The Tyr Kingdom
Map of the Tyr Kingdom by J-Haskell. See full-sized image here.
The Tyr Kingdom is a haven of tropical rainforest in the south, and subtropical rainforest in the north. The kingdom is divided into two major regions; the Upper and Deep provinces. There are five Upper provinces: Sunlit, Deepwoods, Whitecliff, Brightsand, and Big Fang; and two Deep provinces: Dusk and Midnight, all located in the ancient cave system beneath the Sunflecked Reaches.
It borders the darklings and Meros to the north, and Padwell and High Heart to the west. Aside from the border with High Heart and Padwell, there’s a strong military presence in every part of the border. No one enters - above ground, anyway - without being thoroughly vetted by his soldiers. |
|
Deepwoods Province
Even more untamed than Whitecliff, the Deepwoods Province is a vast expanse of wild terrain. The high peaks of the Sunflecked Reaches cut through the clouds and shelter dense jungle and forests along their slopes, joining with the ancient forests of the darkling’s territory in the north. Few sundrakes make their home here, and the Province is considered uncivilized by the rest of Tyr.
Currently ruled over by Shardbearer Fern Psyche, a relatively quiet and introverted leader. Since the destruction of the city of Memory in July 505, she and her province have been in open rebellion against the King, trying to force him to abdicate in favour of his son.
✪ Memory
City name: Memory
Ruler: Once governed by the Scions of the Sun; currently abandoned
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Deepwoods Province
Some of the glass urns holding the remains of dead sundrakes had been successfully hidden before the fight, but many more were destroyed in the fighting and uncontrolled fire that ensued. Today the city of Memory lies quiet and half-broken, a testament to how far the King is willing to go to keep order in his kingdom.
It is not a city for the living, however; only dead Sundrakes can call Memory home. After death, their bodies are burned and placed within translucent vessels created in their likeness - ranging from coloured glass to diamond - and interred within the city. If a Sundrake is not properly put to rest they will never pass on, and their angry spirit will haunt their family forever after.
The only living dragons in Memory are a number of Scions of the Sun who maintain the city and protect it from vandals, and mourners coming to inter a loved one or visit the dead. A system of mirrors is scattered across the city so that, at dawn and dusk, beams of sunlight flare out across the buildings, turning it briefly into a glittering basin of light.
✪ Fort Branch
City name: Branch, Fort Branch
Ruler: Commander Corvus Starstrike
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Deepwoods Province
Those who live in Branch grow up fast, and learn to fight and defend themselves from a young age.
✦ Fairhill
Town name: Fairhill
Ruler: Liege Pyxidis Daybreak
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Deepwoods Province
Woodfell forest is believed to grow over the site of an ancient massacre, where a group of maddened Elder Drakes attacked a Sundrake city; the Drakes were eventually killed, but they took hundreds down with them.
If you venture deep enough into the woods, the ruins of the city poke out of twisting roots and vines like old bones. While efforts have been made to find the bodies of the murdered Sundrakes, it is not uncommon to find a piece of a skull or fingerbones poking out of the earth, and locals believe that the dense, dark forest is cursed and haunted by their vengeful spirits.
Local legend tells of a creature lurking in the darkness that hunts down trespassers unerringly, while others scoff and say it’s just a regular old forest. Of course, there’s only one real way to find out...
Whitecliff Province
Named for the sheer limestone cliffs along its coastline, the Whitecliff Province is a rugged, wild place, covered in dense woodland. The forest is often cleared to make room for farming, but somehow it always seems to grow back. It borders the Darklings to the north. Currently ruled over by Shardbearer Mokara Durissus.
✪ Tidewatch
City name: Tidewatch
Ruler: Baroness Viscacha Phoenicis
Founded: 15 B.A.
Region: Whitecliff Province
✪ Whitecliff City
City name: Whitecliff, Whitecliff City
Ruler: Baroness Rhea Altiplano
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Whitecliff Province
The citizens of Whitecliff are well-known both for being excellent swimmers and a surplus of creative seafood dishes.
✦ Wolfwater
Town name: Wolfwater
Ruler: Lord Volantis Cerulean
Founded: 468 A.E.D.
Region: Whitecliff Province
It was partially destroyed during the fighting in the War of the Immortal Sun Queen, although significant repairs and expansions were made during the rule of Queen Rigel Celestial. During the Great Plague of 483 - 490, the temple was abandoned early on, and was once again badly damaged during the Civil War that followed.
