Kolzh-Trusst
Overview
Kolzh-Trusst is the sprawling, festering heart of the vile Raathegn, a race of cunning, disease-ridden rat-like humanoids that plague the continent of Schuttarch. Nestled deep in the suffocating Forest of Decay, the city is a labyrinth of decay, corruption, and war machinery, an embodiment of their twisted civilization. Kolzh-Trusst is not merely a settlement; it is a hive of relentless activity, where the Raathegn plot their endless conquests and vile experiments. Its influence spreads like a malignant tumor, swallowing nearby villages in its wake, leaving only death and pestilence behind.
Geography and Structure
Kolzh-Trusst is built into the heart of the Forest of Decay, a cursed, rotting woodland on Schuttarch's desolate northern expanse. The city rises like a jagged wound in the forest, its green glow piercing the smog-laden skies.
Key Features:
- The Virulent Spire:
At the center of Kolzh-Trusst stands the Virulent Spire, a massive, spiraling tower of iron and bone, constantly belching toxic green smoke. This is where the Raathegn conduct their most depraved experiments, developing new strains of plagues and fortifying their war machines. - The Filth Warrens:
A sprawling network of tunnels and caverns beneath the city serves as both living quarters and escape routes. It is said that the tunnels extend for hundreds of miles, allowing the Raathegn to strike from the shadows. - The Rotting Forgeworks:
Kolzh-Trusst’s industry thrives on misery. Here, enslaved captives are forced to craft vile weapons, from rusted blades to disease-carrying catapults. The stench of molten metal and rotting flesh chokes the air. - The Plague Pits:
Massive chasms where the Raathegn throw their dead, diseased animals, and chemical experiments. These pits serve as breeding grounds for new plagues and abominations. - The Outer Walls:
Ramshackle yet daunting, the walls of Kolzh-Trusst are adorned with spikes and grotesque effigies. The walls are frequently patrolled by Raathegn warbands, ensuring no one leaves—or enters—alive without their approval.
Culture and Way of Life
The Raathegn of Kolzh-Trusst live by a hierarchy of domination and fear. Leadership is determined not by birthright but by cunning, treachery, and brute strength. The current ruler, Skarvak Churnfang, holds his position through a combination of fearsome charisma and ruthless efficiency, but his underlings constantly scheme for his downfall.
Daily Life:
- War Preparations: Every Raathegn is expected to contribute to the city's war efforts. Whether building weapons, breeding swarms of smaller beasts, or raiding nearby villages, their society is relentlessly focused on expansion.
- Devotion to Pestilence: The Raathegn view disease as a gift, and their shamans worship the "Lords of Decay," deities who embody entropy and corruption. Rituals often involve infecting themselves with controlled strains of disease to demonstrate loyalty.
The Threat of Kolzh-Trusst
Kolzh-Trusst's armies are its most terrifying feature. Swarming in the thousands, these warbands combine numbers, savage ferocity, and biological warfare to devastating effect. Nearby villages and towns are routinely raided, their inhabitants slaughtered or enslaved, and their lands left rotting with plagues.
Weapons of War:
- Plague Engines: Massive, wheeled devices that spew toxic fumes and infected projectiles.
- War Beasts: The Raathegn breed monstrous creatures in the Plague Pits, from diseased rats the size of horses to twisted hybrids of various animals.
- Chemical Warfare: No enemy is safe from their plagues, carried by arrows, catapults, and even their warriors themselves, who willingly spread disease in combat.
Relations with Neighboring Lands
- Ranvok: The amphibian Ranvok people have a tense and violent relationship with Kolzh-Trusst. Their swampy lands to the southeast have long been a target for Raathegn expansion.
- The Shannari: The proud Shannari people of the southern deserts view the Raathegn as vile abominations. Though the two rarely come into direct conflict, Shannari caravans are wary of venturing near the Forest of Decay.
- The Asiendalian Kingdom: The Raathegn are a known persistent pest to Kingdom but their disorganized nature makes them more of a nuisance than a true threat to the kingdom's might.
Legends of Kolzh-Trusst
- The Ever-Skittering Beast:
A legendary creature said to dwell in the deepest caverns beneath Kolzh-Trusst. This massive rat-like abomination, called Krahzzar the Boundless, is said to be the progenitor of the Raathegn and their diseases. - The Glowstone Curse:
The green crystals that power Kolzh-Trusst’s machinery are believed to be cursed. It is said that anyone who steals one will wither away, their body consumed by glowing boils. - The Unending Tunnels:
Some say Kolzh-Trusst’s tunnels connect to every major region of Schuttarch, allowing the Raathegn to strike without warning.
Future Threats
Kolzh-Trusst grows stronger with each passing day, its warbands spreading disease and destruction across Schuttarch. Unless stopped, the Raathegn's ambitions could one day extend beyond their decaying forest, threatening the world with a tide of filth and chaos.
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