by Terry Brooks
By the War of the Warlock Lord, the tunnels had fallen into disuse, sealed when a young Ruhl Buckhannah closed the dungeons shortly after his coronation. Most had forgotten their existence—an oversight that very nearly caused the downfall of the city. The Northland army learned of the passages from a spy planted in the royal entourage. They attempted to invade the city through the tunnel that connected the plains to the dungeons beneath the castle. The plot was discovered in time to stop the invasion and save the city. After the war, they were sealed again and then, over time, nearly forgotten again. They were rediscovered and put to use by the Free Born resistance movement during the Federation War. This time, instead of an invading army, it was the city’s liberators who made use of the dark passages.
Though rarely used, the tunnels still exist, winding throughout underground Tyrsis in a tangled multilevel maze that runs from the cliff and the dungeons beneath the palace to the plains below the bluff. Through a myriad of connections, the tunnels are accessible to most major streets and buildings throughout the city. Storage rooms and living quarters lie below old wine cellars and sewer drains. Altogether, the tunnels extend for over a hundred miles throughout the rock of the plateau. Many layers deep, the tunnels can be deadly to one unfamiliar with their twists and turnings. There is no one now living who knows the location of all of them, and few are willing to brave the darkness to explore.
Aboveground, far removed from the gloom of the subterranean world of underground Tyrsis, the parks district is usually filled with sunlight and the bright, cheerful gaiety of children. The district consists of a number of small parks and markets sprinkled with residential estates. A favored location for a family outing, the parks contain numerous markets shaded with colorful canopies as well as several pavilions where families may spread their picnics without fear of sun or rain. Large shade trees line the roads, gracefully lifting over the brightly ribboned carriages passing below. The parks are usually crowded with vendors specializing in sweets, fruits, ices, and banners, as well as all manner of entertainers. Here the children of Tyrsis, and some of the adults, are delighted by mimes and musicians, jugglers and magicians, dancers and drummers, and even animal acts such as the ever-popular dancing monkeys.
The Mole
The only person to have completely mapped the tunnels and passages beneath Tyrsis was a man known only as the Mole. A strange, squat, fur-covered man who strongly resembled his namesake, the Mole made his home in the subterranean chambers within the plateau beneath Tyrsis. Nothing is known of his life before leaving the surface, or what trauma drove him to live forever in the twilight and darkness of the tunnels, though there is little doubt that the Federation occupation of the city may have been a factor.
The Mole lived alone, his only family a collection of stuffed animals rescued from the refuse of surface dwellers. They, like him, were outcasts of a society that had lost the ability to see beyond the surface of a toy—or a man. His home was any of a dozen underground chambers, furnished with castoffs scrounged from the surface. Yet as unlikely as it seems, this eccentric little man became a hero of the Free Born. It was the Mole who was largely responsible for the Movement’s success in liberating Tyrsis from the Federation. With the Mole as a guide, the Free Born were able to enter and leave the city undetected, as well as make use of the boltholes built into the city’s sewers centuries before as hideouts. His willingness to share his knowledge of underground Tyrsis with the Movement played a crucial role in the Shadowen War.
With his aid, Tyrsis eventually became free, but despite his success, the Mole never returned to the surface. Though his friends encouraged him to join them above, especially in later years, when the cold and the damp of his chosen home affected his health, he refused, living in his subterranean refuge until his death two decades after Tyrsis was liberated. His “children”—the stuffed animals, which numbered over a hundred by the time of his death—were “adopted” by his friends and given a special room in the palace as a monument to his courage.
Glowstones
Torches are often cumbersome and impractical for those who explore the tunnels below Tyrsis. During times of siege, their light and smoke could easily reveal boltholes and passageways to the enemy. Instead, glowstones were used to provide the illumination needed to navigate the tunnels.
