Carhane (Dominaria Supplement)

Size

Large City

Power Center

Conventional, King Remi deNurim, Tier 3

Alignment

Lawful Good

Adult Population

65,000

Gold Limit

X

Language & Diversity

Onean, Homogeneous (X)

History

Carhane as a modern city is a creation of the Third Age, post-Horde War. After the weakened second Imperium abandoned the eastern colonies, including Ramosia and much of present-day Amacidia and Onea, the men of the Onean Plateau had to fend for themselves. The logical place for people on the Onean central plains to gather was here, at the site of the ruins of Hammerhand Keep, or at the old Legionary fortress further south. Those that could make it south to Antocha, north to Kenton, or west to the Temple-City of Tharsala did so, but many in the vast central plains could not. Some of these gathered at the ruins and began to settle down and dig in; but the advances of the great Horde were relentless. Antocha to the south was sacked and looted, and the settlements around the legionary fortress razed. The future looked bleak for the Onean farmers, huddled in their tents or behind crumbling walls, but luckily for them not all of the Imperial heroes had abandoned them.

Three dragon riders of the White Sword came to their aid! These riders: a man, a woman, and an elf of the southern seas, led the Oneans in a counter attack and routed the advancing Horde. The people celebrated, but the warriors of the White Sword knew that Suzerain's will would not be stopped for long. Among orders from the Mages' Council to pull back with the rest of the Imperial forces, these riders along with many of their number, decided to stand with eastern Imperium and fight. These riders, skilled in more arts than warfare, laid out the basis for the city. They organized the oldest part of the city in a block spreading south from Hammerhand Keep, away from the forest and down slope towards the river. They used their prodigious magic to form the foundations of the old city walls and shape earth and stone into the city's first defenses. The Oneans built a city slowly behind the swiftly erected walls, and insisted on rebuilding King Nurim's old castle by themselves. The castle, little more than a Hall and Keep, had never been significant in Nurimania; but to these people the ruins were the rock to which they clung.

The new city survived the war, but the same can not be said for all of her saviors. One of the Dragons, Cardalon the Silver Fury, was slain by a dark champion of the Easterlings who flew astride Araktheon the Judge (al-Hakim). Her rider was Sir Gordon the Gallant of Nightharrow, a Hold in Strakenland (old Dwarven city appropriated by humans by my notes). He decided to stay with the city when the other dragon riders decided to answer the call of the White Sword following the war. He spent much of the rest of his life painstakingly crafting as many of Cardalon's scales into shields as he could. The Dragon had given its life for the people and Sir Gordon was determined to honor the Dragon's memory. Sir Gordon gave over these wondrous shields to the guards of the growing city and took it upon himself to train a cadre of elite fighters as the city grew; these men formed the Silver Shields after Sir Gordon's death - a knightly order of the Oneans. Because of the Dragon's sacrifice and enduring legacy, the Onean people chose to name their city after Cardalon, and so Carhane became its name.

Carhane was independant, as part of a loose Onean Kingdom, for a decade following the Horde War. The city was taken by the Imperium during the 3rd Council however, along with the rest of the Onean Plateau. (use later in Basillica of St. Cuthbert: Onea taken because of looming strength of the theists and possible theocracies cropping up..) Carhane initially chafed under the rule of the Mages' Council, but the following generation grew accustomed to the efficiency and efficacy of the new Imperial rule. The Silver Shields in particular resisted initially, but the Mages' Council wisely payed them respect during the negotiations. Carhane prospered and grew under the Second Imperium's rule, but XXXXInsert riptide/planar wars stuff if/when that get's figuredXXX.

Following the Purge and the fall of the second Imperium, Carhane joined the loose coalition of Onean Lords on the plaeau. Two generations of quiet peace led into Edward Tionne's reformation of the Imperium in the 4th Age. Onea joined the Illyrian-based coalition willingly and Carhane became a prosperous trading city once the northern states, and especially once Ramosia, joined the union. Besides facilitating trade along once again busy Imperial highways, Carhane's trade with the elves of Telnair and south to the Dwarves through Jehanna's Rest increased. Given access to the markets of the forest and mountain hold, merchants from across the central Imperium sent their goods through Carhane. The four decades of the Third Imperium were good to Onea, but the Dragon's War ruined that. Carhane initially escaped many of the privations of the War but once the Dragon started his march north from Ingramar and Arythi lands Onean soldiers marched south. Onea suffered along with the rest at the Battle of Isen Plains, and her men came streaming back with tales and warnings of onrushing doom. Carhane first heard of the terrors that befell Tharsala and much of the royal family, and then the terror arrived.

