Thaliost

Large City, Population 54,500   Thaliost doesn’t look like other Thrane cities with its skyraking towers, magically shaped stonework, treelined boulevards, and wide-open spaces. It looks more like Fairhaven, the capital of Aundair, which isn’t surprising since Thaliost was once an Aundairian city.   Thrane conquered Thaliost and the surrounding territory in 926 YK and spent the next two years trying to annex the region. Aundairian soldiers made a halfhearted attempt to reclaim the city in 927 YK, but they were too few in number to uproot the entrenched Thranes. The knights thought the city was theirs until the Aundairian commoners revolted in 928 YK. The Council of Cardinals tried to starve the Thaliosans into submission. Eventually, the instigators were captured and burned alive. That same year, a magical conflagration destroyed the colossal White Arch Bridge that spanned Scions Sound between Thaliost and Rekkenmark, severing the lightning rail line and breaking Thrane’s surest link into Karrnath. Exactly who destroyed the bridge — Aundairians, Karnns, or Thranes — remains a mystery, although a number of factions have stepped forward and claimed responsibility.   The Thaliosans are a bitter, divided, and defeated people. Some have made plans to return to Aundair now that the war has ended. Others accuse Aundair of abandoning them and leaving them to suffer at the hands of the Thranes. These same Aundairians sadly proclaim that they have no homeland to return to.   A large garrison of knights barely maintains order in Thaliost. Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Thaliost, Solgar Dariznu (LE male human cleric 8 [Silver Flame]), is widely regarded as a vicious tyrant who burns people alive for his personal pleasure.
Type
Large city