, and so provides the extensive defensive and offensive capability to the city it protects. It is layered with several arcane wards that stretch even out into the Cyrenloch itself. Some of these wards are passive, always working and drawing their energy from sources dotted around the city, whereas others are active and require a spell or word of power to activate. Regarding offensive capabilities, this is mostly accomplished through individual spellcasters in the service of the Magisterium, the Collegium Arcanum, and the Atheneum Incantum.

Districts

Tor Tirista is divided into several highly-fortified districts called Rings, or Corma in Elvish. Several are built around a tower, a Spire of Theurgy (each around 450 feet tall, some taller) that serves as the heart of each district. Within each of these spires are maintained the offices of one member of the Assembly, but also as the home of the High Houses, military barracks, or other establishments requiring the use of the space to serve the interests of the city under the authority of the Assembly. Around the Spires are located shops and residential areas, all the facilities and establishments and boulevards of the city. The city has been constructed in this manner to be as defensible as possible, be it by normal or arcane means: if an assaulting force seeks to penetrate the city to take it, they must fight through it street-by-street and spire-by-spire.

• The Tri-Palace — One of the outermost districts of Tor Tirista, the Tri-Palace serves as the main place of commerce in the city and is spread out across three distinct squares celebrating the founders of Tor Tirista, all serving a distinct purpose. Each square, called a Palace, sells several distinct but related goods and hosts shops of that same type and kind. As with all districts, the Tri-Square is well-fortified with several gates within one of the city's inner walls, though it is notably more open than the rest. The palaces within the Tri-Squares include the Palace of Blood and Salt, the Palace of Cloth and Gold, and the Palace of Iron and Stone, each holding differing shops of myriad types and sorts. Despite this obvious centralisation, numerous shops can be found selling their wares outside of the main squares, in the streets between, or even elsewhere in the city entirely.
• Herald's Sept — Referring primarily to the Herald, the prime priest of the Archheart in Tor Tirista, this district plays host to several temples and is built around a Spire of Theurgy holding the Herald of Corellon, the high priest of the city and primary religious authority within its walls and in this section of the Iressar Conclave. The Herald's Sept also holds temples to all other gods commonly worshipped, and it is often a place for pilgrims and priests to venture to and pray, but also for the Clerics and Paladins of the gods, rare as they may be, to operate from.
• The Collegium Arcanum — While there is not a single primary place of arcane study within Tor Tirista, and where such study takes place is smaller than in some cities, even here in the Iron City, there exists a district fully devoted to magical study and learning of all kinds. Wizards, Sorcerers, and Bards all perform their arts within the Collegium Arcanum, a towering Spire of Theurgy taller than most others, serving as an academy and institution of magical learning. Around the Collegium are many arcane facilities, locations, and accommodations, ranging from shops catering to the needs of many arcanists within the city, to the library of the Atheneum Incantum, the overarching organisation under the Archmage of Investiture on the Curosin, charged with gathering and maintaining arcane knowledge throughout the Iressar Conclave.
• Terraced Sprawl — Primary residential district of the city, the Terraced Sprawl is one of the more expansive districts of Tor Tirista, playing host to most of the middle and lower classes of the city, and commands the greatest room in the city.
• Magisterium — Referring primarily to the Spire of Theurgy it is formed around, the Magisterium is the hub of government within Tor Tirista, hosting the main workings of the Magisterium, centred in the Magisterium's Quarter, though it also hosts most of the nobility and upper class that do not have a Spire of Theurgy to themselves.

Guilds and Factions

Within Tor Tirista, there exist many factions, each with its desires and agendas. These can roughly be categorised into the Nobility, the Criminal, and the Governmental, each defined by its own overarching alignment within the city.

Nobility

Defined as 'nobility' by the city's internal hierarchy, these are all members of the High Houses, though they are too numerous to count all.