Despite its poor condition, it is considered a sacred place by the worshippers of the Moon Sisters and the destination of not a few pilgrimages.
Sunlit Province
The dragons of the Sunlit Province dwell high in the Sunflecked Reaches, in a golden world of sunlight and clean mountain air. The Sundrake aristocracy creates immense palaces in the empty calderas of long-dead volcanoes, breathtaking shrines to their wealth and power. It is ruled over directly by King Tigerlilly Tyr.
🜲 The Sunlit City
City name: The Sunlit City
Ruler: King Tigerlilly Tyr; acting Baroness is Queen-Consort Helia Halcyon
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Sunlit Province
The city itself is a marvel; every inch of it was deliberately and artfully designed to show off the best the Sundrakes can offer. If one fails to keep up appearances in this city they will be removed from it. The current generation of aristocrats who call the Sunlit City home favour the ostentatious and extraordinarily expensive, decorating their homes with intricate patterns of gold filigree and gemstones.
Central to the city is the grand Palace of the Suns, built and decorated in a much older style and ‘charmingly out of date’ according to the modern nobility. It is surrounded by a beautiful garden filled with ponds, exotic flowers, and reflective orbs that send the sunlight scattering across the courtyards in intricate patterns. The Palace itself is tall and spacious, and through the use of glass, mirrors and plenty of indoor plants, feels as though it is a part of the gardens.
✪ Dragon’s Eye City
City name: Dragon’s Eye City
Ruler: King Tigerlilly Tyr
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Sunlit Province
King Tigerlilly resides here in a squat, austere home more akin to a military fortress than the palace of a king, and only leaves the city for the capital when he absolutely has to. A second court of military officials, prosperous merchants, and lesser nobility have formed around him in Dragon’s Eye; the sort of folk who would usually never have direct contact with their monarch, but Tigerlilly’s preferred company to the old and intensely hierarchy-based climate of the Sunlit City.
A system of natural caverns and tunnels runs under the main city streets; it has been converted into a system to remove sewage and waste from Dragon’s Eye, although it also sees use by thieves and outlaws to move about the city unseen and hide ill-gotten goods.
The Old Palace
Located on a large hill not far from Dragon’s Eye City, the Old Palace looms over the surrounding countryside, an ever-present reminder of the Elder Drake’s former dominion over the land.
The Old Palace was where one the devious beasts, Akhlys of the Sunlit City, once ruled over a portion of sundrake territory - a cursed place where no one should go, say the locals. Runic enchantments in the building have kept it in surprisingly good condition, as well as a team of archaeologists who live and work in the Old Palace.
While the building itself is largely ignored today, its style and design still have a strong influence on modern sundrake construction, and new construction techniques are still sometimes learned from studying its walls. The Old Palace is most famous for its immense central ballroom and garden, where illusions still make the walls look like an open sky, shifting to match the seasons and time of day.
The Sundrakes of Icewind are known for their pale blue and green scales, not unlike ice themselves, and local tales say that the village founder made a pact with the spirit of Mount Icefang long, long ago. Whatever the truth of this legend, their colouration is the only unusual thing about them; the dragons of Icewind do not breathe out frost or melt in sunlight, like some rumours claim.
The caves underneath Silverveil Falls have never been fully explored; the black pit and the echoes of water and… something else dissuade all but the most curious dragons. Those who are brave enough to descend into the caves tend to experience strange accidents, and anyone who has tried to stay down there for more than a day has never been seen again.
Brightsand Province
Brightsand Province makes up the northern portion of Dragon’s Eye Bay, and is one of the only provinces that the Sunflecked Reaches doesn’t touch; it is remarkably flat, known for its lovely beaches, farmland and semi-tropical grassland. Scattered clumps of deciduous trees dot its northern border. Currently ruled over by Shardbearer Eris Camelopardalis, a decadent and ostentatious individual.
✪ Helios
City name: Helios
Ruler: Baron Doradus Helios
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Brightsand Province
Helios is considered a ‘twin city’ of Corona, as they both share similar features and agricultural practices, although Helios is a little larger and more prosperous.