Found only in the mountains of the Borderlands, glowstones are considered street magic, because they appear to use magic but in fact utilize natural phosphorescence within the rock. When cold, the stones appear to be simple white rocks streaked with silver, but when warmed, the rocks glow with a dim silver light that can he reactivated by additional warming Body heat, from holding them tightly in the hands or by pressing them to the body for a few moments, is enough to activate them. The glow is actually caused by luminescent particles that are dormant until heated. Warmth excites the particles, causing them to give off energy, which appears as light.
Glowstones are used to light the way in the tunnels of Tyrsis.
The stones were heavily used during the early centuries of Tyrsis’ existence, when a run into the tunnels for safety during an attack was a common occurrence. As the people turned away from the tunnels, the stones became more of a curiosity. They had a brief resurgence of popularity during the Free Born infiltration of the city, but by that time there were few of the stones still in existence, and the location of their origin had been lost.
Not far from the parks district, set right off the Tyrsian Way, is the heart and soul of modern Tyrsis, the Open Market. Here goods from all over the Four Lands fill open-air stalls as well as the larger brokerage centers in buildings beyond them. Trade, the true lifeblood of the Borderlands, is exemplified within this, the largest of the Borderlands markets. Only in the Borderlands markets can people of all Races vie for the finest goods from the four corners of the lands. Almost anything can be found in the market—for a price. Trolls and Elves barter with Gnomes and Dwarves. Caravans loaded with goods from other lands enter and leave daily.
While the other lands all have markets, and all but the Southland encourage trade with other Races, only the Borderlands connects all four of the lands. Southland-manufactured goods and Borderlands wines are only available through the Border markets. Teamsters for the South transport goods to and from Tyrsian markets, but never further. There is no doubt that the Federation would prefer to trade directly with the other lands, but few are foolish enough or brave enough to deal directly with the Federation, especially given its historic hatred of other Races.
Trade is not the only asset Tyrsis has to offer, for the Borderlands are also home to the largest distilleries in the Four Lands. Over 80 percent of the wines and ales within the Four Lands is produced in breweries and distilleries in Tyrsis and Varfleet. Grapes from the vineyards around the Rainbow Lake, as well as some from the Westland vineyards, are transported to the border cities, where they are transformed into the finest wines and ales in all the Four Lands. Only within the taverns and alehouses of the Borderlands can a true gourmet sample all the varieties of wines and ales produced within her breweries. Spirits make up the single largest export item shipped from Callahorn.
Varfleet
From Tyrsis, the Mermidon winds east through the edge of the Forest of Callahorn before it turns south across the grasslands, breadbasket of the Borderlands, and finally through the Runne Mountains to the Rainbow Lake. The city of Varfleet guards the only sizable passage through the Runne Mountains. Situated on the edge of the Mermidon in the grasslands at the southern end of the Rabb plains, Varfleet lies at the eastern edge of the Borderlands, a place where the seasons are both harsh and beautiful. The farms in the area grow grain and raise cattle, which are marketed within the city.
The people of Varfleet understand what it means to live at the edge of civilization. Varfleet is always the first to feel the brunt from any northern or eastern attack, the first to fall, and the first to overcome its losses and rebuild.
Varfleet was first founded as a frontier out
post sometime after the First War of the Races on the site of an earlier town whose name has been lost. The settlement’s location on the northeastern edge of the Southland made it a home for rugged frontiersmen.
The Northland army razed the original town of Varfleet during the Second War of the Races. It was an attack no one expected. At that time, Varfleet had no wall and no fortifications. All of its people were killed or driven off, except one—a boy called Allanon. The Druid Bremen wrote of the carnage: “People and animals lay dead at every turn, sprawled in grotesque, careless heaps amid the rubble. The attack had happened at night; most of the dead appeared to have been caught sleeping. There were few spent weapons. It was hard to believe that this charnel house had ever been a thriving town.”
The city was rebuilt thirty years later, with a stone wall for protection. It became the bastion of civilization in the East; its garrison of Legionnaires were often called to defend the outlying villages against raiders from the North and East.