• House Glosroch — First House of the Iron City, House Glosroch is the most prominent and powerful force within the city of Tor Tirista. They hold two of the seven members of the Magisterium and count among their number Fearil Glosroch, the Herald of the Archheart, as is tradition. They are led by Lord Anwion the Wise, the most senior Archmage on the Magisterium, serving as its Voice, who has been present within Tor Tirista for time immemorial.
• House Tintilar — Second House of the Iron City, House Tintilar is famed for its magical knowledge and dedication to the arcane arts in full. They maintain the Tintilar Hall, a place of learning beyond the college's halls within the Collegium Arcanum, and it is a Tintilar that sits at the head of the Collegium at large.
• House Cúndil — A more minor House within the city's hierarchy, they oversee construction and have ties to at least three smaller guilds. Affectionately known as 'The House of Masons'.
• House Alcarin — Another minor house, House Alcarin is known for its influence within the Cartographer's Guild that maintains itself within Tor Tirista.
• House Galanodel — One of the minor High Houses, House Galenodel is old, at one point standing as the Fourth House of the city, but has since lost its privileged position among the top of the High Houses. Primarily, this is due to its strange rites of succession: to be recognised, a member of House Galanodel must be recognised as an adventurer themselves. Despite their loss of influence, however, House Galanodel's name is still well-known to the inhabitants of Tor Tirista: it is naught but two-hundred years ago that their influence was lost.

Criminal

Criminal organisations are a fact of life within every city, at least in some capacity. This is also the case in Tor Tirista, though due to the heavy presence of the Golden Guard it is less prevalent (or at least less visible) than one might expect.

• The Hand — A crime syndicate originally from the Darethian Empire, the Hand has spent the last thirty years establishing a foothold within the underbelly of the Iron City. While such is slow-going, it has now established a permanent presence in the form of the Lady's Court.
• The Lady's Court — A sect of the Hand run by The Lady.

Governmental

• The Magisterium — The governing body of Tor Tirista, the Magisterium is a magocratic organisation of seven members, drawn from the greatest arcanists within the city, usually taken from the first seven houses. They maintain their headquarters within the district of the same name at the heart of the city.
• The Golden Guard — Serving as the militia, guards, and army all in one, the Golden Guard (so named for their golden armour) is the professional citizen-militia of the city, operating as a part of the larger citizen-army of the Iressar Conclave. They are especially well-known for their stoic bravery in the face of great danger.

Points of interest

The Tri-Palace

• Palace of Blood and Salt — One of the three Palaces — squares — in the Tri-Palaces, the Palace of Blood and Salt sells foodstuffs and provisions; it is filled with butchers and grocers, farmers, alcoholic beverages, wholesalers, and general stores. The Palace of Blood and Salt is a square of simple stonework, filled with market stalls and actual physical stores.
• Palace of Cloth and Gold — The more high-end of the Palaces, the Palace of Cloth and Gold is a larger square than the Palace of Blood and Salt; it is a square that possesses shops concerned with leisure, but also clothing, fabrics, jewellery and raw precious materials and jewels; all things associated with how one dresses and presents oneself. While the Palace of Cloth and Gold is most well-known for its more high-end stores, it also holds many middle- and lower-class stores.
• Palace of Iron and Stone — Even in a military city such as the City of the Guard, there is one area specialising in arms, armour, and everything in between. Raw construction materials and metals can be found here among the myriad blacksmiths and other stores dealing with the same.
• The Morning's Dew — A small, dingy tavern built against the city's inner walls near the Palace of Blood and Salt. It is a stone building that has been built from the solid stone shared also in the massive walls. It is a front for the Lady's Court, settled in the large cellars.
• Soot and Silver — Named for the massive hearth that sits central to the tavern, ringed with elaborate silver decorations (now coloured a dull grey due to the smoke), the Soot and Silver is the main tavern and inn frequented by travellers to Tor Tirista, due to its prominent location right beside the main city gates. It is run by a husband-and-husband couple: a Half-Elf and a Halfling named Erhace and Crakas. Already known to Belial, who reported a cheater there. They will recognise him next time he arrives.
• The Needler — A humble establishment within the Palace of Cloth and Gold, this store specialises in fabrics and clothing and is run by a singular female Half-Elf. The sign outside of its window advertising it as a shop of its kind is animated, a brass spool surrounded by a red string, with an animated sewing needle. it was enchanted by her grandfather, to whom she hopes to live up.
• Venturer’s Wares — A secondary location for the Lady’s Court, Venturer’s Wares is a warehouse and thus serves to store textiles, spices, and other wares that make their way up the Iron Road from the Golden Concordat. The building is squat, square, and forgettable with two entrances on either side, one leading out into the street, the other into a back alley that links with the street in a curve around the building. Many crates and tables line the interior, which is lit by torches on the walls and also maintains a small side-room for use by the staff.

