Korth

The weight of age is apparent even as you pass under the gates and enter Korth. Many of the stone buildings here appear thousands of years old, their crumbling edifices displaying the decorative arts of a bygone age. And the buildings are as massive as they are old. Many take up entire city blocks and stretch to fill the sky

Karrnath has a number of large cities, but only one true metropolis: Korth, the capital city and heart of the nation.

Korth suffered sieges from both Aundair (939–940) and Cyre (936 and 971–973), but it never fell to the invaders—a fact that fills Korth residents with pride. But siege weapons damaged large swaths of the city, and Kaius used the rebuilding opportunity to unsnarl many of the tangled streets and add a semblance of order to one of Khorvaire’s oldest cities.

Now Korth has five main wards: Highcourt, Temple, Commerce, Community, and the Low District. The riverside bluffs on which Korth was built provide natural borders between one district and the next.

Source: Five Nations

An ancient metropolis, Korth is managed by Civic Minister Hyran ir’Tennet, whose authority covers all civilian matters, while security (both internal and external) is managed by General Yorin Thauram. Five wards, divided by riverside bluffs, constitute the city and are individually managed by appointees under the Civic Minister. Most of the city is strictly patrolled by the White Lions, the city’s military police force, but they tend to leave the Low Ward alone.

Source: Cultures of Karrnath

The city of Korth has served as Karrnath’s capital since before the days of the kingdom of Galifar. Some of its buildings date back to the earliest human settlements; many others were built during the great expansion that marked the middle period of Galifar I’s reign. The Korth skyline rises along the southern shore of the Karrn River, with the dense Nightwood to the east of the city gates. The high walls of Crownhome, the hereditary home of Karrnath’s royal family, rise atop King’s Hill in the Highcourt Ward of the city. Another prominent structure, the Cathedral of the Sovereign Host, fills a sizable piece of real estate in the Temple Ward and has shrines dedicated to the entire pantheon.

In general, the style of the city is heavy and symmetrical, with blocks set forth in a grid or radiating out from a central plaza. The militaristic influence that infuses all of Karrnath society permeates Korth and helps define the monolithic appearance of the buildings and decorative features such as monuments, obelisks, and tombs.

Five wards make up greater Korth, and each ward has its own personality. These wards are named Highcourt, Temple, Commerce, Community, and Low District. While each ward consists of living space, markets, and other city necessities, each concentrates on an aspect of city life and is built to accommodate that aspect. The Highcourt Ward houses most of the government departments, as well as the halls of the royal family and some of the more affluent noble families. The Temple Ward features winding streets dedicated to the many religions of Khorvaire; everything from small shrines to giant cathedrals can be found here, and some representative of even the most obscure cult probably finds a location to preach from within the walls of this ward. The Commerce Ward presents businesses of all types and provides space for the enclaves of all the dragonmarked houses; supply and demand come together inside this sprawling ward. The Community Ward is the most residential ward in Korth, providing housing for the middle class. The Low District is a dangerous maze of narrow streets from which the poor and the destitute attempt to eke out an existence. The criminal element has a firm hold on the Low District, using its twisting warrens as a hiding place and somewhere from which to conduct business best done in the shadows.

Source: Eberron Campaign Setting

The capital of Karrnath is a city-fortress on the edge of the Nightwood and the seat of King Kaius III. Its walls and towers bristle with the weapons of war, and military marches through the city help bolster the spirits of the Karrns as well as intimidate foreign diplomats. The forges of Korth produce some of the finest armor and weapons in Khorvaire.

Source: Rising from the Last War

Korth is the ancient capital of Karrnath. More than any other settlement in the nation, Korth preserves its history in its buildings, tombs, and vaults. The city has well-kept streets and somber structures, each in a fashion suggestive of its militant origins.

Five major wards—Highcourt, Temple, Commerce, Community, and Low District—make up the city. Each ward contains residences and shops, but exemplifies its particular function. For example, Highcourt Ward houses the king’s palace, governmental buildings, and the homes of dignitaries, while Commerce Ward holds the dragon marked emporiums and enclaves, warehouses, shops, and marketplaces.

The war’s ravages are evident in the damage to the city’s steep walls and a majority of its buildings. Cyran and Aundairian forces besieged the city several times, but each time the defenders threw back the attackers. Rebuilding is slow—some scars are not easily erased.

Source: Eberron Campaign Guide

The Gates

The PCs’ first contact with the White Lions and their first glimpse inside Korth’s walls takes place at one of four places: Westgate (the terminus of the road from Rekkenmark), Northgate (the terminus of the lightning rail), Eastgate (the terminus of the road from Karrlakton), and Rivergate (a customs house on the dock, rather than a gate per se). Each gate has scores of White Lion soldiers on duty at all times, a not so subtle reminder for travelers of Karrnath’s umbrella of martial law. But it takes only minutes to pass a cursory check of travel papers, and even merchants bearing taxable goods can usually get beyond the gate in less than an hour

March 7th, 2019 January 18th, 2023

Leadership

Fundamentally, King Kaius III runs Korth just as he runs Karrnath. He leaves the day-to-day functioning of the city to his Civic Minister, Hyran ir’Tennet. The Civic Minister’s authority doesn’t extend to the city watch; the city’s garrison, known as the White Lions of Korth, is under the command of General Thauram

January 22nd, 2023

The Duchy of Korth

The capital of the nation, the duchy of Korth is the largest and most populous of the eight duchies that make up Karrnath. The vast majority of the population lives along Scions Sound and the Karrn River, while the three forests it claims—the Karnnwood, Nightwood, and Rekkenwood—are mostly uninhabited. Small villages and farmsteads cover the plains beyond the woods, governed by nobles of varying stature living in manors and castles. Of all the people of Karrnath, those in Korth have always been the most accessible to the wider world and are largely responsible for shaping the opinion of peoples beyond Karrnath.