Third son of the late king, but now king himself, King Remi deNurim chose to face his enemy head on - for the walls of Carhane were not prepared for assault. The King levied every man he could find and committed all of his bannermen and knights to the battle. Around a core of disciplined Imperial Onean legionaries and Onean troops, a host of levies and barely trained farmers faced down the onslaught. In what will certainly make the histories of the war, the Carhaneans defeated the hosts arrayed against them. It was the hail of arrows that stayed the tide of evil that day. The men of Onea have a long tradition of hunting and the bow, and the open ground before them was soft from the year's rains: a mire for the advancing host. Though the battle line buckled and swayed, the core never broke and the archers fired until their shoulders gave out. Carhane was not threatened for the rest of the war as King deNurim used it for his base, sallying forth to fight the enemy afield. In the years since the end of the War and the eventual Treaty of Three Swords, Carhane has evolved. What was once a center of trade is now merely an important crossroads. But what was once a quiet city with occasional festivities is now the capital of a nation and the center of life in Onea.

City

Carhane is remarkable to a visitor approaching from the west in that it appears so massive: the long outer wall of the city runs unimpeded for 2 miles. And Carhane is just as remarkable upon a south approach for appearing so small, yet having such an enormous gate. All of this is the result of a curious quirk of the city's evolution. Carhane was originally built on the south and east slopes of the hill upon which Hammerhand Keep still rests. But as the city grew it did not grow outward; but instead it grew along the main road south. This road overlooked the river and the growing docks and led to all of Carhane's most important trade partners. This road and several features along it are now the backbone of the city. Another quirk of this style of city building are the three interconnected walls that ring the city's three boroughs. These walls were built as the city expanded down the road and three massive gates, all facing south on the respective walls, allow passage throughout the city. It is of course possible to leave the city to the east or west, but all of these gates are essentially one-cart sally ports on the roads leading west, and the well-guarded dock gate facing east.

XXXX

Locations

Hammerhand Keep: The Castle of King Renard Nurim I, called the "Hammerhand" in the legends of Onea. The castle and palace, rebuilt many times, serve as the heart of governance in Onea. House deNurim's long manor house was built this Age over the ruins of the long Hall that once stood there. There is also the Guild Tower of the Ordo Solari, an order of mages and astronomers, and their wondrous observatory on the tower's top level. The original Castle exists only as the deep crypts sunk into the caves formed in the rock by river runoff. What people now see was built in the late Third Age to replace the old castle which burned out. This castle was renovated under the Third Imperium and is a shining example of the modern architectural fusion of elegance and fortification. Hammerhand Keep is very aesthetically pleasing, but nigh impregnable when properly guarded - a task able excecuted by the Silver Shields.

The Imperial Ampitheater: Under the Second Imperium, the Mages' Council promoted games and circuits of all kinds. A stone stadium was sunk halfway into the ground to create a 10' pit, and then stone stadium seating was created to ring the arena. Wood buildings and sun shades were erected as well to complete Carhane's Imperial Ampitheater. This venue was used for the next several centuries during the reign of the Mages' Council. After the dissolution of the Second Imperium and even 40 years later when Onea joined the Third, the arena has seen less use. In the last several years since the Treaty of Three Swords however, King deNurim has tried to restart games and sporting circuits in Onea. The announcement of the Feast of Blades and High Shield meet has also sparked interest especially in combat games and this has brought far more use to the Ampitheater.

The Temple of St. Gregory (Pelor's Pyramid): This is the largest and most distinctive temple in Carhane. The Temple of St. Gregory is a classical Pelorian Pyramid, with a Sunstone at its apex. The Temple was built during the mid-Third Age and is kept and maintained by the local clergy of Pelor. The Order of St. Gregory, devotees to a minor Onean saint, XXXX

The Old Bailey:

Castle Merek:

X University Campus:

Carhane Docks: Situated on the banks of the River Eldar and practically inside the Realms of Telanir, Carhane is in a prime position to trade with the Wood Elves. The docklands of Carhane are the starting place for many Onean and Elven goods travelling south, and a good human stopping point for Malkieri goods on the river. Food, timber, and other goods are traded across the river to and from the elves and loaded onto waiting ships; more goods from Malkier are traded to the city or the elves for new goods to take further south. Information is also a hot commodity in these docks. Without the old Imperial Courier system to take news and correspondence north and south, docklands like these are hotbeds of gossip and news of import.

Organizations:

The Silver Shields: The bearers of the silver scales of Cardalon the Silver Fury, given to the city by his rider Sir Gordon of Nightharrow. The Order was initially given more than 400 shields made from the dragon's scales, and after Sir Gordon's death several hundred spears and two dozen swords were painstakingly crafted from the immense skeleton which still lay outside the city. Furthermore, the Warden of the Silver Shields was given Sir Gordon's Dragonsteel blade, called Eclipse. At present the Order retains 253 shields, 301 spears, 9 swords, and the Dragonsteel blade Eclipse. The deficit can be accounted for through adventuring, defeat in battle, or death; but many of the remaining pieces are enchanted - some heavily. The Silver Shields are now the Kingsguard of Onea, and act as the King's right hand as well. The order has a proud and powerful history on the plateau.

The Ordo Solari:

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