"The entire world may be in danger, but that's no excuse for poor manners." Mary Culworth, University Steward.
Welcome to the third part of Gallanburgh's history, which discusses life as part of the kingdom of Tarrenmark, and in particular the effect Sirran Vanley had upon the city. We will also cover the machinations of Pakessith the Gentle, the Green Dragon, and the beginning of the Upheaval.
While the first two parts of this detailed around a century, this one covers about fifty years.
The first two parts of this can be found: Part 1 and Part 2.
Sirran Vanley: An adventurer and soldier, Sirran Vanley became the governor of Gallanburgh soon after the conquest. His first act was to order the creation of Gallanburgh Castle, just outside the old city's gates, and to complete the curtain wall to maintain order within the city. As a former adventurer, Vanley, understood the role that the adventuring economy had within Gallanburgh and sought to maximise it, though it was also rumoured that he was using adventuring parties to further his own ends and to recruit promising young adventurers to his own staff. One of his legacies in the city was the creation of the Vanley Prize, an annual purse of gold to go to the adventuring party that showed the most promise - judged each year on the deeds adventurers had completed. He worked closely with the Erylian Guild in the creation of this, and they remain the custodians of the Prize to this day.
Vanley also worked to expand the city. Under his watch, Little Marshton - a small hamlet next to the River Sildon - was absorbed into the city, and a bridge was built across to the northern shore. This new part of the city was called New Town and became devoted to smithing, tanning and other industries to help prepare for war, reflecting the conscription of new soldiers for Tarrenmark's continuing war with the northern barbarians. A War College was founded as well, but didn't last beyond Vanley's death.
Despite the fears expressed by the academics in charge of the Colleges, Vanley appears to have gone out of his way to stay out of their way, and to make them comfortable with the new status quo. To that end, he would work to direct adventurers to help recover rare items for study. This led to several missions into the nearby forests, where ruins and the rumour of an Elven settlement drew keen treasure hunters. However, this action also led to two unfortunate events. First, it triggered a second Orc War, drawing the forest's Humanoid inhabitants to unite again and try to drive the invaders out. This led to attacks on the city and the cult of the hero-god, Hector, sending Paladins north to aid Gallanburgh.
Secondly, the war led to the dragon, Pakessith, waking from her centuries-long slumber. After saying her appetite (on goblins for the most part, confident they wouldn't be noticed by either side and that their deaths would only embed the conflict more deeply) she began to explore the new world she'd woken up in. Much had changed since she'd gone to sleep, and she recognised little of the world. Shifting her shape to appear Elven, the dragon scouted the city, investigating this new place, so dedicated to magic, coming to appreciate how she could exploit it.
Despite the chaos already engulfing the region, Pakessith chose to bide her time, devoting her efforts to reconnaissance and espionage, and travelling to Tarrenmark's capital, Murrenburgh, to gain a stronger perspective. In the end, she took on the identity of an Elven Wizard, offering her services to the King. Once ensconced, she worked to undermine Tarrenmark and subvert it to her rule. Farsight, ill-named from the start, fell to her wiles and moved to crack down on Gallanburgh, ordering the dissolution of the Colleges. Vanley protested at this - first because it destroyed the original purpose of Gallanburgh's annexation, and second because the city had proved to be a great asset to the kingdom, politically and economically. Believing he could reason with Farsight, the governor rode north to the capital. He never returned.
In response, the Black Griffin mercenary company, acting on long-standing orders, marched north to lay siege to Murrenburgh. This was based on a long-standing agreement between Vanley and the leader of the Griffins, Torvin Marnash, that should anything happen to either of them the other man would avenge them.
Gallanburgh was left in chaos, still at war with the Orcs from the forest and under orders to disband their greatest asset. Perhaps it's no surprise that the Black Hand chose this moment to resurface and that the old Pals Brigades who'd helped to defend the city against Tarrenmark's armies reformed and recruited a new generation of volunteers.
Pakessith the Gentle: perhaps justifying Vanley's belief in adventurers, the people who worked out what was really happening were a group of sellswords called the Lucky Six. Led by Oma, a Paladin of Hector, they happened upon Pakessith's lair, deep in the forest, and realised that something strange was happening because the lair was well guarded and stocked, but the green dragon wasn't in residence. Reasoning that no dragon would abandon their lair for long and without good reason. This led them on a hunt to discover what was going on, eventually leading to a first contact situation with the Elves of Isi Thalore. Hidden deep in the forest and defended by illusion spells and the diligence of rangers, the Elven city had maintained a strict law of isolation from the rest of the world for centuries following the outbreak of a deadly disease a thousand years before.
