Dragons of Tirenia

Cotronai is a small coastal city in eastern Tirenia. It was founded in 1186 A.A.S. by the Ercolian hero Myscelus. He was exiled from Trinacria along with his followers. after accidentally causing the death of his father, and followed a dream to found Cotronai. In 1006 A.A.S. the philosopher Aristaeus of Cotronai started the first gymnasia, a school of philosophy and physical exercise, in Cotronai. He was extremely influential, and following his teachings, the Cotronians deposed their tyrant and established the first democracy. Cotronai’s influence spread throughout Ercolia, which brought them into conflict with Taras. The two cities and their allies fought in the Cotronian War from 907 A.A.S. to 880 A.A.S., in which Taras was eventually victorious. The Cotronians turned upon the Aristaeians and drove them out of the city. The city became part of the Auromian Empire after 748 A.S. While it never regained its influence, Cotronai gained a reputation as a place of learning, and young men ...

The city of Taras is located on a small walled island between the Grand Harbour and the Little Harbour, a reservoir large enough to hold ships. Overlooking the city to the south-west is Mount Taleton.  Taras was an ancient Ercolian city founded about the year 1182 A.A.S. by the local hero Taras, the son of a local nymph. During a shipwreck, he was carried ashore here by a friendly dolphin. The city developed a reputation for its mighty soldiers, and today calling someone a Tarasian is a poetic way to compliment their strength, endurance or skill at arms. It became the most powerful city in Ercolia. Part of its success was in creating a slave population, called helots, from towns that fought them. This led them into conflict with Auromia. The Tarasians proved their prowess when they drove back Auromia’s mighty armies, even though greatly outnumbered, but in 748 A.A.S. the Tarasians were defeated. Their control over Ercolia was lost, and the helots were freed. Taras gradually gre...

By the mouth of the Sporca River in Tarchania, about ninety miles due south of Fiumenze, sits the abandoned city of Larisa. The settlement there dates to before the War of the Host, but its indigenous population was displaced by the coming of the Tarchanians. Under the Auromian Empire, Larisa was the only major port west of Auromia itself, and it grew prosperous from sea-trade. Emperor Clarissimus chose Larisa as the centre of the magical network he was building to channel the aetheric currents of the world. He constructed a great tower as the focus of the network, but his plan was never completed. The partially constructed tower did, however, succeed at partially redirecting the flow of magical energy artificially. The land began to distort under the pressure. The sea recoiled from the land, and suddenly Larisa was no longer a port. The ground buckled and heaved, leaving the buildings irregular, and the Emperor’s tower leaning on an unnatural angle. In the face of such strangeness, th...

Eridava is a populous city of 60,000 located fifty miles south of Selenizia. It lays claim to be the oldest Tarchanian settlement in Tirenia, built when the Tarchanians first crossed the mountains into the subcontinent. It joined the Auromian Empire voluntarily when it called upon the gold dragons to help put down a rebellion, and prospered under its rule. The city suffered during the fall of the Empire, and many of its citizens fled to what would become Selenizia. The two cities have been close ever since, but Eridava was soon eclipsed by the wealth of its daughter city. In 740 A.S. Eridava lost a war against Selenizia and, while it officially maintained its independence, has been all but controlled by that city ever since. In 746 A.S. the Universita degli Studi di Eridava was founded by students and teachers who left Felsina to establish a more liberal university. It is the second oldest university in Tirenia. As a result of the scholars there, Eridava has a reputation as one of the...

History: The largest city on the island of Trinacria is Panormo, with a population of 30,000. It is an ancient city: the ancient Ercolians who settled here found signs of habitation dating back to before the War of the Host. Due to its commanding position in the Inner Sea, the city became a major trading port, and it swapped hands many times between Tirenian, Sahelian and Crescentian rulers. Ruggiero il Volpe, a Tirenian mercenary, conquered Trinacria and most of southern Tirenia in 596 A.S. He became the first Prince of Trinacria, with Panormo as his capital. This was the beginning of a multicultural golden age for Panormo, but later rulers were not so beloved. In 806 A.S. the Trinacrian Revolution occurred, in which the Prince of Trinacria was expelled in response to tyrannical rule; he fled to Kymaiopoli, which is still the seat of the Prince of Trinacria. The city has been independent thereafter.  Government: The official ruler of Palermo is the Prince of Trinacria. Howev...

Ascia is located in the middle of Tarchania, east of its rival Fiumenze. According to legend, the city was founded by Ascio, a patrician fleeing from Palladia. It grew rapidly after the fall of the Auromian Empire, when it became an important trade route as part of the Tarchanian League. The city became rich from the wool trade, and from pilgrims on the way to Auromia, although these gradually dried up as the High Ordinarch moved to Aterni. The city became the seat of a different branch of the blue dragon brood from Fiumenze. Following the collapse of the Tarchanian Marches, hostilities broke out between Ascia and Fiumenze. Despite being greatly outnumbered, the Ascians managed to inflict a heavy defeat upon the Fiumentines in the Battle of Berardenga in 784 A.S. This was the city’s proudest moment. Its influence spread until the Great Death, when the population dropped from 120,000 to only 25,000. Alongside this massive drop in population, the city also underwent political upheaval a...

Zigura, the Hidden City History: Zigura was the largest city in the White Mountains, to the west of Tirenia. It had a population of 10,000, mostly gnomes and humans. It was founded in the Heroic Age by the Tiguri, a group related to the Tarchanians who settled in the mountains rather than proceed into the subcontinent. Accordingly, they speak a dialect that is most distantly related to Tirenian than most other dialects. The Tiguri settled in different valleys and passes, forming small clans that often feuded among themselves. Zigura was the largest of the mountain communities, and much of the internecine fighting in the mountains was the result of Zigura positioning itself as the leaders of the other clans. Zigura was also the home of the gnomes, former fairy spirits who forsook their immortality in order to be able to remain in the world after the War of the Host.  In 491 A.A.S. Zigura invited the Auromian Empire to interfere in the clan warfare. Once the area was pacified by...

Aterni, the Windy City History: Aterni is located high in the Avunine Mountains. It began life as a cluster of villages situated around the source of the Aterno River. Over time, the area became popular among the wealthy as a scenic retreat to build villas and go hunting. In 833 A.S. the High Ordinarch Reimundo di Clementi declared that the Church deserved a city built for its own glory: Auromia, he claimed, was too pagan. He moved the Ordinarchy to his villa at Aterni, and began construction of a new city there. Aterni was completed in 847 A.S. Government: Aterni is a theocracy governed by the High Ordinarch. He has, in theory,absolute legislative, executive and judicial authority over the city and the surrounding villages. He then appoints different committees or officials to carry out the duties of the government in his name. In practice, the city operates through a complex web of patronage. The High Ordinarch is controlled by the Ordinarchs who voted for them at the college...

Medilano, the Beautiful History: Medilano is located in the fertile plains of the north-western Eridano Valley. It serves as the main trade route for goods travelling across the northern mountains. As a result, it is an extremely prosperous city, and was historically seen as a rival for the great city of Auromia itself. From the beginning, the silver dragons who live near Medilano have been its protectors. They were curious about the humans, and kept a watchful eye on them. This is also why there is such a high proportion of silver dragonborn in the city. Medilano was absorbed into the Auromian Empire after a brief war - the gold dragons thinking that the long-term benefits of unity would outweigh the short-term suffering, while the silver dragons believed that the ends could not justify the violent means. The silver dragons soon sued for peace, wishing an end to the destructive conflict. Mezziano entered the Empire on favourable terms, and those silver dragons that were wil...