Oralon

Early History
Oralon is a youthful civilization, just less than a thousand years old. The early inhabitants came to this abandoned peninsula of the continent led by one Kalus Greybank, a human seeking to establish a peaceful land in worship of his god, Erathis, god of civilization and order. The group was mostly human, with the occasional elf and dwarf accompanying them. The settlers started in fertile fields to the west, where they established the village of Greybank, named after their humble leader. Under Kalus’ direction, the village flourished, and within the span of a hundred years the people of Oralon had established four cities on the peninsula. The original city of Greybank resided in the same fertile lands that had sustained the first settlers. The second city to be established was that of Sunwell, in the plains southeast of Greybank. The third was Earthsreach, located in the badlands that comprised the upper plateau of Oralon. The last city to be founded was Erathis’ Spire in the east, reaching above the tall trees of the Ivory Forest. This would eventually become the capital city of Oralon, a shining symbol of what its people were capable of. Each city served as home for thousands of citizens at their peak, for a total population of almost 100,000 humans, dwarves, and elves. These cities would be dwarfed in size by those of neighboring lands, but the people of Oralon were proud of their achievements. Together, they had built a civilization that thrived in peace and economic prosperity.
The Great Blight
Some three hundred years after the passing of the heroic Kalus Greybank, Oralon was shaken by a massive earthquake. Tremors in this region were not uncommon, but this particular event would forever change the peaceful land of Oralon. On a crisp winter morning, the earthquake opened a massive chasm in on the eastern side of the territory, effectively isolating Erathis' Spire from the rest of Oralon. Spilling forth from this newly opened breach came hordes of demons, slaughtering any living creature they could. The first city to fall was the capital, Erathis' Spire. Being so close to the origin of the hellish invasion, it was overrun in a matter of days. Sunwell was the second city to be razed in this conflict. After a siege lasting for two months, the city was breached by demons and was destroyed. The remaining two cities in Oralon were able to reinforce themselves well enough to last to present day, but not without nearly falling many times.
The Modern Cities of Oralon
Despite the war that has broken generations of people, the cities exist with little stability within their walls. This has largely been due to the separation of racial groups within the city, a pattern that benefited only a few of the survivors of the wars. The cities have distinct neighborhoods that can be discerned typically at a glance. The largest areas of Greybank and Ilmater’s Shield are the Slums, an area of relatively low economic status populated almost exclusively by humans, with a few dwarves rounding out the remaining demographic. The middle and upper class areas of the cities are entirely elvish, at least since the Coup of the Blood Moon. It has been quite some time since either of the races have held places in the upper echelons of the city. In the center of the cities exist the market squares and temples, each making their own fortune with different methods. The shops of the cities are content to pocket this money. Often, corrupt shopkeepers will hire mercenaries to stand guard at their business, or sometimes to “dissuade the competition”, whether that be a traveling trader or another poor citizen attempting to escape the squalor of the Slums. The Church of Ilmater, conversely, simply receives tithes from the citizens. The Church uses this money to fund the defense of the city, paying soldiers, repairing the walls, and purchasing new equipment. However, the Church is no less corrupt than the cut-throat merchants. Whether for reasons of greed or paranoia, the clergy of the Church often use their influence of the city guard to ‘appropriate’ funding when a citizen’s tithe is considered ‘inadequate’. The castles in each city have sat empty since the start of the Great Blight. Few have stepped forward to fill the roles left by their butchered kings, and any who did were buried on the battlefield alongside the original royal graves.

Despite its isolation, one of the biggest factors in the survival of the two remaining cities of Oralon was the sudden and desperately needed involvement of the Radiant Shield. This highly trained military force first arrived in Oralon to purge the land of any Abyssal influence, but ended up becoming the central governing body of Ilmater's Shield. Four high-ranking members of the Shield now oversee all aspects of life in the city along side a council of nobles who live there.
The Radiant Shield maintains a presence in Greybank, but is less influential in its governing since the Coup of the Blood Moon. Many of the humans who fled Ilmater's Shield during and after the Coup made their way to Greybank. This sudden influx of new people created numerous societal and economic issues for the city, causing some of the recently arrived inhabitants to turn to a life of crime. Due to the reduced presence of the Radiant Shield and a growth in numbers of souls desperate to survive caused organized crime to flourish in the city, with gangs growing large enough that they would boldly assault caravans and merchants from the west without fear of repercussions.