I: History and Geography

"In those days, Urd Thlol was undisputedly the strongest city in the Mesonorth and one of the strongest in the entire continent. Its power was, of course, primarily due to its unbreachable walls, a mysterious remnant of the time before the Cairn Years. . ."

- from The Ruination of Avalorium

On the Eastern banks of the Glomefall River, twenty miles North of the Avalorian border, looms the ominous city-state of Urd Thlol. Built on the bones of a city that fell before the collapse of the Ancient Kingdoms, it is encircled by a wall of mystical black stone exactly four miles in diameter, which contributes greatly to its grim and menacing appearance. The nature and composition of the stone has never successfully analyzed or duplicated, but until the Night of the Wolf-Wind, it could not be damaged by any weapon or weather known to the continent.

The ruins were discovered and resettled in the year 214 of the New Empire. Originally subject to the central authority of the capital at Trellem Vay, Urd Thlol declared its independence in 219, thus precipitating the First Mesonorthern Civil War, which concluded in 222 with the Treaty of Ning Verrawn. At that time, General Jastor Vyril-son assumed the title of Lord High Governor, which he held until his death in 238. He was succeeded by Colonel Kajarg Trantor-son, thus inaugurating the tradition of Governorship passing neither to the heir of the incumbent nor to an individual elected by popular vote, but rather to the highest-ranking member of the Thlolian Army at the time of the sitting ruler's demise.

Over the next forty years, the surrounding Forest of Hylovast was pushed back to create arable land and reliable travel. Numerous towns and outposts arose in the regions around Urd Thlol, especially to the East and West. Any permanent settlement too close to the borders of Avalorium tended to come under attack by raiders, finally prompting a series of conflicts which continued intermittently between the years of 295-323. The Border Accord put an end to organized military action in the grasslands and hill country which came to be known as Urd Avalor, but meaningful population centers in that area remained sparse for the next century and a half.

CITYSCAPE

The population of Urd Thlol is about 65,000 souls. The largest concentration of citizens, by a sizable margin, dwell in the Northwest sector of the city, better known as the Wayfarers' Quarter. This sector houses the docks which line the Glomefall River, where thousands of people labor every day to facilitate the continual cycle of commerce which sustains the walled city.

Their main trading partner is the island village of Ning Verrawn, a lone settlement surrounded by vast, desolate moors but tucked into an inlet that has been described by historian Jek Ustor-son as "almost supernaturally fecund with trout and every manner of edible waterborne creature." The swift South-moving river carries daily bounty under the perpetually grey and troubled skies of the Mesonorth, and horse-drawn wains from Urd Thlol flow endlessly back to return those rafts to their owners along with crops, milk, and meat, as well as occasional loads of the justly famed Thlolian statuary arts and smithcraft (not excluding their keen-edged, highly durable weaponry).

The Southwest section of the city, or Legions' Quarter, obviously houses the Army, and also the broad oak-lined avenues of marble flagstones where dwell the Governor and various members of the ruling body. Just a few blocks West of the city's exact center, towering over the nearby districts, is the Tower of Vissarion, where top-ranking members of the military and civilian government convene to create and adjudicate the laws of the state.

The granite Tower, which also houses the Council of Archmages, stands fifteen stories high and bristles with the dark and brooding statues for which Urd Thlol is so well known. The front gate is made of intricately carven onyx and warded by powerful spellcraft. Very little Magic is used for day-to-day purposes in the continent, but these doors represent a sort of microcosm of fortification within the larger fortification of the city's impregnable outer walls. In the case of a successful invasion (which has never occurred), the standing protocol is for Governor and his counselors to withdraw to the safety of the Tower.

The Priests' Quarter in the Northeast contains multiple temples to the various Gods known to walk the continent. Urd Thlol's primary allegiance is to Gordash War-God, and his frowning basilica can be seen from nearly anywhere in the Quarter, but lesser chapels dot the streets at irregular intervals. Priests and priestesses in robes of grey, black, gold, indigo, or scarlet (depending upon which God they represent) stride or slink or simply amble along as determined by the arrogance, insidiousness, or indolence of their respective deities. While not outright forbidden, the worship of the One Above the Gods is not considered respectable in Urd Thlol, and the only place sacred to Him is a single small room above a private residence. The Lord of the Dark is not worshiped here.

Finally, in the Southeast section, the Crows' Quarter houses the city slums. Jagged alleys and sagging tenements zigzag through the shadows of old overhanging cornices and corrugated tin rooftops wet with mist and rain. Thieves and beggars lurk in doorways of shale and flimsy pine, and the sad weary laborers who sweep the streets, clean the chimneys, and bear away the slops of the city's more prosperous sectors come and go at all hours of the day or night.

However, the poor folk are not without succor. Priestesses of Aluralyn Life-Giver often visit the Crows' Quarter to tend the sick and hungry, and clerics of Sendra, Goddess of Wisdom, even provide rudimentary schooling. More advanced education is offered to physically promising youths by the Thlolian Army, who recruit a large portion of their ranks from the Southeast via compulsory military service from the ages of 15-27. This is no doubt why even the youngest citizens of Urd Thlol are taught the martial lullaby attributed to Trantor the Bard, circa the year 220 of the New Empire:

This little lion went to battle,

This one defended his home;

This little lion ate troll's flesh,

This one repasted on gnome;

And this little lion went "roar-roar-roar-rooooar"

All the way home.