Tyria

Situated in the South-East of the Thyssalis Sea , Tyria and its homonymous island is part of a archipelago of three islands in front of Lower Oronia, the other two being Ikos and Edymna to the South.   Since ancient times the Tyrians have been regarded as the wealthiest of all the Oronai not only because of the trade routes to the Elven lands that pass through the island but also because of its unique natural resource, blue amber (as well as their salt mines). But what also attracts people to this island is their rhetoric school , famous in all Teria for being, after Blati the best school if you want to study the fine art of public speaking.  

Origins and history

The history of the island began with the Histrians, as Tyria was founded as a colony of Histria in 609 BP, the Histrians settled in this island attracted by its fertility as well as its natural resources, especially salt and blue amber, a very rare material. They named the new colony as Tyria in honour of Tyr, the goddess of Nature.   Due to its strategic position in the Thyssalis Sea the island quickly became one of the main centres of trade , especially between the Kingdom of Oronia and the Kingdom of the Green Elves. The Tyrians placed gave a great importance to trade, not only between them and the elves, but also with the other Oronai cities of the region; which is why they decided very early on to create a fleet to protect the island's trade and coasts from pirates.   This, of course, came very handy in the 4th century BP when the island became engulfed in the middle of the war between Corgis and Pyliene , the two great Oronai cities in the mainland. During this conflict the Tyrians successfully resisted an attempt of invasion by the Corgisans , at a naval battle near the city. Once the King restored order in Lower Oronia, the Tyrian fleet not only still provided protection to trading ships but also, by a Royal Decree, now also provides to the king, in case of emergency, around 50 war galleys. This is something that, for example, they did during Magas the Great campaign against the Sephenians, blockading the enemy ports and neutralizing the Sephenian navy.  

Description

Surrounded by beautiful turquoise waters, Tyria is the smallest of the three islands of the archipelago. The salt mines as well as the blue amber extraction areas are located in the north of the island, while the southern part is more suitable for agriculture, especially wheat, lettuces and olive trees. The city itself is located on the east of the island, on an small gulf near the mountains. The layout of the city is a bit unusual because its located on a slope, while on top there is the Acropolis of the city where the temple dedicated to Tyr is located. In front of it there is a small plaza with wonderful views of the city and the gulf. It was there, with these views of incomparable beauty, that the philosopher and rhetorician Zeno of Tyria founded his school back in the 3rd century BP.   Just below the Acropolis, taking advantage of the natural slope of the terrain, is the city theatre, with capacity for 5,000 spectators. Each year, during the festival of the goddess and also the festival that commemorates the foundation of the city, a festival of theatre, poetry and speech recitation is held. The main square of the city is located on the only plain available in the city, this is where multiple merchants from all corners of the continent and beyond come to buy the famous blue amber.  

The School of Rhetoric

  Founded by Zeno of Tyria in the middle of the 3rd century BP, a renowned philosopher, grammarian and rhetorician who had previously worked at the royal court and that decided to return to his native island to found his own school far from the chaos and rigor of the court. The idea of Zeno was to build a place to educate and form new generations of well-educated citizens, ready to rule participate and contribute something to the civic and political life of their own communities. For that he also built a library attached to the temple and donated his personal collection of books and scrolls to that building, so that his knowledge could benefit future generations. Such was the fame of Zeno and his immediate successors as directors of the School of Rhetoric that , a century after its foundation, many young Ikarian nobles travelled to the island in order to acquire a level of education worth of their status that would prepare them for their future political careers. The school experienced a golden age from this period until the 4th century AP when, due to the crisis of the Ikarian Empire and the turmoil era that followed Oronia diminished the number of students and the fundings. Though, after the rise of Magas the Great the prestige of Tyria's Rhetoric School, the school and the city are experiencing a resurgence with students coming to the island from all the Oronai realms and beyond.