Bruumthorne

The Heart of an Empire

The capital of the Laridian Empire is a melting pot of cultures. One can see influences from Ambermount, Qerat, Melanza, and even Ulmaran influences. It is the home of the Condordat, the advisory council of the Sovereign, and the Orinarium, a conclave of arcane practitioners that share their knowledge and assist in the expansion of arcane knowledge.
Approaching the city, one first sees the drifting spires of the House of Emerald. The ever shifting towers are home to the Orinarium and its extensive archives. Sitting just behind this marvel is the Spurned Palace, the seat of the Sovereign and the Concordat. Getting closer, the heavily fortified walls of Bruumthorne become more evident. The bastions lining it heavily armed and always manned. The black stone of their construction a stark contrast to the glittering towers of the House. The gates of the capital are hewn from ancient ironwood and laced with wards. Entering the city, one is greeted by a wide array of sights and smells. No building of the same architectural style as its neighbour and many different tongues reaching one's ears.

The Wards

The Hearths is the district furthest south within the walls. A maze of winding streets, it is where the majority of dockhands keep their homes. The district is mostly empty, save for the grocers and general stores being frequented by those in the area that are not working during the day. Though, at night, the Hearths are where one goes should they be looking for a night of true revelry. The bars and dance halls of the Hearths do not glaze their windows for good reason. However, should one seek pleasures of the flesh then they should look to Black Borough.
For all manner of tools, both magic and mundane, one should look to the southern reaches of Cantas' Ward. This is where the skilled trades of Bruumthorne reside, and where one can find many interesting tomes that perhaps even the Orinarium cannot provide. The rest of the ward is a collection of residential areas, restaurants, and specialty shops. The House of Emerald stands in this ward, its halls open to all who wish to take in the knowledge of its libraries.
The Peaks house the most affluent of Bruumthorne's populace, the upper crust of society. The homes here are often excessive and too large for the amount of people that live in them. However, it is also a hive of information, if one knows where to look. The Peaks are where the ebb and flow of the aristocratic battles for the Sovereigncy take place.

The Harrowed

The guards and keepers of law in the capital, the Harrowed are easily identified by their pitch black tabards that cover a suit of the finest orcish mail. All armed with a shield, spear, and cudgel, they are drawn from the dregs Bruumthorne's fighting pits and veterans of the skirmishes to the north. Eerily silent, the Harrowed rarely speak, and when they do it is barely a whisper. This whisper carries to all in the vicinity, regardless of how overwhelming the noise of their surroundings are. Many speculate that this ability is given to them because their souls are bound to the Sovereigncy and the Spurned Throne, their very essence being torn apart in the process. More cynical individual posit that their helms are simply enchanted to produce such an effect.
Regardless, the city's protectors are highly skilled and no strangers to spilling blood when needed. Very few survive a fight to the death with a squad of the Harrowed. Officers of the Harrowed can be identified by the colours of their pauldrons and the highest ranks often carry a spell-forged blade at their hip.

Type

City