History

The oldest of the duchies, the Kingdom of Korth was among the first human kingdoms established on the continent. Human structures here date back more than two millennia, although few have survived that long due to natural decay and the armies that periodically march through on a warpath. When Karrn conquered the city, he recognized its strategic location and made it his new capital, leaving behind Karrlakton and his lands there. From Korth he expanded north, east, and south, filling out the modern nation of Karrnath.

This pre-Galifaran unified Karrnath often found itself in conflict with its neighbors; while Karrn’s attempt to unite the continent was certainly the most successful and best known of this time period, various Karrnathi rulers throughout history have picked fights with their neighbors to the west and south. Ancient fortifications and the legacy of conflict still dot the landscape of the greater region, especially on the western bank of Scions Sound where the mages of Thaliost pushed back against Karrnathi aggression. The two longest standing of these are the enormous castles now known as Tanar Rath and Loran Rath, which flank the Karrn River. Fortunately, Galifaran advances in arcane science enabled the dispelling and disarmament of almost all the lingering curses and other threats leftover from this era.

The War of the Mark and the founding of the Twelve were critical developments in Korth’s relationship with arcane science; prior to the Twelve’s establishment, Karrnath was completely bereft of institutional magic education. While the dragonmarked houses and the families that composed them were very different at the time, the Twelve’s mission to study and harness the power of dragonmarks had an immediate positive impact on the lives of the people of Korth. Unfortunately, many of these gains were not widely shared throughout the rest of the Kingdom of Karrnath, adding significant material dimensions to the long-standing cultural gap between Korth and the rest of the nation.

What Karrn did to Karrlakton, Galifar did to Korth—taking a conquered capital as his new home, leaving behind the old one. While neither was abandoned, there is a bitterness to losing one’s status as the most favored child. Princes and princesses of Karrnath were never first in line to the throne of Galifar, always secretly hoping that their eldest sibling might fall sick or otherwise depart the throne. Tradition dictated that they ruled the province from Korth, but since the prior ruler of the Duchy of Korth would be displaced, a house swap was necessary. The incoming prince or princess would travel to each of the eight other duchies and entertain suitors before choosing a spouse. The previous rulers of Korth would then be granted a lower title as replacement, traditionally in whichever duchy had ascended to the capital—an arrangement that conveniently spread Wynarn blood throughout nearly every noble family in the nation.

The breakout of the Last War thrust the Duchy of Korth into the front lines. Aundairian, Cyran, and—rarely—Thranish forces crossed into Karrnath on numerous campaigns, the most successful of which were the 939-940 siege by Aundair and the 936 and 971-973 sieges by Cyre that reached (but never breached) the capital. The scars of these campaigns remain; areas littered with blast mines have been marked off limits, with magic mouth spells acting as warnings for anyone who approaches them. Regent Moranna capitalized on the latter Cyran campaign to institute various infrastructural reforms, such as rebuilding old cow paths to follow orderly designs that would be more accommodating for vehicular traffic. Some of these reforms were controversial, but Kaius III continued his aunt’s renovations both inside and outside the walls of the capital.

Governance

While Kaius governs the nation from his palace, Crownhome, he does not claim sole rulership over the Duchy of Korth. Archduchess Syele ir’Wynarn, Kaius III’s older cousin through his Aunt Moranna, manages the more regular and mundane jobs of ruling such as tax collection, land disputes, and other sundry things.

Some court observers find it unusual that Gaius, the King’s younger brother, doesn’t serve as Duke, unlike the first in line to the throne usually had for the past century. Instead, he’s stationed in Thrane as part of an exchange of royal family members between Breland, Karrnath, and Thrane. Meanwhile, Borina and Halix of Breland as well as one of Blood Regent Diani’s descendants reside in Korth.

Despite ruling other duchies, the ancestors of Renn ir’Tanar of Narath and Charl ir’Loran of Lyodnica were granted land near the mouth of the Karrn River within Korth at the outbreak of the Last War. The twin fortresses Tanar Rath and Loran Rath served as key defensive rallying points throughout the Last War and continue to boast formidable garrisons of troops to this day.

Cultural Hallmarks

Pro-Treaty. The people of the Duchy of Korth have the most to gain from the new peace and strongly support Kaius’s efforts in that regard. Not only are they the best positioned to succeed in international trade, but they bore the brunt of the war’s devastation.

Vassals. The people of Korth are strong followers of the Sovereign Host; the Blood of Vol never had the same degree of popularity here that it did in the rest of the nation. The heroic actions of Prelate Alinda Roerith in the siege of the capital in the early 970s only cemented their support for the Church of the Sovereign Host.

Arcane Science. While traditional Karrnathi values of martial prowess have always been prominent within Korth, interest in arcane science as well as more mundane pursuits of knowledge are much higher in this duchy than the others. Folk from elsewhere in Karrnath sometimes see these pursuits as soft, but the success of Rekkenmark’s evocation program has done much to quell this dissent.

Since Kaius III ascended to the throne in 990, Korth has become the most industrialized of the eight duchies. Each year more workers use their general education (administered by priests of Aureon) to work in factories owned by the wealthy with arcane devices produced by Cannith East. The lack of freedom under the Code of Kaius and wartime pressures have thus far suppressed investigation into workplace abuses and health hazards posed by these new factories.

November 26th, 2023