Thaliost
Thaliost is a large city in what is now northern Thrane . The area, and the city, used to be part of Aundair , but was confirmed as Thrane territory by the Treaty of Thronehold at the end of the Last War after having been originally captured 80 years before in 926 YK. The citizens still largely consider themselves Aundairan and are torn between bitterness at their political abandonment by their homeland and anger at the seemingly harsh theocratic regime that currently rules the area with a necessarily firm hand.
Riots and small acts of disturbance are not rare occurances and because of this, Thrane has a large garrison of knights in the city, who mostly maintain order. The city's White Arch Bridge used to connect via Lightning Rail to the city of Rekkenmark in Karrnath across the Scions Sound, but has not been repaired since the bridge was destroyed in 928 YK by order of King Kaius I of Karrnath, according to common knowledge.
Thaliost was built in two general stages, first as a fortified city and then as an enclosed port. The original square settlement can still be seen, centered on the famous Crossroads Quarter, and enclosing the sober Old Thaliost, the decaying Tarnish, the business-like Overcourt, and the imposing Citadel of the Flame, the seat of Thranish power in the city. The newer construction appears from above like a pentagon laid on top of the original square. Those whose family has lived in Thaliost for generations still think of this as the "new city" although it was built several decades before the start of the Last War to connect the city's walls with the waterfront and bridge that were its livelihood. This new section includes the rich ward of Silvercliff overlooking Scions Sound, the traders' ward of Roudec, and the rough-and-tumble Westedge (often simply called the Edge).[./p]
The Last War hasn’t ended in Thaliost—the fi ghting has merely quieted, in the eye of a storm that most citizens cannot comprehend ever fading entirely. Some treat the Knights of Thrane as an occupying force; others undercut or sabotage the businesses of neighbors who descend from a different nation. Spies and agitators are thick on the ground, and crime runs rampant.
Demographics
Majority human, but host to more diversity than other Thranish cities due to its position on the sound and its history as a part of Aundair. While most Thranish cities are about 70% human, Thaliost is closer to 50% human, with that 20% difference being mostly those of elvish descent (elves and half-elves).
Government
Representative of the Kingdom of Thrane, theocracy
Defences
Walls built in two different historical periods.
Industry & Trade
Shipping port for Scions Sound
Infrastructure
Hosts the end of the western lightning rail line (used to continue over White Arch Bridge to eastern Galifar).
Guilds and Factions
Aundair: Formally, Aundair has recognized Thrane’s right to Thaliost and its surrounding territories. Informally, Aundairian agents continue to spy on the city and agitate social unrest. If and when the city erupts into violence, Aundair intends to move in and use the safety of the city’s people as justification for violating the Treaty of Thronehold. In the interim, the majority of Aundair’s people despise the fact that their government ceded Thaliost, and they make frequent demands for immediate military action to retake territory that is theirs “by right.”
Aundairian Citizens: Many Thaliostian citizens of Aundairian descent live a tiring, joyless life. Forced to suffer at the hands of Thrane oppressors, many view Aundair with hatred, feeling abandoned, while others simply resign themselves to the notion that their nation of origin lacks the power, or the spine, to rescue them. Though this glum outlook often results in depression and timidity it sometimes erupts in anger and riots. The community as a whole hasn’t tried to rebel since the residents’ grandfathers were brutalized by church forces in 928, but if groups such as the Scions Liberation Front ever have their way, the population of Aundairianblooded citizens might again rise up en masse.
Breland and Karrnath: As the only surviving member of the Five Nations that doesn’t share a border with Thaliost (or at least the contested territories), Breland would seem to have little vested interest in the region. In truth, agents of the King’s Citadel work in secret to keep tensions as high as possible without seeing them boil over. Neither peace nor open violence in Thaliost serves Breland’s interests, for so long as the city remains in a state of flux, it draws the attention of all the surrounding nations—and takes that much of their attention away from Breland’s own activities. The most experienced Citadel agent in Thaliost is Jenarra Kole (N female human rogue 7/dark lantern 1; see Five Nations 69), who masquerades as a jewelry and art importer. Karrnath, too, has a vested interest in keeping the pot of Thaliost bubbling. Even after the destruction of the White Arch Bridge, Thaliost represents a potential gateway into that nation for two of its greatest rivals. By agitating to keep Thaliost in a state of unrest, Kaius’s agents force his enemies’ attention toward each other rather than eastward. Karrnath’s chief instigator in the city, Borval Rikartiol (LE male dwarf rogue 6), occasionally cooperates with Jenarra, though both also keep a close eye on one another.
Church of the Silver Flame: Many Thranes are content with Solgar Dariznu (LE male human cleric 8 [Silver Flame]), the Archbishop of Thaliost. They see him as a loyal patriot trying to do an impossible job in controlling the “ungrateful and bloodthirsty” citizens of the city. Many members of the Church of the Silver Flame, however, have grown increasingly horrified at the brutal methods Solgar uses to enforce his rule. A growing faction within the church, emboldened by rumors of support from Keeper Daran, seeks Solgar’s removal. It hopes to replace him with someone who can keep order more diplomatically, without resulting to public burnings and the like. This faction’s current spokesperson, Oura Gellast (LG female half-elf paladin 5), has survived three assassination attempts. Though she has not made her suspicions public, she fears that Solgar himself is responsible.
