Aranost
Ages ago, Aranost was a city of the elves, a magnificent citadel of towering pinnacles, graceful arches, glistening fountains, and courtyards of fruit trees. The sister of the city of Varagost to the southeast, Varagost was home to poets, singers, and musicians said to have been without equal in Akados.
But even among the long-lived elves, death eventually comes, and so it came to Varagost and Aranost. Each city was sacked by the armies of Hyperborea as they carved out an empire for themselves on Akados. The Hyperboreans cut and burned the forests surrounding the cities to allow the legions easy passage. The cities were unwalled since no enemies had ever before threatened their realms, but protective magic surrounded and suffused them. And so the invaders had to use magic as well, which brought down the foundations of the cities.
Afterward, the Great Salt Marsh covered Varagost, making it uninhabitable. The Hyperboreans, however, decided to rebuild Aranost in their own style, and they held it until 2514 I.R. when it was abandoned along with the rest of Akados as the Hyperboreans withdrew across the sea to Libynos.
When Acregor Ironclaw finally took control of the humanoids inhabiting the Dragon Hills, he decided to make a capital on the ruins of Aranost. When he learned the city’s original name, he retained it, thinking it amusing that a half-troll was now the lord of an elven city.
Today, Aranost remains the capital of the humanoid Kingdom of Acregor and sits atop a hill overlooking the ridges, valleys, and crags of the Dragon Hills. From here, generations of kings have looked out over The Plains of Mayfurrow and planned ways to seize the lowlands. As of yet, all such plans have come to naught. In the meantime, what was once a magnificent city of the elves is now a bleak, crime-ridden settlement of overcrowded shanties, ramshackle hovels, and omnipresent filth. The predominately orcish and half-orc population adequately adjusts to wallowing in this disgusting squalor festering with death and disease. They survive on a meager diet of grains, wild berries, and game foraged from the surrounding wilderness or sold in Aranost’s cutthroat markets.
Capital
Aranost, City of
Type
Capital
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