Delaric

As its position at the heart of a central network of dirawaen roads shows, Delaric is a major trade center linking north with south, east with west. Heavily fortified, with three-meter thick city walls and a massive fortress keep occupied by Montand and his troops (including the exceptional heavy cavalry of the city), the city is wealthy and still. Rulership level here is high. Delaric is famed for its artisans; engineers, architects, fine furniture makers, and the like. The people of the city are very practical. They know the price of everything. The city's university has a reputation for practicality and pragmaism—not the arcane arts.

The mages' guild includes in its training courses how to use spells for commercial purposes, helping in city build ing, agriculture, and the like. Delaric's mages are not of great power or repute, but they are not absent-minded or eccentric. And they are certainly not poor.

Not surprisingly, the priesthood of Zilchus is strong in this city. This gives Montand some cause for anxiety, since he is aware that this priesthood generally favors the House of Darmen for the malachite throne. While Montand himself has no ambitions for the throne, he is loyal to his own house and has received assurances from the wily patriarch of the city, Hearden, that the priest hood will not be "politically" active here.

Against this backdrop of wealth, no little elegance, and pragmatism, Delaric's other claim to fame is its superb Bardic Colosseum. Bards of Delaric are welcome through out the Aerdy lands; they are renowned for their skill with poetry and declamation. The bardic college makes much of teaching bards genealogy and history, so that their command of epic historical lays and verse is unparalleled.

The most famous—or infamous—of the city's bards is undoubtedly Nightsong, a sinister but commanding presence at Montand's court. It is said that even Montand is somewhat afraid of the bard, whose power over his audiences is well-attested. Nightsong makes a habit of challenging guests with his recitations, and his innate evil is very clear from the relish with which he can skewer unfortunate victims of his displeasure with sarcastic barbs and veiled insults.

Montand rules his city with a harsh grip. Penalties for crime are generally harsh, and one oddity of the city's laws is the category of "cultural crime." Much as statutes against blaspheming deities are part of the laws, so are statutes against defaming or portraying in an irreverent light the cultural attainments of the city—and especially its bards. These laws are almost unworkable, but are wheeled out every now and then to deal with trouble some people who Montand wishes to have placed in exile from Delaric without appearing to be arbitary about matters.

Among the city's residents, a notable recent arrival is Krennden, the renegade priest of Hextor who has denounced Ivid and set himself up in opposition to the patriarch-general in Rauxes. Krennden is rapidly whipping up converts to his cause, which is basically that of an (un)holy war to drive out an insane heretic and restore the proper pride of armies to the lands of Aerdy. Why Montand allows this troublesome priest to continue with his public rantings, given that this is a virtual invita tion to Ivid to strike hard against him, is very unclear. Some say Krennden must have some hold, magical or blackmail, over the prince to be allowed the freedom he has in the city. A recent assassination attempt against him by priests loyal to the patriarch-general gained Krennden sympathy and kudos, and he has now effectively taken over the temple of Hextor within the city. Some of Montand's troops clearly chafe at the bit under the priest's urgings, and openly express their desire to ride on Rauxes and install their prince as overking, a prospect Montand has no taste for. Of course, if he allied with some other princes then a combined army could make that fateful ride, which would deal with the problem—one way or another.