Tergaron
The free city of Tergaron has, for some time now, been a destination for the wealthy to holiday and experience ancient history, luxury goods, and even entirely new innovations. Perhaps the most famous example of Tergaron's marvels is the Iron Route: a so-called "railroad" that runs from the free city to a station just outside of Creighton, upon which a carriage-train powered by locomotive—the first of its kind—ferries passengers back and forth. Indeed so sought after is Tergaron, that not even the recent occupation by an entire wing of the dragon horde, could extinguish interest.
History
There have been people at the site of Tergaron since the time of the Keldari, when it was known as Ter Haurgonun, or the "Lofty Gold-rights." The Keldari name perhaps references the abundance of mineral wealth beneath the settlement owing to the node of elemental earth in the area. They constructed a mistgate in the depths of the mines, likely for the purpose of transporting minerals to Lanan Ortheiad, or perhaps to secure reinforcements more easily should the mines ever come under attack. The Allanari elves briefly occupied the area, after the great war the elves made on the Keldari. However, it was not long before they too left Ter Haurgonun vacant.The Rise of Norngrilk
For some time afterward, human barbarians fought in the region, and the gold-rich settlement exchanged ownership many times over the following years. The greatwyrm Ivrumitxeros repeatedly raided the owners for gold, destabilizing each realm in turn. This finally came to a head when a chieftain called Baegglaf suffered a mortal wound in taking the keep from a rival, dying he sent his daughter Norngrilk to the Vale of the Red Wyrm to make a pact with the dragon. He would receive tribute in the form of three wagons of gold each year in exchange for protection of the barbarians. Norngrilk went on to form a strong realm under the stability of the dragon's protection.
Periphery of Acrad
By the 470s SA 5, the settlement had become known as Tergaron and was on the Acrad side of Verahd's Wall—a sure sign that relations between the growing Ost-Corsovian kingdom and Tergaron were amicable despite the barbarians' history of hostility with the magocratic city-state of Nex, which was by this point reincorporated into the empire. Though Tergaron remained independent of Imperial rule, the royal family of Acrad maintained close ties to the chieftains of Tergaron, and marriages between the extended families of the rulers were not unheard of.Ota I had briefly been a ward of Rhidlolf and wrote of the impressive Cathedral of Oculus, which had been built some centuries before by a religious order who had found converts among the barbarians of Tergaron. Shortly after his ascension to the rank of Emperor, Ota I began negotiating with the aging Rhidlolf to have his youngest daughter, Rejna, marry Rhidlolf's grandson Eimor, as part of a larger goal of bringing Tergaron into the empire officially as a vassal kingdom. However, with the instability brought on by Ota II and then the death of Emperor Zastian during the Quarrels of Acrad, Tergaron was never successfully incorporated.
Tourism in Tergaron
Tergaron is primarily known for being among the most civilized of the free cities of the north, from a Corsovian perspective. It has fine architecture, skilled craftspeople, guilds, and inventors to draw all sorts. And until recently, the Cathedral of Oculus the Beholder held pride of place in the city's old quarter. Since the sinister truth of the Order of the Penitent Eye's practices and faith was revealed by the adventuring band called the HODEOHs, and the subsequent occupation by the blue wing of the dragon hordes, the mood in the city has changed.The people of Tergaron are not welcoming of the occupying forces, but it's hard to deny that when the rest of the Eabrath suffers through uncertain times, the draconian troops present a mighty deterrent to any other factors that might otherwise destabilize the city. In the end, they've been a net neutral force on the city's economy, and has even brought in new business as some outsiders now flock to the city specifically trying to treat with the dragon horde's commanders and enter their good graces.
Type
Large city
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