Fornost (FOUR-Nawst)

Once a heavily defended fortress-city and seat of governmental power for an unknown race from The Old World, Fornost appears to have been abandoned some time ago.  Many theories exist, but genuinely accepted theory from the Royal Society for the Exploration of the Natural and Physical World is that Fornost's founders were a race from another plane of existence, perhaps creatures from the Astral Plane.  An eruption of The Fists, which caused the Ash Fields, is likely the cause of them abandoning their settlement, as volcanic soot and ash prevented them from harvesting crops or raising animals.

Purpose / Function

Fornost appears to have served the dual purpose of being both a fortress-city, as well as the capitol city, of an ancient empire.  In fact, records found within are sparse, but refer to it as the 'Northern Fortress of the Kings', leading to speculation that there may, somewhere, be another city to the south built in a similar fashion, as a sort of southern fortress of the kings; however, no such place has been excavated as of yet.

The ruins are completely protected by exceptionally high, well-built walls; the gate structure stood nearly sixty feet high, and some of the observation towers were even taller.  How this was built, with no arcane magics on Kermoria at the time of it's construction, remains a mystery.

However, much of the outer segments of the city have been discovered, including large plots of land that were used for farming and cultivating, leading scholars to believe that Fornost was built to withstand a siege from humanoid attackers, and it's ultra-high walls were designed to withstand punishment from the great beasts which inhabited The Old World.

Defenses

The ultra-high walls of the city were made of solid bedrock, sometimes as thick as eight feet.  Though the city gates themselves have long since rotted away, measurements from within the gatehouse indicate that the doors themselves would have been nearly four feet thick, which, considering the weaponry of humanoids at that time, made them impregnable from anything other than fire.

Multiple observation towers were built along the walls, and evidence exists of several more having been erected outside the city at regular intervals, indicating a sort of beacon or warning system was in place should trouble be seen on the horizon.  No other defenses exist at this point, but logical speculation says that the walls were manned with guards who, probably, carried crossbows and who likely had at least rudimentary siege weapons (small scorpions and onagers existing in that time period.)

History

Very little is actually known about the city of Fornost, and even less about the denizens therein.  What is known for certain is that the fortress itself was known as the Citadel of the Mantis, but no ruler or ruling family is listed in what few documents still exist.  Even the significance of the Mantis itself remains a mystery.

RUINED STRUCTURE
During The Old World

Founding Date

Unknown

Alternative Names

Sunken City, the Ash Fortress

Type

Fortress

Parent Location

Ash Fields