Golden Crow: Thaliost’s great wealth and constant unrest form a perfect opportunity for thieves and other criminals. Several bands and guilds operate within the city, but by far the largest and most sinister is the Golden Crow, so called because of the tiny pyrite statuettes left at many of the group’s crime scenes. Led by a shadowy figure known only as the Platinum Man, the Crow appears to have its fi ngers in almost every gang, guild, and syndicate in the city, and is an important stop on the Black Highway. The Golden Crow eschews violence where possible, but several individuals who have interfered with its activities or begun investigating the group have turned up dead.
/*Accessible via the Wanton Witch.*/
House Orien: One of the few factions advocating peace in Thaliost, House Orien hopes to rebuild the White Arch Bridge and restore the lightning rail that once crossed it. Although the house has spent large quantities of money and political capital here, trying to smooth over the differences between the various factions, it has so far proved incapable of calming the region. Until it does, Orien’s leaders are unwilling to devote the resources and effort at rebuilding a bridge and route that might just be destroyed again.
Scions Liberation Front (SLF): Not every citizen of Aundairian descent is willing to accept the Thrane “occupation.” The Scions Liberation Front is, depending on whom one listens to, either a group of devout freedom fighters or a band of brutal terrorists. With cells and hidden assemblies in both Thaliost and across the Aundairian border, the SLF attacks merchant caravans, sabotages military operations, and sometimes blows up entire government buildings. Nobody knows for certain who (if anyone) leads the SLF, but the Thrane government has accused Aundair, Breland, and Karrnath of supporting the organization at various points—accusations that all three governments vehemently deny.
Thrane Citizens: Thaliost’s Thrane-descended citizens live in a twin state of prosperity and fear. Almost all of the city’s upper class, and certainly its governors, are Thrane by descent. Where others just scrape by, they grow wealthy, taking full advantage of the city’s valuable location. On the other hand, Thrane citizens are the most frequent targets of Aundairian anger when those people do rouse themselves to action. Many a wealthy merchant or official has been found beaten in an alley, lynched, or simply turned up missing.
History
Few cities have seen as much recent conflict as Thaliost. The crossroads of three of the continent’s greatest powers, it has become the pivot point around which a number of bloody battles have been fought. Thaliost changed hands a half-dozen times over the course of the Last War, and today perhaps the only thing its citizens can agree on is that their suffering is not yet complete. The city has become a rallying cry for militants and nationalists of all stripe. If another great war erupts, Thaliost might be the spark that ignites it.
THALIOST AT WAR
Well before the start of the Last War, Thaliost, then one of Aundair’s great cities, played host to a conflict of a different sort. Its position at the junction of three great provinces, the ship-heavy Scions Sound, and one of House Orien’s primary trade routes made Thaliost an economic power. Merchants and vendors of all nationalities came to the city to grow rich. Various dragonmarked houses and merchant consortiums attempted to one-up and undercut each other, hoping to claim the lion’s share of the city’s profi ts. Aundair clearly had the upper hand, since that nation collected taxes from every transaction, but the balance of power among the merchants fluctuated from government to house to private enterprise and back again.
Thaliost’s position—literal and figurative—made it a prime target once the Last War began in earnest. Anyone who could take the city could not only plunder its riches and take advantage of its citizens’ resources, they could strip Aundair of a primary source of income.
The first serious move against Thaliost came from Karrnath in 897, three years after the war began. Up to that point, Karrnath’s efforts had been directed toward quelling mounting unrest in its starving population and curtailing large-scale Cyran raids. Thus, when soldiers swarmed over the White Arch Bridge in unprecedented numbers, they caught Aundair by surprise. Thaliost suffered surprisingly little structural damage or loss of life, other than the members of the garrison futilely stationed there to protect against incursion. Many history books don’t even bother to record this conquest, however. Aundair retook the city less than a year later, in conjunction with Cyre, to whom King Wrogar promised a large portion of the recovered wealth. By timing their attack on Thaliost to occur simultaneously with a major Cyran offensive, Aundair forced Karrnath to choose between holding conquered territory in the west, or protecting its assets in the south.
Thaliost fell again in 912, this time to the forces of Thrane. That nation was able to ward off Aundair’s attempt at regaining lost territory until 914, when the death of King Thalin and the ascension of the Church of the Silver Flame briefly threw Thrane’s extended forces into confusion. Taking advantage of the chaos, Aundairian General Mather Naklest (LN male human knight) led an expedition that retook the economic center.
Three new attempts to take the city—one by land (Thrane), two by sea (Karrnath)—were repelled over the next twelve years, but the city’s defenders finally fell for the last time in 926, when Thrane once again occupied not only Thaliost but the surrounding territories. Neither a major Aundairian military effort to retake the city in 927, a commoners’ uprising one year later, a Karrnathi assault in 963, nor dozens of raids and skirmishes over the years have managed to shake Thrane’s hold on the territory. Thaliost was formally ceded to the occupying force by the Treaty of Thronehold at war’s end.
Architecture
Thaliost doesn’t look like other Thrane cities with its skyraking towers, magically shaped stonework, tree-lined boulevards, and wide-open spaces. It looks more like Fairhaven, the capital of Aundair, which isn’t surprising since Thaliost was once an Aundairian city. The Silvercliff ward more closely resembles the architecture of other, newer Thranish cities, as the wealthy Thranes who live there prefer it.
Geography
On the coast of the Scions Sound near the Starpeaks Mountains
Maps
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Thaliost
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