Bal Deneth
"Home of the Winter Wizards..."
At the western edge of The Zero Lands, where the icy coast meets Frostfire Bay, stands the frozen city of Bal Deneth. Home to the feared Winter Wizards (ice mages), the city is large and at least partially constructed from the surrounding ice itself.
Bal Deneth was established by a conclave of blood mages who originally settled in Lentokk, along with their fellow magicians who eventually became The Lentokki God Kings. Where their paths deviated began with the specific necrotic magic the ice mages practiced.
Most blood mages siphon energy from the warmth of life itself, extracting it from the world around them. Some, however, garnered their power from what was left behind. The cold. The absence of life. This was their domain, and it remained so, without consequence, for hundreds of years. Then something happened. A change. Suddenly, and seemingly all at once, the ice mages were stricken by their own work. In this moment of calamity (was it by design or a fatal mistake?) the biology of every ice mage changed... shifted. They became one with the nothing. With the cold of death.
Still living, but requiring a degree of cold the normal humanoid body could not withstand, the winter wizards were forced to strike out on their own. They needed to find a home where they could live in the constant chill their bodies required. They found this place, partially at least, at the spot where Bal Deneth now stands.
Using the very ice of the land around them, mixed with stone and mortar, they used their arcane art and virtually rose the city overnight. Their icy lair stands now, as it did on the day of creation... a frozen testament to the cold of death.
THE DEEP ICE
The wasting disease (known as "The Deep Ice") that spread through the enclave of winter wizards is both permanent and unremovable. No known magic can diminish its effects. Further, the disease, though originally only effecting a small portion of the Lentokki, now is able to spread (and always does) through childbirth. Thus, all children born of Denethian blood carry the accursed disease. It is no longer restricted to the practitioners of the dark arts. Every man, woman and child of Bal Deneth carries "The Deep Ice" in their veins.Demographics
The city boast a population roughly 85% human, 10% elven, and 5% mixed other. Virtually all, however, are afflicted with the wasting disease the winter wizards named "The Deep Ice."
Government
Bal Deneth is a magocracy. Until recently, it was ruled by a council of ten arcane casters of various disciplines. However, shortly after the "final" war with Titan Home, a mysterious duo of brother and sister, Damen and Skalvia Entossi, violently disbanded the council and took the rulership of the city for themselves. Normally such an act against so powerful a council would be near impossible, but the fraternal twins seem to have been graced by the Ryktuss (the Lord of Death) himself. They came from nowhere, commoners amongst the city dwellers, and overtook the council and its guards within minutes. Those council members that bowed to them were spared their lives. Of the six that did not, their exact fates are unknown. But one thing is for certain, they have never been seen since.
THE COLD WITCH
There is one mystery surrounding the deposed council members. Ever since their ousting, rumors have persisted of a woman haunting the city from its borders. This woman, referred to as "The Cold Witch," has harried the new rulers (mostly from afar), going so far as to freeze their servants to death... Something thought impossible by the cold resistant residents of the city. How she operates, and if she's even really a thing, is up for conjecture. Some think she's merely the imaginary focus of many dispossessed citizens, enraged by the new regime. Others believe the Cold Witch to be one amongst the outcast council, adopting a new identity in order to avenge their (and their city's) loss.Defences
The city is protected by a standing army of 1,000 "Ice Reavers." Soldiers trained from birth to protect the city. The Ice Reavers also serve to internally police the city, keeping crime in check. Further, a citizen militia of 5,000 can be mustered in short notice. Along with this, the city has trained an "arcane army" of 400 battle mages, all trained in the defiling dark arts of blood magic. Finally, some of these blood mages have constructed their own ice dragon mounts. Literally dragons made entirely of animated ice.
Industry & Trade
As mentioned in the section on assets, Bal Deneth is primarily self-sufficient and isolationist. They do not conduct much trade with the outside world. This being said, the former blood mages do, on occasion, provide magical services for those beyond their walls.
Infrastructure
As the winter wizards can sculpt ice into virtually anything they desire, all manner of modern works exist within the city walls.
Assets
Arcane magic is the primary asset of Bal Deneth. They do not export much in the way of goods, and all food stock must be magically grown in specially prepared greenhouses impervious to the bitter cold. The city is relatively self-sufficient, with the former blood mages producing the vast majority of necessary goods, in numbers suited to fit just their populace.
Guilds and Factions
Bal Deneth features few, if any, guilds in the traditional sense. What it has, instead, are different "circles" of mages. Within these circles, different schools of magic are studied and performed. What they all have in common is the constant search for some sort of cure to dispel the unique condition of their brethren.
History
Bal Deneth was formed just under a thousand years ago, after the ice-afflicted blood mages of Lentokk set out on their own to establish a new home. There is a conspiracy theorizing that The Deep Ice was purposely inflicted upon them by fellow blood mages, jealous of their accomplishments. Some think it was brought about by the "lich king" Xrie Palax himself. In any case, there is no love lost between the two city-states, though somehow they've managed to avoid going to war with each other thus far.
Bal Deneth exists today in a state of relative isolation, sending few dignitaries to the surrounding settlements.
Tourism
Few visit the blood mages of the "Deep Ice" unless they absolutely must. It is quite inhospitable to all but the most impervious to the cold. The city does maintain a few climate controlled quarters for visiting dignitaries, but these are more often than not unused.
Those that visit Bal Deneth are typically students of the arcane, in search of forbidden secrets known only to the ice mages within the city walls.
Architecture
Ice and stone. Tall spires that reach up towards the clouds. Beautiful, delicate walkways linking the neighboring towers of the city. These are all features of the icy wonderland of Bal Deneth.
Geography
Situated on the western edge of The Zero Lands in Golthien, at the shores of Frostfire Bay and the World Sea.
Natural Resources
What cannot be harvested naturally, the ice mages create for themselves by robbing the surrounding lands of their life essence.
Founding Date
619 A.W.
Alternative Name(s)
Ice Hold, Death's Head
Type
City
Population
40,000 humanoids
Inhabitant Demonym
Denethians
Location under
Owning Organization
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