Oma, with her comrades, gained admittance to the forest city and successfully met the leaders, including Vadania Arnuanna, the leader of the community and high priestess of Selanya, the moon goddess. There, they discovered that the dragon was real and had been asleep for at least seven centuries. Vadania charged the Six to seek a way to slay the dragon, saying that Pakessith would make a grave of the entire world if she could. This led the Six to abandon Gallanburgh for some time, heading north towards the lands north of Appleton in search of more wisdom. Eventually, this led them to the Dragon Spine Mountains in the Barbarian Lands north of Tarrenmark, close to the Howling Sea. There, they found the Dwarven City of Bholrogh and sought more information concerning their foe.
Unfortunately by this time, the dragon had learned that the Elven city still existed and that the Six were trying to locate her. Determined to stop them, she sent some of Tarrenmark's troops to invade the forest, even though it meant breaking off the war with the barbarian tribes. At the same time, she sent a group of hunters north to find the Six, with orders to bring their heads back as proof they'd been killed. By this point, the dragon had suborned so much of Farsight's court, that she ruled Tarrenmark in all but name. Sensing a chance to increase her power, she raised taxes and set about ensuring the army's generals were personally loyal to her. She did the same with the navy and the magical leaders, having killed or engineered the exile of anyone who may have opposed her over the past decade.
The Hunters, led by Jurgen Indori the Huntsman of the North, tracked the Six to Bholrogh and parleyed their way inside, pretending to be simple travellers. Before long, they broke the laws of hospitality by attacking the Six in their beds, in an attempt to assassinate them. Battle broke out throughout the guest quarters and swiftly escalated to encompass the entire city as the Six reached to use their entire might. When the dust settled, all the Hunter but Jurgen had been killed, but the Six's Dwarf Cleric, Orsik Balderk had also perished - run through by a spear. At this point, the Six almost broke and resorted to torturing Indori. Only Oma's oaths of piety prevented it, as she defended their enemy.
Learning of the "Elven" Wizard who'd sent them on their quest, and the grip in which she held the Kingdom, the adventuring party concluded their foe had gathered a great deal of temporal power in addition to her magical ability. They also reasoned that any attack on Murrenburgh would lead to the dragon assuming her true form and destroying the population with her breath weapon. Unwilling to have so many deaths on their hands, the Six ventured north in search of a fabled Dwarf forge where the martial members of the party could find specialist gear. On the way, they were joined by a Half-Orc, Hogar Bloodaxe who was seeking revenge for his wife's death. When they arrived at the forge, Muggrin Dallane, the Forge Master sent them even further north to battle a White Dragon to prove they were worthy of his craft. He gave them the dragon's lair's location - a fallen Dwarf city called Khagdun - and sent them north with a couple of days' worth of provisions. Perhaps the Six's experience served them well here, for the ruined city lay about a month's travel to the north on foot, with the party forced to traverse many dangerous valleys and mountains.
Finding the dragon, they battled and killed it, taking its lair and hoard for themselves. In particular, they took a set of ancient Dwarven weapons and returned them to Muggrin who then made them a set of weapons and armour powerful enough to aid their battle with the green dragon. After this, they made their way south, ready for battle.
The Upheaval: it isn't known where the Upheaval began, or who initiated it. What is known is that when the stars entered a certain alignment, it triggered a thinning of the walls between Planes, releasing hordes of monsters into the world. Gallanburgh was particularly targeted, as many of the invaders sensed the amount of magic stored within its walls. The Black Hands and the Pals Brigades fought the Elementals, Demons, Devils and other monsters as the sky turned red and evil dragons and other creatures struck, seeking to seize power.
Marcus Magner, a young wizard in the Pals Brigades, led the resistance in Gallanburgh, patrolling the streets and battling monsters block by block. Breaking into Salladore College, they pillaged the stores and used them to fight the invaders. Ultimately, the conflict came down to a powerful demon who set his eyes on Gallanburgh to carve out as a personal fief. This led to a battle between Magner and his allies and the demon, which destroyed most of the city.
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That's where I'm going to bow out with this one and expand on the Upheaval next week.
One thing I've decided to do is leave Scion for a while, mostly because I want to spend a long time writing the setting, and make it work and be respectful to New Orleans. I'll seek to publish that in the autumn.
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