Zar’Thuun

Zar’Thuun

Type	City
Government	Oligarchy
Location	Swikedom Kingdom
Inhabiting Race	Dragonborn, Kobolds, Lizardfolk, Changlings

Zar'Thuun was the first and greatest city of the Swikedom Kingdom. Riled by House Rhazmyr, the entire city was notable for being constructed within the skeleton of a massive purple worm. Even though the seven regions of Swikedom share power equally, many consider Zar’Thuun to be the capital of Swikedom due to it being the home of the Ashen table, the conclave and meeting place of the seven Shehad houses.

While the city was founded by dragonkin, they weren’t its first inhabitants. Long ago a titanic purple worm had died along the hillside, coiling around its slopes. As its body rotted away, its remaining scales and bones became shelter for many traveling through the region. The carcass was discovered by a family of Changlings fleeing the Fey Front who would claim the hill and the corpse atop it as their home. Upon arriving they beseeched the local spirits for protection, who in response created a freshwater spring at the base of the mountain.

Decades later, a tribe of dragonkin escaping the carnage of The Amputer Front would arrive at the mountain and form a pact with the Changling family, joining the two groups together and founding the city of Zar’Thuun.

About

Coiled around a great arid hill are the sunbleached remains of what was once a great purple worm. Its bones and remaining scales have been repurposed into a great city, serving as the foundation for large buildings constructed of dark rock and sandstone. Its spine supports the construction of large towers while its ribcage provides cover for large districts in the city, the largest being the Founding Ring, built atop a large patch of the worms remaining underbelly scales. As a show of their wealth and power, the city has maintained luxurious gardens through the city fed from the city's freshwater spring. Through an intricate series of aqueducts, this water is pumped to nearly every region of the city.

Beneath the city, the dragonkin have even repurposed some of the purple worm’s old tunnels. Here live the Faestir and Petisse castes. This vast, grim sprawl is home to kobold clans, labor camps, and the occasional renegade cult.

The city is protected by towering walls guarded by Vargach warriors and Arcath sorcerers. There are only three entrances in and out of the city, all of which are kept under heavy watch. Animated by Arcath magic, the city is stalked by animated constructs called Dragoyles, large gargoyle statues with the head and wings of dragons who perch atop Zar’Thuun’s highest towers.

Districts

The Founding Ring

The Founding Ring is Zar’Thuun’s largest district, built atop the purple underbelly scales of the purple worm. The sturdy foundation has made it the perfect home of many Dorith clans who have constructed their workshouses and foundries in the district from which they craft and sell their wares. The district is managed by larger mercantile and government bodies who manage the trade as well as oversee other administrative duties within the city. The district is also home to Zar’Thuun’s largest courts, who try criminals in violation of the Vassirack and Zar’Thuun’s other laws.

Things to do in the Founding Ring

• Purchase a magic item made by an experienced Dorith craftsman.
• Learn the art of metalworking in the forge of a Copper Dragonborn Blacksmith
• Avoid getting caught for stealing by an animated Dragoyle statue.
• Go on trial for getting caught for stealing

The Warrens

Beneath Zar’Thuun are large tunnels that were once the home of the purple worm who now lies dead on the hillside. These dark regions have become the home for many Petisse and Faestir whom are not allowed to live in the cities surface districts unless permitted to by a member of an upper caste. The inhabitants of the warrens live in close nit burrows in the underground stone and have formed small and insulated communities, almost entirely separate from those above. Those who do not work in the city above instead are made to work in large labor camps in the warrens harvesting stone for new construction or to work in underground farms fed by Zar’Thuun’s underground spring.

Things to do in the Warrens

• Get caught in a dispute between two rival Kobold clans.
• Harvest rare herbs from the cities underground farms.
• Hide from law enforcement in the Warren’s twisted tunnels.
• Commune with a strange cult who hide in the Warren’s darkest regions.

The Gilded District

This district is home to the Shehad and Kepesk of Zar’Thuun and is located at the highest point of the city. Those of lower castes are barred from entering the district unless they directly serve one of the noble houses in the Gilded District. The district is home to some of the cities gradest gardens, shining as a fertile beacon to all of Zar’Thuun. At the head of the purple worm skeleton is the palace of House Rhazmyr, colloquially referred to as the maw as the jaw and teeth of the head make up most of the palace's foundation. Located in the Gilded District as well is the Vrymhold, a large heavily guarded fortress with tunnels leading deep into the hillside where the Ashen Table convenes.

Things to do in the Gilded District

• Spy from the shadows of the garden paths while gathering secrets for a noble patron.
• Serve wine, polish armor, or carry messages as a lower-caste attendant in a Shehad palace.
• Witness a ceremonial duel conducted beneath the sacred trees of the upper terrace.
• Explore the Gleaming Breath gardens of the Gilded District.

The Tiamar Steps

The Tiamar Steps are a series of platforms and tunnels built into the hill reaching all the way up to the spine of the purple worm. This district is dedicated to religious worship and also serves as the location for some of Zar’Thuun’s largest schools and sorcerer conservatories. The district is primarily home to Vutha’Thurirl scholars studying the secrets of ancient dragons as well as many Arcath priests. The Tiamar Steps get their name for a series of six temples leading up to the spine, one for each chromatic dragon and one for Tiamat herself.

Things to do in the Tiamar Steps

• Attend a religious service at the Temple of Tiamat.
• Study and learn about the ancient dragons of old.
• Attend Wyrmsight Hall, Swikedom’s premiere school for Arcath sorcerer initiates.

The Tail

The Tail is located at the back of Zar’Thuun where the Purple Worm skeleton terminates in a large barbed stinger. Built into and onto the stinger is a large stone fortress that serves as the seat of Zar’Thuun’s military command. Around it are organized barracks and training camps to prepare new Vargach warriors for service in the kingdom. Inside the barbed tail Arcath alchemists harvest what venom remains inside the tails dried out venom glands.

Things to do in the Tail

• Get trained in combat by an unyielding Kepesk commander.
• Battle captured prisoners in sanctioned fighting pits.
• Purchase distilled Purple Worm Venom from an Arcath alchemist.

The Ribrun

The Ribrun is Zar’Thuun’s largest district, taking up a majority of the city from the Gilded District at the top, to the entry gates of Zar’Thuun at the bottom. Most of the Ribrun consists of dragonkin domiciles and shops where Dorith craftsmen will sell their wares outside of the Founding Ring. Beautiful gardens are grown along the length of the Ribrun which are tended to by Petisse thralls.

Organizations in Zar’Thuun

Daurgo Irthos

Translated to the Dracolich Secret Society, Daurgos Irthos is a cult of dragonkin who believe undeath is the next step in draconic evolution. Their leader is a dragonborn vampire who is believed to have been a banished member of House Skalanor. In recent years, a sect of the cult broke away to form Abishai Irthos, a cult that believed the next evolved dragons would not be liches, but fiends.

The Bestest House

The Bestest House is a group of never more than twenty kobolds who cause chaos in Zar’Thuun. They are led by a Petisee’Skarth, but this position rapidly rotates as the reigning leader rarely survives longer than a month before they are caught, killed, or betrayed.

Clan Valos

Zar’Thuun’s most famous and profitable Dorith clan of Copper Dragonborn. Managing a thriving forge in the Founding Ring, Clan Valos became renowned in Swikedom for inventing Fabricated Dragon-Scale, a material able to replicate the properties of true dragon scales.