Dresen

Well just putting together some history for Dresen so I don’t make it all up on the spot, and also so I can remember what I made up.

I’m going to put a gate there, but one of chaos of some type. That also helps explain the catfish (large catfish that can cross dry land living in the small pools on the floor of this now dry lake). It’s going to be in an old pyramid (small South American type – I’ll send you a picture) in the ruins on one end of the city.

So the settlements here go back to the stone age. With the first major settlement in the bronze age happening around the gate. I’m thinking Goblins/Hobgoblins/Bugbears were the occupants. The gate inspired them to build the temple over it where they made their sacrifices to the gate on top of the pyramid. This was the center of a small kingdom, that was eventually destroyed being caught between the advancing humanoid tribes from the South, and the Orc raids from the north. This is all in the ruins to the North of the city.

Eventually the lake brought pirates, and these human dominated mix of races founded a settlement to the South of the current site. Here these early iron age miscreants found an inspiration for causing havoc all about. This all ended when the Vell decided it wanted to directly control this area, and end the pirate/raider scourge. This era is marked in the ruins to the South of the current city.

When Vell decided to colonize the area they chose this location for much the same reasons that the early civilizations had chosen it. Abundant water, and good soil. Even though it was close enough to the Fire Mountains to see the smoke during the day, and the fires at night. The lake would protect the city from the volcanoes.

The city was built, and settled. At first things went smoothly, new wealth flowed to Vell from this new colony. Then after a few years the troubles started. The colonists seemed to grow independent, and question the process and laws that to the Vell seemed the very basis of stability. Just as the Vell never understood there lawfulness was driven by the gates in Vell. They never began to suspect that something was pushing the colonists towards independence of thought and action. Colonies had always had some drift away from the rigidity of Vell, and it was just seen as the effects of life on the frontier. In the case of Dresen it was more extreme. No matter how much of a Vell man each new governor was he eventually became restless under the yoke of Vell in a few years. Finally Dresen even rebelled, and tried to break from Vell. The suppression was ruthless and bloody. And, it looked as if Vell was going to be left with an ongoing issue.

However that’s when the eruption came. It was a massive chain of eruptions that changed this fertile area into the wasteland it now is. Overnight the lake was drained as a giant sink hole collapsed in the middle leaving a small but seemingly depthless pool of murky waters that bring only death in the middle of a landscape now tossed between bogs and lava runs with vents emitting sulpherous steam into the air. The fertile shores have become a semi-arid short grass land and the verdant breezes are sand filled winds these days.

The Orcs had always come to visit the pyramid of Jurmal in the ruins. When the Elves abandoned the site they started coming regularly to worship here. When they broke out of their mountain strongholds and returned to the plains they naturally came here.

Type

Town