During the War of the Warlock Lord, the wall and the city’s garrison managed to keep the city from being overrun, but only because the Northland army focused its energies against Tyrsis once Varfleet was rendered helpless. Communications were blocked between Varfleet and Tyrsis, forcing the defenders of Varfleet to simply fight a holding action while their city was under siege and hope that Tyrsis could prevail to come to their aid.
After the war, the proud city rebuilt once again, strengthening the outer walls and ramparts with stone but constructing most of the interior buildings of slat wood. Years later, as with Tyrsis, the wall did little good against the Federation. Unlike Tyrsis, Varfleet was so far from the centers of Federation rule that they rarely bothered to enforce their laws. As a result, the city became a haven for the lawless and refugees. Most of the soldiers that made up Varfleet’s Federation garrison were recruited from local talent; they were understandably reticent to bring the full power of the Federation to bear upon their neighbors. Most of them simply needed a steady job. The city became known as an outlaw city just barely within Federation rule, where anything was possible if one was bold enough. Even magic was still tolerated—an open secret almost defying intervention from the Federation. For the most part, the Federation ignored its outlying possession, content to drain its resources and leave its people to their own inventions.
During the Federation years, the city became squalid and run-down. The poor built makeshift shelters along the outer edge of the city wall and begged in the streets. As the once fertile farmlands around the city failed, destitute people crowded into Varfleet. But the Free Born Movement thrived. There were too few trained Federation officers to cause them trouble and large numbers of dissatisfied people who were eager to become part of a revolution.
Once the Shadowen fell, Varfleet was the first of the border cities to rid itself of its Federation masters. Once it was free, the city served as a support base for those who fought with the Dwarves against the Federation.
Now Varfleet is once again a proud border city, despite the fact that she is not so beautiful as either of her sisters. Supported by farming, fishing, and of course trade, it is a thriving metropolis only slightly smaller than its sister city of Tyrsis. Its location on the Mermidon gives Varfleet access to trade routes from both east and west, as well as easy access to goods from Tyrsis and Kern. Sprawled across a series of low hills, the city appears from a distance to be a maze of stone walls and winding streets. Most of the buildings inside the walls are built of wood, with pitch-sealed roofs, although the more affluent estates are constructed of stone.
Like Tyrsis, the outer edge of the city contains the barracks and parade grounds originally used by the Border Legion. Unlike her sister, Varfleet’s poorer residents also live near the wall and outside it. Reaver’s End is one such poor section, filled with warehouses, poorer tenements, forges, and manufacturing areas as well as taverns and entertainment for the workers.
The wall surrounds the city except where it touches the banks of the Mermidon to the north and east. There the piers and boathouses jut into the river, always busy with fishing boats, barges, and the occasional riverboat. Taverns and hostels serving the dockworkers line the shore along with fishmongers’ stalls and all manner of warehouses for the goods sent by river to be stored for market.
Within the city proper, the streets are all named, and merchants and tradesmen hang neatly painted signs outside their shops to advertise their wares. In the center of the city, the main road, Wyvern Split, leads to the principal square, a paved commons ringed by taverns, inns, and pleasure houses. Most of the buildings are slat-boarded houses that share a wall with the buildings on either side. As space is limited within the city, most buildings rise two or three stories, with living quarters on the second and third floors and shops or working quarters on the ground floor.
Despite the unattractive outer shell, many of Varfleet’s homes and shops are quite attractive inside. Its people tend to prefer focusing their attentions within their walls, leaving the outside as plain as is practical.
Most of the more affluent homes are located in the southern part of the city, near the Council Hall, a great stone edifice that was originally built to house the King of Varfleet during the brief city-state period before Callahorn united under one ruler. Most of the few parks within Varfleet are clustered in this district, between the manor houses of the councilmen and the merchants.