✪ Corona
City name: Corona
Ruler: Baron Amun Amaterasu
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Brightsand Province
✦ Aura Nova
Town name: Aura Nova
Ruler: Liege Sünn Feldspar
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Brightsand Province
✦ Suncircle
Town name: Suncircle
Ruler: Lord Star Beacon
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Brightsand Province
Big Fang Province
The southernmost peninsula of Sundrake territory is the Big Fang Province; a warm, tropical place with a lovely, white-sand coastline and thick jungle. The main entrance into the Deep Provinces is in this area. Currently ruled by Shardbearer Tropic Arrokoth, a former military commander and a loyal ally of King Tigerlilly.
The place is also a hotbed of gossip and political backstabbing thanks to the sort of visitors it attracts, and the servants there, if they play their cards right, can use their position to get some very useful blackmail.
✪ Blackrock
City name: Blackrock
Ruler: Baroness Obsidian Fireglass
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Big Fang Province
The citizens of Blackrock have close ties with the Fireworm’s Basalt Clan, and many of them have mixed blood. It’s not uncommon to see Fireworms walking the streets of Blackrock to trade and visit relatives.
A large military base is located not far from Blackrock, Fort Atlas, meant to guard the mouth of Dragon’s Eye Bay from any pirates or invaders.
✦ Canopy’s Overlook
Town name: Canopy’s Overlook
Ruler: TBD
Founded: 98 A.E.D.
Region: Big Fang Province
Old Mooneye’s population has, however, made an effort to keep the small temple to the Moon Sisters in good condition, even going so far as to hire Moonvipers to do repairs to the ancient building.
✦ The Fang’s Chip
Town name: The Fang’s Chip
Ruler: Liege Spinetail Lex Talionis
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Big Fang Province
As such, they aren’t fond of King Tigerlilly and mostly keep to themselves.
Dusk Province
A subterranean world located in the long-empty lava chambers of the once volcanic Sunflecked Reaches, the Dusk Province always appears to be in the midst of a murky twilight.
The dragons who live here are best known for their craftsmanship, and forge most of the armour, weapons, jewelry and coinage used in the rest of the kingdom. While organized crime is more subtle here than in the Midnight Province, forge and mine owners have no qualms about hiring thugs from the Stonescales - a powerful gang that operates in the Deep Provinces - to further their own goals.
Currently ruled by Shardbearer Lacaille Aldebaran.
✪ Dusk
City name: Dusk, the Jewel of the Deep
Ruler: Baron Pride Themisto
Founded: ??? B.A.
Region: Dusk Province
The city is also the financial heart of the kingdom; there are a great many banks and the most impressive treasures of the Sundrakes are kept in the vaults of Dusk. Due to the wealth kept in the city, law enforcement is extremely strict and only the best are chosen as guards.
✦ Hotwater Cavern
Town name: Hotwater Cavern, the Hotwater
Ruler: TBD
Founded: 72 A.E.D.
Region: Dusk Province
The Hotwater Cavern is a popular destination for Sundrakes trying to escape the winters of the Sunflecked Reaches and in the northern forests, at least for those who lack the funds or connections to get into Broadtooth. In winter, then, the Hotwater Cavern is full of middle-class traders and Sundrakes who saved up their whole lives to get a vacation, as well as a few nobles who seek to avoid the viper pit of gossip found in large crowds of aristocrats.
The city itself is actually a rather nice place to live; the resort owners will rent out their accommodations cheaply to locals in need, so long as they’re tidy tenants, during the other months of the year, and a few down-on-their-luck businesses have converted their old holiday spaces into homes for those in need.
The streets of the Hotwater Cavern are kept clean and safe thanks to a well-trained city guard… but, still, there are rumours of a city beneath the city, carved out of old magma tubes, where no good Sundrake would ever want to go, full of Shades and criminals. It is said that you could buy anything in the markets under the city streets, and that if you lean close to the ground and listen, you can hear them skittering underground like rats.
Of course, this is all just talk. The residents of the Hotwater Cavern scoff at such claims - after all, they live here, they would know if there was something weird going on just under their feet.
Midnight Province
The Midnight Province is a shadowy, underground world; once a Province of miners, the population is largely made of up Shades and the obscenely poor. They live in an almost independent state, ungovernable by outsiders; organized crime thrives here. Most Sundrakes try to pretend that the Midnight Province doesn’t exist, and many of its citizens are content with being forgotten...
Currently ruled over by Shardbearer Vesta Saturn, a former Scion of the Sun who fell into the role after the death of her older siblings during the Civil War. Since the destruction of the city of Memory in July 505, she and her province have been in open rebellion against the King, attempting to establish the Midnight Province as an independent state.