Governance
The current Archbishop of Thaliost is Solgar Dariznu (he/him), who was appointed in the aftermath of the 993 assassination of Archbishop Syro Drosin (he/him). High Cardinal Krozen elevated the bishop from Wyr for two reasons. First, an Aundairian-born-and-raised bishop might have more legitimacy with the Aundairian-descended residents of the city. Second, Krozen has no love for the Pure Flame and hoped that putting such a vocal proponent of the sect in charge of an impossible situation would discredit the movement and strengthen his position against the revanchist cardinals who support it.
The new Archbishop almost immediately became a controversial figure, responding to the assassination of his predecessor by rounding up a group of suspects and publicly executing them by burning them at the stake. Clad in a silver cloak that appeared to be trimmed in actual silver flames, Dariznu declared a zero-tolerance policy for disorder and vowed to pacify the city by any means necessary. Few people are convinced that these were the real assassins, and the mystery of who assassinated Syro Drosin remains unanswered to this day. In an attempt to control the violence in the city, Dariznu has enacted a ban on the public carry of arcane spellcasting implements; the same wand that can cast prestidigitation can cast fireball. Given the city’s Aundairian history, most residents have some spellcasting training, making the ban a major affront not just in practical terms but symbolically as well, fully suppressing the city’s rich history as a center for magical prowess.
History
When humans arrived in central Khorvaire, Thaliost was one of the five dominant city-states to emerge on the continent. While Daskara to the west established dominion over territories to the south, the mages of Thaliost controlled the land between what is now known as the Aundair river and the Eldeen Bay. New arcane traditions were pioneered, drawing both on the power of fey pacts as well as the ambient energy of the Ring of Siberys. However, for all their arcane might, the mages of Thaliost were brought to heel under Galifar, with his daughter Princess Aundair taking control of the territory as its first governor. Adding insult to injury, Princess Aundair chose Fairhaven as her seat of governance, rewarding that city’s nobles at the expense of Thaliost.
The outbreak of the Last War immediately embittered Thrane and Aundair with each other, as Prince Wrogar of Aundair supported Mishann’s right to ascend to the throne, while Prince Thalin of Aundair contested her fitness to rule. Thaliost was an immediate target for the Thranish military, both for its strategic relevance—access to the Bitter Sea—as well as its relative isolation from the bulk of the Aundairian military.Thrane claimed the city for the first time in 926 YK, within thirty years of the war’s outbreak. For the next fifty years the two sides traded control of the city, with Thrane constructing Silvercliff Castle not just as a home for the regents but as a permanent fortress on the opposite side of the Aundair River. By 977 YK, Thrane claimed the city for the last time; no Aundairian assault in the next twenty years was able to wrest the city from Thranish control. The Treaty of Thronehold formally declared Thaliost to be part of Thrane, a concession that Queen Aurala ir’Wynarn of Aundair has come under intense criticism for. While control of the city is settled, this has not brought peace to the city, and many residents still consider themselves Aundairian.
Points of Interest
Thaliost has a mix of business and political interests, any of which alone could draw adventurers into a spiderweb of tensions.
Abandoned Arcane Congress Campus
While the floating towers of Arcanix are the most famous of the Arcane Congress’s campuses, the organization has universities of higher education all over Aundair. The Last War was not kind to the Thaliost campus. Many students fled, others fought, and still others kept their heads down. Of those who fought, many died, some were evacuated as wounded, and the rest were taken as prisoners of war.
Today, the campus has been transformed for Thranish purposes. The dorms have been turned into housing for Thranish soldiers, while the classrooms have been abandoned and marked for destruction. For the last few years, the Scion’s Liberation Front (SLF) has secretly met in these classrooms to organize their resistance. While many residents of Thaliost chafe under the legally recognized occupation, far fewer are willing to engage in violent resistance with a group that has been labeled “brutal terrorists” by Archbishop Dariznu. The SLF has targeted infrastructural, commercial, and political targets, however they deny responsibility for the assassination of Dariznu’s predecessor.
The SLF also frequently comes into conflict with loyalist paramilitaries; while these Thranish citizens are not officially part of the state security forces, they are enabled by Dariznu’s forces looking the other way. Many of these loyalist paramilitary groups openly flaunt the rules around spellcasting implements, wielding both wands and symbols of the silver flame. Members of the loyalist militaries often bully the Aundairian-descended citizenry around, testing the patience of SLF sympathizers.