Kern
West of Tyrsis, on an island in the center of the Mermidon, lies the youngest and smallest of Callahorn’s cities, Kern. Though the city was not founded until after the Second War of the Races, it was the birthplace of the first dynasty of the kings of Callahorn. Founded by Kinson Ravenlock and his wife, Mareth, both heroes of the war, Kern was a protected haven for traders from the Westland and Northland.
The Ravenlocks, searching for a place to settle after the trauma of the war, fell in love with the wooded island in the shadow of the Dragon’s Teeth Mountains. The broad Mermidon ran full almost year round, its waters deep and swift, making the island easily defensible while providing a water highway for traders from the Westland and easy access to Tyrsis and Varfleet downriver. Kinson and Mareth established a trading post on the island and were soon joined by others from the Borderlands who had lost their homes in the war. The island town became a symbol of rebirth, growing into a thriving community and then, in only a few decades, a city.
As did Tyrsis and Varfleet, Kern declared itself a separate monarchy, choosing for their king the enigmatic son of Kinson and Mareth, Auren Ravenlock, the man who eventually united the Borderlands under one rule as the first king of the Borderlands of Callahorn. The capital remained at Kern until the Buckhannahs of Tyrsis came to power, when it was moved to Tyrsis. After that time the Palace of Kern stayed within the Ravenlock family. They referred to it as Ravenlock Manor, though most within the city still called it the Palace. Its vaulting archways and elegant courtyards were said to be more beautiful than the Palace at Tyrsis.
The Evacuation of Kern
Almost five centuries ago, the people of Kern found themselves facing annihilation from the Northland army. Over forty thousand people were trapped on the island by the mass of the Warlock Lord’s army, over a hundred thousand strong, gathering on the banks. Only the raging fury of the Mermidon, swollen from rain, held them back. The Border Legion had been disbanded, save the small local garrison, leaving no hope of rescue for the trapped city.
Menion Leah, who had also been trapped in the city, designed a bold plan to use the river highway to evacuate the people. Boats of all types and sizes were commandeered and cobbled together to carry the people of the besieged city to the landing north of Tyrsis. Rafts, cargo barges, skiffs, and ferries were gathered at the dock along with craft concocted from old furniture, pallets, and anything else that would float. A small garrison of two hundred seasoned soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Commander Janus Senpre crossed the river to strike at the flank of the massing army, making them pull
in the sentries that watched the city. The men landed at Spinn Barr on the north bank. Leaving a small contingent, including the Prince of Leah, to guard their retreat, they attacked the Northland army where it slept. Menion later wrote: “The few men of Senpre’s command so disrupted the camp that all the sentries left their posts, believing they had been flanked by another army. Even four hours after the strike, the enemy camp was still confused and disorganized.”
As soon as the enemy sentries were gone, the mismatched armada took to the water, carrying forty thousand people, including the survivors of the attack, to safety downriver under the noses of the Northland army.
Only hours after the last boat left the docks, the Northland army invaded the island city. In their fury upon finding Kern deserted, they put her to the torch, leaving nothing but charred earth where the city of the Ravenlocks had once stood.
Senpre survived the attack and the evacuation and, for his bravery, was promoted to full commander and given command of the city defenses of Tyrsis days later, during the battle for the city.
Unfortunately, nothing remains of the Palace or the original city of Kern. It was destroyed by the Northland army during the War of the Warlock Lord. But though the city was lost, the people were not. In one of the more amazing acts of courage of the war, the people of Kern were evacuated downriver to Tyrsis before the Northland army attacked.
It took fifty years for Kern to be rebuilt. Many believe that the newer city lacks the beauty of the old. There is no doubt that the second incarnation of Kern is different in many ways from the first, but she is still an elegant city. The Palace was never rebuilt, since there were no longer any kings, but the Council Hall and most of the major trade centers were improved. Fortunately, most of that elegance remains, since Kern did not suffer as badly during Federation occupation as did Tyrsis and Varfleet.
