Thenaphor

Small Town: Population 1,232 (41% letheni, 29% lynoxi, 20% human, 10% other)

History

The town of Thenaphor was founded in the early Restoration period following an expedition into the Nornabuli, the mountains on the northeastern side of town, which discovered large deposits of a new metal called Sandariten, as well as a type of coal called Motenatin. It was incredibly rare to find Motenatin at surface elevations, making Thenaphor a cheap source of the material. Sandariten was seen as mostly a curiosity by many who were unable to see its potential, with the locals using it to make hazardous defenses; but a traveling Dwarf happened upon the metal and had the foresight to bring a sample back to Stavandyr in Reshyk. This would prove to be the most important discovery in Reshyk's history, as the metal would later become the foundation of Runetech, being modified by an alchemical process to store Flow instead of electricity. As a result, the Dwarves buy nearly the town's entire stock; though in spirit of fairness, Emris Amakiren of Vardanorr decreed that Reshyk could only purchase 75% of the town's full production, so that it could be studied and used by others. The coal known as Motenatin is critical worldwide, as the dark blue flame it produces can smelt and enable the forging of magical metals which typically resist conventional flames. However, it is incredibly volatile and can burn straight through a blacksmith's forge, requiring special precautions to handle. Additionally, it also breaks down the property of many dense metals that prevent them from holding an enchantment.

Several hundred years after the founding of the town, hunters traveling to the Gatire Mastemiri past the Nornabuli mountain range noticed a number of spirits haunting the forests, particularly towards the center, as well as a decaying sickness spreading from this region tainting the area. With this also came the wisps that would appear on the slopes of the Nornabuli, for which the Gavanuter festival was created. Eventually, stray undead even began to attack merchants on the road to town, which caused many to avoid the town entirely. All these events were due to the presence of a necromancer in residence in the Gatire Mastemiri, who constructed a tower and bound spirits to the landscape surrounding to keep intruders away, using his profane magic to spread sickness to the land while he labored to create thousands of undead that he would later unleash on several major settlements across Arak. This necromancer, a Letheni named Aubron, was eventually thwarted by a group of adventurers from Eldham who managed to destroy his tower and cleanse the surrounding forest. Though some spirits still haunt the forest, they are not as aggressive as they once were.

Like many towns and cities worldwide, the Grave Rot Plague devastated the Human population of Thenaphor. At one time, Humans were the majority demographic in residence. With so much death, many homes were left abandoned; and while some were repurposed by Letheni and Lynoxi settlers, there are still many homes all around the town that lie in disrepair, overgrown with weeds and vines, and some still have a lingering presence of those who once occupied them. Many have fallen apart, and have become an eyesore, past the point of restoration. The town's residents have expressed interest in demolishing these homes to make room for expansion, but fear destroying the homes still inhabited by the spirits of their former occupants; believing it will invite misfortune onto the town, or themselves.

Government

Thenaphor lies within the jurisdiction of Vardanorr to the east, which provides infrastructure and defense for the small town. The magistrate of Vardanorr, Emris Amakiren, has shown particular favoritism for the town due to their lucrative exports. The town has a good relationship with Vardanorr, but it is known to some that the wealthy residents of Thenaphor have paid Emris well to give the town certain priorities over others in his jurisdiction, as well as ensuring they have sole claim to the resources within the Nornabuli. Because of this, Vardanorr allocates more resources to the infrastructure and protection of Thenaphor than other settlements. Residents of Caphanos, Dedenatorr, and Esharreth have taken notice and seem to want Emris removed from office for corruption, but no movement has been made on this.

Economy

Thenaphor sustains itself on the income from three main exports: Sandariten, Motenatin, and Geletin Nuzel. Sandariten is a silver metal that has the ability to store electricity, absorbing it on contact and storing it. Electrical energy absorbed by Sandariten is preserved presumably forever, as ingots exposed to electricity centuries ago still shock on touch. Though this metal was a simple curiosity to most, the Dwarves took a great interest in it, and began purchasing it en masse in quantities so large that the magistrate of Vardanorr had to restrict the amount they could purchase to 75% of the amount produced so that others could get their hands on it. This metal is critical to the Runetech the Dwarves have created, which is why the town has made such a fortune from having the sole known source of it. Though Motenatin is not unique to Thenaphor, the Nornabuli are the only place it has been found in such quantities at surface level, allowing it to be recovered much more easily and safely than other mines that delve into the Deephollow and brave the dangers there. Motenatin is not nearly as lucrative as Sandariten, but the combination of the two has made the town wealthy. Finally, Geletin Nuzel, a type of mead made from the Geletin berry cultivated here, has become extremely popular in many places due to its extremely high alcohol content. The berry has an initial cool minty flavor, followed by an intense heat that is especially liked by the Letheni who crave spicy food.