Crown Knights of Thrane Garrison
The Diet of Cardinals has deployed the bulk of the Crown Knights of Thrane to Thaliost in order to support Archbishop Dariznu, ostensibly because of its position as a forward point to protect Silvercliff Castle from a ground-based assault. Conveniently for High Cardinal Krozen, this also means that it is technically Diani’s forces who are responsible for the occupation. The local commander is captain Othmar Garithos (he/him), an embittered human who gladly follows Dariznu’s orders.
Demesne of Shape
The Shadow Schism with House Thuranni forced House Phiarlan to make some reorganizational choices. The Thurannis had always been the masters of Shape—an artistic domain which includes all manner of physical objects, from paintings to pottery to props. With the split, House Thuranni retained control over the original Demesne of Shape, which is based out of Atur and now refers to itself as the “True Shapers.” Viceroy Idal Tialaen d’Phiarlan (they/them) leads the new Demesne of Shape out of Thaliost and hopes to herald a new era of artistic vision as they try to distinguish themselves from the rival True Shapers enclave.
While Idal has legitimate artistic interests, Thaliost is an admittedly unusual choice for a major enclave of the house given its political instability. The truth of the matter is the spies of the Serpentine Table have extensive operations in the city, financed directly by Cardinal Krozen with church funds. While their primary mission is to maintain Thrane’s hold over the city, Krozen also has them collect intelligence on Dariznu and the Crown Knights of Thrane for blackmail purposes in case he ever needs to distance himself from Dariznu’s zealotry.
Storm's End Wharf
Unlike Rekkenmark across the sound, Thaliost was able to construct a wharf that ships can access. The Storm’s End Wharf is important as the last freshwater port before Scions Sound dumps out into the Bitter Sea. Not all ships are built for operations in freshwater, and Thaliost is a convenient place to stop before heading back north. The destruction of the White Arch Bridge that once linked Thaliost with Rekkenmark has only amplified this relevance, as with its loss there is no longer a direct path by lightning rail between eastern and western Khorvaire. Storm’s End Wharf has regular passage direct to Korth, cutting off Rekkenmark and earning House Lyrandar plenty of gold to compensate for the gaps in House Orien’s service.
A cell of Miron’s Tears, a secretive reform group, has made a secret base in the wharf, transforming an abandoned warehouse into a well-equipped base disguised by illusion magic. The cell leader is Loraleia Kes, the grandniece of the order’s founder, Samyr Kes. Loraleia seeks to discredit Dariznu and his pure flame followers, since assassinating him would just make him a martyr. For now, the cell has focused its efforts on rescuing people targeted by Dariznu, such as Oura Ghellast.
Lodge of the Eternal Flame
The Lodge of the Eternal Flame is one of Thaliost’s oldest wizarding circles. Long before even Karrn the Conqueror, a group of evokers discovered a minor manifest zone tied to Fernia within the city, a place where they could practice the Externalist magic the humans of Sarlona had relied on. Since its founding, the lodge has preserved its titular Eternal Flame and developed new techniques tied to it. Members of the lodge pledge themselves to the flame, allowing them to use some of the externalist techniques of old so long as they remain in good standing with the other members of the lodge.
Despite not being particularly devout, the lodge chose to become compliant with the occupation rather than resist; as such, wizards specializing in fire magic regularly support Crown Knight operations. The death-by-silver-pyres that Thaliost has become infamous for are created by wizards from the lodge, who use silverburn as a material component to give the appearance of divine magic.
Three Corners Bazaar
Even before the lightning rail was built here, the Three Corners Bazaar had been a center of commerce in Thaliost. Fishers from the Bitter Sea exchanged with farmers from the north and west, river elves from the sound, Rudari caravans from the south, and craftspeople from the city. The White Arch Bridge added commerce from Karrnath, further enriching everyone who exchanged in the Three Corners Bazaar.
