Triarch

The greatest city of Ard Tala, and the known world's oldest human settlement, is Triarch, seat of the kings and queens of Medheva, citadel of their Three Scepters, and beacon of human culture and faith for the world to look upon with awe and envy. By its minds and arms, it has been a bulwark against the primal dark that drinks the light of travelers' wary lanterns. So it was, rather, until two summers ago.
A tyrannical queen had held the crown and scepters for thirty-six years before she died, passing them to her debauched and incompetent son. For nine years his careless judgments cast innocent men and women into penury and pain. His decadent court drained the coffers that had been built and maintained for generations. The last straw came when the young king declared war against the eastern sea elves with an aim to claw back the crown's squandered wealth.
The war was an unqualified disaster for Medheva. The elves annihilated the king's proudest ships in victory after victory and killed his fleet marshals, sending their heads back to Triarch wrapped in their torn noble banners. The sea elves' woodland brethren tied the king's army to a guerilla war in the Annendalles, which ended in a costly stalemate. When the mountain dwarves of the Corlith joined the war on the side of the elves, and when Medheva's historical ally in Ardwen refused to become embroiled in the conflict, all but the foolish and vain king knew not just that victory was out of reach, but that utter calamity loomed at home.
Feeling their wealth threatened, the Guild Masters of Triarch ignited an open rebellion together with the people, whose kin had been sent off to die in the war. With the promise of wealth untethered from the crown's grasp, the Masters made tenuous alliances with mercenaries and pirates from the eastern freeholds and the southern principalities across the Sun Sea. In less than a year, the rebels had besieged the king within his palace. They would have captured him if not for a daring night rescue by his most loyal guardsmen. The king fled to his family's castle at Montmirail, where he struggles to hold together a kingdom he nearly lost.
The city of Triarch now stands free of monarchical rule for the first time in a millennium. The Guild Masters and their mercenary hirelings hold the city, acting as its governors and constables while they try to rebuild wealth lost in the war. They have seized the fortunes of the city's minor noble houses, who, lacking the networks and large families of their more esteemed peers, have become refugees at the edges of Triarch's territory, where they mingle in camps with dispossessed commoners who gloat over their fall. Meanwhile, the people go on with their lives, resisting the deprivations of nature below them and the depredations of their lords above.

Government

Until the Guild Union insurrection of 3146, Triarch was governed directly by the Lord Mayor and the King's High Council.

Districts

Triarch is comprised of nine districts and smaller neighborhoods within the city walls, as well as several spreading settlements beyond their outer gates. The city's main districts are: Old Triarch; Nor'End; the Harbor Ward; Leadside; Haymarket; Rose Hill; the Dwarven Quarter; Scholar's Row; and Gold Point. Outside the walls are Sylford, Cherry Stone, Renata's Mill, Trollsbank, High Gate, Dierry, and Oxbend.

Old Triarch

The oldest part of the city is centered upon Lambra's Garden. Some scholars believe there are buildings still standing on these narrow streets that date back to Triarch's founding, somewhere in the fathomless past. Their weathered stone bears glyphs of an undecipherable language, and their foundations open upon the ancient catacombs and caverns that extend for leagues below the city.

• WHITE ROSE BASILICA
• Lambra's Garden
• Sangfors Bath House
• The Mandragora
• Three Blackbirds Tavern
• Rundl Alley Magic Shop

Rose Hill

Sitting atop a long, slender rise running north from the city walls, south to the basilica, is Triarch's wealthiest district. Much of it lies in the serene shadow of the former royal palace, as well as the tall trees that dot its several peaceful gardens.

• CITADEL OF THE THREE SCEPTERS
• Chapel of the Willows

Harbor Ward

The first impression many travelers, either by land or sea, have of Triarch is the Harbor Ward. Crowded and bustling with commerce and craft, it is home to the city's docks and important traders, as well as its largest market, the Grand Gallery.

• THE GRAND GALLERY
• Constabulary
• Adventurer's Guild Headquarters
• Armand's Outfitters

Leadside

Leadside is home to Triarch's professional class, who have enjoyed greater prestige and prominence with the rise of the Guild Union, and now the guilds' victory over the crown.

• Prindle & Sons Bank

Haymarket

• The Dimeroad Market
• The Monkey & Bear Tavern
• Grey's Inn

Nor'end

Dwarven Quarter

• Thali's Forge

Scholar's Row

• THE ARCTIAN ACADEMY
• Thirsty Novice Alehouse
• Taleweaver Bookseller

Gold Point

• Guild Union Hall
• Sun Sea Company Warehouses

History

Though it is mentioned in elven and dwarven chronicles, the city predates recorded human history. When the grandchildren of the First Awakened traveled north from the Isle of the Dreamers, they discovered the ruins of a city in stone at the mouth of the Tever, and at the center of the ruins a garden with a running spring and a still-slumbering dreamer.

Points of interest

The city's skyline is dominated by the towering Citadel of the Three Scepters, ancestral home of the kings of Medheva. Just south of it are the spires of the White Rose Cathedral, seat of the Church of the Awakened.

Maps

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  City of Triarch

Founding Date

147 of the Awakened Age (New Founding)

Type

City

Population

34,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Triarcher

Owning Organization

Church of the Awakened