City - Oreyarsk

Rising like a dark crown from the endless white of Syiv, Oreyarsk is a grim, fortified city that sits on the northern banks of the river Svirna, where the icy waters coil like a lifeline through the otherwise barren tundra. It is the last major stronghold before the Gap of Grief, a critical supply hub that feeds the great Citadel guarding the border with Ogria and The Frost Wastes beyond. Its heavy black walls bristle with towers and watch-fires, standing eternal watch against the north.

The land surrounding Oreyarsk is lifeless, with scarce trees, no crops, and no shelter from the wind. Rogue Ogre warbands roam here, looking to raid and pillage, while the snow-covered expanse offers nothing but frostbite and endless sky. And yet, the city endures. It survives, in its own stark way, thanks to the rare minerals found deep beneath the earth, where ancient natural tunnels worm through the bedrock. The river provides fish, trade, and just enough hope to sustain life in a place the gods themselves might have forgotten.

Part of the Tsardom of Kyrus, Oreyarsk fits in perfectly with it's enduring northern culture. Its people are hardy and stoic, their culture steeped in necessity and quiet superstition. But superstition is easy to overlook when the city’s foundries still burn, its gates still hold, and its convoys still ride north.

To the Kyrusian command, Oreyarsk is a vital gear in the imperial war machine. To its people, it is home at the edge of the world. To outsiders, it is an unsettling place of old shadows, silent resolve, and walls built for something far worse than war.