Ternford

Ternford was a bastion of Tílunuren military supremacy in the late Third Age, boasting revolutionary new technology in the way of defence. Recent innovations had allowed for thicker, taller, stronger walls, more powerful weaponry, and a more advantageous location.

Although it was primarily a military city, with the largest garrison of any Tílunuren city, Ternford was also inhabited by regular civilians, and had one of the largest populations in Tílunur. Some were deterred by the military presence in Ternford, but others looked to it for the safety it brought—in all its history, Ternford was only attacked three times; once soon after it was built by Avkazûrians, once in 2764 Third Age by the B'omarrin Kashar, and once at the end of the Seventh Age by Deathwatch. After the Avkazûrians failed so completely, other armies steered clear of Ternford, with the B'omarrin Kashar only daring to attack it at the height of their strength.

Cities all over Irëduin attempted to model their defences on Ternford's, but the city was fiercely defensive of their secrets, and few succeeded in achieving the same level of proficiency.

Defences

Sat on the side of a mountain as it was, the ground around Ternford was solid rock, which protected any enemy from tunnelling into the city or sapping the walls. The octagonal walls towered over fifty metres tall, were several metres thick, and constructed from reinforced uralite, a pure white stone thought to be the toughest in existence. Posted along the wall-top were archers, as well as regular soldiers on patrol. Towers stood at regular intervals, a ballista atop each, as well as a squadron of archers and a highly trained mage.

Within the city was a ring of taller watchtowers constructed of the same white stone, these with firing posts for archers. In 2716 Third Age, these posts were updated to allow for crossbow posts fitted with an experimental system designed by Tyrius the Mad Inventor that increased the range immensely and automatically reloaded the crossbows.

Further in were the barracks, where members of Ternford's garrison rested when not on duty. The barracks were defended by archer posts and small ballista towers, and of course the soldiers themselves.

In the centre of the city was the Citadel, which was surrounded by another octagonal wall, with a tower at each corner. The Citadel tower was over a hundred metres tall, a giant white monolith watching over the plains below. Multiple ramparts surrounded the tower, and squadrons of archers were posted all along these. Gaps in the wall opened to allow a new type of weapon to fire; the shotslinger.

Three-quarters of the way up, the Citadel walls were cut away to reveal a large room, the upper section supported by five pillars; four around the edge and one in the centre. In the four gaps were four of the largest ballistae ever constructed, even larger than those used on the city walls. Crews of eight were used to man each ballista, and four squadrons of soldiers stood by in case the room was stormed.

At the top of the Citadel, the tower split, and four peaks branched away from the main mass, curving into claw-like structures that pointed to the sky. The central spire rose twenty metres higher, and each peak was surmounted by a spherical device. Together, these spheres made up a weapon known as the Burning Eye.

Shotslingers

Two bow-like structures with high poundage were fastened either side of a large tube. Passing through a two slots on either side of the tube was a bar which was fastened to the bowstrings, which could slide back and forth if not restrained. The bowstrings were held by a latch, and when released, the bar would be snapped forward, firing the ammunition out of the tube. There would be two protrusions on top of the tube to use as sights. A small hatch on top of the tube could open to admit the shot, which exploded on impact. Once fired, a specialised tool could be used to pull the strings back, and the device could be reloaded. For a trained bombardier, the reloading process would only take a few seconds.

The Burning Eye

A magical relic from long ago, the Burning Eye was rendered inactive when its creator died, taking the secret of its usage with him. Over the years, many mages attempted to use it, but failed. Eventually the Eye was placed atop the Ternford Citadel in a show of power and prestige. In 2764, when Ternford was attacked by the B'omarrin Kashar, Ralthyr hinted that he knew how the Burning Eye could be used, but left it at that.

Type

Large city