Terraced Sprawl

• House Galanodel — The home of House Galanodel is a fortress-manor, with thick but elegant walls surrounding a courtyard. Within are two buildings, semi-attached. One, a tower, holds most of the living quarters for the nobility and members of the House and the facilities required for their operation. The other, a more castle-like hall, contains a grand hall (used for banquets and visits etc), and guest rooms alongside barracks and other military facilities.

Solemn Ring

• Solemn Spire — The towering spire at the centre of the Herald's Sept is constructed of alabaster stone in traditional Elvish design: it is thin enough that it often looks like it might snap in twain with a breeze, and is decorated with balconies and windows at several points. It holds the offices and living place of the Herald of the Archheart and their staff, Clerics, Paladins, and Priests of Corellon the Archheart.
• Sept of the Archheart — The main place of worship of Corellon, the Sept of the Archheart is a large seven-sided temple to the Archheart, Corellon Larethian. It is built from elegant russet stone and carved with intricate patterns. A large mosaic of the symbol of the Archheart covers the floor, sparkling under stained glass depicting the Archheart and the Cauldron in several scenes.
• Passing On or Over — A tavern and inn at the edge of the Herald’s Sept, the Passing On or Over is a relatively thin but tall establishment built against the walls of the district. It is decorated by a multitude of lamps and lights; torches and arcane lights, all forming a shimmering miasma of smoke and magic, making it rather prominent and visible.

Umber Ring

• Umber Spire — One of the tallest Spires of Theurgy within the city, the Umber Spire sits at the exact centre of the Ring of Umber that carries its name, is around 450 feet (140 metres) tall and is constructed from stone so bright white that it glows in the sunlight. Many tall windows dot its side, though it does not seem to have a door. It is the home of the Lord Master of the Collegium Arcanum and the High Rector of the Atheneum Incantum and serves as the epicentre of magical knowledge within the city. It has a full staff of wizards, mages, and other arcanists at all times that advise the Lord Master, who traditionally is a member of the Magisterium. Additionally, the magical defences of the city are controlled from there.
• The Collegium Arcanum — Divided into nine Colleges (Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Dunamis, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, and Transmutation), the Collegium Arcanum is a series of buildings set in a walled courtyard, each building holding facilities to benefit a College each. It should be noted, however, that not only Wizards study there: Bards and Sorcerers both practice their arts as well. It also features small libraries and dorms for the students in smaller spires that jut out above the Inner Walls, though most of the activity is concentrated around the Colleges of magic themselves.
• Atheneum Incantum — The main library and source of arcane knowledge within the city, the Atheneum is an alabaster building with several smaller towers, surrounded by an iron fence with a warded gate. Operated by the monks of the library, its main hall looks like it has been carved from natural rock, with several corridors that lead off to the individual towers, each specialising in one area of magic. They are lit by Faelights in sconces on the wall, and there are levels and levels of books and shelves for reading, with places to sit and spend time.

Magisterium Ring

• The Magisterium Spire — Sitting in the centre of the city, the Magisterium's Spire towers over the city at hundreds of feet tall. It is a building made from the same white stone as the Umber Spire, featuring elegant gold and silver decorations in arcane runes and patterns that criss-cross the spire and seem to shift while watched. It features many balconies and parapets, though these seem to appear and disappear at will. Its gate is pure silver, engraved with the elegant symbol of the city. The surrounding area is picturesque: brilliantly-green lawns with footpaths and well-maintained trees are everywhere, surrounding the Magisterium Spire and crossing through the entire Ring.
• House Alcarin — More a victorian mansion than any other sort of manor within the city, the estate of House Alcarin is set within a compound surrounded by four tall walls capped with elegant iron points that hum with magic. A gate is set in the wall, leading to a compound that is larger than it seems from the outside. An elegant footpath leads to the manor proper.

Founding Date

192 PC

Alternative Name(s)

City of the Guard, The Iron City

Type

City

Population

Around 45,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Tiristan

Location under

Cyren Basin

Included Locations

• Umber Spire

Owning Organization

Iressar Conclave

Characters in Location

• Sagax Seelie
• The Lady

Related Reports (Primary)

• Session 3: The Gates of the Guard