Description of Ebonhold

I sit here perched upon a hilltop bidding farewell to another scene of many fond memories. The sun is finishing its daily journey behind me, lengthening the shadows on the landscape. The growing darkness giving the already majestic valley of Gunthuruc a mysterious, unknown quality.

Despite being home to Rethlyn’s capital city of Ebonhold, Gunthuruc is fairly isolated. The valley is hedged in on almost all sides by hills that descend from the Forgon mountain range to the north. The hills form a “U” shaped that creates the northern, western, and southern boarders of the valley. Discernable from my current vantage point as only a dark green carpet stretching toward the horizon the great sleeping forest lies on the eastern edge of the hills; almost completely sealing the valley. Curving along the northern edged of the forest and knifing south toward Ebonhold, the Great Road that runs from one end of Rethlyn to the other is visible to me even now. Its massive width dwindled by distance to a mere brown line.

The massive lake of Gunthuruc takes up most of the west end of the valley. Four rivers flow down from the Forgon Mountains and snake their way south through the northern hills, feeding the shimmering body of water. The water drains into the ocean through the small Crushon canal on the southwest edge of the lake. The canal carved by dwarven hands ages ago, commissioned by some long forgotten king. The canal passes through the very hills themselves and used to empty into the very ocean itself, next to the port town of Inshivin. However, Illenia’s disappearance and the resulting drop in the sea level, has forced the water to travel an extra three hundred feet across the flat exposed sand.

It should be noted that my next destination, Inshivin, has been decimated like many other port towns by this change. A port is doomed if ships can not reach it.

The city of Ebonhold itself is the rival of any human city I have been to. Nestled in the heart of the valley between Gunthuruc and the great forest, the thick black stone walls of Ebonhold stand out in stark contrast to the natural surroundings. Farmland and small villages dot the plains surrounding the city, resulting in a patchwork pattern that engulfs the circular city.

From here, it is hard to imagine the circle of stone is actually the single largest city on Rethlyn. The smooth obsidian walls jut up from the ground, well over fifty feet into the air. Erected long ago by some unknown magical process, the walls bare not a single scratch or defect. The only anomaly in the smooth surface being the gates at the north and south ends of the city.

Behind the walls, some hundred thousand souls reside. The people come from every corner of the globe and every background imaginable. While primarily a human city, nearly every race in Therion is represented within Ebonhold’s mighty walls. I even ran into some reclusive Draconians stocking up on supplies in the southern merchant district.

The city is laid out in a circular fashion following its walled defenses. While a lot of human cities follow this convention, Ebonhold differs in one key way; the wealthy tend to live near the walls rather than in the center of the city. Butting up against the obsidian rock are massive mansions every bit an equal for the palace King Tinom resides in at the center of the city. It is here you will find those whose wealth would tempt the gods themselves, so it is not much of a surprise that most of the cities temples are located along this outer ring of the city as well. Aside from wealth and power, there are a few other things worth noting.

Upon entering the city from the northern gate, visitors are stuck with awe as a forest greets them. The massive cobblestone road continues towards the city center, but on each side a small forest looms over them, the trees straining to peek over the black wall. The immense size of the royal garden is dwarfed only by the sheer number of people wondering through it. There is something peaceful and serene about the place that seems to make everyone slow down and leisurely stroll instead of rushing to their next destination. At anytime day or night people can bee seen relaxing here (or catching a short nap as was my choice.)

The bazaar on the northeast side of town is known as the King’s Purse. After hearing the prices whispered about in hushed tones I can tell why. Here the finest and rarest items are traded: spices, jewels, art, even magic tomes and gold gilded weapons. Due to the hefty prices of the items contained within, this area is one of the heaviest patrolled in the city. I found many shops barred my entry, deeming my clothing to be an estimate of what was in my coin pouch.

Hidden in a maze of buildings on the west side of town is the Harminia Library. Easily mistaken for another noble’s mansion, this elegant build is second only to the Academy’s massive libraries for prestige. While its collection can not hope to compare to the millions of dusty tomes within the wizards sanctuary, Harminia contains a wealth of the oldest and rarest books on all of Rethlyn. Many times has an academy apprentice been seen within the ornately furnished hall of the city’s library transcribing books for their masters.

The vast majority of Ebonhold’s population resides in the middle ring of the city, separated by a four foot wall from the other rings. It is here that most of the stories on the preceding pages took place. Diversity is the lifeblood of this section of Ebonhold. One can find himself lost in a maze of ramshackle huts, the next moment emerging onto a street of stone buildings housing the shops of some of the cities wealthier merchants.
The myriad of inhabits and destinations in the center ring almost defy a detailed description, to name all the places and sights of this place (that I have not already mentioned in my previous tales) would take several years away my travels to document. There are two places I would like to enlighten the read to though.

The Southern Bazaar and the Jester’s Court are two places separated by time rather than distance. During the day, the shops of the Southern Bazaar are filled will every item possibly available to the common man (and in some darkened abodes a few items that aren’t). While shops are scattered all over the center ring, it is in the bazaar that you will find them to the exclusion of all else. The dense swarming mass of people buying and selling wares makes the bazaar main trade hub of the city. Divided neatly into sections catering to different needs, one can easily find a specific purveyor of whatever they are looking for.

At night however, the shops of the bazaar close their doors and a different sort of noise fills the air. Among the side streets and back alleys of the bazaar, lights and song pour forth from smaller, almost hidden doors. As with its daytime counter-part the Jester’s Court houses just one type of business, drinking. Never in my life have I seen so many taverns in one place. Each hole in the wall the same as the next, and yet each having its own unique personality and atmosphere. From beggar to royalty, everyone seems to be able to find a place to relax and spend and night of merriment.

Surrounding the palace at the center of the city is an inner ring consisting of various government buildings and army barracks. All royal edicts are interpreted and enacted in the various buildings that are located within this small ring.

Interspersed among the stately and majestic buildings of government are handfuls of barracks which serve to house a portion of Rethlyn’s military might. During peace time Rethlyn deals with its soldiers in a manner a bit different than the other kingdoms of Therion. Each major city in Rethlyn dedicates a small portion of land to house a number of soldiers (dictated by the city’s size). In return, all large cities in Rethlyn are patrolled by trained soldiers not just town guards. These groups of soldiers are rotated from city to city every six months to ensure that they remain loyal to the country as a whole and not the individual cities they patrol.

At the center of Ebonhold is the seat of power for all of Rethlyn, King Tinom’s palace. While not as regal or massive as other castles within Rethlyn, the king’s home is none the less impressive. Carved from the same black stone that comprises the city walls, the castle looks as new as the day it was created. From afar it looks as if it is only a superior crafted mansion, its walls and parapets the only things giving it the qualities necessary to be called a castle. For centuries the royal family has lived in the castle and done little else in it, all affairs of state being taken care of the surrounding buildings. In Rethlyn the king or queen goes to work, they do not have it brought to them. It is for this reason security in the inner ring of the city is at its highest and there are constant patrols of soldiers on the streets.

Sadly, I did not get a chance to aimlessly roam the palace grounds as I would have preferred, so my description of the palace ends here. Apparently my fame from the Demonic Wars was not enough to buy me that level of freedom.

Alas, the sun has now completed is journey and quickly I am being robbed of light. The sky is overcast, hiding the moon from me and denying me her soft glow. Seeing as even my elven eyes can not read black ink in the darkness that rapidly approaches, I will end this chapter of my adventures in Ebonhold and go to sleep glad in the fact that tomorrow my journey begins again in Inshivin.

- Excerpt from Insum the Traveler’s book,”A Journey through Rethlyn”

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