The advent of the war disrupted the riches that the people of Thaliost had grown used to, paving the way for the ascendancy of its current criminal network. Today, small gangs, many loosely affiliated with either the SLF or the loyalist paramilitaries, run protection rackets. The biggest gang in the city is the Golden Crows, a smuggling ring affiliated with the Black Highway. Their leader, the mysterious Platinum Man, professes a preference for neither Thrane nor Aundair; the Golden Crows will gladly supply anything to anyone for the right price. While the Golden Crows generally eschew violence, they also collect tribute from most of the smaller gangs in the city.
In addition to the homegrown criminals, other nations have invested in keeping an ear to the ground in the city. Jennara Kole (she/her) is a human who serves the Dark Lanterns of Breland as a jewelry and art importer. Similarly, the dwarf Borval Rikartiol (he/him) represents the Dark Cabinet of Karrnath, using his job as a shipping financier for cover.
Tower of Judgment
Constructed after the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold, the Tower of Judgment is a symbol of Dariznu’s oppression of the city. Dariznu’s brutal public punishments are carried out here, with the most recent targets being the Rudari-descended citizens of the city. The archbishop is convinced that there is a secret cabal of lycanthropes in the city, and that they are being sheltered by the Rudari.
There is at least one moderate voice in the city government who tempers Dariznu’s outbursts. Oura Gellast (she/her) is one of a small contingent of templars stationed in the city and a strong moderate voice seeking reconciliation rather than executions. Thus far her faith in the Silver Flame has saved her from three assassination attempts; she now suspects that Dariznu, rather than the SLF, may be behind them.
White Arch Bridge
The construction of the White Arch Bridge during the Kingdom of Galifar was a major achievement of engineering that made commerce and cultural exchange between Karrnath and Aundair much easier. The 40-mile bridge received major upgrades under King Jarot with the addition of the lightning rail, promising a new era of continental exchange. Unfortunately, that era came to a swift end with the outbreak of the war. Unknown saboteurs—generally assumed to be Karrnathi— destroyed the bridge in the first decade of the war, cutting off easy transit between the east and west. The Mourning in 994 exacerbated this, eliminating the rest of the east-west connector lines, and handing dominance of intracontinental trade to House Lyrandar.
Today, House Orien wishes for the reconstruction of the bridge, but has thus far failed to secure an agreement from the Thranish and Karrnathi governments to do so; both Kaius and Krozen suspect the reconstruction of the bridge would only increase the risk of a new war breaking out. Viceroy Aafki d’Orien (she/her) is trying to organize a sort of “world’s fair” event that would coincide with rebuilding the bridge; investors from the Aurum are tentatively curious if this might be a way to gain leverage over House Orien. Jorlanna and Zorlan d’Cannith are also interested to show how their house is not just about manufacturing weapons.
The Voice of Thrane
One of Thrane’s most popular papers, The Voice of Thrane, is published out of Thaliost. With shockingly fast turnaround, the Voice of Thrane always has commentary on the latest issues—feeding its readers a constant stream of exaggerated, propagandistic stories meant to evoke primal emotional responses and inspire jingoism and xenophobia. Stories from Thaliost are especially common, highlighting the “Aundairian threat,” but the paper is plenty happy to fearmonger about monarchist worshippers of the Sovereign Host or the “curses of the Rudari”. In truth, the Voice of Thrane is part of the Five Voices, a project started by Aurum platinum concordian Tupert Molloch (he/him) in the aftermath of the war.
Of course, the conspiracy goes deeper than that. Tupert is a long running disguise for Mordakesh, the prakhutu of Rak Tulkesh. While the overlord is known as the Rage of War, his agents can be far more subtle—Mordakesh revels in turning people against each other, and the Five Voices are a perfect way to ignite a new war. Thaliost is an ideal place for these efforts, as a fragment of Rak Tulkesh’s prison lies beneath the city.
Despite this, not everyone within Thaliost subscribes to the Voice of Thrane. One defiant voice is the Whispers of Reason, a small publication authored by the pseudonymous White Poppy. The Whispers of Reason debunk the lies of the Voice of Thrane, advocating for tolerance and understanding in the face of violent, bigoted zealotry. The true author of the paper is Marek (they/them), a sakah tiefling of Rak Tulkhesh. Marek does not know that all the Five Voices are owned by Tupert, let alone Mordakesh’s direct involvement; they simply oppose the violence that the Voice of Thrane inspires. Marek however does know many of the political ins and outs of the city and has a deep desire to save it from the forces that seek to burn it down—or worse.