Notable Locations

• Nornabuli - The mountain range found to the northeast of Thenaphor that separates the town from the Gatire Mastemiri. These mountains are rich in Sandariten, Motenatin, and plenty of other mineral resources. There is a large mountain pass called the Muzeni Obir that the residents of Thenaphor use to reach the Gatire Mastemiri. The mountains vary from 1,500 to 2,000 ft. tall, and some have very hazardous topography. The Gavanuter festival in Esten centers around watching the wisps climb the mountains and celebrating them making the journey to the afterlife.
• Gatire Mastemiri - This vast forest lies beyond the Nornabuli mountain range, northeast of Thenaphor. Once plagued by the presence of the necromancer named Aubron, who tainted the land there and bound many spirits to the forest itself, the center of the Gatire Mastemiri is avoided by hunters and foragers. The forest is home to a grove of druids who are attempting to cleanse the corruption from Aubron's tower to restore life to the forest. However, the forest is still occupied by a number of stray spirits lingering after the destruction of Aubron's tower, who despite being less aggressive than before, occasionally attack travelers passing through their territory.
• Geletin Iphistir - A vineyard owned by the Gespetha family, Vesperkin who cultivate the popular Geletin Lagosi, a berry that produces an initial refreshing, cool minty flavor comparable to wintergreen, before transitioning to a sweet heat that the Letheni of Arak enjoy very much. The vineyard is also home to a large brewery that uses the Geletin Lagosi to brew an extremely potent mead, called Geletin Nuzel that is considered the strongest mead in the world. Many who drink it can barely make it through one flagon before collapsing.

Culture

Thenaphor is a wealthy town, owing to its highly sought after export resources. As a result, the average wealth of its residents is far higher than other settlements of its size. Homes within the town are much larger than one might expect, contrasted by the many abandoned homes remaining from those who perished during the Grave Rot Plague three centuries ago. Given that Thenaphor is relatively close to Vardanorr, where the plague's initial outbreak occurred, it saw some of the worst of the casualties compared to other areas of Arak. While some families were fortunate and had the money to ride out the plague and avoid other Humans, and have repopulated, the once majority Human population is not even half that of the Letheni these days. However, being so close to the initial outbreak location, Thenaphor's Letheni have been far more sympathetic and kind to the Human residents than northern settlements.

Due to the Sandariten export business, which is critical in Dwarven Runetech, it is not uncommon to see Dwarves in town, unlike most other areas of the world. When Sandariten's potential to store Flow was discovered, the Dwarves quickly began buying the town's entire stockpile, which had to be restricted by the magistrate so that other buyers could have a fair chance. There are only a handful of Dwarven residents in Thenaphor, and they mostly keep to themselves. Though they are forbidden from sharing Runetech with those outside of Reshyk, the Dwarves here have helped the residents to develop other innovations using the Sandariten, such as the electrified fencing surrounding the town, though the lightning rods were invented by a Human woman.

The town is no stranger to spirits, with their proximity to Esharreth, and the spirits haunting the forests of the Gatire Mastemiri. But the many abandoned houses around the town are still home to the spirits of those that perished in the plague, traumatized by their sudden and brutal end, unable to move on. The town occasionally sees visits from clerics from Esharreth seeking to lay these spirits to rest so the abandoned buildings can be demolished for space or repurposed; however, some of these spirits are much more angry about their end, or corrupted due to time, and resist these cleansings. But even before the plague, the town had observed a holiday during the month of Esten known as Gavanuter, during which wisps can be seen in the distance at night, ascending the mountains of the Nornabuli, giving off bright light. The festival sees many residents hanging lanterns along the path to the base of the mountains and playing music, hoping to lure lost spirits towards the mountains so they can ascend and pass on to the afterlife. The residents believe one particular mountain, the Terabul, in which the majority of wisps can be seen, is sacred. What the residents don't know is that these "wisps" are simply old lost spirits that were bound to the Gatire Mastemiri by the necromancer Aubron, who are endlessly drawn to the top of the mountains seeking release, and forever reaching the edge of their binding and being pulled back into the forest.

Defenses

While the town is small and remote, it does have to deal with the occasional Goblin raid. Thenaphor has a garrison of Enforcers known as the Thenamudid provided by Vardanorr to the east, who are adequate for dealing with such threats; but the town's access to Sandariten has given way to innovation of unique defenses not seen anywhere else. One such defense are the wire fences that run around the town, a low-effort barrier made from Sandariten that has been extruded into wire, and then electrified. Fortunately, the Goblins inhabiting the region tend to be the yellow variety; incredibly stupid, and as such have not learned not to touch the fences, resulting in many Goblin corpses being found charred outside the fences. These fences are maintained by a series of rods placed atop large buildings throughout Thenaphor that when struck by lightning during storms, distribute the electrical energy throughout these fences. As a result of these clever defenses, the Thenamudid typically focus on protecting the miners in the Nornabuli.

Crime

Being such a small town, there is little crime to be found in Thenaphor, with criminals partaking in smuggling and thieving. However, with the concentration of wealth found here, there are also a number of gambling dens which, while not illegal, often result in travelers losing large amounts of money in rigged games and either ending up in debt and being pursued by debt collectors, or accusing the house of cheating and being shanked and disposed of. Once every two or three months, a body is found in the nearby river after they made a foolish decision while playing cards. Any settlement with valuable exports such as Sandariten attracts thieves and smugglers looking to get a cut of the profits, and Thenaphor is no exception. Half of the reason the Thenamudid put so much focus into defending the mines in the Nornabuli are to look out for thieves.