Drethor
Location: Western part of the Fire Continent
Description: Though slightly less militaristic than it had once been, the city of Drethor remains vital to the strength of the Empire of Tyranoth’s armies. All male citizens of Drethor are still required to enter military service for six months at certain ages—humans at age 18, elves at 200, and dwarves at 130. The city has become more cosmopolitan as a result of Tyranoth’s influence, though the citizens are still wary of races outside of humans, elves, and dwarves. It remains home to the Altar of Eternal Fire and the Weapon Forge in addition to the Great Tree at the center of the city.
History: Drethor’s past is one of much hardship. When the Seekers were still in full power, a crazed elven druid named Minos Ursa wreaked havoc upon the city, killing thousands of people while raising a forest within and around Drethor. At the center of the city, Minos raised a gigantic tree—a magnificent sight that, though terrible in its destruction, was beautiful to gaze upon. It was at the top of this great tree where Minos was killed by a mysterious figure known only as The Gray Man.
In the wake of Minos’ destruction, the Seekers claimed the city as their own. Standing triumphant over a battered and broken city, the Seekers rebuilt Drethor. They rekindled the fires of the Weapon Forge and repaired the Altar of Eternal Fire. They built a park surrounding the Great Tree in order to commemorate how beautifully destructive nature could be. However, despite their benevolence over the ruined state of Drethor, they were, in the end, still Seekers. Drethor had once been a home to a great amount of dwarves. When the Seekers took control, they purged the dwarves through genocide. The few who were lucky to escape found themselves lost in the forests that now surrounded Drethor, forests in a place where a desert had once stood.
Eventually, however, under the pressure of the Red Empire and the Elves, the Seekers fell out of power. They were given an ultimatum in Drethor: dissemble or face invasion. The Seekers chose to lay down their arms and leave Drethor, though they ensured that they would remain in power by installing supporters of the Seekers’ ways in the government. It worked. The Seekers were no longer the ones controlling Drethor, so the Red Empire could not attack it, but meanwhile, it was still as if they had never even left.
In 275 A.R., inspired by the successful Serf’s Revolution in Tyranoth, a handful of Drethorians decided to revolt as well. Trying to overthrow the heavily Seeker-influenced government, the revolutionaries mainly used terrorist tactics, inspiring fear into the hearts of the citizens with random attacks on essential and nonessential targets. However, the Small Revolt, as it came to be known, failed within the year as there lacked support for the effort within the city and the revolutionaries could not find support elsewhere—Tyranoth was still recovering from its own revolution and Keldremad did not feel as if Drethor would be able to pay it back if the revolution succeeded. Eventually, those involved were either killed or exiled, and Drethor remained a Seeker-influenced state, even though, by now, the Seekers had crumbled.
In 283 A.R., when the city finally settled, the ruler of Drethor, King Thedis Alsera, decided it best to expand his territories. The forests raised by Minos had proven to be a blessing and provided Drethor with a strong lumbering trade. More frequent rainfall begat fertile lands which Drethorians could farm. Year by year, more and more towns were chartered as the city-state expanded.
However, border disputes between Drethor and Tyranoth in 310 A.R. led to the Twelve Years’ War, which Drethor lost when overwhelmed by Tyranoth and its ally, Keldremad. Here, the King Royce III of Tyranoth disbanded the Drethorian government and installed a new court, headed by the dwarven Governor Riggo Ten’marzen. Royce was intent on reestablishing the dwarven population in Drethor—but not many citizens in that city shared his view.
Riggo established a systematic desegregation program which lasted from 323 A.R. until 386 A.R. In this program, Riggo imposed harsh laws on racial-related crimes and required all schools to teach racial tolerance to children. Over the years, different races began filtering slowly into the city, beginning with the dwarves, who found that they were more than welcome to operate the forges. Elves, also, were inspired to take up residence in the city, if only to be near the famed Great Tree.
Though now different races have been integrated into Drethor, its citizens are still quite wary of the Abhor, Tersids, and Ogrin, not wanting to welcome them with open arms but at least not attacking them openly in the streets.
Population: Roughly between 600,000-700,000 citizens, split about 50% humans, 35% dwarves, 14% elves, and 1% other. According to previous censuses, the dwarven population is growing more rapidly than the human population, and it is projected that within the next two centuries, the dwarven population will become most dominant.
Current Leader: Governor Bartin Ten’marzen, the grandson of the late Riggo Ten’marzen who is especially fond of late-night tavern romps with the common people. He is charged with protecting the western realm of Tyranoth.
Empire: Drethor is a major city of the Empire of Tyranoth.
Militia: As stated above, all male citizens (of the human, elven, and dwarven races) are required to enlist in the military at certain ages for six months. Drethor’s militia consists of a stable 40,000 men, though several are sent elsewhere to serve in the greater Tyranian army.
