Lugras

The trading nation of Lugras started as backwater place in the Southwest of Ussath Riel. The arid and mountainous region offers few opportunities for agriculture except for a few pocket areas where oases or underground wells offer enough water for minor settlements to survive. Besides a small amount of these settlements, the region was only inhabited by a couple of nomad tribes, untill a prospecting expedition from Hir Taruhm explored the area and found a wealth of metals, minerals and gems hidden beneath the surface. The Glitterborn family that funded the expedition staked a claim and founded a mining colony named Lugras in the Flintlock Mountain Range near the coast. The mining colony, and the rudimentary port used to export the wealth mined from the mountains, grew quickly and expanded as news of the wealth hidden beneath the mountains attracted a great deal of miners and other settlers. Mining operations expanded and to supply these with food and fresh water the Glitterborn family built an impressive aquaduct linking the water sources within the hinterlands to the coastal town of Lugras.   Over the years, Lugras grew into a prosperous trading port with an extensive network of mining operations. However, the great wealth of Lugras was coveted by others, and so, Lugras increasingly came into conflicts with it's neighbours. Spending it's money on mercenaries, Lugras managed to hold off the agressors for a while, untill the powerful human empire of Valmith staged a coup within the port city. Valmith offered several members of the ruling council reprieve from the oppressive influence of the Glitterborn family within the council, and in one night the conspirator's forces, along with Valmithian troops smuggled into the city, conquered Lugras and kicked the Glitterborns and all other loyal members from the council. Lugras was added to the Valmith empire and was ruled from the Valmithian throne as a subjugated province. The conspirators were given cushy positions within the province administration, while the loyalists were kept on a short leash. This situation lasted for several years but over time the strict control over the loyalists lessened as the conspirators grew complacent. The Glitterborns started to rebuild their power and influence by doing what they do best - expanding their mercantile empire. They invested heavily into their various mining operations and sent out prospecting crews to find new locations for mines. This resulted in the Glitterborns finding large deposits of a mineral that was unknown up to this point. The mineral appeared to have no practical use but the Glitterborns had the mineral researched in secret by a team of Gnomish alchemists and inventors, who eventually managed to discover that the mineral could be alchemically refined into an explosive substance that could be used to launch projectiles at high speed. The Glitterborns fabricated firearms that operate using the substance, which they named flashpowder. They stockpiled the armaments in secret stashes and bided their time.   The time came when the Silent Invasion threw the Valmith empire in complete disarray. As confusion and chaos ensued over the complete lack of contact with the Valmithian empire, the Glitterborns staged another coup and got rid of the conspirators and Valmithian agents. The council was reinstated but only as figureheads. Real power now lay with the Glitterborns who took as many precautions as possible to make sure they would remain in power and that Lugras would remain their own, independant property. Under the shrewd and capable leadership of the Glitterborns, Lugras expanded, built the strongest naval force within the continent, and signed several strategic treaties and trade agreements. The most important source of Lugras and the Glitterborns power remains the flashpowder, however. As the only source of both the raw mineral needed to make it, and the only party that knows the secrets of it's creation, the Glitterborns have made themselves indispensable to anyone who wants flashpowder and the weapons it powers. They have also made sure that they are able to use their supply of flashpowder weapons on whomever stands in their way.