Auberris (ow-BERR-ihs)

(still under construction)   Auberris, capital of Polira, is a city of broad avenues and terraced hills, but it was not always so. Situated on the shores of Lake Nelaris, this central settlement has been through many metamorphoses in its time.     History records that the location was home to a vast and wonderful mountain city called Clarbonne. Many of the most impressive ruins are remnants of the splendor that must have existed prior to the Shattering. Best known is perhaps the Onyx Amphitheatre close to the city's heart.   We can only imagine what it looked like, how large it might have been. With the coming of the Shattering, Clarbonne and its mountain range sank into the earth, leaving only wreckage and ruins strewn across the Mistrenel plain and the newly formed Lake Nelaris.   It was this lake that ultimately led to the founding of Auberris. Survivors gathered at the shoreline, seeking water, and the possibility of food. Within the next decade, a shanty town had sprung up on the flats nearby, and within two, real wooden houses began to make an appearance.   Weather after the Shattering was beyond unpredictable for the first century or so. In the spring of 39 AS, vast rainstorms over the Gennemart Plateau, far to the north, bucketed down on the partly frozen ground. The land was not able to absorb the vast amounts of water and the many tributaries of the Varenelle became swollen with runoff.   The townsfolk of the early city knew nothing of this. The lake was higher than usual even for spring, and fishermen reported that the river was muddied and strong, but the people thought nothing of it. Until the day that everyone looked up to see a wall of water charging at them. The Varenelle had burst its banks, and slammed into Lake Nelaris like a fist.   Notes for when I come back: 3000 dead relocated to higher ground great fire - date needed royal relocation soapy sidebar