Orsinta
Once the thriving capital of the powerful Orsinta Dominion, the city is a ghost of its former self but still an important harbour town within the Kingdom of Orbach. The old Dominion buildings lie in ruins, a haunted remnant of an empire now consigned to history, with the population of the town now living on the other side of the Redkerm River. Occasionally, an attempt will be made to re-inhabit the old part of the city, but each time it ends in fatal failure; rumours abound that the ruins are cursed, and can never again be lived in, but current consensus is that the ruins have their own, hidden inhabitants, who are not willing to share their home with anyone else. The nature of the inhabitants is unknown, and the local lords are content to let whatever resides there live in peace. For now.
Demographics
Almost all of Orinsta's inhabitants are Duland, but there is a decent sized Sindair elf minority around the docks, and as usual in Weston settlements, a tiefling ghetto on the outskirts.
Government
The city is in the county of Hartondonia, whose ruler nominally reside in the city, but in reality spend their time in their country estates some distance away. Actual management of the city is left to the Barony of Orsinta, a position viewed as cursed as its namesake. No family line has survived more than two generations after being appointed to the position, and is used by the Count of Hartondonia as a punishment for those who fall from favour.
History
The Orsinta Dominion was a gradual coalescence of various Duland factions in the eastern part of Weston that evolved into an autocratic system headed by the Orsintan nobility. Over the 380 years of the Dominions existence, a lot of the weath of the Dominion flowed into Orsinta and the city grew in both size and magnificance. Originally built on already impressive elven ruins, the Dominion enhanced the city until its splendour was well known throughout Everland. This building process took its toll on the finances of the Dominion, and the citizens chafed under the tax burden, with the rulers having to implement increasingly authoritarian methods to retain control. This increase in tyranny was justified by the equal increase in influence by the Schwarz, whose fractious tribes held land to the west of the Dominion lands.
When the end of the Dominion came, it was at the hands of an alliance of Duland and Schwarz factions. The rebellion was brief, but intense, and Orsintan forces were eventually pushed back to the city itself and the two sides settled in for what was expected to be a lengthy siege. No one knows what happened after this, but magics were used by one side or the other and the city was enveloped by a strange mist. Once cleared, all the inhabitats of the city had vanished and the remains became the haunted ruins they are today.
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